Subscription issue

Question

I had a subscription in my husbands name, but paid with my credit card. He passed away and I contacted Microsoft and asked to cancel the monthly subscription and take out the yearly subscription directly under my name, yet the monthly subscription still went off my account last month.

Answer 1

Hello,

Are you saying the transfer from his account to yours is successful, but your account is being charged monthly vs. annually?

Or are you saying the monthly charge is still coming out of his account on your credit card?

Also, do you have access to his account at all?

I need to know this information so I can guide you correctly to your options.

Answer 2

The most likely reasons the monthly charge is still occurring are:

1. The original subscription in the husband’s Microsoft account was not actually cancelled or recurring billing was not turned off, or it was cancelled too close to the billing date (cancellations must be more than 2 days before the billing date). In that case, one more monthly payment can still be taken. The subscription end date can be checked on the Subscriptions page for that account.
2. The charge is still tied to the husband’s Microsoft account, not the new yearly subscription under a different account. If the wrong Microsoft account is being checked, the active subscription and its billing status might not be visible.

To resolve this:

1. If sign-in to the husband’s Microsoft account is still possible, go to the Services & subscriptions page for that account and verify:
   • That the old monthly Microsoft 365 subscription shows as cancelled or has recurring billing turned off.
   • The subscription end date and whether another charge was within 2 days of the cancellation request.
2. If the account credentials are known and the subscription is still active, follow the normal cancellation flow to stop further monthly charges. Be aware that cancelling a Microsoft 365 subscription will reduce storage allowances and may affect OneDrive and Outlook.com usage as described in the cancellation guidance.
3. If the husband’s account credentials are not available, Microsoft generally cannot cancel or disclose details to a non-account holder for privacy and legal reasons. In that case, the guidance is to stop the subscription at the payment source:
   • Contact the bank or card issuer to block further Microsoft subscription charges on that card, revoke authorizations, or cancel/replace the card.
4. If additional help is needed with a refund for the extra monthly charge, use the refund process for Microsoft subscriptions and, if necessary, contact Microsoft Support from the refund page.

If the husband’s account is no longer used at all, it will eventually close automatically after a period of inactivity, but this does not immediately stop charges tied to an active subscription and valid payment method, so working with the bank/card issuer is the reliable way to prevent further debits when account access is not available.

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References:

• Unable to cancel your Microsoft subscription
• Why am I still being charged after cancelling my Microsoft subscription?
• How to get a refund on a Microsoft subscription
• Accessing Outlook.com, OneDrive and other Microsoft services when someone has died
• Cancel a monthly charge on my visa credit card - Microsoft Q&A
• Cancel my Microsoft monthly subscription - Microsoft Q&A
• My credit card is being used by an unknown person to buy Xbox pass. How do I cancel the monthly payment? - Microsoft Q&A
• How to Cancel Microsoft 365 subscription if you do not have account info? Or get anyone to help? - Microsoft Q&A
• Request refund - Microsoft Q&A