billing question

Question

I switched my account to the basic membership but I was just charged $140 to my account. Will I receive a refund for that and charged the $20 instead?

Answer 1

When you downgrade a Microsoft 365 subscription to a version with fewer features like the Basic version, the process is to first cancel the original subscription and then take out a new subscription, that process is explained on this link.

https://support.microsoft.com/office/switch-between-microsoft-365-subscriptions-3fcc1efc-2722-427f-8efa-db94b9b0a36b

If you did not cancel the original subscription, the steps are provided on this link to check your eligibility for a refund and cancel the subscription.

https://support.microsoft.com/office/cancel-a-microsoft-365-subscription-46e2634c-c64b-4c65-94b9-2cc9c960e91b

Answer 2

Refund eligibility depends on how and when the Microsoft 365 subscription was changed and billed.

Key points based on the provided guidance:

1. To check if the recent $140 charge is eligible for a refund, the subscription must first be cancelled:
   • Go to https://account.microsoft.com/services/microsoft365 and sign in with the same Microsoft account used to purchase the subscription.
   • Find the Microsoft 365 subscription, select Manage, then select Cancel (or Upgrade or Cancel, depending on what is shown).
2. After cancellation, refund eligibility is evaluated:
   • Not all cancellations result in a refund.
   • In some countries (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Turkey), cancelling may entitle to a prorated refund. Details are in the “countries with prorated refunds” article linked from the refund documentation.
3. If the charge is not recognized or does not match the expected plan (for example, expecting $20 but seeing $140), use the billing investigation tools:
   • Go to the Manage your payments page from the Microsoft account dashboard and use Investigate on the charge to see what subscription or purchase it corresponds to.
4. If the subscription was purchased through Google Play or Apple App Store, cancellation and refund must be handled through those stores’ support channels, not directly through Microsoft.

Because refunds are determined automatically based on region, timing, and subscription type, there is no guarantee in the documentation that the $140 will be refunded and replaced with a $20 charge. The actual outcome will be shown after cancellation and investigation of the charge.

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References:

• How to get a refund on a Microsoft subscription
• How to investigate a billing charge from Microsoft
• Unable to cancel your Microsoft subscription
• I need a refund on the Microsoft 360 - was just charged for it, and the instructions are unclear on how to get a refund. - Microsoft Q&A
• Request refund - Microsoft Q&A
• investigate a billing charge - Microsoft Q&A