Accidental pay-as-you-go charges after using free credits for demo/educational projects

Question

Hello,

I have been charged an unexpected fee with Azure Pay-As-You-Go charges on my account.

I was charged approximately for 3 months. I did not intentionally use Azure services during these months and did not intend to incur these charges. In fact, I rarely logged into Azure during this period.

I created an Azure subscription 3 months ago, only to use the free credits for a demo/educational project. After completing the demo, I was not aware that I needed to delete the resources and cancel the subscription in order to prevent further charges.

I have now cancelled the subscription and removed the resources to ensure that no additional charges occur.

To sum up, the charges were unintended and resulted from my misunderstanding of the Azure billing process.

How possible is it for Microsoft to give me a full or partial refund?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Hello Christos Kormaris

I request you to open Azure Billing Support Ticket, Please follow below steps:

Azure Billing support request link: create a support request.

1.From the resource menu, in the Help section, select Support + Troubleshooting. In the Support + Troubleshooting pane on the right, type "Billing" in the search box, select Billing, and then click Next.

2.Select the subscription and click Next. You will be presented with some suggestions to resolve your issue. If none of these apply, please follow the steps below.

3.Scroll down and you will find an option to Contact Support. From there, select Create a support request.

4.Enter the problem description (Issue type - Billing, Subscription, Summary - Billing, Problem type - Assistance with Bill, Problem subtype - Help with a billing discrepancy)

5.If the solutions appear again, click on 'Return to support request'. Click Next, and you will then be able to create the billing support ticket.

Kindly let us know if the above suggested solution helps or you need further assistance on this issue.

Thanks,

Suchitra.

Answer 2

Microsoft can only determine refund eligibility through a billing support case. Community responses and documentation indicate that refunds for unintended Pay-As-You-Go charges are handled case by case and are not guaranteed, but billing support will review the situation and may offer a full or partial refund depending on their assessment.

To proceed, create a free billing support request so the billing team can review the charges and your explanation:

1. Sign in to the Azure portal.
2. Go to Help + Support.
3. Select Create a support request.
4. For issue type, choose Billing and select the affected subscription.
5. In the description, clearly explain:
   • That the subscription was created for demo/educational use.
   • That usage beyond free credits was unintentional and due to misunderstanding of the billing model.
   • That resources have now been deleted and the subscription cancelled.
6. Complete the remaining details and submit the request.

Billing support is free of charge. A support engineer will contact you (typically within one business day) to discuss options, which may include a full refund, partial refund, or no refund depending on their review of the account history and policies.

For future use of free offers, review how free credits and free-tier limits work and monitor usage and costs regularly using Cost Management and invoices to avoid unexpected charges.

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References:

• Cost Management + Billing frequently asked questions (FAQ)
• Avoid charges with your Azure free account
• Tutorial: Review your individual Azure subscription bill
• Understand the terms in your Azure usage and charges file
• Understanding Azure Usage and Billing
• Unexpected Azure Charges After Free Credit Expired - Microsoft Q&A
• Request for Refund – Accidental Charges in Pay-As-You-Go Subscription - Microsoft Q&A
• Unexpected billing received for Azure Subscription - Microsoft Q&A
• Refund for Accidental Azure Subscription - Microsoft Q&A
• Unexpected payment - Microsoft Q&A