Unable to recover account or cancel subscription — billed for 2 years without use — what's the best path?

Question

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone with experience of this specific situation can point me in the right direction.

The core issue:
I've been billed for a Microsoft 365 subscription for two consecutive years without being able to use it, and I can't cancel because I can't access the account. My next payment is due on Aug 7 and I want to stop the billing before then.

My priority is to stop the recurring billing. I don't care about recovering the account per se, but I can't see any other way to cancel the subscription. Why recovery has been difficult:

• I only ever used the account for Excel, and only in the first year.
• I never used Outlook or any other Microsoft product tied to it, so I have no email history, subject lines, or product usage details to draw on for verification.
• I purchased the subscription using a gmail address while living abroad and have since moved countries several times. I've tried submitting various combinations of past addresses, countries, and dates on the recovery form, but none have been accepted.

What I've tried so far:

• Submitted the account recovery form multiple times with different combinations of the information above — denied straight away each time.
• Attempted to block the recurring payment through my bank (Monzo) — they blocked it initially but said they couldn't sustain the block.

Given the above, I'd really appreciate advice on:

1. Whether there's a more effective way to approach the recovery form given how little product-specific information I have. 2. Whether Microsoft billing support can cancel or refund a subscription directly without full account recovery, given I can prove payment (card details, amounts, dates). I've read that stopping billing without accessing the account is possible if you purchased your product n Germany, therefore I assume it is technically possible to do that.
2. Any other route people have had success with in a similar situation (limited usage, multiple countries, no email trail).

Any guidance on the most promising path forward would be genuinely appreciated. I really don't want to waste any more money on this!

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi, Serena Chironna

Account recovery is unlikely to improve if the form keeps rejecting the same limited information. Since the main goal is stopping payment, the better route is billing support rather than repeatedly submitting the recovery form.

Here are some suggestions you can try:

Contact Microsoft Support and choose Microsoft 365 and Office > Manage account subscription, then request chat or phone support. Explain that you cannot access the purchasing account and need recurring billing stopped before August 7. Have the Gmail address, cardholder name, last four card digits, exact charge amounts and dates, and any bank transaction references ready.

If the subscription was actually purchased in Germany, use the special cancellation form. It allows cancellation without signing in. Living in Germany later is not enough, the purchase itself must have been made there.

Ask support separately for a refund review. A refund for both past years is not guaranteed, but the most recent renewal may qualify depending on when it was charged and the country of purchase.

I would contact billing support now rather than wait until August 7.

Please be advised that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors, including external Microsoft employees, are not allowed to directly interfere with Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited solely to providing technical guidance on reported incidents, requests, or ideas.   

Thank you for your patience in reading, I hope this information has been helpful to you. 

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