Charged for MS Office 365 without asking

Kari · 30 Mar 2020

caprice said:

Kari, I tried browser method and we just went round in circled it even suggested 'TALK TO PERSON" yeh right that was no better, is it possible to contact MS from this forum or is there a rep from MS monitoring us?

I have none whatsoever issue in contacting Microsoft Support in New Zealand from browser:

Charged for MS Office 365 without asking-image.png

caprice said:

I have to admit defeat, MS got my money due to me not reading the fine print and much good may it do them, they also get away with not paying the taxes due in many countries I will not be using their products in the future.

It is not fine print. Microsoft makes it quite clear, several times, during the trial sign-up process. Most, in fact almost all paid services offering trials have the same policy: if not cancelled in time, trial continues as paid service. Difference is, Microsoft informs about this much better than quite a number of other companies and services.

I find it strange that you blame Microsoft for your own fault, and because of that, you stop using their products. We would have liked to keep you here on Ten Forums with us, but as you now stop using Microsoft Windows and move to Linux or MacOS, I guess you will also move to their respective forums.

Kari

caprice · 30 Mar 2020

@Kari

I was very frustrated when I made my post.
Fine print is a kind of euphemism and I do blame myself, but at no time during the trial did I receive any notices etc from MS however I still say that the default should be in favour of the customer.
In reality I have to use MS products as it is on a new laptop that I can’t afford to ditch I have used XP and Vista with very few problems.
When you say ‘we’ I take it you have consulted with the powers that be and the result is that I am no longer wanted on this forum and will not be able to get help from this forum or that I will be ignored?

Kari · 30 Mar 2020

caprice said:

when you say ‘we’ i take it you have consulted with the powers that be and the result is that i am no longer wanted on this forum and will not be able to get help from this forum or that i will be ignored?

No no no!

I said it as a joke. You said you will not use any Microsoft products in the future, I joked about it saying that it's sad to see you go to Linux forums, only because you will no longer use Windows. You are, as every user not breaking the forum rules, always welcome here. You will of course get all help and assistance we other members can give to you. Always.

In addition, I am in no position to even suggest that a member is no longer welcome here. My sincere apologies for the misunderstanding.

Kari

idgat · 30 Mar 2020

caprice said:

Fine print is a kind of euphemism and I do blame myself, but at no time during the trial did I receive any notices etc from MS however I still say that the default should be in favour of the customer.

You might say, but that's not the reality. The "industry" standard/norm/accepted practice is exactly what has happened to you, and not just Microsoft.

And another common norm is that after the initial sign-up, the default option is automatic renewal without notification. It becomes the user's responsibility to be aware of when I product license expires, and notify cessation requirement ... otherwise the next subscription comes off the debit/credit card automatically.

Which is why I buy only an annual license/subscription for MS Office, because come renewal time, there's always a deal somewhere around cheaper than the others. And one good thing about MS Office 365 - you can "stack" licenses. Even before expiry, if there's a good special on you can purchase a year's subscription, add it to your current license, and it doesn't start until your current license has expired.

caprice · 30 Mar 2020

Kari said:

No no no!

I said it as a joke. You said you will not use any Microsoft products in the future, I joked about it saying that it's sad to see you go to Linux forums, only because you will no longer use Windows. You are, as every user not breaking the forum rules, always welcome here. You will of course get all help and assistance we other members can give to you. Always.

In addition, I am in no position to even suggest that a member is no longer welcome here. My sincere apologies for the misunderstanding.

Kari

OK I see, it is so easy to assign the wrong meaning to a post on the www so I apologise and will stay around asking silly questions. Thank you Kari.

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idgat said:

You might say, but that's not the reality. The "industry" standard/norm/accepted practice is exactly what has happened to you, and not just Microsoft.

And another common norm is that after the initial sign-up, the default option is automatic renewal without notification. It becomes the user's responsibility to be aware of when I product license expires, and notify cessation requirement ... otherwise the next subscription comes off the debit/credit card automatically.

Which is why I buy only an annual license/subscription for MS Office, because come renewal time, there's always a deal somewhere around cheaper than the others. And one good thing about MS Office 365 - you can "stack" licenses. Even before expiry, if there's a good special on you can purchase a year's subscription, add it to your current license, and it doesn't start until your current license has expired.

Yes I can see that now and have learned a lesson, I still think it is a lousy default if I ever get the chance to put my point of view I will.
I have stopped the recurring payments tag but have dont know if it will stay that way so I shall get my bank to decline any credit card claims made by MS unless I give the OK..

Kari · 31 Mar 2020

caprice said:

I have stopped the recurring payments tag but have dont know if it will stay that way so I shall get my bank to decline any credit card claims made by MS unless I give the OK..

Think positively: you have now 6 Office licenses. You can "donate", share a license with five friends and / or family members. Each of the six users get a 1 TB OneDrive , and can install Office on unlimited number of devices (PC and Mac).

Read more: Office 365 subscriptions - On how many devices can Office be installed

Kari

pparks1 · 31 Mar 2020

I saw this article posted only a month or so back online that describes the process to cancel and get a refund.
How to Cancel an Office 365 Subscription and Get a Refund

caprice · 31 Mar 2020

pparks1 said:

I saw this article posted only a month or so back online that describes the process to cancel and get a refund.
How to Cancel an Office 365 Subscription and Get a Refund

Thanks I will give it a go this afternoon, the only thing I use is Word

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This was the result:

Charged for MS Office 365 without asking-annotation-2020-04-01-122416.png

I guess I will just have to live with it.

SoFine409 · 31 Mar 2020

caprice said:

Thanks I will give it a go this afternoon, the only thing I use is Word

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This was the result:

I guess I will just have to live with it.

Be sure you remember to ask for a cancellation 30 days before the annual renewal.

Berton · 31 Mar 2020

caprice said:

I have to admit defeat, MS got my money due to me not reading the fine print and much good may it do them, they also get away with not paying the taxes due in many countries I will not be using their products in the future.
They should make all defaults in favor of the customer but that aint gona happen.
I have cancelled recurring payments and removed my credit card details but they will have a record of my CC number so I will have to instruct my bank not to pay any attempts that they may make in the future.
A big thanks to you guys for your help, I will be seeing a lot more of you as I try to tame W10.

As for the Credit Card, I'd run it through a shredder, report it lost to the issuing company and wait for a new, usually a week to 10 days. Best way to assure it can't be used for the possible recurring charges.