Charged for MS Office 365 without asking

I recently decided to take the MS Office 365 free trial I soon found that it was much more than I needed and left it at that, today I received an email saying:


Thanks for your Office 365 Home subscription. Your subscription was successfully charged on Tuesday, March 24, 2020. Your recurring billing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 24, 2021.Recurring billing will happen every year at NZ$165.00 including taxes. You can see your subscription information, change how you pay, or cancel any time.

This was charged without asking me first, is this normal behaviour MS ? What is the best way to contact and get them to reverse the charge to my Credit Card?

Version 6.0 build 6002 SP2

Hi you could try and see if their is a phone number for your area. usually when their is a trial period and they need a credit card to install it's up to the user to cancel before trial period ends. if not they will charge it to your card.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...-phone-numbers

Thanks for the link I now have their number, what details will they want?
OK I got through but impossible to talk to a human, do you know of an email address that I could use?

Hi there

@caprice

you could also try the credit card company as well -- the real problem (another nasty by Banks) is that unlike standing orders or even direct debits --both of which can be reversed so you get your money back -- recurring subscriptions require authorisation (in general) from the SELLER to cancel / refund money -- it's a really NASTY system --I've warned people to avoid "recurring charges" (might be called differently in your jurisdiction but will be similar) and if they take out subscriptions opt for "Classical payment methods" such as DD or SO.

I don't think though Ms is in the business of trying to rip off its customers so you should eventually get your money back if you made or attempted to make a canellation before the trial ended.

Good luck with it -- you might also if they refuse -- agree to say 1 month subscription and get a refund for the rest -- if you can ever get through to Humans these days decent companies are quite reasonable with this stuff. You've nothing to lose by asking !!!

Cheers
jimbo

Kari said:

This is a typical "I just click OK, no need to read what they are saying" situation. Your own fault.

It is really clearly told to you that you in Terms & Conditions, that if you do not cancel the subscription before the trial expires, you will be charged. Already in first page when clicking "Test Office 365 Home", this is shown:


(Click to enlarge screenshots.)

Later in sign up process, this will be repeatedly told / shown to user.

It's then up to user to remember to cancel the subscription before it's too late. When you want to cancel subscription after it has been paid, go to https://account.microsoft.com/services/office/billing and cancel your subscription to get unused time refunded.



Kari

Hi there
agreed -- people should READ what they sign up to but people do need to be warned about "the recurring charge" method of debiting people's accounts --it's a hideously nasty way that absolves Banks from a lot of "refund" mechanisms.

Insist on Standing order, Direct Debit or one off payments.

Cheers
jimbo

Kari said:

Jimbo, how much clearer should it be told to users? The sentence "After your free trial, we'll charge you XX €/£/$ including VAT / taxes every year" is not clear enough? T&C telling that the trial must be cancelled before it expires is not clear enough?

In this case, Microsoft is not trying to hide the fact that if the trial is not cancelled, it will be continued as paid subscription. It's not a subscription trap. Quite the contrary. Microsoft clearly and repeatedly tells about it during the sign up process and in T&C.

If user does not cancel the subscription, for whatever reason, it's hardly Microsoft's fault. User can only blame him / herself.

Kari

100% Agree

Was just warning people though about those Bank practices of "Recurring payments" -- Nothing to do with or against Ms BTW.

People are often their own worst enemies. !!

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

100% Agree. Was just warning people though about those Bank practices of "Recurring payments" -- Nothing to do with or against Ms BTW.

Absolutely HATE this growing practice. Whenever I MUST signed up for these 'subscriptions', I immediately make a calendar entry, with reminders, set for 5 days before expiration, to Cancel. Hope tip will help some avoid this trap.

mrgeek said:

Absolutely HATE this growing practice. Whenever I MUST signed up for these 'subscriptions', I immediately make a calendar entry, with reminders, set for 5 days before expiration, to Cancel. Hope tip will help some avoid this trap.

I do the same thing. With Office365, it doesn't matter because I want it, same with my XboxLive subscription. But for things like SiriusXM in my car, I make a calendar entry to call and cancel. Otherwise they charge me for a year at the standard rate which is about $240 USD, but if I call and haggle with them, i get it around $105 USD for the year.