How to investigate a billing charge from Microsoft

If you add your payment info to another person's Microsoft account or allow others to share a device with your account, they may have bought something without saying so at the time. 

To help avoid unexpected charges from family members or others:

• Prevent accidental or unauthorized purchases from Microsoft Store by requiring a password for any purchase.

• Require kids to ask a parent before buying stuff in Microsoft Store.

• Learn how to Keep track of your child's Microsoft Store purchases.

• Don't invite others to use your card to buy something on their account. Instead, give them a gift card to add to their account.

• Don't share your account password.

It can be difficult to track in-app purchases, especially if you share devices or payment options with a family member.

To see why a charge from Microsoft is appearing on your statement:

1. Sign in to your Order history. If you have more than one Microsoft account, sign in to each one to check your order history.

2. Compare your order history to your statement to find any in-app purchases.

For more info including requiring a password for purchases, see Prevent unauthorized purchases from Microsoft Store, or Require kids to ask a parent before buying stuff in Microsoft Store.

You may have a Microsoft subscription set for recurring billing, or recently started a free trial subscription that rolled into a paid subscription.

To check if you have a subscription with recurring billing:

1. Sign in to Services & subscriptions. If you have more than one Microsoft account, sign in to each one to check your subscriptions.

2. Look for any subscriptions with recurring billing.

See how to Cancel or turn off recurring billing on a Microsoft subscription.

If the subscription is from a third party, contact them directly for more info.

Sometimes, when you make multiple purchases at Microsoft Store over a few days, they'll be billed as one charge.

To check:

1. Sign in to your Order history. If you have more than one Microsoft account, sign in to each one to check your order history.

2. Compare all purchases you recently made to the charge on your account.

Orders with multiple items are sometimes split into different shipments and billed per shipment, especially when items are pre-orders, on backorder, or come from separate locations. If an item is out of stock, shipping delays can cause a billing delay.

To check:

1. Sign in to your Order history. If you have more than one Microsoft account, sign in to each one to check your order history.

2. Compare your order history to your statement to find out how your order might have been split into different charges. Also check if the shipping dates are different for each item.

There might be a delay between the date your card is billed and when you see the charge on your statement. Contact your bank or provider for more info.

In most cases, we don't charge pre-orders for physical items until they ship. However, your payment provider may place an authorization hold for a small amount or up to the amount of your purchase. These are usually reversed before the item ships. Contact your payment provider for more info.

For pre-orders, be sure that the payment option has enough funds for the purchase and won't expire before the expected release date. For more info, visit Change the payment method or credit card linked to your Microsoft account.

If you bought something from us with a new credit card, a small authorization hold is often placed to verify billing info. These charges will be reversed. Contact your payment provider for more info.

If a charge was declined due to insufficient funds, an expired card, or changes to your billing info, Microsoft will bill the account again after a few days.

If you have problems updating a payment option, get more info on how to Change the payment method or credit card linked to your Microsoft account, or How to change your Microsoft subscription payment method and options.

Charges from Microsoft for consumer purchases will appear on your billing statement with these descriptions:

• MICROSOFT*XBOX

• MICROSOFT*XBOX LIVE GOLD

• MICROSOFT*XBOX GAME PASS

• MICROSOFT*EA ACCESS

• MICROSOFT*STORE

• MICROSOFT*OFFICE

• MICROSOFT*OFFICE 365

• MICROSOFT*ACCOUNT

• MICROSOFT*ONEDRIVE

• MICROSOFT*OUTLOOK

• MSbill.info

• bill.ms.net

If the entry on your billing statement isn’t in one of the above formats, it was not from Microsoft and may be an unauthorized charge. Contact your bank for more information.