Seeking Assistance: Ongoing Billing for Deleted Resources & 4 Months of No Response from mscredit@microsoft.com

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Seeking Assistance: Ongoing Billing for Deleted Resources & 4 Months of No Response from mscredit@microsoft.com

Hozaifa Khater 0

Hi everyone,

I’m posting here to see if anyone has faced a similar issue or if an Azure Support representative can help escalate my case. I am facing a serious billing discrepancy that I’ve been trying to resolve for over 4 months with no success.

The Issue: I am being charged for services that are no longer active. I have already deleted all App Services and SQL Server instances, yet the billing continues to accrue. It seems like "ghost charges" for resources that do not exist in my dashboard.

Key Details:

Subscription ID: <PII Removed>

Affected Period: February 2026 – June 2026

Current State: Resources are confirmed deleted, but invoices are still being generated.

The Escalation Gap: I have reached out to mscredit@microsoft.com multiple times over the past 4 months, but I have received zero response or even an acknowledgment of my emails.

My Questions:

Has anyone else experienced continued billing after resource deletion?

Is there a more effective way to reach the billing department other than the email mentioned above?

Can a moderator or support specialist here help me flag this for a refund review?

I’ve been a loyal user, but being ignored for 4 months while being charged for nothing is very disappointing. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Siva shunmugam Nadessin 9,625 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-04T00:59:08.5566667+00:00
Hello Hozaifa Khater,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

When investigated here’s a checklist to work through, plus some escalation paths:

Double-check for orphaned resources

App Service Plans: These continue reserving VMs (and billing) even after you delete the web apps. Go to your resource groups and make sure any empty App Service Plans are deleted (or switched to Free tier).

SQL Server backups & snapshots: If you deleted the SQL servers but left behind automated backups or long-term retention vaults, those can still bill you. Look under “SQL servers” → “Backups” or search for “vault” in your subscription.

Disks, static IPs, Public IP addresses, reserved instances, Marketplace items: Run a quick search by resource type in the portal to ensure nothing was missed.

Use cost analysis (and Copilot in Azure) to pinpoint the culprit

Portal path: Cost Management + Billing → Cost analysis → set your subscription scope and adjust the chart to “Daily” or “Monthly,” then filter by Resource or Service.

Copilot prompt: click the Copilot icon in the header and ask “Which resources are consuming money this month?” or “Show costs grouped by service for the last 6 months.” That can surface hidden line items.

Request a one-time refund in the portal

In Cost Management + Billing, look for the Request a refund button. It checks if any charges qualify for an expedited refund (one-time only), and you don’t need a support ticket to start that.

Documentation: https://aka.ms/RefundRequestOverview

Open a billing support request (it’s free)

Portal path: Help + support → New support request → Issue type: Billing → Subscription: select your ID → fill in problem type/subtype (e.g. “Unexpected charges”) → submit.

Important: don’t pick the self-help links on the first page, click Create a support request at the top. You should get an auto-reply within minutes and a human follow-up in ~1 business day.

If any of the above didn't help, Kindly provide answer to below questions?

Have you already clicked the Request a refund button in the portal? Any errors or rejections?

Can you confirm whether any App Service Plans or backup vaults still exist under that subscription?

What invoice line items (service name/meter) are showing up for February–June 2026 in Cost analysis?

Let me know if any further queries - feel free to reach out!

Reference docs:

Troubleshoot “still being charged” after cancellation: https://aka.ms/AzureCanceledStillCharged

Cost analysis & Copilot in Azure: https://aka.ms/AnalyzeCostManagement

Request a refund blade: https://aka.ms/RefundRequestOverview
Siva shunmugam Nadessin 9,625 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-05T05:24:31.7566667+00:00

Hello Hozaifa Khater,

Just checking in to see if the solution shared above help you to resolve your issue. please reach out to us If you have any further questions.

Thanks

1 answer

Your answer

Siva shunmugam Nadessin 9,625 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-05T05:24:31.7566667+00:00

Hello Hozaifa Khater,

Just checking in to see if the solution shared above help you to resolve your issue. please reach out to us If you have any further questions.

Thanks

Answer 1

Continued billing after deleting visible resources can occur if there are still billable items in the subscription (for example, storage, networking, or other services) or if invoices are being generated for a past-due or existing balance rather than new usage. However, investigation and any refund/credit decisions must be handled directly by Azure Billing Support, not via email alone.

To get this resolved and escalated for refund review, create a free Azure billing support request from the Azure portal. Billing support is free and is the supported escalation path when email channels are not responding. Use the following steps adapted from the recommended process:

In a browser, sign in to the Azure portal and go to the support request creation blade: https://portal.azure.com/#create/Microsoft.Support.
In the “What can we help you with?” box, type billing and select Go.
Select Billing as the issue type and choose the affected subscription from the dropdown (the one showing charges for February–June 2026), then select Next.
Wait a few seconds for options to load, then select Create a support request at the top. Do not select any of the automated solution tiles.
On the support request form:
- Enter a clear summary such as “Ongoing billing after resource deletion; no response from mscredit@microsoft.com for 4 months”.
- Choose the most appropriate Problem type and Problem subtype under Billing.
- Select Next.
After another short delay, Azure may again show suggested solutions. Ignore those and select Return to support request in the upper-left if needed.
On Additional details:
- Provide the subscription ID and affected billing period (Feb–Jun 2026).
- Describe that App Services and SQL resources were deleted, but invoices continue, and list dates and amounts if possible.
- Mention that multiple emails to mscredit@microsoft.com received no response for 4 months and that a refund/credit review is requested.
- Attach any screenshots of invoices and the empty resource list if possible.
- Select Next, then Review + create, then Create.

After submission, an automated email should arrive within minutes, and a billing engineer should respond, typically within one business day. Billing support can:

Verify whether charges are for remaining hidden or dependent resources, or for historical/past-due balances.
Confirm whether the subscription is suspended, blocked, or still active from a billing standpoint.
Escalate for a one-time courtesy credit or refund review where appropriate.

If the billing account has become blocked or inactive due to unresolved issues, support can also advise on unblocking and preventing account termination. When a billing account is blocked and no action is taken, subscription suspension, tenant deauthorization, and account termination can occur, and after termination, data and resources are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. This makes timely engagement with support important.

If there are broader billing-account issues (for example, the account is marked inactive or blocked), the guidance is:

For subscriptions bought directly from Microsoft, contact Microsoft support via the Azure portal support request flow described above.
For Partner or Enterprise agreements, contact the partner or account manager.

Once the billing engineer is engaged, they can provide a definitive breakdown of the charges and next steps to stop further billing and review any refund/credit options.

References:

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Seeking Assistance: Ongoing Billing for Deleted Resources & 4 Months of No Response from mscredit@microsoft.com

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