Microsoft recurring payment for last 3 years and cannot cancel!

ReeceTaylor

Hi, I’m new to this website and I’m still getting to grips with it. 

I’m just after some advice on cancelling a recurring payment from Microsoft, I’ve been paying for an Xbox live membership for the past 2 years which I cannot access due to not being able to log into my email account(which was made purely to create an Xbox live account). 

When I try to access it I am asked to complete a document to prove that it is myself who’s trying to access it, however I cannot give them enough evidence to allow me back into the account, therefore I am paying for something that I am not using, it seems to be impossible to speak to a human from Microsoft to help me with this issue.

 I’ve even contacted my bank to block this transaction but as it’s a “recurring payment” and not a direct debit they cannot intervene.  So I’m just hoping someone can see this message and try and give me some advice.

Thanks
Reece 

TheSpectator

Your bank can and should intervene to stop recurring payments.

ReeceTaylor

They have said that they put a freeze on the payment however it’s still coming out 

TheSpectator

ReeceTaylor said:

They have said that they put a freeze on the payment however it’s still coming out 

Have a read of this, you can reclaim from bank if they continue to pay after you asked them to stop the payment.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/recurring-payments/

SiliconChip

What bank is it? Some are more responsive to CPA cancellation requests than others.

Also bear in mind that cancelling the payment doesn't mean you don't owe the money to Microsoft still, you may need to continue your efforts to get them to accept your identity.

ReeceTaylor

SiliconChip said:

What bank is it? Some are more responsive to CPA cancellation requests than others.

Also bear in mind that cancelling the payment doesn't mean you don't owe the money to Microsoft still, you may need to continue your efforts to get them to accept your identity.

I’m with Barclays and it’s not that I owe them money it was just an Xbox live membership which you paid for every month. And I’ve been trying this for the last 2 years, I cannot give them enough evidence as I have never used the email account for anything other than Xbox live, they want me to give them examples of people I have emailed from the account which I cannot give them due to never having emailed anyone from the account and on top of that I obviously can’t log in to the account to check haha 

Aylesbury_Duck

ReeceTaylor said:

SiliconChip said:

What bank is it? Some are more responsive to CPA cancellation requests than others.

Also bear in mind that cancelling the payment doesn't mean you don't owe the money to Microsoft still, you may need to continue your efforts to get them to accept your identity.

I’m with Barclays and it’s not that I owe them money it was just an Xbox live membership which you paid for every month. And I’ve been trying this for the last 2 years, I cannot give them enough evidence as I have never used the email account for anything other than Xbox live, they want me to give them examples of people I have emailed from the account which I cannot give them due to never having emailed anyone from the account and on top of that I obviously can’t log in to the account to check haha 

The point is that if the bank stops the payments and you have a contract with Microsoft for monthly payments, you may rack up a debt to Microsoft once the payments are halted.

DullGreyGuy

ReeceTaylor said:

SiliconChip said:

What bank is it? Some are more responsive to CPA cancellation requests than others.

Also bear in mind that cancelling the payment doesn't mean you don't owe the money to Microsoft still, you may need to continue your efforts to get them to accept your identity.

I’m with Barclays and it’s not that I owe them money it was just an Xbox live membership which you paid for every month. And I’ve been trying this for the last 2 years, I cannot give them enough evidence as I have never used the email account for anything other than Xbox live, they want me to give them examples of people I have emailed from the account which I cannot give them due to never having emailed anyone from the account and on top of that I obviously can’t log in to the account to check haha 

Barclays, from my experience, dont have the best trained staff even for their higher tier customers... had to send them a link to their own website to prove it was indeed possible to do a chargeback on a defective service. They can cancel a CPA and thus stop them taking the funds. 

The problem is if you haven't cancelled the service but do cancel the payment you then end up in debt to Microsoft. It'd be like if your employer just stopped paying you, eventually you'd refuse to work but you'd still say they owe you for the back wages until that point. 

If its a small monthly amount then MS may well just send a few threatening communications, presumably to the email address you cannot access and then probably just delete your account and write off the debt but its good for you to be aware that stopping payments isnt the same as stopping a contract. 

born_again

ReeceTaylor said:

SiliconChip said:

What bank is it? Some are more responsive to CPA cancellation requests than others.

Also bear in mind that cancelling the payment doesn't mean you don't owe the money to Microsoft still, you may need to continue your efforts to get them to accept your identity.

I’m with Barclays and it’s not that I owe them money it was just an Xbox live membership which you paid for every month. And I’ve been trying this for the last 2 years, I cannot give them enough evidence as I have never used the email account for anything other than Xbox live, they want me to give them examples of people I have emailed from the account which I cannot give them due to never having emailed anyone from the account and on top of that I obviously can’t log in to the account to check haha 

Barclays do not need any proof of you contacting Microsoft to stop further payments.
They would if you want to claim back any previous payments. Then you do need to provide proof of when cancelled.

So if they are refusing to stop further payments. Then raise a complaint on this. 

But as others, this does not cancel the agreement, only stops payments. So Microsoft could chase you legally for the money.

https://support.xbox.com/en-GB/contact-us

request a callback.

QrizB

Aylesbury_Duck said:

The point is that if the bank stops the payments and you have a contract with Microsoft for monthly payments, you may rack up a debt to Microsoft once the payments are halted.

That seems unlikely for an Xbox Live menbership; more likely they'll just stop the membership when the payment doesn't go through.

Xbox help says that a failed payment just stops you using the serviece, nothing about an ongoing liability.
https://support.xbox.com/en-GB/help/subscriptions-billing/billing-payment-updates/payment-for-xbox-subscription-declined

ReeceTaylor

This has all been helpful, thank you. I’ll try your suggestions and hopefully get it sorted👍🏻