🔍 Why This Happens
Search Atlas offers annual subscription plans that renew automatically on the same date each year. If you signed up during a promotional period — such as a seasonal annual offer — your plan may have renewed at the full yearly rate without a separate reminder email reaching your inbox. Common reasons customers are surprised by the charge include:
- The original subscription was created during a limited-time annual promotion
- Renewal notification emails were filtered into spam or promotions folders
- The billing date was not clearly saved after the initial sign-up
- A monthly top-up renewal date was displaying instead of the true annual renewal date in the dashboard
📋 Check Your Subscription Details First
Before contacting support, gather the following information — it will speed up the resolution process significantly:
- Log in to your Search Atlas account and navigate to Top-right avatar (Account Menu) → Billing
- Note your current plan name (e.g., Growth Plan), billing cycle, and the exact renewal date shown
- Check your registered email inbox and your spam or promotions folder for any renewal notice sent 7–14 days before the charge
- Locate the charge in your bank or card statement and note the exact date and amount
💡 Understand the Refund Policy
Search Atlas reviews refund requests for unexpected annual renewals on a case-by-case basis. While automatic renewals are covered in the Terms of Service, our team understands that circumstances change and will work with you to find a fair resolution. Having the details listed above ready will help our billing team process your request faster.
Important: Refund eligibility is generally stronger when the request is made within a short window after the charge — ideally within 7 days. The sooner you reach out, the better.
🔄 Switching From an Annual Plan to a Monthly Plan
If you would prefer to continue using Search Atlas on a monthly billing cycle going forward, our team can assist with that change at the same time as your refund review. Keep the following in mind:
- Monthly plans are billed at a higher per-month rate than the equivalent annual plan
- Your feature access and limits will remain the same unless you also change your plan tier
- The new monthly billing cycle starts from the date the switch is processed
- Any active add-ons or top-ups will be re-evaluated to align with your new billing cycle
⚠️ Access During a Refund Review
If a refund is approved and your subscription is cancelled as part of the process, please be aware that access to your Search Atlas dashboard follows the end of the paid period. Our team will clarify exactly when access ends so you are not caught off guard. If you cancel your subscription yourself from Profile avatar → Billing → Services → ⋮ menu → Cancel, your access continues until the end of the current billing period rather than ending immediately, and a pending cancellation can be reversed from the same place using Activate.
🛠️ Steps to Request a Refund
- Confirm the charge amount and date from your bank or card statement
- Log in to Search Atlas and check your Top-right corner (avatar) → Billing → Plans & Top-ups tab for plan and renewal details
- Open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform
- Type human teammate to be connected with our billing team
- Share the charge date, amount, and your preferred resolution (refund only, or refund plus switch to monthly)
Our team will review your account, confirm eligibility, and walk you through next steps — typically within one business day.
🙋 Still Need Help?
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.