## **🔍 What This Article Covers**

If your AI points are not increasing, you cannot add new companies to OTTO, or you were charged without receiving full service access, this guide will help you understand what happened and how to get it resolved quickly.

## **⚠️ Common Signs of a Billing or Access Problem**

- AI points balance is frozen or not refreshing after your billing cycle
- You are unable to add new companies or projects inside OTTO
- You were charged for one or more billing periods but features remained locked or inaccessible
- Your account shows an active subscription but behaves as if it is on a free or restricted plan

## **💡 Why These Issues Happen**

Billing and access issues on Search Atlas accounts are typically caused by one of the following:

- **Payment processing delays:** A charge may be collected by your bank before the platform has fully confirmed and activated the associated entitlements on your account.
- **Subscription sync errors:** Occasionally, a plan upgrade or renewal does not correctly sync with the features tied to your account, leaving credits and permissions in a locked state.
- **Duplicate charges:** If a payment method was updated or a retry was triggered, you may see multiple charges for the same billing period without a corresponding double allocation of credits or access.
- **Account-level configuration issues:** In some cases, a backend setting tied to your subscription tier fails to apply correctly after a charge is processed.

## **🛠️ Steps to Take Before Contacting Support**

1. **Check your billing history:** Click your avatar in the top-right corner and select Billing (Billing page with Plans & Top-ups, Services, Invoices, Activity Log tabs). Confirm the dates and amounts of recent charges.
2. **Note the exact features affected:** Write down which tools are not working — for example, AI points not increasing, OTTO company slots unavailable, or dashboard features locked. This speeds up the resolution process.
3. **Check for any account notifications:** Look for any banners or alerts inside the platform that reference a payment failure, pending renewal, or account restriction.
4. **Try a hard refresh:** Sometimes a browser cache issue can make features appear unavailable. Press **Ctrl + Shift + R** (Windows) or **Cmd + Shift + R** (Mac) to force a full refresh.
5. **Confirm you are logged into the correct account:** If you manage multiple workspaces or team accounts, make sure you are viewing the account associated with the subscription in question.

## **💰 If You Were Charged Without Receiving Service Access**

If you were billed for two or more months and did not have access to the features included in your plan, you are entitled to a review and potential credit or refund for the affected period. To initiate this, you will need to provide the following information to our support team:

- The billing dates and amounts you were charged
- A description of which features were unavailable and for how long
- Any error messages or screenshots you captured during that time

Our team will investigate the payment records and account logs, then apply any applicable service credits or process a refund for the period in which service was not delivered.

## **🤖 AI Points Not Increasing After a Billing Cycle**

AI points are refreshed automatically at the start of each new billing cycle. If your points did not increase after your renewal date, this is most likely caused by a sync error between the payment confirmation and the credit allocation system. This is not resolved by waiting — it requires a manual correction by our support team. Please contact us as soon as you notice the issue so we can apply the correct balance retroactively.

## **🏢 Unable to Add New Companies to OTTO**

The number of companies you can manage inside OTTO is determined by your active subscription tier. If you are unable to add a new company and believe your plan allows for it, this may indicate that your subscription entitlements did not update correctly after your last payment. Our support team can verify your plan limits and unlock the correct number of company slots for your account.

## **📋 What to Have Ready When You Contact Support**

- Your account email address
- The dates and amounts of any disputed charges
- A clear description of which features are not working
- Any screenshots or error messages (attach them in the chat if possible)

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.