🔍 Overview
In some cases, a duplicate account created under a different email address may continue to generate charges even after an agent has cancelled it. This happens when the cancellation is not fully synchronised between Search Atlas and the underlying payment processor, leaving the billing record in an inconsistent state.
This article explains what causes the issue, what to expect in terms of resolution, and how to get it fixed quickly.
⚠️ Signs You May Be Affected
- You received a charge for a plan (for example, a Growth Plan fee) after you were told the duplicate account was cancelled.
- The charge appears on your statement under an email address that is different from your primary Search Atlas login.
- A previous support interaction resulted in a cancellation confirmation, but the charge still appeared.
💡 Why This Happens
A duplicate subscription can be created in the payment processor when a cancellation is not fully propagated to the billing backend. Engineering has identified and resolved several root causes related to this class of issue, including cases where past-due accounts triggered a re-checkout flow that generated a second active subscription, and situations where a cancelled invoice remained actionable in the payment system. Fixes addressing these scenarios have already been released or are currently in release.
Because the fix requires a backend synchronisation between Search Atlas and the payment processor, this issue cannot be resolved through self-service steps alone — it requires a member of our team to refresh your billing record on the backend.
✅ What Our Team Does to Fix It
When this issue is escalated, a support specialist performs the following actions on the backend:
- Identifies the duplicate account and its associated subscription record in the payment processor.
- Performs a payment system refresh that removes any active or pending charge attempts tied to the cancelled account.
- Confirms that the cancellation is fully synchronised so no future charges can be attempted against the duplicate account.
Once this is complete, you will receive confirmation that your account ID has been synced and that no further charges will be attempted.
📋 Information to Have Ready
To help our team resolve this as quickly as possible, please gather the following before reaching out:
- The email address associated with the duplicate account that was charged.
- The email address associated with your primary (active) account.
- The date and amount of the unexpected charge.
- The name of the agent who previously cancelled the duplicate account, if known.
- Any confirmation messages or ticket references from the original cancellation.
🚀 How to Get This Resolved
Because a backend fix is required, please contact our support team as soon as you notice an unexpected charge. The sooner we are notified, the sooner we can prevent any additional charge attempts.
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.
🔒 Preventing This in the Future
- After any account cancellation, ask your support agent to confirm that the cancellation has been fully synchronised with the payment processor — not just marked as cancelled in the platform.
- Monitor your billing statement for one full billing cycle after a cancellation to catch any residual charges early.
- If you ever receive a charge from an email address that is not your primary account, report it immediately using the chat widget.