## 🔍 Why Am I Being Charged More Than My Plan Price?

If your subscription plan shows one price (for example, £199/month) but your invoices or payment attempts reflect a higher amount (for example, £398 or £399), this is almost always caused by one of the following issues:

- **A recurring add-on that was not intentionally activated** — certain features, such as OTTO Google Ads or top-up credits, can create a separate recurring charge in addition to your base plan.
- **Duplicate subscriptions in our billing system** — in some cases, reactivating an add-on or changing a plan creates a second subscription record in Stripe, resulting in two charges for what should be one.
- **Stacked recurring top-ups** — after a recent platform migration, some accounts ended up with multiple "Recurring Top-Up" line items that stack on top of each other instead of replacing the previous one.
- **Proration charges applied unexpectedly** — mid-cycle plan or add-on changes can trigger a one-time proration charge that appears alongside your regular invoice, making the total look doubled.

## 📋 How to Identify the Source of the Extra Charge

1. Log in to Search Atlas and click your **avatar (top-right)** and select **Billing**.
2. Review your current plan and any active add-ons listed on the page. Look for add-ons you do not recognise or did not intentionally enable.
3. Check your invoice history for line items labelled **Top-Up**, **Recurring Top-Up**, or any add-on name that appears more than once.
4. If you see the same item listed twice, or an add-on you never requested, note the charge amount and date — you will need this when contacting support.

## ⚙️ What Causes This to Happen?

Our engineering team has identified several technical root causes that are actively being investigated and fixed:

- **OTTO Google Ads reactivation bug** — reactivating the OTTO Google Ads add-on in certain account states previously created multiple Stripe subscription records, leading to duplicate billing.
- **Idempotency key issue** — a technical defect in our billing integration caused some add-on charges to be processed as new transactions instead of updating the existing one, resulting in duplicate proration charges.
- **Post-migration top-up stacking** — following a recent infrastructure migration, some accounts had unconsolidated recurring top-up entries that accumulated rather than replacing each other.

Our engineering team is actively working to resolve these issues and prevent them from recurring. If your account has been affected, any overcharge will be corrected and refunded.



## 🛠️ What You Should Do Right Now

1. **Do not retry failed payments repeatedly** — if a payment is failing because the amount looks incorrect, wait until the issue is investigated to avoid being charged multiple times.
2. **Take a screenshot** of your Billing page showing your plan price and any add-ons, as well as the invoice or payment attempt showing the higher amount.
3. **Contact our support team immediately** using the live chat widget (see below). Our team can review your Stripe records, identify any duplicate subscriptions, remove unauthorised add-ons, and process a refund where applicable.

## 💡 How We Will Fix It

Once you reach our support team, here is what will happen:

- A teammate will audit your account in Stripe to identify any duplicate subscription records or stacked add-on charges.
- Any add-ons you did not request will be removed from your subscription.
- Duplicate subscriptions will be cancelled, leaving only the correct active one.
- A refund will be issued for any amounts charged in error. Refund processing times depend on your bank but typically take **5–10 business days**.
- Your billing will be corrected going forward so no further unexpected charges occur.

## 🚨 Frequently Asked Questions

- **Will my service be interrupted while this is fixed?** No. Our team will make corrections on the billing side without affecting your access to the platform.
- **What if my payment already went through at the higher amount?** You will receive a full refund for the overcharged portion once the duplicate or erroneous charge is confirmed.
- **What if my payment is failing because of the wrong amount?** Let our support team resolve the billing discrepancy first. Once the correct amount is set, you can safely complete payment.
- **How do I avoid this happening again?** After any plan change or add-on activation, always check your Billing page to confirm only the expected items are listed. If anything looks unfamiliar, contact support straight away.

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.