🔍 Overview
If you notice a charge on your Search Atlas invoice that looks unfamiliar or doesn't match what you expected, you're not alone. Billing discrepancies can occur for several reasons, and our team is able to investigate specific charges on your behalf. This article explains what to prepare and what to expect when escalating a billing discrepancy.
📄 Common Reasons for Unexpected Charges
Before reaching out to support, it helps to understand some frequent causes of billing discrepancies:
- Custom service charges: One-time or recurring fees agreed upon with the Search Atlas team for custom work, onboarding, or managed services.
- Top-up credits bundled with your subscription: When you purchase credits or top-ups, these may be grouped with your regular subscription charge in a single payment, making the total appear higher than expected.
- Mid-cycle plan changes: Upgrading or downgrading your plan mid-cycle can generate prorated charges or credits that appear as unusual amounts.
- Multiple payment methods on file: If you have more than one payment method linked to your account, you may see charges across both sources for the same billing period.
🔎 How to Report a Billing Discrepancy
Because billing investigations require access to your account's payment records, our support team handles these directly. To help us resolve your case as quickly as possible, please have the following ready when you reach out:
- The invoice number or invoice date for the charge in question.
- The exact charge amount that appears unexpected.
- A brief description of why the charge seems incorrect (for example, it doesn't match your plan, you don't recognise the line item, or you were charged twice).
- Your account email address or project name so we can locate your billing record quickly.
Once you provide us with these details, our team will review your billing history and provide a clear explanation of any charge — or issue a correction if an error is confirmed.
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.