Billing: Trials & Auto-Renewals

💳 Understanding Trial Eligibility and Billing Charges

💳 Understanding Your Growth Trial Billing Date

🔍 Overview When you upgrade to the Growth Plan, you receive a 30-day Growth trial. Your first paid billing date should fall at the end of that 30-day trial period — not before. This article explains how your trial billing date works, why discrepancies can sometimes occur, and how to get them resolved — including how a trial extension may be applied as part of the resolution. 📅 How Your Trial Billing Date Is Calculated Your 30-day Growth trial begins on the date your plan upgrade is processed. Your first charge should not occur until the 30-day trial period has ended. If you believe you were billed before the trial concluded, this is considered a billing discrepancy and our team can investigate. ⚠️ Why a Billing Date Discrepancy Can Occur In some cases, customers have reported being charged earlier than expected — before the 30-day trial period ended. If this happens, our support team will review your account and work with you to determine the appropriate resolution. ✅ How to Verify Your Trial Start and Billing Dates To confirm whether a billing discrepancy occurred, gather the following information from your account and any billing emails you have received: - The date you upgraded to the Growth Plan (your trial start date). - The date and amount of any charge that appears to have been applied during the trial period. - Any confirmation emails from Search Atlas or your payment provider showing the charge date. Once you have this information, compare the charge date against your trial start date. If the charge occurred fewer than 30 days after your trial began, this indicates an early billing discrepancy that our support team can investigate. 🛠️ What to Do If You Were Billed Early or Need a Trial Extension If you believe you were charged before your 30-day Growth trial ended, or if you need to discuss a trial extension, take the following steps when contacting support: 1. Note the date you upgraded to the Growth Plan (your trial start date). 2. Note the exact date and amount of the charge you believe was applied prematurely. 3. Have any relevant billing confirmation emails ready to share with the support team. Our team will review your account's trial start date against the charge date and determine the appropriate next steps, which may include a trial extension. 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.

💳 How to Resolve VIP Summit Charges

🔍 Understand the charge VIP Summit purchases may include access to Summit benefits, a VIP or Platinum tier, or a term extension. The amount can vary by tier, upgrade, promotion, or checkout selection. Review your purchase confirmation and the charge description to identify what was billed. 🧾 Check your purchase details 1. Sign in to the Search Atlas platform using the email address used during checkout. 2. Review your account, billing history, and Summit purchase confirmation. 3. Compare the charge date and amount with any VIP, Platinum, upgrade, or term-extension purchase. 4. Check whether another email address was used for the transaction. 💰 Request a refund review If you do not recognize the charge, purchased the wrong tier, or no longer want the Summit benefits, request a refund review as soon as possible. Refund eligibility depends on the transaction and its status. Include the charge date, amount, purchase email, and a brief explanation so our team can investigate efficiently. Some Summit-related charges may be processed as one-time payments rather than subscription charges. This can affect how the transaction appears in billing records, but our team can still review the payment and explain the available options. ⚠️ Avoid duplicate disputes If you have already opened a bank or card dispute, tell us when contacting support. Avoid submitting multiple refund requests for the same charge, as this can delay review. If you do not recognize the transaction at all, contact your card provider as well as our team to protect your account. 💬 Contact support 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.

💳 Understanding Summit Event Upsell Charges on Your Account

🔍 Overview If you attended a Search Atlas Summit event and notice one or two charges of $197 on your account, these are upsell packages purchased during or after the event. This article explains what those charges are and how to get a full itemization of your specific purchase. 💳 What Are the $197 Charges? During Search Atlas Summit events, attendees are offered optional add-on packages to extend their experience or unlock additional tools and resources. Each $197 charge represents one purchased upsell package. It is possible to have two separate charges if two different packages were selected at the time of purchase. These charges are separate from your regular Search Atlas subscription and are one-time payments tied specifically to the Summit event. 📦 What Do the Summit Upsell Packages Include? Package contents vary between Summit events. Because the exact items bundled in each package depend on the specific Summit you attended and which package tier you selected, we cannot list a definitive set of contents here. To get a precise breakdown of exactly what your $197 package includes, please reach out to our support team — they can pull the full itemization for your specific purchase. 🧾 How to Confirm What You Were Charged For To get a full, accurate itemization of your Summit upsell charge, please contact our support team directly. When you reach out, have the following ready to speed up the process: - The email address associated with your Search Atlas account - The approximate date of the charge (e.g., the date of or shortly after the Summit event you attended) - The exact charge amount (e.g., one or two charges of $197) - The name of the Summit event, if known With these details, a support team member can locate your transaction record and provide a line-by-line breakdown of what each package included. ❓ Why Do I See Two Separate $197 Charges? Two charges of $197 indicate that two separate packages were purchased during the Summit. Each charge is processed individually, which is why they appear as distinct line items rather than a single combined amount. If you are unsure why two packages were charged to your account, our support team can review the transaction history and clarify. 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.

🚀 Upgrade to Growth Plan During Free Trial Without Immediate Charge

📋 Overview You can upgrade from the Starter trial to the Growth plan at any point during your 7‑day free trial. The system now defers the first charge until the trial period finishes, so you will not be billed immediately when you request the upgrade. 🛠️ How to Upgrade 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account. 2. Click your avatar in the top-right corner, then go to Billing → Plans & Top-ups (Billing). 3. Select the Growth plan. 4. Confirm the upgrade when prompted. A notice will confirm that your first payment will be processed at the end of the current free trial. ✅ What Happens Next - Your account immediately gains Growth‑plan features and limits. - No charge is applied at the moment of upgrade. - The first invoice is generated automatically when the 7‑day trial expires. - You will receive an email receipt once the payment is successfully processed. ❓ Frequently Asked Questions Will I lose any trial days if I upgrade early? No. The trial end date stays the same; only the plan tier changes. Can I downgrade back to Starter before the trial ends? Yes. You can switch plans at any time from the same Billing & Plans page. The trial end date remains unchanged. What if my payment method fails when the trial ends? You will receive a notification to update your payment details. Access to Growth features will be paused until the payment succeeds. 💬 Need More 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.

💳 VIP Trial Auto-Renewal Charge Explained

🎯 Why the Charge Appeared When you registered for the VIP seminar access at $90, a 7-day free trial was included as part of the offer. This trial automatically converts to a paid monthly subscription at the end of the trial period unless you cancel it before the trial expires. The $200 charge reflects the first monthly billing cycle of that subscription. 📋 Refund Policy Terms According to company policy, all subscription sales are final. Refund eligibility is strictly limited to requests made within 48 hours of the initial transaction. Since the charge occurred after the trial period ended, it falls outside the 48-hour window and is not eligible for a refund. 🔍 How to Verify Your Trial Details 1. Log in to your account and navigate to the billing or subscription section. 2. Locate the subscription linked to your VIP seminar registration. 3. Check the trial start date, end date, and the date the paid subscription began. 4. Confirm whether the trial was active at the time of your VIP purchase. ⚙️ Cancel Future Renewals To prevent further charges, cancel the subscription before the next billing cycle. Go to Top-right corner (avatar) → Billing → Plans & Top-ups tab, select the active subscription, and choose the cancellation option. You will retain access until the end of the current billing period. 💬 Need Further 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.

💳 Free Trial Upgrades and Billing Charges Explained

🔍 Overview If you were told during your onboarding session that you could upgrade your plan during the free trial without being charged immediately, this article explains how that process works, what to expect, and what to do if you see an unexpected charge. 📅 How Free Trial Billing Works All new Search Atlas accounts include a 7-day free trial. During this period, you should not be charged for your base subscription. Here is what you need to know about upgrading during your trial: - Upgrades initiated during the trial are designed to defer any additional charge until your free trial ends — you should not be billed immediately. - Your billing date is set based on the day your free trial expires, not the day you upgrade. - After your trial ends, your card on file will be charged for the plan you selected. ⚠️ Known Issues We Have Fixed We are aware that some customers experienced unexpected charges when upgrading during their free trial. Our engineering team has resolved the following issues: - Plan upgrade charges were being applied immediately instead of being deferred to the end of the 7-day trial. - Stripe payment dates were not syncing correctly with the trial end date when a plan was upgraded mid-trial. - In rare cases, customers were charged twice when a subscription upgrade did not apply correctly. - Some new users encountered a billing block during onboarding that prevented the trial from starting properly. These fixes are now live. If you upgraded your plan before these fixes were deployed, you may have been affected by one of these issues. 💡 What You Were Told During Onboarding Our onboarding specialists communicate that upgrading during the free trial period should not result in an immediate charge — and that is the correct, intended behavior. If your experience did not match this, it was the result of a technical issue, not a miscommunication. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused. 🛠️ What to Do If You Were Charged Unexpectedly If you believe you were charged before your free trial ended, or if you were charged twice, please take the following steps: 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account and navigate to the top-right avatar menu → Billing (Invoices tab) to review your invoice history. 2. Check the charge date against your trial start date to confirm whether the charge was applied early. 3. If the charge appears incorrect, contact our support team right away using the live chat widget — we can review your account and process a correction if needed. ✅ How to Confirm Your Current Billing Date To verify when your next billing date is scheduled: 1. Click your avatar in the top-right of your Search Atlas dashboard. 2. Select Billing (Plans & Top-ups tab). 3. Your next renewal date and current plan details are displayed at the top of the page. If the date shown does not align with what you expected based on your trial start date, reach out to support immediately so we can investigate. 🙋 Still Have Questions? 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.

💳 Payment Attempts vs. Charges on Free Trials

🔍 Overview If your bank or card provider notified you of a payment attempt from Search Atlas while you were on a free trial, this can understandably cause concern. This article explains why that can happen and what steps to take if you are unsure whether you were actually charged. ❓ Why Did a Payment Attempt Occur on My Free Trial? Search Atlas free trials are linked to a billing plan that activates automatically when the trial period ends. When your trial concludes, our billing system may initiate a payment attempt for the next subscription cycle. This is standard behaviour for subscription platforms and is triggered by the trial end date. A payment attempt may occur if: - Your free trial reached its end date without being cancelled beforehand. - A payment method was on file from when you signed up. - Your account was not explicitly cancelled or downgraded before the trial expired. Having no active projects or features running does not necessarily prevent a payment attempt. The billing trigger is based on the trial timeline and the plan attached to your account. ✅ How to Tell the Difference Between a Declined Attempt and an Actual Charge Use the following checks to determine what actually happened: 1. Check your bank or card statement. A declined attempt typically appears as a temporary pending authorisation that resolves on its own, or as a declined notification with no debit to your balance. An actual charge will appear as a completed, posted transaction on your statement. 2. Check your Search Atlas account. Review your billing or subscription section inside the platform to see whether any active paid plan is shown on your account. 3. Check your email. Look for any confirmation or receipt message from Search Atlas in your inbox or spam folder for the date in question. 🛑 What to Do If You Were Charged Unexpectedly If you believe you were charged after your free trial ended and did not intend to continue with a paid subscription, take the following steps: 1. Cancel your subscription or downgrade your plan inside your account settings as soon as possible to prevent further charges. 2. Gather your account details, the approximate date of the charge, and any bank transaction reference available. 3. Contact our support team so we can review the charge on your account and advise on next steps. 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.

🔍 Understanding Your VIP Signup Billing Charges

Why Did I See Charges on My VIP Signup? When you sign up for a VIP plan, you may see one or more charges appear on your billing statement that you want to understand. These charges relate to your VIP plan selection at signup. Reviewing your confirmation details is the best first step to reconcile what you were billed. What to Do If You Have Questions About Your VIP Billing If the amount you were charged differs from what you expected, or if you want a clear explanation of what your charges cover, follow these steps: 1. Check the confirmation or receipt email sent to you when you completed your VIP signup — this will include details about what you were charged at the time of purchase. 2. Log in to your Search Atlas account and navigate to the billing section to review any invoices or payment records associated with your account. 3. Compare the amounts shown on your statement against what was presented at checkout during your VIP signup. 4. If you still have questions about your charges after reviewing your confirmation email and billing records, note down the exact amounts charged, the dates of each transaction, and the email address associated with your account before reaching out — this information will allow the support team to locate your billing records quickly and clarify each line item. Getting Further Clarification Because VIP plan pricing and charge structures can vary based on selections made at signup, the most accurate explanation of your specific charges will come from reviewing your confirmation email or speaking directly with our support team, who can look up your account and walk you through exactly what each charge covers. 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.

🎯 Applying Summit Platinum Upgrade and Billing Adjustments

🔍 Overview If you were referred to support to have a Summit Platinum package upgrade, an extra subscription month, or unlimited quota benefits applied to your account, this article explains what to expect and how to make sure your entitlements are fully processed. This type of request requires manual review by the Search Atlas team. It cannot be self-applied through the platform, but the process is straightforward once you contact support through the correct channel. 📋 What This Covers - Summit Platinum package upgrade application - Bonus subscription month from a Summit promotional offer - Unlimited quota entitlements promised as part of a Summit deal - Billing adjustments related to Summit special offer pricing ⚙️ What Happens During Processing When you submit your request, the support team will: 1. Acknowledge your request and review the details of the original Summit offer you were referred under. 2. Verify your account email address to confirm they are updating the correct account. 3. Escalate your case internally for investigation and processing. 4. Apply the Platinum package benefits, billing adjustments, and any quota changes to your account. 5. Send a confirmation email to the address on file once everything has been processed. Once complete, you will receive an email confirming that the changes have been applied. Check your inbox, including your spam or junk folder, after submitting your request. 💡 Before You Contact Support To help the team process your request as quickly as possible, have the following ready: - Your account email address — the one registered with Search Atlas. - The name or date of the Summit event or promotion where the offer was made. - Any reference number or conversation ID from a previous support interaction, if you have one. - A brief description of the benefits promised — for example, Platinum upgrade, extra month, or unlimited quotas. 🛠️ How to Submit Your Request Because applying Summit Platinum benefits and billing adjustments requires manual action by the Search Atlas team, there is no self-serve option inside the platform for this specific change. Follow these steps to get it resolved: 1. Log in to your Search Atlas account. 2. Open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform. 3. Type human teammate to be connected directly with a support agent. 4. Explain that you were referred to support to have your Summit Platinum package, bonus subscription month, and unlimited quotas applied to your account. 5. Provide your account email address and any relevant offer details or reference numbers. The team will review your case, confirm your details, and process the changes. You will receive a confirmation email once everything is in place. ❓ Frequently Asked Questions - Why can't I apply this myself? Summit Platinum upgrades and associated billing adjustments involve backend account changes that must be processed manually by the Search Atlas team to ensure accuracy. - How long does processing take? The team will acknowledge your request promptly. Processing times may vary depending on the complexity of the changes, but you will be notified by email when complete. - What if I don't receive a confirmation email? Check your spam or junk folder first. If you still have not received it, contact support again via the chat widget and reference your original request. - Will my billing date or next invoice be affected? Billing adjustments applied as part of a Summit offer will be reflected in your account after processing. If you have questions about a specific invoice, mention this when you contact support. 💬 Need Further 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.

💳 Understanding Summit VIP and Platinum Billing Charges

🔍 Overview The Search Atlas Summit offers two premium tiers — Summit VIP and Summit Platinum — each with distinct pricing. Because these tiers can be purchased through promotional checkout flows that include bundled products or stacked upgrades, some customers have seen multiple charges on their statements that appear unexpected. This article explains how Summit billing works, why multiple charges may appear, and what to do if you believe you have been overcharged. 💡 How Summit VIP and Platinum Pricing Works Summit Platinum and Summit VIP are sold through a dual-tier checkout system. Depending on the offer you accepted during the purchase flow, your order may include: - A base Summit offer — for example, $147 for Summit Platinum. - One or more order bumps or upsells — additional products or upgrades presented during checkout that carry their own separate charges (for example, $97 per add-on). Each item you confirm during the checkout flow generates its own charge. If you accepted multiple upsells or order bumps, you will see multiple line items on your bank or card statement — even if the checkout appeared to happen in a single session. 📊 Why You May See Multiple Charges A common scenario reported by customers looks like this: - Three charges of $97 (add-on products or VIP upgrade steps confirmed during checkout). - One charge of $147 (the core Summit Platinum purchase). - A total of $438 billed across all items. This is not a system error by itself — it reflects each product or upgrade that was confirmed during the checkout flow. However, if you did not intend to accept those additional items, or if a technical issue caused duplicate charges, you may be entitled to a full or partial refund of the overcharge. ⚠️ Known Issues That Can Cause Unexpected Charges Our engineering team has identified and resolved several issues related to Summit billing flows, including: - White Label Legacy customers receiving multiple active subscriptions without the corresponding promo code or HDC allocation being applied correctly. - VIP upgrade prompts remaining active after a purchase was already completed, potentially triggering a second upgrade charge. - Summit VIP benefits being attached to the wrong account email, which sometimes required a manual transfer to the correct account. If any of these situations apply to you, our support team can investigate your account and correct the issue, including processing eligible refunds. ✅ What Counts as an Overcharge You are likely entitled to a refund if: - You were charged for an add-on or upgrade you did not intentionally select. - You were charged twice for the same product due to a checkout or system error. - Your VIP benefits were applied to the wrong account and you were billed for a duplicate upgrade. You are not automatically entitled to a refund simply because multiple charges appeared — if each charge corresponds to a separate product or upgrade you confirmed, those charges are valid. Our team will review your full order history to determine which charges are eligible. 🛠️ How to Dispute a Summit Billing Charge 1. Gather your information. Note the exact amounts charged, the dates of each transaction, and the email address associated with your Search Atlas account. 2. Contact support via live chat. 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. 3. Share your order details. Provide the charge amounts and dates so our team can pull your full order history and identify any errors. 4. Allow time for review. Our billing team will investigate each charge and confirm which amounts are eligible for refund. Approved refunds are typically processed within 5–10 business days, depending on your payment provider. 🔄 Transferring Summit Benefits to a Different Account If your Summit VIP or Platinum benefits were applied to the wrong email address — for example, due to purchasing through a different account — our team can transfer those benefits to your correct account. This process requires manual verification. To request a benefit transfer, 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. ❓ Frequently Asked Questions I only wanted Summit Platinum at $147. Why was I charged $97 three additional times? During the Summit checkout flow, additional products or VIP upgrade steps may have been presented as optional add-ons. If those were confirmed — either intentionally or due to a checkout issue — each generated a separate $97 charge. Contact our support team and we will review your order to determine which charges are refundable. Will I receive a full refund of $291 for the three $97 charges? Refund eligibility depends on whether those charges correspond to products you intended to purchase. If our review confirms you did not intentionally accept those add-ons, or if a technical error caused the charges, a full refund of the overcharge amount will be processed. How do I know if my Summit VIP benefits are on the right account? Log in to Search Atlas and check whether your VIP features and allocations are visible and active. If something looks missing or incorrect, reach out via live chat for an account audit. 🤝 Need More 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.

💳 Billing Renewal Dates and Manual Payment Processing

📋 Overview Your Search Atlas subscription renews automatically on a fixed billing date. If your quota is depleted before that date, certain features — such as heatmap reports — will become unavailable until the next renewal cycle. This article explains how renewal dates work, what to do if you need an earlier renewal, and how to request a billing date change. 🗓️ How Billing Renewal Dates Work When you subscribe to a Search Atlas plan, your billing date is set based on the date you first activated your subscription. Each month, your plan renews on that same date and your usage quotas are reset. Key points to understand: - Quota reset timing: Your feature quotas (including heatmap reports) reset at the start of each billing cycle — not at the beginning of the calendar month, unless your renewal date happens to fall on the 1st. - Automatic renewal: For most plans, payment is collected automatically on your renewal date and access continues without interruption. - Manual billing accounts: If your account is set up for manual payment, your access depends on payment being processed before your renewal date. Delays in manual payment can result in temporary loss of access to quota-dependent features. ⚠️ Why Features Like Heatmap Reports May Be Unavailable If you are seeing a message that heatmap reports or other features are unavailable, the most common causes are: - Quota depletion: You have used all of the allocated credits or report runs for the current billing period. Access will restore automatically when your plan renews. - Pending renewal: Your renewal date has passed but payment has not yet been successfully processed, particularly on manual billing accounts. - Billing date mismatch: Your renewal date does not align with the date you expected (for example, the 1st of the month), so your quota reset happens later than anticipated. 🔄 How to Request a Billing Date Change Currently, billing renewal date changes must be handled by the Search Atlas support team. There is no self-serve option to adjust your renewal date directly from the platform. To request a change: 1. Open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform. 2. Type human teammate to be connected with a support agent. 3. Let the agent know the renewal date you would like (for example, the 1st of every month) and your reason for the request. 4. The agent will coordinate the change on your account and confirm the new billing date with you. Important: Changing your renewal date may result in a prorated charge or a short extension of your current cycle to bridge the gap to the new date. Your support agent will explain any billing impact before making changes. ⚡ How to Request an Immediate or Early Renewal If your quota is depleted and you need access to features like heatmap reports right away — without waiting for your scheduled renewal date — you can request an early or manual renewal. This will process your next payment immediately and reset your quotas. To do this: 1. Open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform. 2. Type human teammate to connect with our team. 3. Explain that you need an early renewal and which features you need restored. 4. The support agent will process the renewal manually and confirm when your quotas have been reset. Note for manual billing customers: If your account uses manual payment, please ensure your payment method is up to date before requesting an early renewal. An expired or declined payment method will delay processing. 🛠️ Known Platform Limitations Our engineering team is actively working on improvements to the billing date management system. Some known limitations you may encounter include: - Changing the next payment date on certain subscription types may not immediately sync across all billing systems. Our team manually verifies these changes to ensure accuracy. - Manual billing accounts have specific handling requirements; if you have experienced an access block due to an expired renewal date, our support team can resolve this directly. These issues are being addressed in upcoming platform updates. We appreciate your patience. 💡 Tips to Avoid Quota Disruptions - Monitor your usage: Check your quota consumption regularly inside the platform so you can anticipate when limits will be reached. - Align your billing date early: If a month-start renewal date would work better for your workflow, request the change before your quota runs out rather than after. - Keep payment methods current: Especially for manual billing accounts, ensure your card or payment details are up to date to avoid processing delays. 🙋 Need Further 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.

🗓️ Understanding Trial Stacking and Billing Date Calculation

🔍 Overview When you upgrade your Search Atlas plan and receive a promotional trial (such as a 30-day Growth trial), your billing date is calculated based on when each trial period begins and ends. This can sometimes result in a billing date that looks earlier or later than expected. This article explains exactly how trial stacking works and how to confirm your correct ongoing billing date. 📋 What Is Trial Stacking? Trial stacking occurs when a promotional trial is added to your account at or around the time of a plan upgrade. Instead of billing you immediately for the new plan, Search Atlas defers the charge until the promotional trial period ends. The key points to understand are: - Your trial starts on the date your upgrade is processed, not on your original monthly renewal date. - Your first charge falls on the day after your trial ends, which becomes your new ongoing billing date. - Your previous billing date is replaced by this new date going forward. 📅 Example: How the New Billing Date Is Calculated Here is a common scenario that explains how a billing date shift occurs after a promotional trial: 1. The customer is on an existing plan with a billing date part-way through the month. 2. The customer upgrades and receives a promotional trial (for example, 30 days) starting on the date the upgrade is processed. 3. Because the upgrade triggers the trial immediately, the trial period runs for its full length from the upgrade date. 4. On the day the trial ends, the first charge for the new plan is processed. 5. That charge date becomes the new monthly billing date going forward. This means the billing date can shift from its original position — not because of an error, but because the trial start date determines when the first charge occurs. ⚙️ How Your New Billing Date Is Set Your ongoing billing date is always anchored to the day your promotional trial ended and your first successful charge was processed. To calculate it: - Find the date your promotional trial was activated on your account. - Add the length of the trial (for example, 30 days). - The resulting date is your first charge date and your new recurring billing date. 🧾 Where to Check Your Billing Date You can confirm your current billing date and next scheduled charge by logging in to your Search Atlas account and reviewing your billing or subscription information. If you are unsure where to locate this, our support team can confirm the exact date on your account. ❓ Frequently Asked Questions Why did my billing date change after my upgrade? Your billing date changed because your promotional trial started on the day your upgrade was processed. The trial ran for its full length, and the day it ended became your new recurring billing date. 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.

💳 Charged During Trial Due to Previous Account

🔍 Why Did This Happen? Search Atlas trials are available once per customer. If you previously held an account — even years ago — our billing system recognises your profile and treats any new subscription as a returning customer rather than a first-time trial. As a result, the 7-day free trial period is bypassed and your payment method is charged at the point of sign-up. This is not a bug. It is an intentional safeguard to ensure trial access is fairly distributed. However, we understand this can come as a surprise, especially when a significant amount of time has passed since your last account. 📋 What Information You Should Have Ready Before reaching out to our team, gather the following details so we can locate your account and process your request as quickly as possible: - Email address associated with the current account - Email address linked to any previous Search Atlas account, if different - Date of the charge and the amount billed - Invoice number, if available from your billing records or confirmation email ✅ How to Check Your Billing Details You can review your charges and invoices directly inside the platform before contacting support. Navigate to the Billing section of your account settings to find any charges and invoices associated with your account. 💡 Are You Eligible for a Refund? Refund eligibility is assessed on a case-by-case basis by our billing team. Our team will review the details of your account and the charge to determine whether a refund can be issued. Submitting your request as soon as possible after noticing the charge is recommended. 🛠️ How to Request a Refund Our team handles all refund requests through support. Have the details listed in the What Information You Should Have Ready section above on hand when you reach out, so our team can locate your account and verify the charge promptly. 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.

💳 Understanding Your Free Trial Billing Charge

Overview Search Atlas offers a 7-day free trial so you can explore the platform before committing to a paid plan. In most cases, no charge is applied during the trial period. However, some customers have reported an unexpected charge — typically $199 — appearing shortly after signing up. This article explains why this can happen. Why Was I Charged During My Free Trial? A few known scenarios can trigger an unexpected charge at the start of your trial: - Existing subscription conflict: If your account had a previous subscription pending cancellation, the system may not have correctly recognised you as eligible for a new free trial, resulting in an immediate charge. - Onboarding subscription overlap: A technical issue previously caused new users to be blocked from receiving the 7-day trial due to a conflict with the onboarding subscription flow. This has since been resolved. - Duplicate free trial claim: Search Atlas restricts users from claiming a free trial more than once. If the system detected a prior trial on your account, it may have skipped the trial period and charged the full plan amount instead. All of the above issues have been addressed in recent platform updates. If you were affected before these fixes were deployed, you may still be eligible for a refund. Search Atlas Refund Policy Search Atlas offers refunds for unexpected charges under the following conditions: - The refund request is submitted within 48 hours of the transaction date. - The charge was the result of a billing error or a free trial that was not applied correctly. - The account has not been used extensively during the billing period in question. Refunds are processed back to the original payment method and typically take 5–10 business days to appear on your statement, depending on your bank or card provider. How We Have Fixed This Issue Our engineering team has deployed several fixes to prevent these billing errors from occurring in the future: - The checkout page no longer displays "7-day free trial" messaging to users whose accounts are in a pending cancellation state. - New users are now correctly identified as trial-eligible during the onboarding flow, removing the previous subscription conflict. - The billing system now accurately returns free trial status so the correct plan is applied at checkout. If you signed up recently and still experienced an unexpected charge, it is likely a residual case from before these updates. Frequently Asked Questions - Can I still get a refund if it has been more than 48 hours? Refunds are only guaranteed within the 48-hour window per our policy. Requests outside this window are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. - Will my account be downgraded if I receive a refund? If a refund is issued for a plan charge, your account will revert to the appropriate access level. Our support team will explain exactly what to expect before processing. Additional Notes You may notice a temporary authorization hold on your payment method when you sign up. This is not a real charge — it is a standard verification step used by payment processors to confirm your card is valid. To have your case reviewed, reach out to our support team through live chat with your account email, the transaction date, and the amount charged.

💳 Charged Immediately After Upgrading During Trial

🔍 What Happened If you upgraded to a paid plan while your 7-day free trial was still active and were charged immediately, this was not the expected behaviour. Charges for plan upgrades made during an active trial should be deferred until the trial period ends. Our engineering team has since resolved the underlying issue that caused immediate billing in this scenario. ⚠️ How to Recognise This Issue - You upgraded your plan while your 7-day free trial was still running. - Your payment method was charged immediately after the upgrade — before your trial ended. - You expected billing to begin only after the trial concluded. ✅ What the Resolution Looks Like When this issue is confirmed, our billing team will: 1. Process a full refund of the amount charged in error. 2. Restart your free trial so you do not lose any trial time. 3. Ensure your paid plan activates correctly at the end of the trial period. You do not need to re-enter any payment details or re-select your plan. Everything is handled on our end once the case is reviewed. 🛠️ What You Should Do To get your refund and trial restart processed as quickly as possible, follow these steps: 1. Check your billing confirmation email for an invoice ID or transaction reference number — you will need this when you contact us. 2. Note the following details before reaching out: the plan you upgraded to, the amount charged, the date you upgraded, and the date your trial started. 3. Contact our support team through the platform to report the unexpected charge. Share the details you gathered above so the billing team can locate your account and confirm the erroneous charge immediately. 4. Our team will escalate your case to the billing team with a refund request. Once approved, a full refund will be issued and your trial will be restarted — no further action is required from you. 5. You will receive confirmation once the refund and trial restart are complete. The sooner you reach out with the relevant invoice and account details, the faster your case can be resolved. 💡 Going Forward The underlying billing bug that caused immediate charges during an active trial has been fixed by our engineering team. If you upgrade your plan during a future trial, the charge will be correctly deferred until your trial period ends. 💬 Need Help? If you need further assistance, please reach out to our support team through the platform and we will be happy to help.