Request for billing waiver – Accidental Azure charges using student credits (Imagine Cup)

Question

Request for billing waiver – Accidental Azure charges using student credits (Imagine Cup)

Sharma588 20

Hello,

I am a student who created an Azure account through the Microsoft Imagine Cup program. As I am new to cloud services, I was not fully aware of how billing works after using the provided credits.

While experimenting and learning, I created some resources but did not realize they would continue running and incur charges. As a result, I have been charged approximately ₹3,600.

This was completely unintentional, and I was under the assumption that usage would be limited to the free/student credits. I have now deleted all active resources to prevent further charges.

How do I proceed further?

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

Bharath Y P 10,610 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Sharma588, it sounds like your Imagine Cup student credits ran out and your subscription automatically converted to Pay-as-you-go, so any running resources started billing you. Since you’ve already deleted everything to stop further charges, the next step is to work with billing support to request a one-time courtesy credit/refund for the unintentional ₹3,600 charge. Here are the steps you can follow to create support requests:

Go to Azure portal > Search for Help + Support or https://portal.azure.com/#view/Microsoft_Azure_Support/HelpAndSupportBlade/~/overview
Click on Create a Support Request.
On right-side panel, enter Billing and click Go > select the issue with "Billing" > select your Subscription then click Next.
Do not click on refund request button or any suggested articles instead click on the Create support request on top of the panel.
Select the Issue type as Billing and, select the summary, problem type and problem subtype as per your issue like below > then click on Next.
Do not click on refund request button or any recommendation solution/article, instead click on the Return to support request then click Next.
Fill all the required information and provide a clear description of your issue and click Next.
Review and create as submit the support request.
You should receive an automated email within a few minutes and then be contacted by support team.

Kindly check the below documentation for more details: How to create an Azure support request - Azure supportability | Microsoft Learn

Hope this helps! If the information helped address your question, please Accept the answer. This will help us and also helps others in the community who might be researching similar information.

Bharath Y P 10,610 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-20T05:39:02.1533333+00:00

Hello Sharma588 , I just wanted to kindly follow up to check, If the provided answer is helpful, it would be great if you could accept the answer and up-vote. This helps other community members who might face the same issue. Thanks

1 additional answer

Your answer

Bharath Y P 10,610 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-20T05:39:02.1533333+00:00

Hello Sharma588 , I just wanted to kindly follow up to check, If the provided answer is helpful, it would be great if you could accept the answer and up-vote. This helps other community members who might face the same issue. Thanks

Answer 1

To request a billing waiver or credit for accidental Azure charges on a student/Imagine Cup subscription, the next step is to open a free Azure billing support request so a billing engineer can review the charges and your case.

Follow these steps in the Azure portal:

Go to the support request creation page: https://portal.azure.com/#create/Microsoft.Support.
In the search box, type Billing and select Go.
Select Billing as the issue type and choose the affected subscription (your Imagine Cup / student subscription), then select Next.
Wait a few seconds for options to load, then select Create a support request at the top. Do not select any of the suggested solutions.
On the Basics tab, fill in:
- Summary: e.g., “Request for one-time courtesy credit – accidental student usage.”
- Problem type: Billing-related option (for example, unexpected charges/credits).
- Problem subtype: The closest match to “unexpected charges” or “credit request.” Then select Next.
When suggested solutions appear, select Return to support request (top left) instead of clicking any solution.
On Additional details, clearly explain:
- That the subscription is from Imagine Cup / Azure for Students.
- That the usage was unintentional while learning, and resources kept running.
- That all resources have now been deleted or stopped.
- The approximate amount (₹3,600) and that this is a one-time request for a courtesy credit/waiver. Include your Subscription ID (copy it from the subscription page in the portal) and any relevant dates.
Select Next, review on Review + create, then select Create.

Billing support is free. After submitting, an engineer will contact through email or phone to discuss options (including any possible waiver or credit) and confirm that no further charges will accrue from deleted resources.

To avoid similar issues in the future, once the case is resolved, configure budgets and alerts on the subscription using Azure Cost Management so that notifications are sent before costs grow.

References: