I got charged after using a coupon code.

[adityakamath]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Question

💬 Feature/Topic Area

Account Related

Body

In March this year, I participated in the GitHub Social Club in Amsterdam, where I received a coupon code for a 6-month GitHub Copilot Pro+ subscription. As soon as I used the code, I was charged for the entire year - nearly 400 USD, without asking me or notifying me via email or notifications. I only found out later when looking at my credit card statement.

I raised a support ticket, and even contacted the GitHub employee who sent the coupon code. However, the ticket is open since the end of March, and the GitHub employee hasn't responded to my last email a few months ago.

I don't know what to do now, there has been no updates on my support ticket, and I do not know how else to bring attention to this issue.

[HamiParsa]

Hi there,

I completely understand your frustration – this is a really stressful situation. Unfortunately, this is a known issue and you're not alone. Here's what's happening and what you can do:

Why this happened:

According to GitHub's documentation, when you redeem a coupon for a free trial (like your 6-month Copilot Pro+ coupon), once the coupon period ends, GitHub automatically charges your payment method for the full subscription unless you cancel before the trial ends. It seems this is exactly what happened to you – the 6-month coupon expired and auto-renewed into a yearly charge without any clear notification.

The lack of email/notification is definitely frustrating and many users have complained about this.

Why your support ticket is stuck:

Unfortunately, GitHub Support is heavily backlogged right now. Response times for billing and coupon-related tickets can take 14–21 days, and in some cases even longer. A 3-month wait is not unheard of, sadly.

What you can do right now:

1. Tweet at GitHub Support

This is honestly the fastest way to get their attention. Tweet to @GitHubSupport with your ticket number and a brief explanation. Many users have had their tickets escalated this way.

Example tweet:

"@githubsupport I've had an open billing ticket for 3 months with no response. Ticket #XXXXXX. I was charged $400 after using a 6-month Copilot coupon without any notification. Please help!"

2. Open a new support ticket (as an "Escalation")

Go to: https://support.github.com/contact

Choose "Billing" → "Copilot" → and open a new ticket with this subject line:

"ESCALATION: Ticket # [your original ticket number] – 3 months no response – Unauthorized yearly charge after coupon"

In the description, clearly mention:

Your original ticket number

The coupon you received (6-month Copilot Pro+ from GitHub Social Club Amsterdam)

That you were charged ~$400 without notification

That you've been waiting for 3 months

3. Ask for a refund or re-application of the coupon

Politely request that they either:

Refund the $400 charge, or

Apply the 6-month coupon correctly and refund the overcharge

Make sure to explain that you never authorized the yearly charge and were not notified.

4. Tag a GitHub Staff member here (if this is a public discussion)

If this is on GitHub Community, you can politely mention staff members like @GitHubStaff or the person who organized the event and ask them to look into your ticket. Sometimes public visibility helps speed things up.

5. Last resort – Credit card dispute (⚠️ use with caution)

If after all of the above you still get no response, you can contact your bank and file a dispute for the unauthorized charge.

However, be very careful: Disputing a charge with GitHub can sometimes result in your account being temporarily or permanently suspended until the issue is resolved. Only use this as a very last option.

Summary of immediate actions:

✅ Tweet @githubsupport with your ticket number

✅ Open a new "Escalation" ticket referencing the old one

✅ Be polite but firm – explain you were charged without notification

✅ Ask for a refund or proper coupon application

⚠️ Only dispute with your bank as a last resort

Stay patient and persistent. I know it's frustrating, but many users have eventually gotten refunds in similar situations. Keep replying to your ticket every week or so to keep it active.

Good luck! Let us know if you need more help. 🙌

[adityakamath]

Hey, thanks, I'll send a tweet. The charge wasn't after the coupon subscription ended, I was charged as soon as I redeemed the coupon

[chowdhary19]

@adityakamath I’ve seen a very similar billing issue, and the only thing that helped was keeping everything in the same support ticket and sending one clear escalation message with all the evidence attached.

Go to:

https://support.github.com/ → My Tickets → open your existing ticket → Add comment

GitHub confirms that existing tickets should be updated through the Support portal rather than replaced with duplicate tickets.

You can send:

Hi GitHub Support,

I’m following up on this ticket because it has been open since the end of March without a resolution.

I received a coupon for six months of GitHub Copilot Pro+, but after redeeming it I was charged nearly $400 for an annual subscription. I did not intend to purchase the annual plan, and I did not receive a clear warning that this charge would be made.

I have attached:

• the original coupon message
• the redemption date
• the GitHub invoice
• the card transaction
• my previous correspondence

Please escalate this to the billing team, confirm whether the coupon was applied correctly, and review the charge for a refund or correction.

GitHub username:
Ticket number:
Charge date:
Amount:
Invoice number:

Thank you.

Also check your current subscription under:

GitHub Settings → Billing & licensing → Plans and usage

From there, you can cancel renewal so another charge is not generated. GitHub documents that Copilot subscriptions can be managed or cancelled from the billing settings.

[adityakamath]

It's all in the ticket, the same one. No response from GitHub. It's been open since March.

The plan has been cancelled. But I still need my refund. I never wanted to buy the plan, I only wanted to try Copilot Pro+ for 6 months and then decide. They've charged me for an entire year without my consent. And now lost a customer as well.

[chowdhary19]

One other thought since this has been sitting since March.

GitHub doesn't offer a public billing support phone number for personal accounts support is handled through the Support portal, and phone callbacks are generally only available to customers with Premium Support.

At this point, I'd try to get some visibility on the existing ticket rather than opening a new one:

• Reply to the same support ticket one more time and politely ask for a status update from the billing team.
• If you still have the email from the GitHub Social Club where you received the coupon, reply there as well (if it's still monitored) and reference your existing support ticket number.
• If the coupon was distributed through an event organizer or GitHub staff member, let them know the ticket has been pending since March and ask if they can internally point the billing team to it. They probably can't resolve it themselves, but they may be able to make the right people aware of it.

If you've genuinely exhausted those options and still haven't received a response after several months, I'd also speak with your card issuer, not necessarily to file a chargeback immediately, but to understand your options and any time limits for disputing the charge while you're still trying to resolve it directly with GitHub.

I really hope someone from GitHub notices this thread. Waiting several months for a billing dispute involving a promotional redemption isn't the experience anyone expects.

[Mr-Nilarnab]

The clarification that the charge occurred immediately after redeeming the coupon is an important detail because it changes the nature of the issue.

If the sequence was:

1. Redeem the 6-month Copilot Pro+ coupon.
2. An annual subscription is charged immediately.
3. The charge was not the result of the promotional period ending.

then this doesn't sound like a standard auto-renewal scenario. It suggests one of a few possibilities:

• The coupon failed to apply correctly while the purchase flow still completed.
• The coupon wasn't eligible for the selected billing plan (for example, annual vs. monthly).
• The billing system incorrectly created a paid subscription at redemption time.

One thing that may help the billing team is including a precise timeline in the existing ticket:

• Timestamp when the coupon was redeemed.
• Timestamp on the invoice or payment confirmation.
• Screenshot of the redeemed/claimed coupon (if available).
• Whether your subscription page ever showed the expected 6-month promotional period, or whether it immediately showed an active annual paid subscription.

That information can help determine whether this was a billing workflow issue rather than an expected renewal.

Given that the ticket has been open since March and this involves a billing discrepancy rather than a feature request, I hope a GitHub staff member can review the account history and verify whether the coupon redemption and subscription creation occurred in the correct order.

[SreeDharshan-GJ]

That sounds really frustrating. Since you've already opened a support ticket and it's been several months without an update, there's unfortunately not much the community can do, as we don't have access to billing accounts or support cases.

A few things that may help:

Reply to your existing support ticket instead of creating a new one, asking for a status update. This keeps all the context in one place.
Include the support ticket number, the approximate date you redeemed the coupon, and any proof that it was intended to provide a 6-month subscription.
If you still have the original email or event information describing the promotion, attach it to the ticket if it isn't already there.
If the GitHub employee who provided the coupon is still active on GitHub, you could send one polite follow-up message referencing your existing support ticket, but ultimately only GitHub Support can resolve billing issues.

Since this involves a billing charge, GitHub Support is the only team that can investigate whether the coupon was applied correctly and determine if a refund or billing adjustment is appropriate.

I hope your case gets reviewed soon.

[v-ember]

Hi @adityakamath ,

This community is managed by GitHub employees, but it is not a support forum. You have done everything necessary on your end by opening a ticket on our Support page.

This is a public forum, and the community is unable to assist with nor escalate your ticket, but we can assure you it is in the right place. There are an extremely high volume of Support tickets right now, yours will be answered in the order it was received based on the amount of tickets ahead of yours. Please open only one ticket per request.

As no other Community Discussions team members will be able to provide additional help with account related questions I am going to close this discussion. We appreciate your understanding and patience while Support works through your request!

[adityakamath]

@v-ember thanks for the reply. Makes me hopeful that it will be answered someday and is not ignored. Only time will tell I guess.