Register reader hit with surprise bill after Microsoft portals disagreed

A synchronization issue between Microsoft systems left at least one customer facing an unexpected bill after two portals showed different credit balances.

A Register reader found themself on the hook for $16,000 in September after a balance that looked healthy had actually hit rock bottom and a subscription switched to pay-as-you-go.

Our reader was one of many who signed up for Microsoft for Startups, a program that offers eligible businesses credits and other resources to build on Microsoft’s platforms.

Amazon and Google have similar deals, but our reader signed up for Microsoft's version.

According to our reader, Microsoft's Founders Hub showed a healthy balance of credits remaining as their company fired up services on Azure.

They shared a screenshot from portal.startups.microsoft.com that showed plenty of credits remaining.

Sadly, that was not the accurate figure.

In reality, those credits had been exhausted in August, and the subscription switched to a pay-as-you-go plan, causing charges to mount quickly.

Worse, the notification went to a former administrator who was no longer with the company, even though the account ownership had been transferred.

Since August 17, the company has run up $16,000 in charges, mostly from AI workloads routed to Azure because the portal showed that credits were still available.

However, a look at a different portal - in this case, the Azure Sponsorships portal - revealed the balance was indeed zero.

Our reader shared an email from a Microsoft for Startups representative explaining, "The discrepancy you are seeing in the Microsoft for Startups portal is due to an ongoing synchronization issue between backend systems." The Azure Sponsorships portal was accurate.

The Microsoft for Startups portal… not so much.

"Our engineering team is aware of this behavior and is actively working on a resolution," wrote the representative.