Requesting Refund For Product Purchased with Inaccessible Account

Miratia · Apr 10, 2020

This requires a bit of setup. I received a text purporting to be from Microsoft that said, if I remember exactly, "Your Microsoft account has been closed for good. Goodbye!" I figured this had to be spam, but when I tried to log into my account, I was informed
that the account no longer existed. I went to request reactivation for my account, but the recovery email listed there was not the recovery email I provided; I believe my account must have been hacked, the recovery email changed, and then the account closed.
There appears to be only one method for recovering an account when you do not have access to a recovery email, which is to fill out a form (available at https://account.live.com/acsr). Several issues arose when I attempted to do this, most of which are simply
quirks of my situation.

The form is designed with the goal that you provide information that only you would know, in order to get access back into your account. Among these are three sections relevant to me: email information, Skype information, and Xbox information. Due to my
old hotmail account having been compromised, I deleted it earlier this year, so while I have had an email account through Microsoft, I cannot provide any of the information it wants regarding it (such as email contacts or the subject lines of recent emails).
Similarly, I did have a Skype account through Microsoft, which I created by accident; I had a Skype account before Microsoft purchased Skype, and thought I was logging into that one, but instead ended up logging into Skype through my Microsoft account, creating
a second Skype profile. Not long after that, I switched from Skype to Discord, so I don't know which contacts were on which Skype account, and therefore can't provide the information the form needs for that, either. Finally, I accessed Xbox through the Xbox
PC Console Companion app, through which I purchased Sea of Thieves. I do not own a physical Xbox, which becomes a problem when the form asks me for a console ID number, which I cannot provide. Essentially, I am unable to satisfy the requirements to recover
my account through this form. From an outside perspective, I can see how it would look terribly suspicious for me to claim that I had email, Skype, and Xbox access through Microsoft, yet be unable to provide any of the requested information.

After coming to this conclusion, I spent several hours on the phone with Microsoft, bouncing around various support agents, and ultimately it was determined that there is no way to get my account back. I asked whether I could, at least, be refunded for my
purchase of Sea of Thieves on that account, and the support agent with whom I was speaking said that I could only request a refund through the bank I used to purchase the game. I then went through a similar process with Discover, through which I'd made my
purchase, and the support agent there said that they could only open a dispute case on my Sea of Thieves purchase and let that process go through as normal; however, the agent noted, the dispute would likely be resolved against me, because it was a legitimate
purchase at the time. The support agent recommended that I contact Microsoft again and request documentation explaining the reason for my dispute case and consenting to letting me receive the refund. I went back to Microsoft and went through a process with
another support agent there, who said that there was an individual department dedicated to resolving refund claims, that they would be able to see my information in the system when Discover's case went through, and that they would contact me to provide me
with the documentation Discover requested. I was never contacted, and the dispute case was resolved against me. Then the corona crisis began, and I've been unable to get through to a Microsoft agent regarding this issue since, which is why I finally created
a new Microsoft account in order to post to the support forum.

In sum, I would like to know how I can obtain a refund for the game I bought on my now-closed account, where I can retrieve the documentation necessary to send to Discover to reopen the dispute and resolve it in my favor, and whether (against all odds),
I could actually recover my account somehow, despite evidence to the contrary (which is why I'm posting this via the Microsoft website instead of directly via the Xbox website).

:)

CyclingCanoe703

My suggestion is to contact Microsoft support about that issue. Nobody can help you here.

Link to their page is here.

Miratia

I worked through the Contact Us support tree on the website you linked, and the result said that phone calls and chats are not available for issues regarding refunds. The only option was to file an online refund request, which necessitates
being signed into the account on which the item was purchased. Otherwise, it says, "If you don't have access to the account that made this purchase, you will need to contact your financial institution for a refund," which is the same advice I received before
and which I pursued as far as I could. I appreciate your attempt to help, but it doesn't get me anywhere I haven't already been. Do you know of any other method by which I might attempt to resolve this issue?

Miratia

Would anyone else happen to have a suggestion?

Mistress Sara

Hi there,

I'm confused as to what the seller can't do.

You asked for a refund and say the refund was canceled, so did you get the product or not?

DLC and in-game currency purchased is not refundable so you should still have the item purchased.

A game purchased through your Microsoft account, if refunded can later be repurchased through your account.

If the purchase was done through a reseller, you need to work with them. If they cancelled the refund request, and took back the product, they owe you either the product or the money.

XBA_Hype

They provide Digital Game Product refunds as part of a consistent and reliable buying experience. Most people pursuing a refund just want to solve a problem, but sometimes the system is abused. If it appears refunds are being abused, we reserve the
right to stop offering them except where legally required.

All sales of Digital Game Products are considered final, but they understand there may be extenuating circumstances. When you request a refund for these products, and depending on the purchase or content type in determining refund eligibility, they
consider a variety of factors like time since date of purchase, time since release, and use of the product.

For single-use items (like consumables or in-game currency), your request may be eligible only if the item wasn’t modified or used.

You can start the refund request process for any Digital Game Product by signing in to the account that made the purchase at xbox.com/refunds.
Tell them why you’re requesting a refund. they use this information to improve their products and processes, and to hopefully minimize the need for future refund requests. If they grant refund approval, you’ll see the refund being processed on your Microsoft
account, and you’ll no longer be able to use the content. The refund may take a few business days, and you may want to check with your bank to ensure the applicable payment method has been properly credited.

Submitting a request does not guarantee a refund.
Most purchases are not eligible for a refund after 14 days.
For multiple items, please select all request items before submitting.

Be sure to have your order number or numbers and date of purchase handy.

Requesting Refund For Product Purchased with Inaccessible Account