{"id":44686,"date":"2026-11-11T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/?p=44686"},"modified":"2026-11-05T10:34:30","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T08:34:30","slug":"microsoft-advertising-refund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/microsoft-advertising-refund\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get a Refund From Microsoft Advertising"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Quick answer<\/h2>\n<p>Microsoft Advertising gives credits for invalid clicks you were charged for, and refunds a positive balance when you deactivate your account. It doesn&#8217;t <a href=\"https:\/\/help.ads.microsoft.com\/apex\/index\/3\/en\/50803\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:#0d6ce5 !important;text-decoration:underline;\">credit poor performance<\/a>, low ROI, tool downtime, test campaigns or bank fees. To request an invalid-click credit, contact support with your evidence. Investigations can take up to a month to show on your statement.<\/p>\n<h2>Credits vs refunds: what&#8217;s the difference?<\/h2>\n<p>A <strong>credit<\/strong> reduces what you owe or pays for future ads. It stays in your Microsoft Advertising account. A <strong>refund<\/strong> sends money back to your payment method, and mostly applies when you close an account that has money left in it. Most &#8220;refunds&#8221; advertisers ask about are actually credits for invalid clicks.<\/p>\n<div class=\"adcore-elite-cta\" data-links-added=\"1\" style=\"border:2px solid #1a56db;border-radius:10px;padding:22px 26px;background:#f2f6ff;margin:28px 0;\">\n<h2>Recommended solution: get help from a Microsoft Ads Elite partner<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The fastest, most reliable way to resolve this is to reach out to a Microsoft Advertising Elite partner like Adcore.<\/strong> Elite is the highest of Microsoft&#8217;s three partner tiers (Partner, Select and Elite), and Elite partners can escalate cases directly through Microsoft&#8217;s partner team.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Adcore can help:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style:none !important;padding-left:0 !important;margin:8px 0 14px !important;\">\n<li style=\"list-style:none !important;margin:0 0 8px;padding-left:0;\"><span class=\"adcore-check\" style=\"color:#1a56db;font-weight:700;margin-right:8px;\">&#10003;<\/span><strong>A dedicated Microsoft Ads specialist<\/strong> you contact directly, instead of a general support queue.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:none !important;margin:0 0 8px;padding-left:0;\"><span class=\"adcore-check\" style=\"color:#1a56db;font-weight:700;margin-right:8px;\">&#10003;<\/span><strong>Escalations through Microsoft&#8217;s partner team<\/strong> for suspensions, verification, billing and platform issues.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:none !important;margin:0 0 8px;padding-left:0;\"><span class=\"adcore-check\" style=\"color:#1a56db;font-weight:700;margin-right:8px;\">&#10003;<\/span><strong>Hands-on fixes<\/strong> for account setup, conversion tracking, Google imports and campaign delivery.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:none !important;margin:0 0 8px;padding-left:0;\"><span class=\"adcore-check\" style=\"color:#1a56db;font-weight:700;margin-right:8px;\">&#10003;<\/span><strong>Partner promotions and credits<\/strong> for eligible new accounts.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:none !important;margin:0 0 8px;padding-left:0;\"><span class=\"adcore-check\" style=\"color:#1a56db;font-weight:700;margin-right:8px;\">&#10003;<\/span><strong>Completely free:<\/strong> no fees, no minimum spend, no contract, and you keep full ownership of your accounts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/microsoft-advertising-support-partner\/\" style=\"color:#0b2e6f !important;text-decoration:underline;\">Reach out to Adcore&#8217;s Elite partner team for free Microsoft Ads support<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>When you can get money back<\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Situation<\/th>\n<th>What you get<\/th>\n<th>How<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Invalid clicks<\/td>\n<td>Credit to your account<\/td>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/5-ways-to-contact-microsoft-ads-support\/\" style=\"color:#0d6ce5 !important;text-decoration:underline;\">Contact support<\/a> to open an investigation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Clicks Microsoft detects as invalid<\/td>\n<td>Automatic credit<\/td>\n<td>No action needed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Deactivated account with a positive balance<\/td>\n<td>Refund to the original payment method<\/td>\n<td>Deactivate the account; refund is processed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Spend above your monthly budget limit<\/td>\n<td>Overspend refunded at month end<\/td>\n<td>Automatic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>When you can&#8217;t<\/h2>\n<p>Microsoft states it doesn&#8217;t issue credits for poor ad performance or ROI, system or tool downtime, test accounts or campaigns, or bank overdraft fees. Clicks that simply didn&#8217;t convert aren&#8217;t invalid.<\/p>\n<h2>How Microsoft handles invalid clicks<\/h2>\n<p>Microsoft filters clicks automatically and classifies them by quality. Clicks it identifies as invalid, such as those from robots or automated tools, are credited automatically. Its reports include <a href=\"https:\/\/help.ads.microsoft.com\/apex\/index\/3\/en\/50812\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:#0d6ce5 !important;text-decoration:underline;\">low-quality click statistics<\/a>, so you can see how many clicks were filtered. When you believe some slipped through, you can ask for an investigation.<\/p>\n<h2>How to request an invalid-click credit<\/h2>\n<ol style=\"list-style:decimal outside !important;padding-left:28px;margin:0 0 20px 0;\">\n<li style=\"list-style:decimal outside !important;font-size:19px !important;line-height:29px !important;margin:0 0 10px 0;padding-left:4px;\"><strong>Run a report<\/strong> with low-quality click columns for the affected period.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:decimal outside !important;font-size:19px !important;line-height:29px !important;margin:0 0 10px 0;padding-left:4px;\"><strong>Gather evidence:<\/strong> dates, campaigns, keywords, IP addresses, user agents and server logs showing suspicious patterns, such as bursts of clicks with zero time on site.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:decimal outside !important;font-size:19px !important;line-height:29px !important;margin:0 0 10px 0;padding-left:4px;\"><strong>Contact support<\/strong> by chat or phone and ask for an invalid-click investigation. Share the evidence in a clear, structured way.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:decimal outside !important;font-size:19px !important;line-height:29px !important;margin:0 0 10px 0;padding-left:4px;\"><strong>Save the case number.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:decimal outside !important;font-size:19px !important;line-height:29px !important;margin:0 0 10px 0;padding-left:4px;\"><strong>Wait.<\/strong> Microsoft says it can take up to a month before a credit shows on your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/simple-ways-to-solve-microsoft-advertising-payment-issues\/\" style=\"color:#0d6ce5 !important;text-decoration:underline;\">billing statement or invoice<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:decimal outside !important;font-size:19px !important;line-height:29px !important;margin:0 0 10px 0;padding-left:4px;\"><strong>Protect the budget meanwhile<\/strong> with IP exclusions and placement exclusions where you see abuse.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>How long refunds take<\/h2>\n<p>For deactivated accounts, the refund goes back to the original payment method. After processing, Microsoft estimates about 1-2 business days to a credit or debit card or PayPal, and 4-6 weeks by check.<\/p>\n<h2>Tips for a successful claim<\/h2>\n<ul style=\"list-style:disc outside !important;padding-left:28px;margin:0 0 20px 0;\">\n<li style=\"list-style:disc outside !important;font-size:19px !important;line-height:29px !important;margin:0 0 10px 0;padding-left:4px;\">Show patterns, not single clicks.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:disc outside !important;font-size:19px !important;line-height:29px !important;margin:0 0 10px 0;padding-left:4px;\">Quantify the cost: number of suspicious clicks times average CPC.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:disc outside !important;font-size:19px !important;line-height:29px !important;margin:0 0 10px 0;padding-left:4px;\">Keep claims specific to a date range and campaign.<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style:disc outside !important;font-size:19px !important;line-height:29px !important;margin:0 0 10px 0;padding-left:4px;\">Don&#8217;t send repeated, poorly documented claims.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why refund cases stall<\/h2>\n<p>Refund and credit claims need a well-documented case. Microsoft runs one central support desk for all advertisers, and small and mid-sized businesses rarely have a dedicated rep. Microsoft relies on Partner Program partners to help SMBs build and escalate these cases.<\/p>\n<h2>FAQ<\/h2>\n<h3>Can I get a refund for unused prepaid funds?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, by deactivating the account with a refund-eligible balance.<\/p>\n<h3>Will Microsoft refund clicks that didn&#8217;t convert?<\/h3>\n<p>No. Only invalid clicks qualify.<\/p>\n<h3>Are coupon credits refundable?<\/h3>\n<p>No. Promotional credits can&#8217;t be redeemed for cash.<\/p>\n<h3>Does a credit go to my card?<\/h3>\n<p>A credit first pays any existing balance, then applies to future charges.<\/p>\n<h2>Get help with billing disputes<\/h2>\n<p>Adcore checks billing issues and escalates to Microsoft when the problem is on the platform side, free. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/microsoft-advertising-support-partner\/\" style=\"color:#0d6ce5 !important;text-decoration:underline;\">Get free Microsoft Ads support<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Quick answer Microsoft Advertising gives credits for invalid clicks you were charged for, and refunds a positive balance when you deactivate your account. It doesn&#8217;t credit poor performance, low ROI, tool downtime, test campaigns or bank fees. To request an invalid-click credit, contact support with your evidence. Investigations can take up to a month to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":44963,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[{"category_link":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/ad-platforms\/","category_name":"Ad Platforms"},{"category_link":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/ad-platforms\/microsoft-ads\/","category_name":"Microsoft Ads"}],"tags":[],"authors":[250],"article_types":[182],"staff_picks":[],"promotions":[436],"class_list":["post-44686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ad-platforms","category-microsoft-ads","authors-adcore-marketing-team","article_types-how-tos","promotions-microsoft-support"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44686"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44686\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44927,"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44686\/revisions\/44927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44686"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=44686"},{"taxonomy":"article_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_types?post=44686"},{"taxonomy":"staff_picks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/staff_picks?post=44686"},{"taxonomy":"promotions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adcore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/promotions?post=44686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}