Hi everyone! I'm a student who signed up for the AWS Free Tier to learn about cloud services, but I made a mistake by accidentally creating an OpenSearch service, which isn't covered by the Free Tier. A few weeks later, I was shocked to see a $67 charge on my account. I deleted the OpenSearch resource and contacted AWS Support to request a one-time billing waiver, but all I got back was an automated message about Free Tier usage that didn't solve my issue. I've already deleted all my services and I can't afford this charge since I have no income, which is causing me a lot of stress. I'm wondering if anyone has had success getting AWS to waive a similar charge. Should I follow up for a real response, or is there a better way to escalate my situation? Also, what happens if I just don't pay? Will they send my bill to collections or just block my account? Any advice would really help! Thanks!
3 Answers
I feel for you. AWS should really have billing limits in place because it's so easy to accidentally incur charges. It's quite alarming how many people get unexpected bills. Just make sure to follow up persistently; you might eventually get a human who can help you sort this out.
You should definitely reach out to AWS again, explaining your situation clearly. They usually offer some credits for first-time issues, especially for students. Just make sure to set up billing alerts next time and verify that all your services are within the Free Tier limits before you launch them.
Yeah, it’s kind of a mess how they handle this. Until they implement strict limits, many students will keep facing the same issue. But if you're contemplating not paying, you should know that could lead to collections or account locks. It's really important to keep trying to get AWS to listen.
Related Questions
Cloudflare Origin SSL Certificate Setup Guide
How To Effectively Monetize A Site With Ads