I've been using AWS for ages without any major hiccups, but lately, I've run into some wild billing problems that I can't wrap my head around. Here's the rundown:
First off, I tried to delete some resources through the CLI, but I found out a month later that AWS charged me nearly $600 for usage on those resources that I thought I had removed. I disputed the charges but knew it probably wouldn't go anywhere. The next month, I got billed again for the same resources that I had actually deleted. I checked, and they were still active. I don't have that kind of cash on hand, which left my account delinquent. Fast forward to the third month, and I received another $600 bill, despite trying to set up a payment plan with them, but got no response.
I even set up billing alerts to notify me when usage hit around $85 or $100 and deleted everything except a micro instance. But then things got even crazier: I deposited money into my account, and right away, they took $600 for the bill. Two days later, I received an email that my account was suspended!
I feel utterly lost since I now get emails about exceeding resource limits. My account is suspended, so I can't log in, but they won't discuss my billing issues without me logging in. How is it possible they can keep billing me for resources I can't access? My endpoints are down, so they shouldn't be charging me. How can I get AWS to resolve this or at least stop billing me for resources I can't use? I admit I might have missed something, but this feels extremely unfair. Has anyone else experienced something similar?
3 Answers
Sorry to hear about the struggle! If you could list which specific resources you're being billed for, it might help narrow down the problem. Sometimes, you can miss things that are still running in the background, like load balancers or EBS volumes, which can lead to unexpected charges.
It sounds like you're caught in a bit of a nightmare. Have you confirmed that there are no lingering resources? Sometimes, services like EC2 can come with auto-scaling groups that might spin up new instances once the older ones are deleted, which can add to your bill without you realizing it. Make sure you check your EC2 setup thoroughly.
I totally understand your frustration. If you're still getting charged, even with a suspended account, you can try accessing AWS support online. They typically allow you to create a support case via their site, and someone may be able to help resolve the billing issue directly. However, it sounds like you're having some major trouble accessing your account.
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