Update 7th Feb 2009:
The saga is over! Microsoft have now given us the option to remove credit card details through Xbox.com. See Remove Your Credit Card Details from Xbox Live – ONLINE! for details.
A few months ago I decided to purchase a months Xbox Live Gold membership. As you all know this is very easy to do. Enter credit/debit card details and Microsoft take your money before you can blink. Then you receive the obligatory confirmatory email thanking you for your soul purchase. This email also tells you that your membership will automatically renew and:
For information about changing or cancelling your membership and your membership refund policy, go to www.xbox.com/live/accounts.
However, you can’t cancel your membership or remove your credit card details either via your Xbox dashboard or www.xbox.com/live/accounts. Even when you end up at http://billing.microsoft.com you can only change or add a credit/debit card. There is no facility what-so-ever to remove a payment method or cancel a service. Rubbish.
However, I want to stop my monthly Xbox Live Gold subscription. The only way to do this (at the moment) is by calling Xbox Support. I’ve included all the options you need to select to get you through to the relevant help desk person.
UK Xbox Support – Telephone: 0800 587 1102
- Press 1 – Xbox 360 support menu
- Then press 1 – For Xbox Live including billing enquires menu
- Then press 2 – For the cancel or enquire about your account menu
- Finally press 1 – To speak to someone about cancelling your Xbox Live subscription
After I’d said I wanted to remove my credit card details from my Xbox Live account, I was asked for the following information:
- Name
- Credit/Debit card number
- Address
- Home phone number
- Xbox Live username
- Mobile phone number
I was then given a call reference (no surprises there) and told that my request would be escalated to a special team. A member of this team would contact me (via my mobile number) within 48 hours.
The result of all this. It will take 30 days to remove my credit card details from my Xbox Live account. Yes, 30 days (I asked the help desk person to confirm this, just in case I miss heard, which they did). I find this totally unacceptable. The actual (and time-consuming) process of removing/cancelling your card details was completely glossed over in all the communications I received from Microsoft. I won’t hold my breath for the ability to cancel any subscription via the Xbox 360 dashboard. Somehow I don’t think it’s on Microsoft’s feature list (i.e it won’t make them any money). However, until they add this functionality I will not add my credit card details to my live account again.
Update 1st Jan 08: The task of removing my card details continues in part II and part III.
Our advice, remove your card details and buy pre-paid cards instead:
- Xbox Live 12 Month Gold Membership plus 1 free month!!!
- Xbox Live 12 Month Gold Membership Card
- Xbox Live 3 Month Gold Membership Card
- Xbox Live 4200 Points Card
- Xbox Live 2100 Points Card
December 16th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
If you want L!ve Gold but won’t put in your credit card details, buy the cards. That’s what I’ve done, you stick in the code and hey presto, no card info needed.
I’d just like to say though that a 30 day period is not unusual for an ‘electronic contract’. Almost everything else that you purchase service-wise will have a cool-off period. Nonetheless, the fact that they make it so damn difficult is something that Microsoft should be called out over – it’s beyond unacceptable.
December 16th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Yeah, cool-off periods are common and incredibly annoying. It doesn’t help when their idea of “within 48 hours” is more like a week and even then, all they do is confirm what you’ve already told them.
December 16th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Yep, I’m only going to buy the pre-paid cards from now on.
I agree, 30 days is not unusual, but they hide the all the faffing it takes to get your details removed. If I’d have known this in the first place, well, I wouldn’t have added my card details!
January 29th, 2008 at 4:47 am
There is a way to have credit card information removed from the Billing site. When you sign in, click on the credit card that you want to be removed. This should bring up Payment Method Activity Page. You should then see a link that says Go to Payment Method Information. From here you should see a link for Use a different payment method. Once you click on that option, you will see two options on the next page. One will be a for a new card and if you have any cards on there already, there will be an option for any of these. Click on the appropriate option, and at the next page, click next. This will allow you to transfer your Live service from one card to another. After you enter the card information. go back to main page and you should see that the previous card will show removed in parentheses.
This will only work if A)You have access to the billing page, meaning you know the Live ID and password and B)You are not canceling service completely, only changing credit card numbers. This will make it easier for you to choose the credit card to charge when you buy content on Live.
January 30th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Hi Missy, thanks for your comments.
However, I have specifically asked Microsoft to remove my one and only credit card attached to my Xbox Live account. I do not want to add another, or change card, I want it removed.
To date they have created multiple help calls, contacted me when I’ve specifically asked not to and they still have not done as I’ve asked.
They said it would be removed in 30 days. Well, I’m still waiting. Quite frankly a pathetic service from Microsoft.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Dear people….Ive got 2x 2 month free trials(expired)..and when i go to register it asks me for credit card details…if i put them in will MICROSOFT charge me??? or is credit card details simply required for signup??
February 25th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Managed to get through to the helpdesk without much fuss……….but then……………grrrrrrrrrrrrr! It was quite difficult to communicate with the guy on the phone, his spoken English wasnt too clear, but hey, call centres alike we should be use to that by now? Said subscription is cancelled, and details taken off would take some time, he didnt say how long. But apparantly someone will call me within 48 hours. He expressed his concern for my cancellation and removing details, told me i wont ever be able to use this credit card for xbox or any other microsoft services EVER again. I queried this, and was told it was microsoft policy!! Dont you think we all deserve a understandable explanation? Microsoft or not, this service is poo! Should have got the ps3, could have gone live for free!!
March 5th, 2008 at 6:50 am
Xbox Live has been billing me for 2 years.
You have to call then to cancel an account.
I have called several times for them to stop.
They still keep charging.
It is always a runaround.
Either in the phone recording
Or the operator.
They want to know when they can contact me,
Yet they can only call when they have time.
They sent an email, in which I replied,
But it came back.
1. Contact the BBB, Better Business Bureau online.
The more people that contact the BBB, the worse the
rating Xbox Live gets. You must find them by their
phone number from the Xbox web site.
2. If your credit card is from your bank, the bank can
stop payments to Microsoft. It will cost $20 +.
If the credit card is through a company, you can
Dispute payment. Your credit card company will
Send a form that you will have to get notarized.
If you can change the account information, set the
Credit card date to end at the end of the month!
3. Search for Xbox Live problems on the internet.
Post negative comments about Xbox Live. They actually
Pay people to check the internet for negative posts.
Maybe with enough publicity, Xbox will become better.
Don’t forget to mention in your posts that Xbox is
Making a fortune by billing people who do not use their services.
After contacting BBB, and then contacting Xbox again,
Let them know you will have to contact the BBB again.
March 9th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Hey for everyone out there trying to cancel your xbox live subscription, its true that you need to call them, but to save them scamming you out of week or months of extra (time delayed) service, you need to tell them when asked “whats your reason for cancelation”, that you no longer own an oxbox, or have never owned one i.e its your mates or whatever.
my acocunt was cancelled immidietly!
March 17th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
hi, just thought i’d add a couple of things, first off i’m disgusted with MS’s business practice in making it so easy to place a credit card on their service via the dashboard yet provide no option whatsoever on how to cancel a subscription or remove your card details on it or online, and make it incredibly hard to do so over the phone, my advice to anyone considering buying an xbox or putting a credit card online is simply don’t. I was just going to cancel my subscription while i went away for work for three months but having found this disturbing aspect of their business practice i’m selling my xbox 360 altogether and making sure none of my friends even consider giving MS their card details
March 18th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
hey guys Barughy is rite, i just rungg MS n they cancelled my account immeadiately rather than 30 days time. result. cheers 4 this guide btw was very useful =]
March 26th, 2008 at 2:55 am
hey, i have deleted 3 different accounts and everytime, they bin deleted within 48 hours. i even got the mail confirming. its simple. if ur worried go to your bank and get them to block it. it isnt bloomin rocket science
March 26th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Paul> You say you have deleted 3 different accounts. Are you referring to Xbox LIVE accounts or the credit card details attached to them?
You see, I don’t want my Xbox LIVE account deleted, only my credit card details, which Microsoft seemingly unable to do. They are very different.
March 26th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Simplest thing to do is go to billings.microsoft.com
edit your CC details and enter:
Description of credit card: a
Name on credit card: a
Address: a
a
Next time they will charge your CC they will fail.
Temp solution for this.
BEWARE: your live account might be suspended for using fraud CC details.
Happened to few of mine friends, but as long you using code to pay for xbl gold, you are in the game, when that ends, they will go to your CC.
April 9th, 2008 at 3:15 am
I made the mistake of giving my credit card information to Microsoft. I found out my son has been charging points indiscriminately and decided to to remove the credit card info to stop him. Woah. As mentioned earlier in this forum there is no way to do it. What a crock. I’ve spent at least an hour of my time so far trying to figure out a way
I’ve been on hold with Xbox for 10 minutes. What a pain in the a##. Microsoft and xbox should be ashamed!!! What a crappy way of treating customers.
Well…after 15 minutes on hold I finally got to speak with the broken english customer service person. Spent 10 minutes telling her the problem. After exhaustive questions to veriy my account. Then a few minutes to create a “ticket” to remove the credit card billing info I was put on hold again so I could speak to a supervisor. I’m currently on hold again trying to speak to the supervisor.
Ten minutes again with the supervisor and, hopefully, the credit card info. will be removed in 30 days…sheesh. She told me that if there are any other charges to the account within the 30 day period that the period would be extended. She told me that, in order to prevent more charges to my card until the credit card info is removed, I should take the console away from my son. Sheesh. She had the very hard to understand accent and when I asked her what country she’s in she said she’s not able to divulge that information….nice.
Well. I guarantee that’s the last time I give any credit card info to xbox. What they’re doing here is VERY unethical.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Hi, I went through the process of telephoning xbox live to cancel my card details “twice”
The first time was 6 months ago and the last time was in January. On both occasions they told me to give it 30 days and the card imformation would be removed….. but it wasn’t!
My credit card expired in February 2008 but xbox live were still able to withdraw from my new card (in april 2008) even though the expiry date and security code have changed!!
I did have a word with my card issuer and they say that xbox can do this, and apparantly can do so even if the card is cancelled!!!
I was told to put it in writing to my card issuer and they would investigate it…. what a load of ****
I will try Lauris M’s option above, hopefully this will work for me
cheers, daz
May 4th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I’m attempting to remove my credit card information as well. I didn’t even have a membership. My son had signed up for the free month and I purchased points for him during that month. When I purchased the points, I realized that it stored my info. I immediately tried to delete it–on the system and online. I ended up calling support. They informed me that the credit card was connected to my membership. I told them I didn’t have a membership. Since my son signed up for the free membership trial (which required no credit card), I had a membership. After an hour of ranting and sharing my frustrations with support people that sounded like robots, they informed me that they’d call me back in two weeks. The process would take 30 days. Yesterday (two weeks later) they called. I missed their call. They left a message–a name and a reference number. Today I called and I was told that I would be called back tomorrow. I asked what else do they need from me that I haven’t already told them. I told them I could tell them right now whatever they needed to know. But, they said I had to answer the phone when the support person called. Microsoft treats their customers like ants that they can squash at any time.
May 19th, 2008 at 3:51 am
So, is there a way to remove the credit card without having to add another card or without having to speak to the ppl at microsoft customer care who cant talk english and are no help?? My ex girlfriends mum bought me 12 months gold back in early 2007, not knowing her credit card would stay linked to my account, then my xbox live got hacked into, and the people hacking into it used the credit card to buy xbox live so they could play online with my account on their xbox! i changed all my details to stop them getting in but they tried buying 2 years gold, and this has resulted in my xbox live being suspended :( So, i’m considering buying a ps3, which most of my mates have done. if xbox live was free like ps3, i wouldnt have this problem!!
June 11th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Having wanted to cancel my 2 accounts via the dashboard and realising i couldn’t i googled ‘how to remove credit card details from xbox live’ and came up with page. Although some of the replies were helpful i decided to just ring up and do it over the phone. I told the bloke on phone (whose English was extremely poor) that i waneted to cancel my accounts. I gave the reason that i no longer had my XBox and was leaving the country to go travelling and closing down the bank account which the payment came out of. He said that he would immediatley cancel both accounts there and then as there was no point keeping them active. The reason i gave was actually in fact a real reason but i figured it may be worth sharing it as anyone else who wanted immediate cancellation could use this excuse.
June 28th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
A supervisor finally got on the line with me after 30 minutes of waiting (the day before, I waited 45 minutes before being told that all the supervisors are very busy!). So, she informed me that it will take 30 days from today to delete all my CC info from the account, and I will get a call back regarding such. I plan to keep vigil on my CC purchase history from here until then, and I’m definitely going to hold them to that 30 days!!
July 7th, 2008 at 2:39 am
I cancelled my XBox Live account today, and while I was on the phone I asked the (American) operator why it was that I could create an account online, add new credit cards, purchase points, change my contact info and do anything else except cancel.
He said it’s because if members could cancel their accounts via the internet “other people migh be able to falsely log in to your account (we call them hackers) and cancel your XBOX live account without your permission.”
I couldn’t help laughing at him. I said I know what a hacker is, and if Microsoft’s system is so insecure that they fear hackers might login in and cancel my account I’m glad i’m shutting it down, since it gives me no confidence at all in thier ability to securely protect my credit card and personal contact info, nor to safely process payments or other transactions online. I suggested that what he had offered me was the most flimsy excuse imaginable for a system blatantly designed to minimise cancellations by obscuring the process.
We agreed to disagree.
Now we’ll wait and see if the cancellation was actually successful or if they’ll just tap my credit card next week anyway when the renewal date rolls around…
July 14th, 2008 at 5:50 am
i also want to remove my credit card information from xbox live…now if i called up xbox, could they completely remove my credit card information without removing my account and my current gold membership? The renewal isn’t until march 09, so i don’t want to lose the rest of this membership, all i want is my credit card information removed so that they cannot automatically charge me for another year of live. is this possible?
August 10th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
this is true i followed al lthe steps exactly how he told me and i have to wait 30 days for the process
August 15th, 2008 at 11:43 am
My son has been gaining points without my permission (A bit of character correction needed)I tried to cancel my card on the xbox!
Well hey presto, you can’t!I think it is a disgrace that Microsoft can do this! Were there warnings at the begin? I don’t know,but I didn’t see them.
This needs to be sorted out quickly and people should warn everyone they know.
My son needs a password to go on windows live but need a password to pay for points? Doh! maybe I’ve missed something?
I ran microsoft and someone is ringing me within 48 hours. What a joke!
August 22nd, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Xbox Live is the most corrupt business out their! I was on the phone 3 hours, one representative would send me to the next and they all would say they couldn’t remove my card. They should all be hung. I finally hung up. I’m reporting them to the better business bureau for fraud and the us generals office.They intentional try to stop people from canceling their credit cards. I had this problem on the xbox1 but never thought it would happen again.I will never buy from them again!
September 7th, 2008 at 3:24 am
hey, i have had an idear! to stop them charging from ur CC you buy a 3 month card, and change the payment method to prepaid, then use up the 3 months and ur sweet
would that work?
September 8th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
My son used my card to pay for 3 months gold membership – I only found out that the subscription was ongoing when I checked my bank statements. If it says 3 months it should be for 3 months – not ongoing. I told them my son had used my card and they cancelled immediately – not problems with call backs etc – but I am going to complain about the ongoing subscription – they should give a chance to opt out.
Thanks for the info – really useful. Saved me £s!
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I found this page from Google after getting confused about how the hell you cancel your monthly subscription to Live.
I got an 0800 number off my card statement and after a series of button pushes ended up speaking to a chap who took my confirmation details (name, address, gamertag etc).
Granted his English was not the best (i think he was french) but he was actually really polite and helpful. He asked my reason for cancelling and i explained that i’m moving to Hong Kong and selling the 360.
He then helpfully explained how i could go about recovering my Gamertag in HK if i wanted, and that i could immediately recover my payment details on another 360 if i wanted to purchase more Live time in the future.
He also told me that i’ve just paid for the month of September and gave me the option of cancelling the Gold subscription immediately or letting it run out after the 30 days (which i’ve already paid for).
All in all the call took about 5 minutes and i’ve had no promises of call backs or anything. The guy gave me a verification code which i could use for any future queries and i have not had to pay for a cooling off period.
Not sure why everyone else is having problems, i found it to be the easiest bill cancellation i’ve ever done, certainly easier than most phone companies!!
[By the way, i’m in the UK. Not sure if the neg experiences are US ones…)
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Oh wait.
I see.
I just cancelled my subsciption but Microsoft still have my cred card details.
Oh well, they can’t legally do anything with it so i don’t see why it would be a problem. Why is everyone so stressed about Microsoft having their card details? About 5000 companies and people around the world have mine but nothing bad ever comes of it!
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:52 pm
This is fucking bullshit. If I knew I couldn’t cancel my subscription I would of NEVER put my details in. This has pissed me off to the max, Microsoft deserve a huge slap to the face the money grabbing pricks.
October 4th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Hey Nick,
You can cancel your subscription over the phone. It’s just not as easy as it should be and they still retain your card details.
As Autumn says above, it’s not a huge deal for most people. Scott posting above, however, has had problems with his kid charging his card and I can see why he’d want the card number removed.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Well you can just change your verification code and when they try to charge they will not be aloud to. Voila !
November 12th, 2008 at 8:23 am
I just cancelled my son’s gold subscription by calling the xbox number and what a load of shit. The hardly can speak english guy on the phone also advised me that when getting your credit card details deleted, you cannot change your gamer tag for 30 days (no biggy) but you also cannot use that credit card to purchase any microsoft product for 30 days. In this day and age of electronic purchasing, this is the biggest crock of shit I have ever heard of. I let the guy on the phone know how pissed off I was and that I would be badmouthing microsoft and he didn’t even give a shit.
November 24th, 2008 at 11:02 am
I have been using prepaid 3 month subscriptions for a while now, and at the end of my last 3 month period my live subscription tried to switch back over to my old credit card details. I no longer had this credit card and the account was then suspended as it couldn't complete payment. I didn't realise this was going on for over 1 month as my Live email and commonly used email address are different.
I bought another 3 month subscription but it wouldn't let me redeem the code as I was suspended, and as I do not have a credit card anymore could not update my details to continue. Frustrating!
So I have called the number provided above today and told them of my dilemma. The first call was to "Dennis" who told me all systems were down today and to call back later. Cheers Dennis! I didn't believe that for 1 second so I called back immediately and spoke with "William" who understood my problem and promptly removed the suspension on the account, as well as cancelling any money I owed them. I have now redeemed my 3 month voucher and back up and runing, oh and my old CC details have been removed from their system (confirmed on microsoft billing).
So, if you're in a fix, you can try that angle, and remember it pays to keep calling back until you get someone willing to help. You could always ask for "William". Good luck!
November 26th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I had the same thing happen(obviously not uncommon). I called to have it cancelled at the beginning of October and they told me I would be billed again in Oct. then once more in Nov. and that there was no way around that.. Aside from the annoying process of cancelling your subscription, I was really bothered that when I tried to get on to xbox live in early Nov.(which I had already payed for) I was already demoted to the silver membership and could not play online. Microsoft is a bunch of shiesty thieves.
December 4th, 2008 at 6:55 am
Just got off the phone with M$ to cancel my xbl gold account and take off my credit card. Took bout 15-20 min and they told me that they can't cancel my gold right away that I have to wait till the end of my subscription period. Then they gave me a reference number and told me that someone will call me asking for the number so they can clear my credit card off of my 360
December 4th, 2008 at 6:56 am
And on another note, the person, who I think was from the call center in India kept messing up my phone number i gave them so they can call me back.
December 19th, 2008 at 5:24 am
Thanks for all these posts. I was prompted to put in my card details to verify my age so my 9 year old son could sign up for a free account on Xbox Live. They even ask for the security number on the signature strip just to verify my age! My card is not going to be charged 'at this time' – so when are they going to start charging me? My son will just have to use my sign in!
December 27th, 2008 at 2:16 am
why do microsoft make things so difficult is there no easy methods of canceling the credit card details without ringing them up ???
January 10th, 2009 at 8:57 am
subscription models .. 60+% wont 'bother' to cancel .. typically parents of teens. notice most games teens play now online .. subscription models.. you'd be suprised how many dont know there kids no longer play .. hence why gaming is such a big business.
thanks for this though .. just sold mine .. to add you can only cancel mon to friday! typical. .. hey this is why NOT to endorse microsoft products .. i now have a ps3 .. no billing and just as good .. quality is way better and very quite compared to the xbox.
January 16th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
hey, i have read what you have said but i didnt find this.. when i typed in my redeem cod for 2100 microsoft points it just say`s (infomation can not be found by xboxlive?) i just wanted to know do i need to remove my credit card, so it would let me use these micro points?
January 20th, 2009 at 10:03 am
oh my god oh my god…..i am so shocked at the things you have to go through to get you credit card details removed from xbox live.
ive just come off the phone after 32 mins of trying to explain that the xbox has been sold and i need to remove my details from the account…(i had signed up to xbox live for my nephew and he has since moved away) so i dont see him to get the money so i wanted my credit card details removing from his console. what a balava…..needed all his details ,email,address,telephone number…blah blah blah…
January 20th, 2009 at 10:03 am
in the end i lost my rag and told them if they dont remove them now ..not in 30 days, now…that i would hold the resonsible to fruad in the knowledge that id told them about the card details being charged monthly on another console so that made them aiding and abetting fraud…!!! guess what…….it worked and they removed my card details strait away…and i was given the ref number and told i will not be charged again…….whoo hoo…..may i just say though….i out of interest asked they what country they are in and they refused to tell me…another person came on to the line and i asked them also…he said i can only tell you we are in europe im sorry we are not allowed to tell you any more…..whats that all about??????????whats going on here????????
January 24th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
omg… please go on hold…. please go on hold…. please go on hold… sorry our server is down… please continue to hold… thank you for your patients… continue to hold… wow good job microsoft. I'm really impressed with this multi-billion dollar company finding any way to suck the pockets dry of it's consumer.
January 27th, 2009 at 9:53 am
well i just got off the phone, i was on there for less than 5 mins. It sounded like a indian call centre. The girl on the end was really nice. She cancelled my sisters account for me straight away.
Lets hope its actually been cancelled eh
February 5th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
No idea if this helps anybody but I managed to remove my CC details from my Xbox without any difficulty through the xbox website (I'm based in Belgium).
All I did was log in to the website using my windows live account data. After a bit of scrolling around on the website (in the "manage profile" section I found when using the drop down menu in the top right of the website) I found my CC details with the possibility to either amend or delete them. I deleted them, turned my chair around and fired up my Xbox to see if indeed my payment details had been removed… and they had.
It is however outrageous that you can't do this from your X-box.
Again, I hope this helps.
Take care
February 7th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Hey Johan,
Thanks very much for posting this. I've just check and yes, it seems they've fiiiinallygiven us the option to remove the credit card through their website :) We'll spread the word…
February 7th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Hey Johan,
Thanks very much for posting this. I've just check and yes, it seems they've fiiiinally given us the option to remove the credit card through their website :) We'll spread the word…
February 20th, 2009 at 2:56 am
i know i hate it also, you have to call them to cancel, mine will be deleted after the time runs out on it, but it is annoying how they try to get you to keep it, like asking if you would like to use it as a "practice account" with if you don't know it means that you points or rep on it don't count, or if we would keep it for a friend to use, who would pay money for a friend to use your account, but it only took about 10-20 min to get it all done, and hopefully it gets deactivated on the right date and there are no more problems
February 20th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Just read this now because I was speculating entering mine but I wanted to know if I could remove them.
Frankly, this is bullshit.
You can remove your credit/debit card details instantly on itunes, so how hard can it be to remove them on Live?
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:13 pm
I've recently experienced the same problem as most complainants on here. My son had set up an XBox Live account using my credit card details to purchase Gold membership and I couldn't remove the credit card details afterwards – most annoying and decidedly insecure!!!
However, having read Johan's message above, it does seem as if Microsoft have finally got the message and the removal of credit card details can now be easily done:-
Go to the XBox Live website, sign into the XBox Live account, select "manage profile" from the "My xBox" pull down menu, then "Manage Payment Options". The next screen lists the credit cards associated with the account and has an Edit/Remove option to the right hand side of each. Select the Remove option and job done!!!
It's nice to see that Microsoft have removed this extremely unethical and amoral policy and practice!!!!
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Great, works for me.. Thanks Johan!
My remaining questions are:
Is it still necessary to cancel membership, e.g. will Microsoft request payment at expiry time?
What happens to my XBLive Gamertag- can I renew it on a new XBL membership later?
March 26th, 2009 at 3:08 am
this is because the government is trying to keep track of us they are storing all this information for some future use this is why they need to know so many details so that they are sure they are watching the right person
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:34 am
Hey, i just tried this exact same thing you described and it says the information is linked to an active account and cannot be removed. so what do i do? wait for my live subscription to expire?
April 16th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Cancelling Your Account
To cancel your Xbox Live account, please call 0800 587 1102.
hi all , just phoned the above number and x-box live was cancelled straight away.took about 5 / 10 mins.even after i sold my x-box 13 months ago they were still taking £4.99 out my account every month that i did not know about until today.no refund was offered but it's cancelled now.
April 17th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
thank you so much for posting this..it took my half an hour to find this page and this number as all other numbers lead me to some random warehouse…it took my 12 minutes to cancel but i must admit the guy was very helpful and recommended that if i want gold but don't want to put my credit card on the line…buy the pre-pay cards and just enter the code…easy :)
May 19th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
visit xbox.com and sign in(top right corner).
From there go to manage account.There is an option to cancel credit card details from your xbox.It does work, I've just done it.
You can also turn off Automatic renewal.
May 19th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Sorry meant to say that Accounts are accessed by clicking on "my xbox" and clicking on accounts from the drop down.
My xbox is just under where you sign in.
I hope that this helps.
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:56 am
yeah long winded, apparently they will remove my card details and cancel subscription and because i still have a few months left they are going to email me a code to allow me to use the remaining subscription time, they said they are working on a solution to allow people to remove their card details – don't hold your breath! i will be purchasing those top up cards from now on!
I remember having this trouble 12 years ago when I signed up to microsoft dial-up internet.
June 4th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Fantastic have just called 0800 587 1102 as Gareth Brown suggested a few posts up and got through to speak to an american guy and he gave me a reference number as proof of my cancellation and that was it he sorted it all out for me. The whole process took 5 minutes. Just gona keep an eye on my bank now to make sure the subscription deffinately doesnt charge me come renewal day. But im very happy so far.
Thanks everyone for the info.
June 11th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
I did it quite easily to be honest. I went onto my Xbox live account via my laptop and then there was an option to remove the credit card as a payment option. Though to be fair I cancelled my Gold membership subscription months ago
June 13th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
My advise to anyone who is thinking of putting their credit card details on X box live is don't. I put my debit cards details in to purchase points so my son could download a film. Approximately a week later when I checked my emails I found that several other transactions had taken place and someone kept adding points to my sons account. They also managed to change his gamer tag name to the Devils Pubes ( I suppose they thought that was funnly) . At first I thought it was my son purchasing without permission. However he had already reported to Xbox that someone had hacked into his account. I was furious at this point so rang Xbox . Luckily points were added but apart from the points used to change the gamer tag no other downloads had taken place. They blocked my son's system for downloads and refunded me for all the points added approx £40. This took a couple of weeks. I did not get an explanation on how someone could hack into our system. They could not take my debit card details off straight away so I ended up cancelling my card with the bank. I have now purchased a points card but am having problems adding them to his account so I will be ringing them today.
August 7th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
yah um… i dont have a credit or debit and i dont kno why but i cant just enter the code… i have the papers and codes but i cant enter the stupid thing…
August 31st, 2009 at 11:59 am
I understand everyones frustration, because MS customer service is appaling. My situation was that there was an offer on Xbox live where you could buy a month subscription for one pound, but after the one month was over they kept on billing my credit card the full £4.99. this went on for 3 months before i realised they were charging me. this wasnt a problem because i play on my xbox alot and aslong as i had the credit in my bank account it was ok. last week i found out i avt got enough money to pay the £4.99 so i went on the xbox website and very easily removed my card details.
I did it by entering my msn messenger details in to sign in my gamertag, then by following the links "change contact infomation" then "Manage payment options" and finaly remove creit card detalis. Hope this helps people beat the hold microsoft has on us all.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
I added my credit card to my account to get xbox live and tried to remove my credit card info a dozen times, then called them thet said they would refund me with online credits but I'd have to go back from gold membership to silver meaning no online play. I have 2 kids and the xbox live downloaded games I got the boys need to sign into my account to use them. Worst thing is that I now realize all my old xbox harddrives some of I had sold hold the info to enter my account and charge whatever they want to my credit card. There should be a separate pin number for online purchases to protect my credit card and this would cut down on the hassle from customers cancelling their Xbox accounts, reporting lost credit card or filing fraud charges.
December 20th, 2009 at 4:05 am
no matter what MS does to scam u. u got to remember the games that they are giving you if u want to cancel its not hard i canceled a lot of a accounts a day your mad because it happened to u but seeing millions of people are messaging don't u feel better that it's not just u?
MS:bad company
xbox live:great fun
December 25th, 2009 at 6:40 am
1. Go to http://marketplace.xbox.com/MyAccount/MyAccount.a...
(http://marketplace.xbox.com/MyAccount/MyAccount.a...
and sign in with your Windows Live ID.
2. Select Manage Payment Options.
3. Find the payment option that you want to remove and click Remove.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
February 14th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
I just had to do this myself, I was frustrated there wasn’t a clear option to remove it and I had to make a call, after listening to a pre recorded message about things I already knew I got to a person in a call center and it took 10 mins but she deleted my card removed the suspension for the payment not coming out on the renewal date and now my redeem code from my card works, so luckily I didn’t have to wait 30 days, maybe its because I’m from the UK or because they’ve sorted themselves out a bit.
It still should be an option on the actual xbox accounts screen though.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:21 am
I too have felt the pain dished out by the great and powerful Mircosoft. I have tried the suggestions in the other posts to no avail. I have endured through the 1hr 10min phone call, only to be offered a 7 day process where my kids will not have access to live (meanwhile they are off from school this week). I have failed. BUT I NOW KNOW THE ANSWER. Too late for myself, but I hope others can benefit.
NEVER give Microsoft your credit card. – Major credit card companies feature online temporary numbers that allow you to hide your real number and apply strict limits to the temporary numbers. Bank of America offers “Shopsafe” and CitiCards offers “Virtual Credit Card”. Good Luck.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
if you go to this link, http://www.xbox.com/live/accounts, then click on ‘manage payment options at the side it will clearly ask you wethyer to edit, add or remove your payment options (credit card details)
March 7th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Yup, they finally added that last year :)