[Billing Bug] Account charged twice for unauthorized Max Plan upgrade — refund denied despite system error

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Support Conversation IDs (for Anthropic team reference):

• Conversation ID 1: 215474518443450
• Conversation ID 2: 215474549833264

My claude.ai account has been automatically upgraded from Claude Pro to Max Plan TWICE without my knowledge, consent, or any action on my part — and my Mastercard was charged each time without authorization.

Incident 1 — May 31, 2026:
Account upgraded to Max Plan without consent. Charged $202.74 USD. The refund was processed after contacting support (Conversation ID: 215474518443450).

Incident 2 — June 2, 2026:
Just ONE DAY after redeeming a 3-month Claude Pro gift voucher, the account was again automatically upgraded to Max Plan without consent. Charged $220 USD.

A refund for $220 has been DENIED by the support bot citing the "previous refund already issued" policy, even though these are two completely separate unauthorized charges caused by a system error, not user action.

Additionally:

• Mastercard cannot be removed (no self-service option)
• Gift voucher Pro subscription is at risk of being

Canceled if Max Plan is removed

• The human support agent has not responded despite

multiple days of waiting

Total unauthorized charges: $422.74
This is not a user error. This is a system billing bug.

What Should Happen?

My account should never be automatically upgraded to a higher plan without my explicit consent and confirmation. Unauthorized charges should be refunded regardless of previous refund history when the cause is a system error.

Error Messages/Logs

No error messages shown. Subscription silently upgraded and card charged without any notification or user action. Support bot response: "Not eligible for refund due to previously issued refund."

Steps to Reproduce

1. Have an active Claude Pro subscription
2. Redeem a gift voucher for the Pro plan
3. Account automatically upgrades to Max Plan

without user action

1. The card is charged without consent

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

N/A

Claude Code Version

N/A — claude.ai web interface billing issue

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

Other

Additional Information

This is a billing issue, not a Claude Code CLI bug. Reporting here because the support bot has been unable to escalate to the human billing team after multiple attempts. Matches pattern in issues #45335, #31012, #20363, and #48399. Please forward to the human billing team immediately.