Billing troubleshooting.
Paid but still on Free? Card declined? Want a refund? The handful of things that go wrong with billing, and exactly what to do about each one.
The handful of things that go wrong with billing, and what to do about each.
“I paid but I'm still on the Free plan”
This is the one we see most, and it's always recoverable — your money is not lost.
ScoutRival lets you pay before you have an account: you check out, then create your account, and the signup claims the subscription you just bought. Almost always seamless. It breaks in one situation:
You paid in one browser and signed up in another — or on your phone and then your laptop. The link between the payment and the new account is carried in the URL you're returned to after checkout. Open that link somewhere else and the connection is lost.
What to do:
- Go back to the tab you paid in, if it's still open, and complete the signup there.
- Sign up with the same email you paid with. That's the thread we use to reconnect the two.
- Then email support with the email address you paid with. We'll reconnect your subscription — it takes a minute and you won't be charged again.
Don't pay twice. It won't fix it, and then we have two subscriptions to unpick.
My card was declined
Stripe retries a failed payment automatically over the following days, so a one-off decline usually resolves itself.
While that's happening, you keep full access. We don't lock you out the moment a payment fails — that would punish you for your bank being cautious.
You'll get an in-app notification asking you to update your card. Do that under Billing → Manage billing → Payment methods → Add payment method. The new card becomes your default automatically.
I want a refund
We offer a 14-day money-back guarantee on every paid plan.
There's no button for it — email support within 14 days of paying and we'll refund you. No forms, no exit interview, no “are you sure” five times. Tell us it wasn't for you and we'll send the money back.
What cancelling actually does
Cancel from Billing → Manage billing → Cancel subscription. Then:
- You keep full access until the end of the period you've paid for. Nothing is cut off the moment you click.
- You're not charged again.
- Nothing you've made is deleted. Your brands, competitors, briefs and articles all stay exactly where they are. You drop to the Free plan's limits — one brand, one competitor, 50 credits a month — but your work isn't touched.
- You can undo it. Right up until the period ends, a Resume subscription button appears on the billing page. One click and nothing ever happened.
If the problem is cost rather than the product, switch to a smaller plan instead of cancelling — you keep the habit and the history.
My credits didn't reset
Your allowance refills the first time you use the app after your billing date, not at midnight on the dot.
So if your renewal was Tuesday and you next opened ScoutRival on Thursday, you may see the old balance for a second before it corrects. Reload the page. Nothing is lost — the refill is simply applied when you show up.
If the balance still looks wrong after a reload, check Usage & Activity. Every reset, grant and charge is logged there with a timestamp, so you can see exactly what happened.
I need an invoice or a receipt
Go to Billing → Manage billing. Your last twelve invoices are listed with a PDF link on each.
Need your company name, VAT number or billing address on them? Hit Update next to your billing information — that opens the Stripe portal, where you can edit the details that appear on future invoices.
Billing problems are the one thing we don't want you working around. Email us — a real person reads it, and money issues jump the queue.