Being unexpectedly charged by LinkedIn can be confusing and concerning. There are a few potential reasons why you may see charges from LinkedIn on your credit card or bank statement. In this article, we’ll explore the most common reasons for LinkedIn charges and what you can do if you see charges you didn’t authorize.
LinkedIn Premium Subscriptions
The most likely reason for a charge from LinkedIn is that you signed up for one of their paid subscription plans, known as LinkedIn Premium. LinkedIn offers three tiers of Premium subscriptions:
- Premium Career – $29.99/month
- Premium Business – $47.99/month
- Premium Sales – $64.99/month
With a Premium subscription, you get access to features like being able to view full profiles of people who aren’t in your network, sending InMail messages directly to anyone on LinkedIn, seeing more profile views and analytics, and taking free LinkedIn Learning courses.
If you signed up for a free trial of one of the Premium plans and forgot to cancel before the trial ended, LinkedIn will begin auto-renewing your subscription and charging your payment method on file on a monthly basis. This is the most likely cause of unexpected charges from LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Recurring Payments
In addition to Premium subscriptions, LinkedIn also allows you to make one-time payments or set up recurring payments for other products or services. For example, you can pay to take individual LinkedIn Learning courses outside of a Premium subscription. You can also boost your posts and pay for additional InMail credits.
If you opted to have any of these payments set to recur automatically on a schedule, it could result in regular charges from LinkedIn that you may have forgotten about.
Unintended Purchases or Clicks
It’s possible you unintentionally clicked on something within LinkedIn that triggered a charge. For example, LinkedIn occasionally shows pop-up offers for Premium trials or other paid products. If you clicked the “Buy Now” button without meaning to, it could have signed you up and charged you.
Similarly, if someone else had access to your account, they may have made purchases without your knowledge. Children sometimes inadvertently make in-app purchases and online buys, for instance.
Fraudulent Charges
While less likely, it’s also possible the charges from LinkedIn were fraudulent and unauthorized. If you’re certain you didn’t sign up for any paid products or services, it’s worth investigating whether your LinkedIn account or payment information was compromised.
Here are some signs the charges may be fraudulent:
- You don’t have a LinkedIn Premium subscription or any other recurring payments set up.
- The charges are for an amount you didn’t authorize, like a much higher Premium tier.
- The name on your credit card statement doesn’t match your LinkedIn profile name.
- You received charges from LinkedIn after canceling your account.
How to View and Cancel LinkedIn Subscriptions
If you want to figure out where mysterious LinkedIn charges are coming from, start by viewing your current LinkedIn subscriptions:
- Go to your LinkedIn account settings.
- Click on the “Subscriptions” tab.
- Here you will see all of your active Premium subscriptions, recurring payments, and one-time purchases through LinkedIn.
- Click “Manage” to cancel any subscriptions or turn off automatic renewals.
This will allow you to identify any Premium, Learning course, or other subscription you may have forgotten about. You can cancel them directly to avoid being charged again next month.
Requesting Refunds from LinkedIn
If you were charged by LinkedIn improperly or for a service you didn’t intend to use, you may be able to get a refund by contacting their customer support team. Here are some tips for getting charges refunded:
- Request a refund as soon as possible. LinkedIn is more likely to refund charges if reported within 60 days.
- Be prepared to show proof of the charges, such as a credit card statement.
- For Premium subscription refunds, you may need to demonstrate you did not use or benefit from the subscription.
- Emphasize that the charges were accidental, unauthorized, or fraudulent.
- Chat or call customer support for the best results, rather than email.
Keep in mind that LinkedIn does not offer refunds in all circumstances, for example:
- You changed your mind after purchasing a Premium subscription or other product.
- You received a free trial but forgot to cancel LinkedIn Premium before the trial ended.
- Someone else used your payment method to purchase something without your permission.
But it’s still worth reaching out to customer service to report erroneous charges or ask for a one-time courtesy refund. Be patient and polite in your interactions, and provide as much helpful documentation as possible.
Removing Payment Methods from LinkedIn
If you want to prevent any future unwanted charges from LinkedIn, a good safeguard is removing your payment information from your account. Here is how to do it:
- Go to the LinkedIn Payments page from your account settings.
- Click “Payment Methods” in the right sidebar.
- Click the “…” icon next to the payment method.
- Select “Remove” to delete the payment method.
Without an associated credit card, debit card, or PayPal account, LinkedIn will not be able to charge you for any subscriptions, courses, or services going forward.
Watching for LinkedIn Free Trial Scams
Some other signs that LinkedIn charges may be fraudulent or unauthorized:
- You received an email about a LinkedIn Premium free trial you don’t remember signing up for.
- The email contains spelling, grammar or formatting errors.
- The sender email is not from an official @linkedin.com domain.
- The email asks for personal information like passwords or SSN.
Scammers sometimes send convincing phishing emails pretending to be from LinkedIn, offering free trials in hopes of stealing your payment information. Follow these tips to avoid LinkedIn trial scams:
- Delete any suspicious emails instead of clicking links or downloading attachments.
- Go directly to your LinkedIn account to view available offers instead of through emails.
- Never enter sensitive personal data on unfamiliar sites.
- Use unique strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication on your LinkedIn account.
Checking LinkedIn Charges on Your Statements
Reviewing your credit card and bank account statements regularly can help you identify LinkedIn charges you may have otherwise missed. Look for:
- Charges from “LinkedIn” or “LinkedIn Network.”
- Monthly recurring amounts like $29.99 or $64.99.
- One-time charges that don’t match your typical spending.
Catching erroneous or fraudulent LinkedIn transactions early can increase your chances of getting a refund. You may also be able to dispute unauthorized charges with your card issuer before paying your statement.
Contacting Your Bank or Card Provider
If you are certain the LinkedIn charges are fraudulent or unauthorized, you may need to work with your bank or card provider to dispute them and get credited back. Here are some steps to take:
- Call the number on the back of your credit or debit card and explain the charges are invalid.
- You may need to fill out dispute or fraud paperwork to start an investigation.
- Your bank will contact LinkedIn to verify the charges per their policies.
- If approved, you will be reimbursed the amount and issued a new card number.
- Monitor statements closely for any additional fraudulent activity.
Disputing charges should be a last resort after attempting to resolve the issue directly with LinkedIn. But it is an option if you are unable to get LinkedIn to refund invalid charges.
Avoiding LinkedIn Charges in the Future
To help prevent being charged unexpectedly by LinkedIn again, here are some final tips:
- Cancel any unused Premium subscriptions or recurring payments in your account settings.
- Remove stored payment methods so LinkedIn cannot charge you.
- Review account activity and charges regularly.
- Be vigilant about free trial offers and use unique passwords.
- Do not store payment information in your LinkedIn account.
- Use virtual credit card numbers that can be cancelled to make one-off purchases.
Conclusion
Unexpected LinkedIn charges can be alarming but are usually caused by an forgotten Premium subscription renewal or accidental click. Carefully review your account settings, subscriptions, and payment methods to identify the source of any mystery LinkedIn billing activity. Reach out to LinkedIn customer service to request refunds for any erroneous or unauthorized transactions. And take preventative measures like removing payment information to avoid surprise LinkedIn charges down the road.