Redazione RHC : 6 November 2025 21:29
Microsoft has apologised to nearly 3 million Australian users and offered them refunds for subscriptions to its new, more expensive Microsoft 365 office suite , which includes Copilot, an AI-powered assistant.
Microsoft Australia emailed Microsoft 365 users a refund offer and acknowledged that its pricing structure and plans were not transparent enough to consumers and did not meet the company’s standards.
“Our relationship is built on trust and transparency, and we apologize for failing to meet our standards,” the U.S. company said in an email to Microsoft 365 subscribers.
A week and a half ago, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed a lawsuit against Microsoft Australia and its US parent company, alleging that the software giant had misled consumers about the pricing of its Office suite and the availability of cheaper plans without the AI assistant.
If the court upholds the regulator’s decision, Microsoft faces a multimillion-dollar fine. This morning, the Australian subsidiary sent a newsletter to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family users with information on available subscriptions: with Copilot, they cost AUD $16 ($10.40) and AUD $18 ($11.70), while without Copilot, they cost AUD $11 ($7.20) and AUD $14 ($9.10).
For users who choose to upgrade to a lower-cost plan by the end of 2025, the company will refund payments made after November 30, 2024. “Our relationship is built on trust and transparency, and we apologize for any failure to meet our standards ,” the letter reads.
In its lawsuit, the Commission alleges that Microsoft deceived 2.7 million consumers by forcing them to pay a higher price for a Copilot subscription and failing to offer a cheaper alternative.
Users were informed of the availability of a cheaper alternative only when they attempted to cancel their subscriptions. If the regulator does not drop the lawsuit and the court upholds it, Microsoft will have to pay damages in the form of not only a multimillion-dollar refund, but also a multimillion-dollar fine.
The maximum fine for this offence is A $50 million ($32.6 million), three times the amount of the unfair advantage, or 30% of the company’s adjusted turnover for the period of the infringement.
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