Failed Payment and Account Access
If a payment fails — declined card, expired card, insufficient funds — KompWatch does not cut off your access immediately. Here's what happens and how to recover.
What Happens When a Payment Fails
KompWatch uses Stripe's automatic retry schedule for failed payments:
| Day | Action |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | First charge attempt fails — Stripe sends you an email |
| Day 3 | Second attempt |
| Day 5 | Third attempt |
| Day 7 | Fourth attempt — if this fails, subscription is cancelled |
During the retry window your account stays fully active. Monitoring continues, digests keep arriving, and no data is lost.
How You're Notified
Stripe sends automatic payment failure emails to the billing email on your account. You'll receive:
- An email immediately after the first failed attempt
- A reminder email before each retry
- A final notice if all retries are exhausted and the subscription is cancelled
KompWatch also shows a "Payment issue — update your card" banner in the dashboard during the retry window so you don't have to rely on email alone.
How to Update Your Payment Method
- Go to kompwatch.com/settings
- Click Manage Subscription
- In the Stripe Customer Portal, click Payment methods → Add payment method
- Enter your new card details and set it as default
Once the new card is saved, Stripe retries the outstanding charge automatically (usually within a few minutes).
What Happens If All Retries Fail
If the payment cannot be collected after all retry attempts, your subscription is cancelled and your account drops to the Free plan limits:
- Competitor limit drops to 2 (excess competitors are paused, not deleted)
- Snapshot frequency drops to daily
- Digest frequency drops to weekly
Your historical snapshot and change data is preserved. You can resubscribe at any time from kompwatch.com/pricing and your data will be waiting for you.
What Happens to Paused Competitors
If you had more competitors than the Free plan allows (2), the excess are automatically paused — not deleted. No data is lost. When you resubscribe to Pro or Team, resume them from the Competitors page.
Can I Get a Grace Period Extension?
If you're dealing with a billing issue and need extra time, email support@kompwatch.com. We can manually extend the grace period in exceptional cases (card stolen, billing cycle timing issues, etc.).
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I lose my competitor data if my payment fails? No. All snapshots, change history, and competitor configurations are retained regardless of billing status. Only active monitoring stops if your subscription lapses.
My card was charged after I thought I cancelled — what do I do? See the Billing Dispute FAQ →. If the charge is in error, we'll make it right.
I updated my card — why is there still a banner? Give it a minute — Stripe retries the charge shortly after the card is updated. Refresh the page once the payment goes through and the banner will clear.
Billing questions? Email support@kompwatch.com and we'll respond within 24 hours.