Live data from Hacker News

OpenAI says my prepaid credits were consumed, refuses to show any record

community.openai.com

11–20 of 45 posts

Re: OpenAI says my prepaid credits were consumed, refuses to show any record

#11
post #5

OpenRouter expired my credits because they were "too old" (more than 12 months old). Didn't realize credits would rot like that.

Me too. I hope the $4 they gained was worth more than the hundreds or thousands I could have potentially spent in the future if they hadn't deliberately alienated me.

Re: OpenAI says my prepaid credits were consumed, refuses to show any record

#12
post #7
post #5

OpenRouter expired my credits because they were "too old" (more than 12 months old). Didn't realize credits would rot like that.

That’s pretty common. While I agree it’s not ideal for users, having credits that never expire is a headache for businesses. They’d effectively owe you compute forever, which complicates accounting. It also makes pricing changes harder, since people could keep using credits they bought at much lower prices. And, of course, if credits expire before they’re used, the company ends up keeping the money without having to…

They should do refunds if they don’t like holding it.

Re: OpenAI says my prepaid credits were consumed, refuses to show any record

#14
post #3

Some time ago I found out that OpenAI API balance gets wiped out after a year. Still bitter about it, telecom operator shit and it’s giving me the creeps when sama talks about AI being like an utility. Good luck.

They need better clairty on it for sure, ideally with a clear warning on deposit. But apparently a non-expiring credit is a considered an accounting problem since you have income (deposit) associated with a contract liability (credits) that could end up making a headache if it splays across a bunch of fiscal years.

You can setup limits though to minimize loss. For example you can say auto reload $5 when your account hits $5 with an absolute monthly limit of $40. Then you don't have risk of losing more than the roughly ~$5 you have in an account.

Re: OpenAI says my prepaid credits were consumed, refuses to show any record

#15
post #7
post #5

OpenRouter expired my credits because they were "too old" (more than 12 months old). Didn't realize credits would rot like that.

That’s pretty common. While I agree it’s not ideal for users, having credits that never expire is a headache for businesses. They’d effectively owe you compute forever, which complicates accounting. It also makes pricing changes harder, since people could keep using credits they bought at much lower prices. And, of course, if credits expire before they’re used, the company ends up keeping the money without having to…

Headache is just an excuse. Accounting for uncollectible receivables and their inverse has a standard accounting practice.

Re: OpenAI says my prepaid credits were consumed, refuses to show any record

#17
post #7
post #5

OpenRouter expired my credits because they were "too old" (more than 12 months old). Didn't realize credits would rot like that.

That’s pretty common. While I agree it’s not ideal for users, having credits that never expire is a headache for businesses. They’d effectively owe you compute forever, which complicates accounting. It also makes pricing changes harder, since people could keep using credits they bought at much lower prices. And, of course, if credits expire before they’re used, the company ends up keeping the money without having to…

"Not ideal for users" is a fun way to describe what is essentially theft.

Re: OpenAI says my prepaid credits were consumed, refuses to show any record

#19
post #3

Some time ago I found out that OpenAI API balance gets wiped out after a year. Still bitter about it, telecom operator shit and it’s giving me the creeps when sama talks about AI being like an utility. Good luck.

They need better clairty on it for sure, ideally with a clear warning on deposit. But apparently a non-expiring credit is a considered an accounting problem since you have income (deposit) associated with a contract liability (credits) that could end up making a headache if it splays across a bunch of fiscal years. You can setup limits though to minimize loss. For example you can say auto reload $5 when your account…

how convenient that they are solving their accounting problems with taking away your money instead of doing a refund.

Re: OpenAI says my prepaid credits were consumed, refuses to show any record

#20
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s pretty common. While I agree it’s not ideal for users, having credits that never expire is a headache for businesses. They’d effectively owe you compute forever, which complicates accounting. It also makes pricing changes harder, since people could keep using credits they bought at much lower prices. And, of course, if credits expire before they’re used, the company ends up keeping the money without having to…

"Not ideal for users" is a fun way to describe what is essentially theft.

If you buy groceries and let them expire in your fridge because you forgot to use them, did the grocery store stole the money from you?
Post reply on HN