Deleting an account

[sli-pro]

Discussion Type

Bug

Discussion Content

Hello!

I want to delete my account, but I keep getting the error:

Sorry, there may be an issue with the billing information. We're looking into it and will get back to you within 48 hours. Thanks for your patience.

I don't understand what I should do to simply delete the account, and I also don't understand why it causes such difficulties...

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[shamy-b]

Hey there!

That error is super frustrating, especially when you’re just trying to close things out. Usually, that 'billing issue' pop-up happens because the system sees a pending charge, an active subscription (like Copilot or extra LFS storage), or an Organization that still has a paid plan attached to it.

Before you wait the full 48 hours for support, you might want to double-check a few things:

1. Downgrade everything: Make sure your plan is set to 'Free' and any add-ons are cancelled.
2. Clear your payment info: Try removing your card/PayPal from the billing settings. If it won't let you, that’s a sign there’s a 'lock' on the account.
3. Check Orgs: If you own any Organizations, you'll need to delete those or pass the torch before you can delete your personal account.

Hopefully, a staff member can jump in and clear that flag for you manually so you don't have to keep checking back!

[jovbcorreia]

Hi @sli-pro! This is a known issue — the billing error when trying to delete an account usually means GitHub has a pending billing state that's blocking the deletion flow.

How to fix it:

Option 1 — Contact GitHub Support directly
This is the most reliable path. Go to:
https://support.github.com/contact

Select "Account & profile" → "Delete account" and explain the billing error. Support can manually clear the billing block and process the deletion for you. They typically respond within 24-48 hours.

Option 2 — Try resolving the billing issue first

1. Go to Settings → Billing and plans
2. 2. Check if there's any pending payment, failed charge, or active subscription
3. 3. If you have an active paid plan, downgrade to Free first
4. 4. Wait 24 hours for billing to settle, then try deleting again
      Option 3 — Try a different browser or incognito
      Sometimes the deletion flow fails due to a session issue. Try in a fresh incognito window.

The error message "we're looking into it and will get back to you within 48 hours" is an automated message — GitHub Support won't proactively reach out, so you need to contact them directly via the link above.

[shinybrightstar]

Hi @sli-pro! 👋

If your account has not been flagged and you're looking to delete your account or an organization, here’s what you need to know:

• User Account Deletion:
  • Deleting your account will remove all your repositories, private forks, wikis, issues, pull requests, and pages.
  • Your email addresses will be available for use with a new account immediately, and your account name will become available after 90 days.
  • Billing for any paid subscriptions will stop immediately.
  • Ensure you've backed up your data, as we cannot restore any content after deletion.
• Organization Deletion:
  • Deleting an organization will remove all associated repositories, wikis, issues, and project boards.
  • The organization name will become available for new use, and billing will end.
  • Make sure to back up all data, as GitHub cannot restore content after deletion.

If you're ready to proceed, please open a ticket in our Support Portal. Our support team needs to verify this request before proceeding with account deletion.

[7Vedansh]

Hey, I ran into something similar before — this usually happens when GitHub thinks there’s some billing activity tied to the account (even if you don’t remember setting anything up).

A couple of things worth checking:
Go to Settings → Billing & plans and see if there’s any active subscription or pending charge
If you had something like Copilot or GitHub Pro enabled earlier, try canceling it first If everything looks clean and you’re still getting that error, it’s probably just a backend issue on their side. In that case, your best bet is to contact GitHub Support directly — they can clear it manually.
Yeah, it’s a bit frustrating for something that should be simple like deleting an account 😅 but support usually resolves it pretty quickly.

[sli-pro]

Hello!

Yes, but since there are sanctions imposed on the region, I can't even cancel free services. I have created a ticket again and I hope it will be processed)
No one processed the old ticket within a month... Disgusting service)