Legal

Billing and Cancellation

Version 2026-10-21.1 · Effective October 21, 2026

Interim launch version 2026-10-21.1. Effective date: October 21, 2026. This page explains the Much Obliged subscription in plain words. It is part of the Terms of Service.

The price

$8.00 a month, in United States dollars, plus any sales tax we are required to collect. Much Obliged does not currently collect sales tax.
0% platform fee. Much Obliged takes no percentage of the support, memberships or other payments you receive. Your bill is $8 whether you receive $10 or $10,000.
One paid product. No tiers. Your page is free.

Stripe's fees are separate

Stripe processes every payment made to you on your own Stripe account and charges its own fees there: card-processing fees on each payment, Stripe Billing fees on recurring payments (monthly support and Memberships), dispute fees, and Instant Payout fees if you use them. Those are Stripe's fees at Stripe's rates. Much Obliged does not add to them, does not receive any part of them, and does not show them in your dashboard. Your Stripe Dashboard does.

When billing starts

Your page is free. You can open an account, build and publish your page, set up your Membership, connect Stripe if you want to accept payments through it, and preview everything without paying.

Billing starts only when you press Start Much Obliged — $8/month, tick the box that says "I agree to be billed $8 each month until I cancel," and complete Stripe Checkout. You are charged $8 that day and then every month on the same date until you cancel. Much Obliged keeps a record of the agreement you ticked.

The Shannon community offer and the 30-day video launch offer (below) each start the same way, with their own button and their own box.

Accepting new payments needs Much Obliged access: either a subscription for which a real Stripe invoice has been paid, or promotional access (see "Promotional access" below). Publishing your page does not: without access, your page shows who you are and your links, and no way to pay you. Promotional access is not a payment and is not a Stripe subscription. Returning from Checkout is not payment; Stripe's confirmation is.

Your subscription does not depend on your own Stripe account. You can start it before or without connecting Stripe. Payments to you through Stripe need your own Stripe account to be connected and ready.

The Shannon community offer

A creator who enters the code SHANNON80 (or arrives through muchobliged.co/shannon) can choose, instead of the monthly start, the Shannon community offer:

$80.00 charged up front when you press Start for $80, tick the box that says "I agree to be billed $80 today for my first 12 months. After that, my Much Obliged subscription renews at $8 each month until I cancel," and complete Stripe Checkout.
The $80 buys 12 months of Much Obliged access. There are no other Much Obliged subscription charges during those 12 months.
After the 12 months, the subscription renews automatically at $8.00 a month until you cancel.
If you cancel during the prepaid 12 months, you keep access through the end of the 12 months you paid for, and the $8 monthly renewal does not begin.

The standard $8 a month start remains available.

The 30-day video launch offer

For one limited launch, a creator who creates a new Much Obliged account through the offer's link while the offer is open (it is open for 24 hours from the moment Much Obliged opens it) can start with a 30-day trial:

It must be started within 72 hours of creating the account, by pressing Start my 30-day trial, ticking the box that says "I understand my first 30 days are $0 and a payment method is required. Unless I cancel before my trial ends, I agree to be billed $8 when it ends and $8 each month after that until I cancel," and completing Stripe Checkout. Creating an account alone does not start it.
$0 is charged when it starts. A payment method is required.
The 30 days begin when Stripe starts the subscription. When they end, the subscription renews automatically at $8.00 a month until you cancel.
If you cancel before the trial ends, you keep access until it ends and you are not charged.
If the first $8 payment fails when the trial ends, new payments to you pause until it is paid; no grace period follows a trial.
It is one trial per new account. It is not combined with the Shannon community offer or a discount.

The standard $8 a month start remains available.

Refer a Creator

If a creator who joined Much Obliged with your Invite Code or link makes their first $8 Much Obliged subscription payment, you earn one free month: $8 toward an eligible bill for your own Much Obliged subscription.

When it is earned. When that first payment goes through. A payment that fails, is refunded or is disputed before it qualifies does not earn a free month. One free month per new creator; no self-referrals.
Limits. Up to 3 free months in the launch campaign, and no more than 12 unused at once.
How it is used. Free months apply automatically to your next Much Obliged bill that has an amount due. If your current period is already paid for, or you have promotional access, they wait until then. They have no cash value and are not transferable.
Once earned, it is yours. A free month is not taken back if the creator you referred later cancels, gets a refund or loses a payment dispute, and you never owe anything because of it: no invoice, no charge and no pause of your account.
Abuse. Much Obliged may void a referral it has confirmed as abusive or fraudulent; a free month from it that was never used is withdrawn.

If the creator you refer starts Much Obliged, they pay the ordinary $8 a month, unless they separately qualify for an offer described on this page. There is no referral discount for them.

How to cancel

Open Manage billing in your dashboard. It takes you to the Stripe billing portal for your Much Obliged subscription, where you can cancel, update your card and see your invoices.

Cancellation takes effect at the end of the period you have already paid for. You keep everything until then. After that, your page stays published, with no way to pay you, until you subscribe again.
There is no retention maze. Cancelling is one action in the portal.
If you change your mind before the period ends, you can resume from the same place. After it ends, you can subscribe again with a new Checkout.
Cancelling Much Obliged never cancels your supporters' or members' subscriptions to you. Those live on your own Stripe account and are not touched.

Refunds of the $8

Subscription charges are generally non-refundable except where the law requires a refund. Cancelling does not refund the current period, and partial months are not prorated. Much Obliged may issue a refund at its discretion, including for a mistaken or duplicate charge. If you think a charge was wrong, write to support@muchobliged.co with the date and amount and we will review it. This applies only to what you pay Much Obliged; refunds of money paid to you by your supporters, members or buyers are a separate matter (see the Refund and Transaction Policy).

Disputing an $8 charge

If you dispute a Much Obliged charge with your card issuer, the dispute is handled through the payment processor and applicable law. Much Obliged will respond using its records, including your renewal agreement. Your card issuer and the payment processor decide the dispute; Much Obliged does not.

While the dispute is open, nothing about your account changes. You keep the access you paid for, and your dashboard shows that the payment is being disputed.
If the dispute is decided in Much Obliged's favor, nothing changes.
If the dispute is decided in your favor, you keep your access through the end of the period already paid for. Your subscription is then set to end at the end of that period instead of renewing, so you are not billed again. Your page stays published, and your history and your supporters' and members' subscriptions to you are not touched. You can subscribe again afterwards with a new Checkout.

If a payment fails

Day 0. A renewal payment fails. Your dashboard shows Payment needs attention. Everything keeps working.
Seven days of grace. Stripe retries the same payment on Much Obliged's configured schedule (after 1 day, then 3 days, then 3 days). Update your card in Fix billing at any time; a successful payment restores you to normal automatically.
After seven days. If it still has not been paid, Stripe cancels the subscription and your account is suspended:
- your page stays published, with your words and links;
- new support, new monthly support and new Memberships are paused: your page shows no way to pay you, and a support widget on your own website says you aren't accepting payments right now, until you subscribe again;
- your existing supporters' and members' subscriptions continue on your Stripe account, and their access continues for the time they paid for;
- your dashboard, your history and your data export keep working.
Coming back. Press Subscribe again for $8 a month and complete Checkout. You will be asked to agree to the renewal terms again.

Much Obliged does not charge you for any period during which your subscription was suspended.

Promotional access

Much Obliged may, at its discretion, grant an account founder-issued promotional access to the Service without charge, for a stated period or, for accounts the founder chooses, with no end date. It is not a public free plan, not a separate pricing tier, and not the standard public pricing model: the standard public price is $8 a month and Much Obliged's fee on your revenue stays at 0%. Promotional access needs no card, ends on the date shown in your dashboard (or, if it has no end date, does not end on its own), does not turn into a paid subscription by itself, and never charges you. When it ends, your page stays published and your history is untouched, but your page shows no way to pay you; if you want to continue, press Restart Much Obliged — $8/month and agree to the renewal terms. Promotional time is never converted into Stripe credit or added to a paid subscription.

Emails about your subscription

Receipts, failed-payment notices, upcoming-renewal reminders and expiring-card notices for your Much Obliged subscription are sent by Stripe from Much Obliged's Stripe account.

What is not offered

No annual plan, no tiers, no add-ons, no seat or usage billing. No free trial, discounts or coupons other than the Shannon community offer, the 30-day video launch offer and Refer a Creator free months described above.

Questions

support@muchobliged.co