Accidentally incurred AWS charges while learning for educational purpose seeking advice for possible waiver

Question

Hello,

I am very new to AWS and was exploring cloud services purely for educational and self-learning purposes. While experimenting with EC2, EKS, and NAT Gateway, I mistakenly assumed that everything I was doing would be covered under the AWS Free Tier. Unfortunately, I later discovered that some resources (like EKS clusters and NAT Gateways) continued running and generated unexpected charges.

As soon as I noticed this, I immediately stopped and deleted all resources, including EC2 instances, Elastic IPs, and the NAT Gateway. I have already submitted a billing support case explaining my situation and requesting a one-time waiver since this was an honest mistake during my learning phase.

I am honestly very scared and anxious after seeing this unexpected bill, as I didn’t intend to misuse any resources. This was entirely for learning and understanding AWS.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue and successfully received a waiver or adjustment for accidental usage? Also, are there any extra steps I should take to confirm that all services are fully terminated to avoid future charges?

Thank you so much for any guidance or support.

re:Post Agent · Answer

I understand your concern about unexpected charges while learning AWS. This is actually a common issue for new users exploring the platform.

First, you've already taken the right initial steps by:
1. Stopping and deleting all resources immediately
2. Opening a billing support case with AWS

AWS often considers waiving charges as a one-time exception, especially for students or new users who are learning the platform. When communicating with AWS Support, be clear that you're using AWS for educational purposes and were unaware of the potential charges beyond the Free Tier limits.

To ensure you've terminated all resources and prevent future charges:
- Check all AWS regions for any running resources
- Review the AWS Billing and Cost Management Dashboard to identify which specific services incurred charges
- Look for any remaining EBS volumes, Elastic IPs, or other resources that might still be active

For future protection:
- Set up AWS Budgets and billing alerts to notify you when you're approaching Free Tier limits
- Always check the pricing page or use the AWS Pricing Calculator before using new services
- Be aware that while AWS offers a Free Tier, many services have specific limitations or aren't included (like the NAT Gateway and EKS you mentioned)

Continue working with AWS Support on your case. While refunds aren't guaranteed, they do often consider the circumstances, especially for educational use cases. The support team has the tools to investigate your specific account and provide guidance on resolving the issue.  
**Sources**  
[Unexpected bill received | AWS re:Post](https://repost.aws/questions/QUsyOCjw5sSoGpHTyxUjkx_Q/unexpected-bill-received)  
[The unexpected billing issue | AWS re:Post](https://repost.aws/questions/QUCX7PFRaIRae64uahHrN2zA/the-unexpected-billing-issue)  
[Unexpected AWS Charges on My Free Tier Account | AWS re:Post](https://repost.aws/questions/QUrsagY_qlTRaw3232OLB0Aw/unexpected-aws-charges-on-my-free-tier-account)

Accidentally incurred AWS charges while learning for educational purpose seeking advice for possible waiver

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