What happens when a payment fails

How PenaltyProof handles a failed Stripe payment and the steps before your plan reverts to Free.

Day 1 — payment fails

When Stripe cannot collect a subscription payment, it sends a payment_failed event. PenaltyProof receives this via webhook and emails you immediately. Your account stays on your current plan; monitoring continues without interruption.

Day 7 — reminder email

If the payment has not been recovered by day 7, PenaltyProof sends a reminder with the date your subscription will be paused (day 14). No action is needed if you have already updated your payment method in the Stripe billing portal — Stripe retries automatically.

Day 14 — plan reverts to Free

If the payment is still outstanding at day 14, PenaltyProof downgrades your account to the Free plan and cancels the Stripe subscription. Your company list is not deleted, but you stop receiving advance-warning alerts and some plan features become unavailable. The downgrade cannot be reversed automatically once it occurs.

How to fix a failed payment

Open the Stripe billing portal via /manage (Account tab → Billing → Manage billing) and update your payment method. Stripe will retry the outstanding invoice shortly after the card is updated. Once Stripe confirms the payment, your plan is restored automatically via webhook.

Common questions

Does monitoring stop when a payment fails?

No. Monitoring continues on your current plan throughout the 14-day window. Monitoring stops only if your account is downgraded to Free on day 14 and you exceed the free plan company limit.

Will I lose my company list if I am downgraded?

No. Your monitored companies are not deleted when a downgrade happens. They remain in your account; you just stop receiving advance alerts beyond the free plan thresholds.

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