FS Avid Technology Charge: Verify, Cancel, and Get a Refund

An “FS Avid Technology” charge on your bank or credit card statement is a payment processed by FastSpring on behalf of Avid Technology, the maker of Pro Tools, Sibelius, and other professional audio and music software. The “FS” prefix is FastSpring, which became Avid’s payment processor and Merchant of Record in early January 2025. If you don’t remember signing up for anything recently, the charge is almost always an auto-renewing subscription or support plan bought at some point through Avid’s online store.¹

Why the Descriptor Changed in Early 2025

FastSpring replaced Avid’s previous processor, Digital River, which was winding down operations.¹²³ That’s why longtime Avid customers suddenly started seeing an unfamiliar billing name early in 2025 even though nothing changed on their end.

Why You’re Probably Seeing the Charge

Avid sells its software mostly through subscriptions that renew automatically, and auto-renewal is on by default. Common patterns from consumer complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau include the following.⁴

An annual subscription renewed on schedule and the reminder email described the plan as “expiring” rather than “renewing,” so the charge came as a surprise.⁵
A payment method update or login issue led the buyer to start a second subscription without realizing it, and both are now billing.⁴
You bought a perpetual (non-subscription) license but the original subscription was never canceled, so it’s still billing alongside.
Avid’s system attempted a renewal on more than one stored card, producing duplicate charges.⁶

One thing the charge is not: a free trial converting to a paid plan. Pro Tools trials last 30 days, require no payment information, and don’t need to be canceled.⁷ If you only ever used a trial, the charge is not from that.

How To Verify the Charge Is Yours

Log in to your MyAvid account at my.avid.com and open the “My Products” tab. Active subscriptions, renewal dates, and purchase history are all there, and Avid’s own guidance for unrecognized charges points you to the same place.²

If you’d rather look up the charge from the processor’s side, FastSpring runs a consumer charge lookup at fastspring.com/consumer-support-form/look-up-charge/.³

The amount is another clue. Pro Tools annual subscriptions run $99 for Pro Tools Artist, $299 for Pro Tools Studio, and $599 for Pro Tools Ultimate, before tax.⁸ A charge at or just above one of those figures is almost certainly a legitimate renewal.

How To Cancel and Stop Future Charges

MyAvid offers two cancellation paths, and which one you see depends on how recently you bought.⁹

Within 14 days of the initial purchase, a “Need to Cancel” button appears in the “My Products” tab. It terminates the subscription immediately and issues a full refund in five to seven business days. It applies only to the original purchase, not to renewals.

After 14 days, or on any renewal, the option is “Cancel Subscription.” This stops future renewals but does not refund the current term, and your access continues until that term ends. On annual plans billed monthly, cancellation only takes effect at the end of the 12-month commitment, so monthly payments keep running until then.

If you want to keep using the software through the paid term but block the next renewal, turn off auto-renewal instead: in “My Products,” expand the subscription and toggle auto-renewal off at least two days before the renewal date.¹⁰ Subscriptions bought through a reseller won’t show the toggle; for those, you have to contact the reseller.

Getting a Refund on a Charge That Already Hit

Avid’s written policy is narrow. Subscriptions bought on avid.com are refundable only within 14 days of the initial purchase.¹¹ Renewals aren’t eligible under the standard policy, and Avid’s subscription terms call all subscriptions and support plans “non-cancelable and non-returnable.”¹² The Digital Returns Policy separately lists subscription products as non-refundable.¹³

For a charge you believe is wrong or duplicated, Avid requires that you notify them within 30 days of the charge appearing on your statement, using the support form on their site.¹⁴

In practice, BBB records show Avid does grant refunds outside its written policy, especially for duplicate charges and disputed auto-renewals. Representatives have issued refunds, added goodwill extensions to support plans, and cleaned up account problems once customers escalated through the BBB.⁵ So it’s worth asking, and worth escalating if the first answer is no.

If You Have No Avid Account at All

If you’ve never bought Avid software and don’t have a MyAvid account, treat the charge as potentially fraudulent. Avid’s own instruction is to contact your bank or card issuer and file a dispute; FastSpring will then work to secure the payment method and cancel the product tied to it. If the bank sides with the merchant but you still believe the charge was unauthorized, contact Avid support with proof of payment, the full reference line or a screenshot of the charge, and the first six and last four digits of the card number.²

How To Actually Reach a Person

Phone support at Avid is reserved for customers on ExpertPlus, Elite, or Cloud support tiers. Everyone else either buys a one-time Avid Support Code or uses live chat and online case submission for billing and order questions. There is no public billing phone line.¹⁵ For questions specifically about a FastSpring-processed charge, you can also open a case directly through FastSpring’s buyer support portal at fastspring.com/consumer-support/.³

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Avid Knowledge Base. What Is FastSpring
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Avid Knowledge Base. Avid Online Store Unauthorized Purchases
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FastSpring. Consumer Support
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Better Business Bureau. Avid Technology Inc Complaints
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Better Business Bureau. Avid Technology Inc Complaints – Page 2
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JustAnswer. Received Email Notice Perpetual License
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Avid Knowledge Base. Trial Product Auto-Conversion
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Avid. Pro Tools
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Avid Knowledge Base. Cancel Subscription MyAvid Account
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Avid Knowledge Base. How to Turn Off Auto-Renewal
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Avid. Subscriptions
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Avid. Subscription Terms and Conditions
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Avid. Digital Returns Policy
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Avid Knowledge Base. Avid Online Store Refunds and Returns
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Avid. Getting Support