[Urgent] Billing account downgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 1 unexpectedly — service paused

Gemini API
,
1

Hi all,

I’m hoping someone from the Google AI Studio team can help, or that another developer has seen this.

My billing account (ID: 0158D3-B321CB-22D848, ASKIE KIDS AI LIMITED) was on Paid Tier 3 and has been downgraded to Paid Tier 1 without any notification or action on my end. This has paused my production service because the Tier 1 cap (£187.74) is far below my actual monthly usage.

What I’m seeing:

  • Billing page shows: “Paid 1 · £187.74 Billing Account Tier Cap”

  • Spend page shows £1,126.46 used this month against my £3,000 project spend cap

  • Service is paused with the message: “You’ve reached the billing account monthly spend cap and service has been paused”

  • Last payment of £500.00 was successfully charged on Apr 21, 2026 (threshold charge)

  • Payment method is valid (Mastercard, expires 01/31)

  • No failed payments, no policy violations I’m aware of

My setup:

  • Production app (Askie — voice AI for kids, iOS/Android/web) using Gemini Live in production

  • Consistent monthly spend well above Tier 1 limits

  • Account in good standing, paid history intact

What I’ve tried:

  • Confirmed payment method is active

  • Verified no outstanding balance

  • Checked spend caps (project cap is £3,000, nowhere near hit)

What I need:

  1. Restoration to Tier 3

  2. An explanation of why the downgrade happened so I can prevent it recurring — this is a production outage for a paying customer base

  3. Ideally, an alert mechanism for future tier changes so I’m not finding out via paused service

Has anyone else experienced an unexplained tier downgrade recently? And can a Googler please flag this for the billing team?

Thanks in advance.

2

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