What happens after the payment fails?
Toolbelt Websites uses Stripe for subscription billing. The current payment-recovery policy uses Stripe Smart Retries, with up to 4 payment attempts within 3 weeks.
Stripe determines the timing of eligible retry attempts as part of that recovery process. You may also receive a payment-failure email explaining that the payment could not be collected.
The same principle applies whether your Toolbelt Websites subscription is normally billed monthly or annually: a failed collection is treated as a billing-recovery issue first rather than an instruction to switch the website off.
What if my card needs changing?
A Stripe payment-failure email can include a secure Stripe-hosted route for updating your payment method. You can also contact Toolbelt Websites and ask us to provide the appropriate secure route.
Enter the new card details directly into Stripe. Never send your full card number, expiry date or security code to Toolbelt Websites by email, form or message. See how to update your payment card.
Will my website be suspended while Stripe retries the payment?
No automatic suspension is triggered simply because a Stripe payment has failed. Toolbelt Websites deliberately keeps the Stripe billing status and the Toolbelt Websites service status separate.
This avoids taking a live customer website offline because of a temporary bank decline, an expired card or another payment issue that may be resolved through the normal recovery process. See whether a website is suspended after a failed payment.
What if Stripe cannot recover the payment?
If the recovery process ultimately fails, Stripe leaves the subscription and invoice past due. Toolbelt Websites then reviews the account separately and decides what action, if any, should be taken regarding the service.
Billing status and website service status are deliberately separate. An overdue Stripe invoice does not automatically switch the website off.
If you are unsure about the status of your account, contact support@toolbeltwebsites.co.uk.
It is still important not to ignore failed-payment emails simply because the website remains live. The separation between billing and service status is intended to allow sensible recovery, not to make an overdue balance disappear.
Last updated: 15 September 2026