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The next bill you would pay one year in advance. The bill after the next bill, you will refund the one-year-in-advance amount of money that you paid the previous bill.

I know that I made a long adjective with too many dashes but that's because I can't express it. How can I do this?

Also, I feel like the sentence is long and confusing. What does native English speakers say in USA?

Here's the timeline in case you don't understand my sentence:

Bill number 1: Pay one year in advance.

Bill number 2: Refund what you paid in bill 1.

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  • Your sentence doesn't make sense. It implies that the person paying the bill (you would pay) is the same person sending the refund (you will refund), unless the two "you" are different persons. You should not use pronouns to avoid such confusion.
    – user3169
    Aug 17, 2018 at 18:48

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The major issue with you original phrasing is that when you say "you refund" you mean that "the company will refund you".

In general people may incur several charges over the course of a month, so the annual subscription might be only one of several charges that appear on a bill. Hence we might want to avoid implying that the customer will actually see the full amount refunded to their bank.

In your upcoming bill you will be charged for a one-year advance subscription. You should make full payment.

In the following bill you will see a credit for the value of that advance payment. If your account then has a positive balance you will received a refund payment for that balance.

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  • Hello @djna thank you so much for your answer. Can I say "In the following bill you will receive a refund for the value of that advance payment." ?
    – Michael George
    Aug 17, 2018 at 19:18
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    I am making a distinction between receiving a refund and an item being shown in a bill. When you truly receive a refund you have the money in your hand, or in your bank. In the bill you see a credit, and maybe some debits too. So you didn't really receive anything. I am probably being far too picky, your phrasing will be understood.
    – djna
    Aug 17, 2018 at 20:12

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