diff --git a/app/Provisioning/Jobs/CollectInstanceTraffic.php b/app/Provisioning/Jobs/CollectInstanceTraffic.php
index 363d075..4bef001 100644
--- a/app/Provisioning/Jobs/CollectInstanceTraffic.php
+++ b/app/Provisioning/Jobs/CollectInstanceTraffic.php
@@ -73,8 +73,19 @@ class CollectInstanceTraffic implements ShouldBeUnique, ShouldQueue
         $client = $proxmox->forHost($instance->host);
         $status = $client->vmStatus($instance->host->node ?? 'pve', $instance->vmid);
 
-        $netin = (int) ($status['netin'] ?? 0);
-        $netout = (int) ($status['netout'] ?? 0);
+        // Missing telemetry is not "zero traffic": treating it as zero resets the
+        // baseline, and the next real sample then adds the whole cumulative
+        // counter again — a customer throttled for traffic counted twice.
+        if (! isset($status['netin'], $status['netout'])) {
+            Log::warning('traffic sample without counters, skipping', [
+                'instance' => $instance->uuid, 'status' => $status['status'] ?? null,
+            ]);
+
+            return;
+        }
+
+        $netin = (int) $status['netin'];
+        $netout = (int) $status['netout'];
 
         $row = InstanceTraffic::query()->firstOrCreate(
             ['instance_id' => $instance->id, 'period' => InstanceTraffic::currentPeriod()],
diff --git a/tests/Feature/TrafficTest.php b/tests/Feature/TrafficTest.php
index e9de2da..69476be 100644
--- a/tests/Feature/TrafficTest.php
+++ b/tests/Feature/TrafficTest.php
@@ -218,3 +218,36 @@ it('keeps trying to release a throttle when Proxmox refuses once', function () {
     expect(InstanceTraffic::query()->where('throttled', true)->count())->toBe(0)
         ->and($flaky->networkRates[1042])->toBeNull();
 });
+
+it('ignores a sample that carries no counters', function () {
+    [$pve, , $instance] = trafficSetup();
+
+    $pve->counters[1042] = ['netin' => 0, 'netout' => 4_000_000];
+    (new CollectInstanceTraffic)->handle($pve);
+    $pve->counters[1042] = ['netin' => 0, 'netout' => 10_000_000];
+    (new CollectInstanceTraffic)->handle($pve);
+    expect(InstanceTraffic::query()->first()->tx_bytes)->toBe(6_000_000);
+
+    // Proxmox answers without telemetry. Treating that as zero would reset the
+    // baseline and count the whole counter again on the next real sample.
+    $blind = new class extends FakeProxmoxClient
+    {
+        public function vmStatus(string $node, int $vmid): array
+        {
+            return ['status' => 'running'];
+        }
+    };
+    app()->instance(ProxmoxClient::class, $blind);
+    (new CollectInstanceTraffic)->handle($blind);
+
+    $row = InstanceTraffic::query()->first();
+    expect($row->tx_bytes)->toBe(6_000_000)
+        ->and($row->last_netout)->toBe(10_000_000);   // baseline untouched
+
+    // The next good sample continues from where it left off.
+    app()->instance(ProxmoxClient::class, $pve);
+    $pve->counters[1042] = ['netin' => 0, 'netout' => 11_000_000];
+    (new CollectInstanceTraffic)->handle($pve);
+
+    expect(InstanceTraffic::query()->first()->tx_bytes)->toBe(7_000_000);
+});