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Tell HN: Scammed by Google Fi customer support out of a device trade-in

8 points by tolbish ↗ HN
Used to be a fan of Google Fi but it looks like the largest tech giant has stopped caring about its phone service customers.

After buying a Pixel 4a and noticing that they did not give me a trade-in option to return my current Pixel 3a for a credit, I asked customer support if I could initiate the trade-in then.

They confirmed that they would initiate the trade-in process for me and I would not have to worry. I asked them if they were certain, as otherwise I would return the device before the return deadline. I emailed them several times asking them to confirm this, which they did.

After the return deadline has passed, they tell me actually there is no way they can honor the trade in.

Is there any kind of recourse for Google over this kind of scammer nonsense? I will recommend to friends, family, and colleagues to never buy a Google hardware product again.

7 comments

[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 23.2 ms ] thread
Nextgrid
Disputing the credit card transaction for the original purchase is worth a shot.
ocdtrekkie
This is a really bad idea. Tech companies are very aggressive about chargebacks, and it's common to find your account permanently banned in response. In Google's case, that might cost you all of your email, all of the paid apps on your phone, and all of your personal photos.

As a general rule, do not try to initiate a credit card dispute or chargeback with any company you ever intend to do business with ever again.

Nextgrid
I am surprised that anyone would want to continue doing business with the company after such an occurrence. If that's how they handle issues where real money is involved, why would you trust them for things where money doesn't even come into play and you have even less recourse?

This is not a bad idea. This is the only idea that actually hits the company where it hurts and puts pressure on them to not do the same mistake in the future.

ocdtrekkie
I mean, I agree in principle, but in practice Google is a monopoly, and even with my heavy avoidance of Google services, I am forced to interact with them occasionally and a ban would be painful.

Furthermore, suggesting this to someone without preparing them for this outcome is an aggressively bad idea. If someone is cool with cutting themselves off from Google, great, but they probably should be preparing for that long before they issue a chargeback and discover their email account gone.

throwaway2019V
Agreed. Google Cloud started charging me for services I clearly didn't use, and I was very scared of doing a chargeback. It was only after weeks of back and forth and getting explicit directions from Google to do a chargeback (they don't issue refunds) that I finally did it. I took screenshots of the emails of their communications in case they do ban my accounts, so I at least have some proof that they told me to initiate the chargeback.
NewOrderNow
I got a pixel 3 DOA that I am still paying for because Google won't replace it.