General Google is sending REFURBISHED replacements - Google Pixel 6 Pro

Have the Pixel 6 Pro here, noticed that when I open the camera sometimes it will just freeze up and reboot. Does this about 10 times a day. I tried reflashing the FULL OTA and Factory Images to no avail thinking it was software.
So after two hours last night of waiting to talk to customer service I tell them my issue and without hesitation she said "We will send you a new replacement phone." But it's gone be a minute and I said that's fine. I then ...and message her and go "Is it a refurbished phone a new one." She tells me they do not GIVE you a NEW phone even if it is DEFECTIVE they send you a REFURBISHED.
I told her absolutely NO thanks, in the kindest way possible, and asked if cancellation was an option, I explained I did NOT spend $1100 for a refurbished phone. Absolutely no way. She then goes on to tell me that she understands AND AGREES and that she will ask and get back to me in a few days if they can send me a NEW new one. I said if she has to jump through hoops it legit is olay to cancel it. I refuse to spend that much and have a frankenphone. You dig?
Buttt anywhooo, Just lettin y'all know...if your phone is bork, they gone sendja a refurb. You need to ASK for a new. Unless it's past the first 15 days or whatnot then you HAVE to get a refurb. But I can't live with that fact.

I would feel the same way. If using a credit card to buy a phone, some credit cards have rules which would give you options to get your money back as well, if it gets past the 15 days.
I'm really not surprised that they would do this, however. Just sucks every company would do the same thing.

roirraW edor ehT said:
I would feel the same way. If using a credit card to buy a phone, some credit cards have rules which would give you options to get your money back as well, if it gets past the 15 days.
I'm really not surprised that they would do this, however. Just sucks every company would do the same thing.
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I'm not mad? It's just kinda like really? I had two phones in the past that I bought new from Motorola and Oneplus that sent me brand new replacements. And my oneplus I owned for two MONTHS. I have had my 6 pro for 11 days I believe? It's just kinda like WOW. Haha my girlfriend and I were like no... we're not mad, but just cancel it.

Out of curiosity, for the sake of science, do you mind posting the logcat output capturing a few of these camera freeze up and reboot occurrences? Thanks

I'm surprised they would even have any refurbs at this time. When I did multiple replacements for my 2XL in a 2-3 month period from launch I was always sent a brand new retail package. Considering the supply issue and how popular the phone is. I would imagine they probably don't have many if any refurbs in stock to send out for warranty.

Or going by factory seconds where some did not make it out due to quality assurance checks, some phones are just born "frankenphones" at the factory itself.

zetsumeikuro said:
I'm surprised they would even have any refurbs at this time. When I did multiple replacements for my 2XL in a 2-3 month period from launch I was always sent a brand new retail package. Considering the supply issue and how popular the phone is. I would imagine they probably don't have many if any refurbs in stock to send out for warranty.
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Could have been as simple as already returned phones (for any reason, not even necessarily anything wrong with the phone) that the package was already opened / phone already removed from the packaging, etc, and needing minimal re-certification.
I still wouldn't want such a "refurb" so soon after buying the phone new, but there are lots of reasons why they might have phones they consider refurb in stock.

roirraW edor ehT said:
Could have been as simple as already returned phones (for any reason, not even necessarily anything wrong with the phone) that the package was already opened / phone already removed from the packaging, etc, and needing minimal re-certification.
I still wouldn't want such a "refurb" so soon after buying the phone new, but there are lots of reasons why they might have phones they consider refurb in stock.
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True, they do label those as "refurbs" as well. Would make sense they'd be mailing those out as they probably have little to no stock of brand new phones. I wouldn't care too much if I got someone's return as long as there's no cosmetic issues or mechanical issues on the device.

Exactly, I am not crying about the fact they're refurbs if I had the phone for like 6 months. But I have had this for 10 days. The phone ain't even a MONTH old. That's like a huge kick in the kahoonays for that much wallet spill...

The issue is the uncertainly on the degree of cosmetic/mechanical issues, making it a strict no from me at the retail price.
Ideal solution would be a $200 rebate on a certified refurb unit or a full refund for the inconvenience, stress, mental angst

Gytole said:
Exactly, I am not crying about the fact they're refurbs if I had the phone for like 6 months. But I have had this for 10 days. The phone ain't even a MONTH old. That's like a huge kick in the kahoonays for that much wallet spill...
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I wouldn't accept anything but new within the first 30 days. In your case they definitely should be giving you a brand new one. You probably got a crappy rep, I would try again with another one. Easier said than done with how nonexistent support has been since launch. Within the first 14 days they're supposed to give new devices as a replacement. Good luck man!

Depending on how much I love the product, I usually try to rule out user error first because no product is bug-free or perfect, else simply I return it since it is clearly not worth my time trying to beta test their product and buy a more reputable and reliable product.
In the Android world, Samsung has excellent brand loyalty for this reason and something Google should learn from if they wish to retain their customer base and build brand loyalty.

I mean no disrespect at all to any fans of Samsung - I loved my Galaxy S3 a long time ago. But the way Samsung's software doesn't work well for my usage, and how they make some things not work as well as they do on Pixels made my wife and I return to Pixels and sell our Note 10+ after only a year and a half - and I usually keep a phone for 3 years or at least until it's no longer updated.
The Note 10+ hardware was top-notch. Couldn't stand the software, though, and my P6P is already working much better for my wife and I than the Note 10+ was.

Low inventory could result in sending refurbished one's...

Gytole said:
Have the Pixel 6 Pro here, noticed that when I open the camera sometimes it will just freeze up and reboot. Does this about 10 times a day. I tried reflashing the FULL OTA and Factory Images to no avail thinking it was software.
So after two hours last night of waiting to talk to customer service I tell them my issue and without hesitation she said "We will send you a new replacement phone." But it's gone be a minute and I said that's fine. I then ...and message her and go "Is it a refurbished phone a new one." She tells me they do not GIVE you a NEW phone even if it is DEFECTIVE they send you a REFURBISHED.
I told her absolutely NO thanks, in the kindest way possible, and asked if cancellation was an option, I explained I did NOT spend $1100 for a refurbished phone. Absolutely no way. She then goes on to tell me that she understands AND AGREES and that she will ask and get back to me in a few days if they can send me a NEW new one. I said if she has to jump through hoops it legit is olay to cancel it. I refuse to spend that much and have a frankenphone. You dig?
Buttt anywhooo, Just lettin y'all know...if your phone is bork, they gone sendja a refurb. You need to ASK for a new. Unless it's past the first 15 days or whatnot then you HAVE to get a refurb. But I can't live with that fact.
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I received my P6 Pro 2 days before launch, had a couple bugs, talked with a Customer Rep and got a replacement shipped on the 29.10 - the (replacement) phone arrived in new and pristine condition; phone was brand new, the packaging was new, nothing refurbished there. Mind though, that I was (ofc) still in return window.
Maybe what you say is true after a while when there are phones that have been refurbished, but as far as I can understand, not at launch. Also, as mentioned, return window might be a deciding factor.

Glad to see great customer service on Google's part. I also like that they're opening Pixel exclusive stores.
Could you elaborate on the two bugs that made it a deal breaker for you to hold on to your very first unit?
Morgrain said:
I received my P6 Pro 2 days before launch, had a couple bugs, talked with a Customer Rep and got a replacement shipped on the 29.10 - the phone arrived in new and pristine condition; phone was brand new, the packaging was new, nothing refurbished there. Mind though, that I was (ofc) still in return window.
Maybe what you say is true after a while when there are phones that have been refurbished, but as far as I can understand, not at launch.
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miravision said:
Glad to see great customer service on Google's part. I also like that they're opening Pixel exclusive stores.
Could you elaborate on the two bugs that made it a deal breaker for you to hold on to your very first unit?
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I had a couple minor quirks, but the dealbreakers for me were
a) random reboots (didn't bother me the first 1 1/2 days because they only happened in idle, but then the phone randomly rebooted whilst I used it to navigate, that was unacceptable)
b) heavy lens flicker, even with clean glass (random rays of light whenever in 70% of shot pictures against/ with the sun)
Since using the replacement device, I neither had random reboots nor any more heavy lens flicker. Its possible ofc that these were software and not hardware isses, but since I set up my P6 Pro replacement the same way that I set up the "original" p6 pro one (cable backup transfer from my previous phone), it's hard to find that out.

Gytole said:
Exactly, I am not crying about the fact they're refurbs if I had the phone for like 6 months. But I have had this for 10 days. The phone ain't even a MONTH old. That's like a huge kick in the kahoonays for that much wallet spill...
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Totally understand. It reminds me of my new iphone 5. I got it through the carrier by signing up. I take it home only got the camera to not work. I go back to the shop and they tell me Apple handles repairs and replacements. I'm fuming. So I immediately take the train to go to the Apple store. They tell me no appointment? no help. So I have to go home and try the next day. I ask the guy handing me the replacement if it's a new phone. He says it is. But as I'm riding the train back home I realize that in the language I asked him I was a little ambiguous with my phrasing and to this day I still wonder if it was a new phone.
Anyhow, it cost me over 20 dollars and 4 hours of my time because I was given a lemon. Thanks for letting me vent about something that was 9 years ago...

Gytole said:
Exactly, I am not crying about the fact they're refurbs if I had the phone for like 6 months. But I have had this for 10 days. The phone ain't even a MONTH old. That's like a huge kick in the kahoonays for that much wallet spill...
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Totally understand. It reminds me of my new iphone 5. I got it through the carrier by signing up. I take it home only got the camera to not work. I go back to the shop and they tell me Apple handles repairs and replacements. I'm fuming. So I immediately take the train to go to the Apple store. They tell me no appointment? no help. So I have to go home and try the next day. I ask the guy handing me the replacement of it's a new phone. He says it is. But as I'm riding the train back home I realize that in the language I asked him it was a little ambiguous with my phrasing.
Anyhow, it cost me over 20 dollars and 4 hours of my time because I was given a lemon. Thanks for letting me vent about something that was 9 years ago

Google has been doing this for years, this is nothing new.

Related

Sending my phone in for repair (updated daily)

Thought ill do this to help people that are thinking of sending their phone in for repair.
If its fast, if they do a good job etc..
I called up Samsung UK at 9am UK time 21/05/12 and told them what's wrong with it
This is what is wrong with it;
The screen pops out about quater of a MM on the bottom right
-The phone doesnt always charge when connected to the charger (this has happened about 5times within a month)
-The phone switches off randomly sometimes (This has happened about 3 times within a month)
-Sometimes when i remove the charging cable. On the screen it says charging/ disconnected continuously, If i wasnt aware of it, it would keep happening and burn my screen since the same image is on the screen none stop (This has happened 2 times within two weeks)
-If i shake my phone i hear a rattle sound on the upper back of the phone (This has been there since i bought the phone)
-The touch screen isnt as responsive from when i bought it (I have to take my finger off the screen and try again sometimes)
-WiFi and 3G stops working and i have to reboot my phone to be able to use it (This has happened countless of times)
Some of these faults only happen sometimes but they have happened more then once within a short period of time.
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Quite a lot right? lol. The women took it quite well haha.
They said the bag will be sent out within two working days with Royal Mail, and the repair will take from 5 to 10 working days. I have to send it with other information like proof of purchase contact details etc..
I asked what happens if they send it back and the same/ new faults are still there?
She said we will try and repair it again and if its no good on the 3rd try then they will send me a new one.
The call took about 20minutes. I was on hold for about 5minutes total.
So let the games begin.
ps I set this as my background for fun
LoL @ background!
hope they take care of it...
I got the package this morning around 11am while i was sleeping (i work nights) so i could of sent it today if some one woke me up -_-
Another thing.. the packaging they gave me is an utter joke.
Cheap bubble wrap thats about 2ft by 1ft and a plastic bag(envelope)
I used my own bubble wrap, cardboard, bubble wrap jiffy bag, some more bubble wrap then put it in the envelope with all the information they needed.
I think i over did it a bit but what can i say? Im a bit OCD on stuff like that lol.
I took lots of pictures of my phone so when they send it back to me.. if there is one mark that wasnt there before/ still has the same or new problems its going straight back.
I want to send it back three times because then they will send me a brand new one on the 3rd go haha.
I'm going to post it tomorrow morning.
Hope it works out for you.
You complained about a rattle when you shook your phone? Dude, you're nit picking.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
Smokeey said:
You complained about a rattle when you shook your phone? Dude, you're nit picking.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
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I know. I'm trying to give them as many faults as possible to make it harder for them. I just want a new one cause the current one i have has problems.. i dont like repaired phones
My brother had an iphone4.. about 20days before the 1 year warranty ran out he went into the apple store and said the home button doesnt always work. The guy didnt even check it and gave him a brand new one.
I wish all companies had customer service like Apple... even if their products are meh.
RedBlueGreen said:
I know. I'm trying to give them as many faults as possible to make it harder for them. I just want a new one cause the current one i have has problems.. i dont like repaired phones
My brother had an iphone4.. about 20days before the 1 year warranty ran out he went into the apple store and said the home button doesnt always work. The guy didnt even check it and gave him a brand new one.
I wish all companies had customer service like Apple... even if their products are meh.
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lmao. You obviously don't know much about Apple customer service, it costs $99/year per device + $49/"incident". If you call 91 days after you purchase your device they won't even talk to you about your device/software or anything until you purchase the $99 service.
Every iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair coverage and 90 days of telephone technical support. AppleCare+ for iPhone extends repair coverage and technical support to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone and adds coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage due to handling, each subject to a $49 service fee.1 With AppleCare+ for iPhone, Apple experts can help troubleshoot issues over the phone or at an Apple Retail Store. They’ll answer questions about iOS, Apple iPhone apps such as Mail, iMessage, and Calendar, and help you solve interconnectivity issues between your iPhone and Mac or PC. And if your iPhone needs service under the plan, Apple technical support representatives can even set up a repair during the same call.
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http://store.apple.com/us/product/APP_IPHONE_PLUS_AUTO-110480
WiredPirate said:
lmao. You obviously don't know much about Apple customer service, it costs $99/year per device + $49/"incident". If you call 91 days after you purchase your device they won't even talk to you about your device/software or anything until you purchase the $99 service.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/APP_IPHONE_PLUS_AUTO-110480
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My mom called at day 96. If you act like you now nothing about this then they might let it slide. She got a new phone free somehow.
Sent from Galaxy Note with CM9
WiredPirate said:
lmao. You obviously don't know much about Apple customer service, it costs $99/year per device + $49/"incident". If you call 91 days after you purchase your device they won't even talk to you about your device/software or anything until you purchase the $99 service.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/APP_IPHONE_PLUS_AUTO-110480
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I'm in the UK so its probably different over here.. no?
My brother didn't spend anything extra on the phone... just the phone itself.
Maybe you don't know much about Apples customer service?
I know Americans get f'ed a lot on phones.
RedBlueGreen said:
I know. I'm trying to give them as many faults as possible to make it harder for them. I just want a new one cause the current one i have has problems.. i dont like repaired phones
My brother had an iphone4.. about 20days before the 1 year warranty ran out he went into the apple store and said the home button doesnt always work. The guy didnt even check it and gave him a brand new one.
I wish all companies had customer service like Apple... even if their products are meh.
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Click to collapse
I did something like this back when I had the 3GS. I waited until I decided I was buying the Nexus One, went to the Apple store and said the battery wasn't working correctly. The guy went in the back and came out with a brand new phone which went on Craigslist immediately after.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Flippy125 said:
I did something like this back when I had the 3GS. I waited until I decided I was buying the Nexus One, went to the Apple store and said the battery wasn't working correctly. The guy went in the back and came out with a brand new phone which went on Craigslist immediately after.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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Its quite funny.
The best thing is that the iPhone doesnt devalue much.
Orange_furball said:
My mom called at day 96. If you act like you now nothing about this then they might let it slide. She got a new phone free somehow.
Sent from Galaxy Note with CM9
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RedBlueGreen said:
I'm in the UK so its probably different over here.. no?
My brother didn't spend anything extra on the phone... just the phone itself.
Maybe you don't know much about Apples customer service?
I know Americans get f'ed a lot on phones.
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One year hardware warrantee, 90 day tech support via phone. Which leaves much to be desired IMO. Almost all products offer 1yr hardware support, Android does not charge $99/yr to help you diagnose a problem over the phone. Imo saying Apple has superior customer service is so assbackards it borders on mentally challenged. As far as what I personally know about Apple and their CS, I've been an Apple device owner for years, same for Android. Both have good qualities, both have poor qualities. But I have no delusions of which are which. I'm not going off somebody else's experience, somebody who as far as I am concerned (since we don't have an XDA username for them) has no credibility on this forum. I posted the link and quote directly from Apples website, it's kind of hard to disagree with that, and if either of you would have actually read it you would have seen that hardware is warranted for 1yr.
WiredPirate said:
One year hardware warrantee, 90 day tech support via phone. Which leaves much to be desired IMO. Almost all products offer 1yr hardware support, Android does not charge $99/yr to help you diagnose a problem over the phone. Imo saying Apple has superior customer service is so assbackards it borders on mentally challenged. As far as what I personally know about Apple and their CS, I've been an Apple device owner for years, same for Android. Both have good qualities, both have poor qualities. But I have no delusions of which are which. I'm not going off somebody else's experience, somebody who as far as I am concerned (since we don't have an XDA username for them) has no credibility on this forum. I posted the link and quote directly from Apples website, it's kind of hard to disagree with that, and if either of you would have actually read it you would have seen that hardware is warranted for 1yr.
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Every iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair coverage
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The phone wasnt repaired. You go off of your experiance and ill go off of my own
Anyway.. lets ditch this Apple talk.. and stick with Samsung.
RedBlueGreen said:
The phone wasnt repaired. You go off of your experiance and ill go off of my own
Anyway.. lets ditch this Apple talk.. and stick with Samsung.
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Click to collapse
You mean i go off my experience and you'll go off your brothers experience. You quoted me quoting Apple about the "repair" thing btw, just follow the link and see for yourself, that's what is written on Apples website.
Sure we will drop the Apple talk, just thinking about AppleCare pisses me off, don't know why anyone would prefer it.
WiredPirate said:
You mean i go off my experience and you'll go off your brothers experience. You quoted me quoting Apple about the "repair" thing btw, just follow the link and see for yourself, that's what is written on Apples website.
Sure we will drop the Apple talk, just thinking about AppleCare pisses me off, don't know why anyone would prefer it.
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well me and my dad was with him so its basically my own experiance too..
I dont see why anyone would buy extended warranty .. its a rip off.
btw just one hour and i can post my phone =O
That was my whole reasoning, I don't see why anyone would rather HAVE to pay for the extended, much less pay for phone support during the normal warrantee period. Hopefully you are more than satisfied with your new device, I will be asleep in an hour but I'll come check it out tomorrow.
Sent it!
I'm using my mums HTC wildfire for now lol
Curious to see how it goes - Samsung USA wouldn't accept my European GN to repair a broken screen...not even for money. I may have to send it back to Europe to get it fixed.
johdaxx said:
Curious to see how it goes - Samsung USA wouldn't accept my European GN to repair a broken screen...not even for money. I may have to send it back to Europe to get it fixed.
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That sucks. How much does it cost to ship over to.. lets say the UK
Still haven't received it yet
I think it should come today or tomorrow.

Anyone from the UK buy the 64GB version for £549.00?

Seems they got the price wrong and changed it quickly to £479.00 on launch, you would assume they would refund the difference but their support staff are being very cagey with their responses.
Anyone else in this situation or heard anything from Google?
I have an escalation case open with them at the moment for exactly this case. While not exactly, but the cause is the same.
I wanted the 64g, keyboard and type-c cables., but when I saw the price I said, you have to be kidding, thats far more than the 32g in comparison to the US price. Approx £150 more for the extra compared to £80 now.
I ordered the 32g, keyboard and type-c cables, not willing to pay £550
The next morning, I saw it was down to 479, so I tried to cancel the 32g and order the 64g, knowing that only 12hours had been wasted in processing time.
I couldn't cancel and they want 14 days for a refund and I buy the other one and wait another 3 days processing and 2 days shipment.
I wasn't happy and am waiting for them to sort it out. So wont open the boxes until I know. Really poor first experience directly from google.
They should just refund you the differance, as you could send it back, costing them money, but they have been rather intransigent with me so far, so who knows.
scoobydu said:
I have an escalation case open with them at the moment for exactly this case. While not exactly, but the cause is the same.
I wanted the 64g, keyboard and type-c cables., but when I saw the price I said, you have to be kidding, thats far more than the 32g in comparison to the US price. Approx £150 more for the extra compared to £80 now.
I ordered the 32g, keyboard and type-c cables, not willing to pay £550
The next morning, I saw it was down to 479, so I tried to cancel the 32g and order the 64g, knowing that only 12hours had been wasted in processing time.
I couldn't cancel and they want 14 days for a refund and I buy the other one and wait another 3 days processing and 2 days shipment.
I wasn't happy and am waiting for them to sort it out. So wont open the boxes until I know. Really poor first experience directly from google.
They should just refund you the differance, as you could send it back, costing them money, but they have been rather intransigent with me so far, so who knows.
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Yeah, if Google don't refund the difference the tablet will be sent back for a refund, I might have let it go if it was a small difference but £79 is substantial enough to be an issue and worth the hassle.
I've spoken to two people and they're been very unhelpful, they are not clued up and will only go as far as to say they're investigating the issue, bit of a shambles really.
Shocky2 said:
Yeah, if Google don't refund the difference the tablet will be sent back for a refund, I might have let it go if it was a small difference but £79 is substantial enough to be an issue and worth the hassle.
I've spoken to two people and they're been very unhelpful, they are not clued up and will only go as far as to say they're investigating the issue, bit of a shambles really.
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You are more forgiving tham me I have to say.
If it was £20 they should refund, as it was clearly their error, or they are out to screw over their keenest supporters.
I've had no response from them all day today, so maybe its the US support that is great and the UK useless, as I read others have had great support from google in the past.
scoobydu said:
You are more forgiving tham me I have to say.
If it was £20 they should refund, as it was clearly their error, or they are out to screw over their keenest supporters.
I've had no response from them all day today, so maybe its the US support that is great and the UK useless, as I read others have had great support from google in the past.
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Ditto, really unimpressed. Courteous support staff but they have no idea what to do and from what I was told today they don't seem to have the necessary tools to allow them to do a partial refund.
The amount of wasted time and transport in sending out another tablet, just for me to box it up and return it again so that they can process a refund is ridiculous.
PriyanPhoenix said:
Ditto, really unimpressed. Courteous support staff but they have no idea what to do and from what I was told today they don't seem to have the necessary tools to allow them to do a partial refund.
The amount of wasted time and transport in sending out another tablet, just for me to box it up and return it again so that they can process a refund is ridiculous.
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It's ridiculous, not impressed.
They are keeping me updated but it's basically the same information over are over again, they're investigating.
I will give them a few more days into next week and then I'm going to tell them to come and collect it.
Have you both asked for the case to be escalated? Presume so.
Not that it makes a differance, as they have not replied to me since the 10th.
For a premium product and their error, its quite staggering they do not know what to do.
I hope you get it sorted.
scoobydu said:
Have you both asked for the case to be escalated? Presume so.
Not that it makes a differance, as they have not replied to me since the 10th.
For a premium product and their error, its quite staggering they do not know what to do.
I hope you get it sorted.
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Yep, hasn't really helped.
It's just the same response every time, they're investigating, they're going to email the specialist team., etc.
dp? really.
Just received an email confirming that they will refund the £70... half an hour after I RMA'd and dropped the return package off with UPS! FFS.
PriyanPhoenix said:
Just received an email confirming that they will refund the £70... half an hour after I RMA'd and dropped the return package off with UPS! FFS.
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That's really bad timing, I just got the same email.
It's completely their fault for making us wait almost a week without an answer, another day and I would have done the same.
I don't suppose there's any chance of getting that parcel back? If it's just been dropped off you might have a chance, I'd give them ring.
Thank you for your recent order from the Google Store.
During checkout it appears you were charged an additional £70 on top of what we had originally intended the Pixel C to be priced at for your region. We have gone ahead and applied a refund for this amount back to the original payment method used for this purchase. This refund may take a few days to reflect with your financial institution.
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Well sounds like they did the right thing in the end. Although bad timing and so long!
After 6 days, with them ignoring my email, I spoke with support about my screen issue (which they appear to have resolved, still testing) and the support guy fully understood and agreed 6 days was not acceptable.
He stated he would take ownership and give me a proper answer, although thats what the previous guy said too!
Glad it sort of worked out for you both.

Question RIPPED OFF BY GOOGLE???

I returned my Pixel 5 for a trade in credit on my new Pixel 6 Pro - I recieved a notice today that they had processed the trade in but that I had sent in something different than what I had claimmed when I made the order. They said I would get $36 for trading in a PIXEL 2 XL. This is so wrong and I feel like either someone switched my phone (the Pixel 5 that I actually sent in) with a different phone - or someone at GOOGLE has their head up the butt. I can't wait 5 hours to chat with them and I can't find an email address or phone number to use to request help. I have been an android user for many years (mostly Samsung but I have also had Pixel XLs - which I always used to sell on Swappa when I got a new phone) I have also traded in phones many times and have never had this problem., Any suggestions please?
Open a case with Google... not much we can do here
Geekser said:
I returned my Pixel 5 for a trade in credit on my new Pixel 6 Pro - I recieved a notice today that they had processed the trade in but that I had sent in something different than what I had claimmed when I made the order. They said I would get $36 for trading in a PIXEL 2 XL. This is so wrong and I feel like either someone switched my phone (the Pixel 5 that I actually sent in) with a different phone - or someone at GOOGLE has their head up the butt. I can't wait 5 hours to chat with them and I can't find an email address or phone number to use to request help. I have been an android user for many years (mostly Samsung but I have also had Pixel XLs - which I always used to sell on Swappa when I got a new phone) I have also traded in phones many times and have never had this problem., Any suggestions please?
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I'm pretty sure they use a 3rd party contactor for their warranty / trade-in processing and everything is scanned in to match with the packing slip you included with your trade. If that IMEI that you claimed was on your 5 subsequently gets scanned somewhere else or with a different trade-in, then it should be pretty easy to resolve.
Bummer, definitely file a claim asap... hopefully you will get a resolution!
Good luck. Google's chat and email support are literally the worst I've ever encountered from a lawful corporation.
Then I ordered my 6Pro, they blocked off their own financing option with a hold, then said the payment was denied (because of the hold they'd placed). When I called to correct it, they totally ignored everything I said and just changed the billing method to a different credit card (seemingly at random) attached to my Google Pay without my permission. After very literally SEVENTEEN emails, I just had to give up. Every single time they would fixate on some mundane thing and run with it as if that was the reason I was emailing. (sure! if you'd like a refund, simply use the return link on the store and ship the entire order back to us! Thanks for choosing Google!). At this point I would be hard to convince that anybody actually works for their customer support team, as opposed to it all just being another hat for Google Assistant. Hope your experience is better than mine, and if you happen to find a way to actually speak to a human, definitely share the secret
Geekser said:
I returned my Pixel 5 for a trade in credit on my new Pixel 6 Pro - I recieved a notice today that they had processed the trade in but that I had sent in something different than what I had claimmed when I made the order. They said I would get $36 for trading in a PIXEL 2 XL. This is so wrong and I feel like either someone switched my phone (the Pixel 5 that I actually sent in) with a different phone - or someone at GOOGLE has their head up the butt. I can't wait 5 hours to chat with them and I can't find an email address or phone number to use to request help. I have been an android user for many years (mostly Samsung but I have also had Pixel XLs - which I always used to sell on Swappa when I got a new phone) I have also traded in phones many times and have never had this problem., Any suggestions please?
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Did you make evidence of your trade-in (photos, videos) of the phone that you put in the package?
Google is not handling these trade-ins on their own, they have third-party companies that they contract to do their bidding. So if that third-party company is trying to rip you off, you need proof.
As a general suggestion. ALWAYS always make at least photos of EVERY tech product you send away by package, no matter if it's trade-in, return or whatever. Never ever trust other humans to not rip you off. You always need insurance, best case you just have a family member or buddy that you spend time with, have him as a WITNESS whilst doing the packaging.
That saved me a couple of month ago, some call me a paranoid in that regard, but last time I had to send in my LG CX, the repair company tried to rip me off "physical damage, bla, no repair, you pay us 200 bucks to dispose" when I came fully prepared with a written witness testimoney, a 70 picture protocol and a video proving that the TV was in pristine condition before sending it away. That took me like 10 minutes in time, but saved me far more than a grand. Totally worth it.
I didn't even have to wait for one hour until they gave me the notice that there was a human error and they would compensate me for the full MSRP that I originally paid.
If I hadn't been prepared, they'd have ripped me off. That's life. So be prepared, always!
That is life. You learned your lesson. Always back your *** up!
hopefully if you have some record some how of the IMEI number you can find your phone amongst the listed items on their system.
if they say it's still not there talk to the highest person at the place, tell them they have a thief working there and you'll be calling the police about it. in reality that might come to nothing but it also might be the kick up the ass needed for someone to do their job properly.
3mel said:
hopefully if you have some record some how of the IMEI number you can find your phone amongst the listed items on their system.
if they say it's still not there talk to the highest person at the place, tell them they have a thief working there and you'll be calling the police about it. in reality that might come to nothing but it also might be the kick up the ass needed for someone to do their job properly.
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That's a good idea, he should definitely go to the police if Google doesn't help him. Best case someone just accidentally switched two devices whilst processing incoming packages , worst case this is simple thievery, if the story is true.
I considered this when I sent my Pixel 5 in for trade.
Hopefully taking pics of front and back with device on (to include the shipping label) will be enough, should the same thing happen to me.
Even a working Pixel 2 XL will get you about $50 so not only did they get the model wrong, but it's condition as well.
Morgrain said:
That's a good idea, he should definitely go to the police if Google doesn't help him. Best case someone just accidentally switched two devices whilst processing incoming packages , worst case this is simple thievery, if the story is true.
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The police wouldn't do anything if the valuables are less than $1,000. Don't waste your time.
Agreed. Small claims court would probably be the next best bet if you can't make any headway directly with Google.
Thanks to all for their helpful tips and insight. Update: Finally got thru to tech support and they started a case - today, they emailed to ask If I would approve access to my account to access data about and associated with my Google Pixel product and account. Hopefully, this will help them get to the bottom of things....fingers crossed...
Just wanted to let everyone know that I finally heard back from the Customer Support staff regarding the trade in amount. Up to this point they only approved a total of $38 versus the trade in amount they had originally promised.
After concluding their investigation, they said I would be getting the amount I was expecting (just over $400 I believe) and went on to say it would be wrapped up very soon.
I was worried there for a while, it seemed to take way to long, but in the end they took care of things. I do appreciate all of the tips and input from everyone. Thanks!
Thanks for the update! Glad to hear it's working out.
Geekser said:
Just wanted to let everyone know that I finally heard back from the Customer Support staff regarding the trade in amount. Up to this point they only approved a total of $38 versus the trade in amount they had originally promised.
After concluding their investigation, they said I would be getting the amount I was expecting (just over $400 I believe) and went on to say it would be wrapped up very soon.
I was worried there for a while, it seemed to take way to long, but in the end they took care of things. I do appreciate all of the tips and input from everyone. Thanks!
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Its important to keep Hanlon's razor in mind when dealing with people. It states "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." -- an error is an extension of stupidity. So just work with the other side in good faith and chances are it will all work out in the end.
Glad to hear you got it sorted.

General Google support nightmare

So I decided to share my experience with Google so far. An experience that unfortunately is still ongoing. I'll start by saying the last pixel device I purchased was the nexus 6p. Decided I was going to try the pixel 6 pro as I was intrigued with the new features and Google tensor capabilities.
Release day comes. I try to preorder the 6p and the website keeps crashing before I can complete the order. After 2 hours of trying, I suddenly get a message say they were out of stock. I was bummed. I decided to try later that night and to my surprise everything was back in stock and I was able to finally submit my order.
After waiting a week or two, my device finally ships and arrives. I have the phone for 2 weeks and suddenly the system board completely fries. Screen totally black and will not power on. I Google my options and find a page where Google recommends taking it to an "authorized repair shop". The shop is nearly 45 minutes away. I take it there only to be told "they will see what they can do". A few days later I get a call and they say the system board is fried and I should contact Google to have a replacement sent out. I already knew the system board was likely fried from the symptoms. The "repair shop had no parts to fix the phone and had no replacements in hand to swap mine out with. So what was the point in trying them? I ended up wasting 3 hours of driving time just to be in the same position I was.
So I contact Google and initiate a replacement request after waiting on hold for over 1 hour. I pick the "rush" option where they send the device and put a hold on your account until you send back the old phone. After a week, my replacement still wasn't shipped. I had to contact Google support and after the 4th try, they finally shipped out the replacement. As soon as I received the replacement, I sent back the defective unit with the prepaid label they included. It was due back December 16th to avoid charges. I tracked my package and it showed Google received it December 9th. Ok .. great. End of story right? Nope!
December 16th rolls around and I get a notice saying I didn't send back the defective device and I would be charged the full amount of the replacement device. Furious that I once again would have to reach out to Google, I replied to the email from my last support ticket to let them know they once again messed up and incorrectly charged me. I receive a reply saying my issue would be escalated. After 3 days I heard nothing else. I replied to email asking for an update and again, no response. So I decided I would have to once again get a call from Google. The support person clearly had no idea what they were doing and I was told they were going to escalate the ticket and I would hear back in 24 - 48 hours. 3 days later, still have not heard back. So once again, time to contact Google. Again, same result as I was given no answers and the ticket was escalated and still have not heard anything back.
So it has now been 2 weeks that I was incorrectly charged and $973 was stolen from my account. Google obviously does not want to fix this as it takes 5 seconds to confirm with tracking number that I sent the device back and issue a refund. At this time I feel like I need to look at other options because they simply will not resolve the issue.
Has anyone else ever had this awful experience with google trying to get an incorrect charge removed/reimbursed? I am thinking of disputing the charge through my bank to see if they have better luck, but not sure if that is the best answer or not. One thing is for sure, Google will NEVER make another dime from me as long as I am alive. 2 weeks and they still have not corrected a mistake THEY made and returned my money? Outrageous. I wouldn't expect this level of support from the worst company in the world.
I am sorry that you had to go through this. I read someone else's experience which was similar on the Google Pixel reddit. Not sure if you posted there too but there are a few others who have either gotten damaged phones or received empty boxes and they stated Google would just escalate the issue, back and forth several times.
From my experience, I've never had an issue with Google support but this was for the Nexus 6p, 2XL, 3XL, and 4XL. Each time an advanced RMA went through without a hitch.
For my first 6 Pro that I sent back for a screen issue, the support person seemed to have no idea what I was talking about as they were asking if I modified the screen or the underside of the screen? Nonetheless they issued an Advanced RMA and I got it and sent the old unit back without problems.
But as I have been noticing, I think their support has been outsourced now, they are short staffed and it seems "escalating" just means it will get passed on to the next support person. The last time I called, I could barely hear the support person because you could hear everyone else in the call center too. I don't recall having this same experience on my previous phones years ago.
Have you tried calling instead of email? Keep trying until you get an Agent that is willing to help. If anything, try to tweet them at @madebygoogle with your issue and see if that gets the ball rolling.
If you do a charge back they can block access to your google account so make sure you back everything up and take it out of google if you absolutely have to do this.
Good advice above on the charge back. I have heard of that happening.
Google employees don't so support, they farm support, shipping and repair out to Ingram. They suck.
Bummer! It's needle in a hay stack to get good googleeeee support all in one place!
selayan said:
I am sorry that you had to go through this. I read someone else's experience which was similar on the Google Pixel reddit. Not sure if you posted there too but there are a few others who have either gotten damaged phones or received empty boxes and they stated Google would just escalate the issue, back and forth several times.
From my experience, I've never had an issue with Google support but this was for the Nexus 6p, 2XL, 3XL, and 4XL. Each time an advanced RMA went through without a hitch.
For my first 6 Pro that I sent back for a screen issue, the support person seemed to have no idea what I was talking about as they were asking if I modified the screen or the underside of the screen? Nonetheless they issued an Advanced RMA and I got it and sent the old unit back without problems.
But as I have been noticing, I think their support has been outsourced now, they are short staffed and it seems "escalating" just means it will get passed on to the next support person. The last time I called, I could barely hear the support person because you could hear everyone else in the call center too. I don't recall having this same experience on my previous phones years ago.
Have you tried calling instead of email? Keep trying until you get an Agent that is willing to help. If anything, try to tweet them at @madebygoogle with your issue and see if that gets the ball rolling.
If you do a charge back they can block access to your google account so make sure you back everything up and take it out of google if you absolutely have to do this.
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Yea I first started with email, pretty much got blown off, then I requested a call twice, both times resulting in the same "we will escalate your issue and you'll hear back in 1 or 2 days", and this last time I used chat. Surprisingly, the chat person has been replying to my emails, but still unhelpful as the replied are "your issue has been escalated, please allow us another 1- 3 days to resolve your issue" every 3 days. I just don't understand how a company is allowed to operate in this way. Yes accidents happen and companies sometimes screw up, but then they are quick to own and resolve it. Definitely hasn't been the case here. Especially with doing this right before the holidays when money is tight? I'm comfortable right now, but a lot of people can't afford to have $973 stolen from them.
I just realized I first reached out to Google December 12th after noticing the hold was still on my account 3 days after FedEx tracking confirmed it was shipped and they received it. Still have not been refunded. That means today is day 23 that Google incorrectly stole my money and has not refunded me. 23 days. UNBELIEVABLE. Never EVER buying a Google product from Google again. Sadly a quick Google search reveals my case is not an abnormally. Hopefully their support catches up to them and the company crashes and burns. One can hope. No legit company should be permitted to operate in this way.
I hope that you have proof of your sent-in (pictures of the package, receipt from sending in). I'd probably wait a couple more days (~ 1 month total) and in case they haven't refunded you by then, write them again (e-mail or whatever, always in written form! telephone is worth nothing in front a court, since you can't proof sh*t) and give them a deadline (must be reasonable) to process your case, or else you will go to a lawyer.
As advice for the future (in case you haven't done that already), if you package anything of value - my own minimum is ~150 € - have a witness there when you package the product (friend, mother, whatever - dog will probably not count - if you want to go overkill, prepare a written statement for them (product is in functioning condition, is packed properly, witness to that blabliblup), so they can just sign it to help your case - in case anything goes wrong), best also make a small video / photos of the packaging process. That way you have hard proof and if you go to a lawyer with that, they'll rub their hands and get you your money in no time. It's important that you can prove that you have properly shipped the product.
I know that this sounds "overkill", but you have just experienced why this is important. DHL once destroyed a 4 figures expensive OLED of mine whilst transporting it and only because I prepared proof in advance of the pristine condition of the product, I was able to get 100% of my money back. It will only take a couple minutes - and s*it happens. In 99 of 100 cases, it will not be important and you might "waste" a couple minutes each time. But once you get a problem... you will wish that you made the effort...
By the way, since you talked about bank/reimbursed (disputing the charge through your bank) in your OP post, DO NOT do that. Google will use that as an excuse to shut down all your Google accounts, since "the relationship of trust with the customer is disturbed" - or something along the lines of that. If they don't act within a reasonable time frame given, get a lawyer. Do not act on your own and DO NOT remove money from Googles account. That will instantly create red flags in your profile and will permanently damage your standing with that company. And since Google is just a small indie company, you might not care about that. But... You know where I'm going with this.
scott.hart.bti said:
I just realized I first reached out to Google December 12th after noticing the hold was still on my account 3 days after FedEx tracking confirmed it was shipped and they received it. Still have not been refunded. That means today is day 23 that Google incorrectly stole my money and has not refunded me. 23 days. UNBELIEVABLE. Never EVER buying a Google product from Google again. Sadly a quick Google search reveals my case is not an abnormally. Hopefully their support catches up to them and the company crashes and burns. One can hope. No legit company should be permitted to operate in this way.
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So you didn't get charged but have a hold on the amount, right? Don't banks remove a hold after a certain number of days? I'd start with them. As for destroying your Google account, they used to do that when Google was running the return/support process. Now they have outsourced it and I wonder if they will still do that. I haven't seen current reports on that but you can check Reddit for all the down and dirty stuff like that.
Morgrain said:
I hope that you have proof of your sent-in (pictures of the package, receipt from sending in). I'd probably wait a couple more days (~ 1 month total) and in case they haven't refunded you by then, write them again (e-mail or whatever, always in written form! telephone is worth nothing in front a court, since you can't proof sh*t) and give them a deadline (must be reasonable) to process your case, or else you will go to a lawyer.
As advice for the future (in case you haven't done that already), if you package anything of value - my own minimum is ~150 € - have a witness there when you package the product (friend, mother, whatever - dog will probably not count - if you want to go overkill, prepare a written statement for them (product is in functioning condition, is packed properly, witness to that blabliblup), so they can just sign it to help your case - in case anything goes wrong), best also make a small video / photos of the packaging process. That way you have hard proof and if you go to a lawyer with that, they'll rub their hands and get you your money in no time. It's important that you can prove that you have properly shipped the product.
I know that this sounds "overkill", but you have just experienced why this is important. DHL once destroyed a 4 figures expensive OLED of mine whilst transporting it and only because I prepared proof in advance of the pristine condition of the product, I was able to get 100% of my money back. It will only take a couple minutes - and s*it happens. In 99 of 100 cases, it will not be important and you might "waste" a couple minutes each time. But once you get a problem... you will wish that you made the effort...
By the way, since you talked about bank/reimbursed (disputing the charge through your bank) in your OP post, DO NOT do that. Google will use that as an excuse to shut down all your Google accounts, since "the relationship of trust with the customer is disturbed" - or something along the lines of that. If they don't act within a reasonable time frame given, get a lawyer. Do not act on your own and DO NOT remove money from Googles account. That will instantly create red flags in your profile and will permanently damage your standing with that company. And since Google is just a small indie company, you might not care about that. But... You know where I'm going with this.
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Thanks. Appreciate the feedback and advice. You know, you are 100 percent correct with sending things back. No one really thinks about it because a majority of the time it goes smoothly, but when there are issues it's extremely difficult to prove and any extra steps/precautions would be critical. I will start doing this going forward as I am a very precautions person and have little trust in the way everything operates nowadays.
I finally got an email from Google a few hours ago saying they were "processing a refund". Disturbing part is it says it can take up to 14 days. So hopefully at this point it's resolved and the money shows up. I notified my bank to seize looking into this matter for now and hold the claim to avoid any issues you mentioned. What an absolute nightmare. I truly can't understand how they are a successful lucrative company and have support comparable to a kindergarten student at a lemonade stand.
bobby janow said:
So you didn't get charged but have a hold on the amount, right? Don't banks remove a hold after a certain number of days? I'd start with them. As for destroying your Google account, they used to do that when Google was running the return/support process. Now they have outsourced it and I wonder if they will still do that. I haven't seen current reports on that but you can check Reddit for all the down and dirty stuff like that.
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At first it was a hold until December 16th when they sent an email saying they never received it and it turned into a legit charge. Unreal, but finally seem to be making progress as per my last post.
I did a quick search and man... It's disturbing to see how common this is. I mean how can a company operate this way and yet still generate hundreds of millions in revenue? Blows my mind.
scott.hart.bti said:
I did a quick search and man... It's disturbing to see how common this is. I mean how can a company operate this way and yet still generate hundreds of millions in revenue? Blows my mind.
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Do a search for Samsung, Apple, (insert name of company here) and you will find the same results. It's just the way it is and always has been. Just much more pronounced now in this day of covid and people not working and everyone understaffed.
Yes, my experience with Google warranty was very similar.
The problem is these ass clowns are using FedEx Ground and they take their sweet ass time. Not only with this shipment but literally every shipment for me that's ever touched their system for the last year has been delayed. If not stated no delivery information available, what???
I used to work for FedEx Express. There was pride in there their work ethic and getting people their stuff typically within minutes of the commitment time at the latest. Now they just don't give AF.
Yes, they charged my card too. I called fraud and had them reach out to FedEx Ground and fix their lazy delivery style.
In addition, Google was very slow to admit that my old phone was overheating from no user error whatsoever. That process took two months. They definitely didn't send me a replacement that was an unlocked bootloader.
What a nightmare.
I bought an open box 6 Pro from Best Buy and it randomly decides to have a stuck green pixel and a giant line across the screen. Trying to exchange it has been hell because it has to be another open box and they are hard to catch but I managed to today. The phone rep guy just added it to my original order and it's gonna be here tuesday. No mention of returning the one I have.

General *** READ BEFORE TRADING IN YOUR DEVICE WHEN BUYING PIXEL 6 / 6 PRO ***

This is a simple BUYER BEWARE Public Service Announcement about using Google's TRADE-IN process when buying their device.
I pre-ordered my Pixel 6 Pro early and chose the trade-in route with my Pixel 5.
During the trade-in process I was quoted $405 if my device 1) turned on, 2) wasn't cracked, and 3) was factory reset. My P5 is in mint condition so I sent it in and Google's third party partner handing trade-ins received it November 22nd.
The assessment process is supposed to take 3-5 days. They send you a link to watch the progress of your trade-in. After two weeks of my progress sitting on "Assessing your device" I tried contacting Google customer service.
At least with the trade-in process, Google's customer service is non-existent! After hours and hours of searching and trying to reach a human being, it never happened. Automated Q&A at best, if you make the "right" selections you MIGHT end up with a chat window and a two hour wait (only happened once and it made ZERO difference).
Honestly, once you send in your device for trade-in, you are 100% at their mercy on whether you get a refund or not.
I read where one Xda member said they sent in a Pixel 5 and was told Google received a Pixel 2 XL and was refunded the $40 value of a Pixel 2 XL, instead of the several hundred they were quoted for their Pixel 5. I was skeptical of this claim until I ran into Google's terrible customer service. There is NO recourse, no rebuttal, there is nothing you can do (short of a civil lawsuit) if they claim you sent in a burrito instead of a pristine device!
I waited 43 days, and received 16 emails (each with the canned response "their special team is looking into the issue") before I finally received an answer.
Just yesterday, January 4th, I received the email that I will be refunded $439.
Needless to say I will NEVER, EVER trade-in with Google again. My Pixel 5 in mint condition was only fetching $450-ish on Swappa, so it made sense to go the "easier" Google trade-in route.
I. WILL. NOT. MAKE. THAT. MISTAKE. AGAIN.
Do your research, and make sure you understand ALL the details of Google trade-in BEFORE you send your device to them.
I had a similar issue with OnePlus tradein. I trade in a 'perfect' device (clean, absolutely not a single scratch, etc). Was quoted 320 euro. Sent the device to the trade-in partner. They claimed the device still contained my Google account (despite me having removed the account and factory-reset before I sent it). Zillions of mails and online support chats.
"Don't worry ... it will be solved sir ..."
Every single time had another support guy on mail/chat and had to repeat the same story over and over again.
Yeah right. After 4 months of trying and posting the story daily on OnePlus social media, threatening with legal action, even filing a police complaint, they simply decided to pay me 30 euro and that was the end of the story. After that they simply refused to accept any further mails/chats despite my formal complaint that I did not accept their offer.
No official reaction ever form OnePlus.
At the end, I was so tired of it that I "gave up".
Hearing your story, just wanted to post this here as well.
I don't even know with which obscure trade-in partner I was dealing with. They never wanted to reveal their true identity and kept hiding behind OnePlus despite them handling all online Q&A.
(apologies for slight off-topic)
Az Biker said:
This is a simple BUYER BEWARE Public Service Announcement about using Google's TRADE-IN process when buying their device.
I pre-ordered my Pixel 6 Pro early and chose the trade-in route with my Pixel 5.
During the trade-in process I was quoted $405 if my device 1) turned on, 2) wasn't cracked, and 3) was factory reset. My P5 is in mint condition so I sent it in and Google's third party partner handing trade-ins received it November 22nd.
The assessment process is supposed to take 3-5 days. They send you a link to watch the progress of your trade-in. After two weeks of my progress sitting on "Assessing your device" I tried contacting Google customer service.
At least with the trade-in process, Google's customer service is non-existent! After hours and hours of searching and trying to reach a human being, it never happened. Automated Q&A at best, if you make the "right" selections you MIGHT end up with a chat window and a two hour wait (only happened once and it made ZERO difference).
Honestly, once you send in your device for trade-in, you are 100% at their mercy on whether you get a refund or not.
I read where one Xda member said they sent in a Pixel 5 and was told Google received a Pixel 2 XL and was refunded the $40 value of a Pixel 2 XL, instead of the several hundred they were quoted for their Pixel 5. I was skeptical of this claim until I ran into Google's terrible customer service. There is NO recourse, no rebuttal, there is nothing you can do (short of a civil lawsuit) if they claim you sent in a burrito instead of a pristine device!
I waited 43 days, and received 16 emails (each with the canned response "their special team is looking into the issue") before I finally received an answer.
Just yesterday, January 4th, I received the email that I will be refunded $439.
Needless to say I will NEVER, EVER trade-in with Google again. My Pixel 5 in mint condition was only fetching $450-ish on Swappa, so it made sense to go the "easier" Google trade-in route.
I. WILL. NOT. MAKE. THAT. MISTAKE. AGAIN.
Do your research, and make sure you understand ALL the details of Google trade-in BEFORE you send your device to them.
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Sorry you had to go through the dysfunctional world known as Go0gle, but sage advice.
I'm actually on chat with google right now regarding my P4XL trade in for the P6P. It delivered a week ago, but they say "waiting to receive your trade in".
I read a thread yesterday were the poster was complaining about returning his phone and receiving a replacement and the clusterfuc# it had become. I replied and I'll say the same thing here. It's not just Google. Insert any company name and you can tell the same story. In this era of covid and people not wanting to work and supply issues it is just a mess everywhere. We order parts here and they don't arrive, or the wrong one show up and we call customer service and it's a shi$ show every time.
shiftr182 said:
I'm actually on chat with google right now regarding my P4XL trade in for the P6P. It delivered a week ago, but they say "waiting to receive your trade in".
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Get ready for the ride!
You'll start receiving emails like this every third day:
Dec 10th
Hi Az Biker,
Thank You for contacting Google Support!
This is a follow up email as per our conversation over chat regarding Trade-in refund. I would like to inform you that I’m consulting with our product experts and they’re actively working on a resolution. I’ll keep you updated within 24-48 hours.
I appreciate your continued patience and cooperation in this matter.
In case you have any other query please feel free to reply to the same email, I will be happy to help you.
Thanks!
David
The Google Support Team
Jan 3rd
Hi Az Biker,
Thank you for contacting Google Support Team!
We really apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. I can understand your situation. This is something that we do not want our customers to experience. I request you to please wait for the update from our specialist team. Once there is an update, we will get back to you soon.
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Every email in between said the same thing. I started to feel like my device was lost or stolen and they were just looking for a way to put it back on me.
I think the delivery notification held them to the fire, as it was already in their possession.
Hopefully everything works out for you. Report back here when you get an update.
Hahaha! Just got the first one! I was in the same boat as you.... my P4XL was only worth around $250 or so on Swappa, and after you factor in Paypal, Swappa, shipping, etc. I opted to just trade in for $209 or something. I guess we'll just wait and see. If I would have known it was going to take that long I probably would have just kept it as an extra.
shiftr182 said:
I probably would have just kept it as an extra.
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Click to collapse
That's what I did with my OP8. It was worth more to me as a backup than what I could sell it for. And personally the last thing I would do is trade it in because of exactly stories like these. I mean I don't want to offend anyone but what were you expecting? To me that course of action had clusterfuc+ written all over it.
Atlest there is a possibility that you might get some money, the trade in solution where i live will pay you 400$ at the top for a brand new iPhone 13 Pro Max, like that is gonna happen.
android_dan said:
That's what I did with my OP8. It was worth more to me as a backup than what I could sell it for. And personally the last thing I would do is trade it in because of exactly stories like these. I mean I don't want to offend anyone but what were you expecting? To me that course of action had clusterfuc+ written all over it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, for me it was a way of swaying my wife into letting me get the P6P..... Google will pay me for my old phone
Az Biker said:
This is a simple BUYER BEWARE Public Service Announcement about using Google's TRADE-IN process when buying their device.
I pre-ordered my Pixel 6 Pro early and chose the trade-in route with my Pixel 5.
During the trade-in process I was quoted $405 if my device 1) turned on, 2) wasn't cracked, and 3) was factory reset. My P5 is in mint condition so I sent it in and Google's third party partner handing trade-ins received it November 22nd.
The assessment process is supposed to take 3-5 days. They send you a link to watch the progress of your trade-in. After two weeks of my progress sitting on "Assessing your device" I tried contacting Google customer service.
At least with the trade-in process, Google's customer service is non-existent! After hours and hours of searching and trying to reach a human being, it never happened. Automated Q&A at best, if you make the "right" selections you MIGHT end up with a chat window and a two hour wait (only happened once and it made ZERO difference).
Honestly, once you send in your device for trade-in, you are 100% at their mercy on whether you get a refund or not.
I read where one Xda member said they sent in a Pixel 5 and was told Google received a Pixel 2 XL and was refunded the $40 value of a Pixel 2 XL, instead of the several hundred they were quoted for their Pixel 5. I was skeptical of this claim until I ran into Google's terrible customer service. There is NO recourse, no rebuttal, there is nothing you can do (short of a civil lawsuit) if they claim you sent in a burrito instead of a pristine device!
I waited 43 days, and received 16 emails (each with the canned response "their special team is looking into the issue") before I finally received an answer.
Just yesterday, January 4th, I received the email that I will be refunded $439.
Needless to say I will NEVER, EVER trade-in with Google again. My Pixel 5 in mint condition was only fetching $450-ish on Swappa, so it made sense to go the "easier" Google trade-in route.
I. WILL. NOT. MAKE. THAT. MISTAKE. AGAIN.
Do your research, and make sure you understand ALL the details of Google trade-in BEFORE you send your device to them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wait. So you got more than you thought. All you really had to do was wait? That's what it is? So maybe with the omicron virus going around and no doubt affecting employees, as well as their families you should be a little more sensitive and put on the shoes of other people. You got your money, right? who cares that you waited and received a couple of confusing emails. Please understand that there is "real people" on the other end. With the way this world is right now my friend were lucky we even have customer service to begin with. We are on the edge of a cliff with one leg off in a full jump. So enjoy your refund.....count yourself lucky you got it.
Although this will undoubtedly piss people off, I am only being real.
I'm really to sorry to hear about that, @Az Biker. The other person you referenced in the OP was eventually successful as well, and received the proper credit, from what I remember.
I'm really glad I always choose to sell our old phones on Swappa, when I don't keep one as a spare. So far - knock on wood - the only negative experience I had on Swappa was buying a used Pixel 1 128 GB that was supposed to be Google Edition for ~$50. It was Verizon Edition, and I could've sent it back for a refund, but there was no way I was going to be able to get a Google Edition for that low, so no real biggee.
wulfgarfang said:
wait. So you got more than you thought. All you really had to do was wait? That's what it is? So maybe with the omicron virus going around and no doubt affecting employees, as well as their families you should be a little more sensitive and put on the shoes of other people. You got your money, right? who cares that you waited and received a couple of confusing emails. Please understand that there is "real people" on the other end. With the way this world is right now my friend were lucky we even have customer service to begin with. We are on the edge of a cliff with one leg off in a full jump. So enjoy your refund.....count yourself lucky you got it.
Although this will undoubtedly piss people off, I am only being real.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not ****ed off, but all he had to do was not just wait. It was contacting customer support on the not fun 200-year old rusting carousel of an experience umpteen times.
I wouldn't be happy with that happening to me, either.
wulfgarfang said:
So maybe with the omicron virus going around and no doubt affecting employees, as well as their families you should be a little more sensitive and put on the shoes of other people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please, people need to stop with the "virus excuse". You don't need this lame excuse when you're being a cr*ppy customer service. This has nothing to do with the current situation.
Companies need to get their sh*t together and do what they're supposed to do. If I used the same excuse at my job, I don't think my manager or my company would care much for it.
roirraW edor ehT said:
I'm not ****ed off, but all he had to do was not just wait. It was contacting customer support on the not fun 200-year old rusting carousel of an experience umpteen times.
I wouldn't be happy with that happening to me, either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that was a ridiculous reply to a serious issue. How much time, effort and money was wasted on the myriad of contacts needed.
But that aside, I have an alternate reality... er experience. I have never had an issue sending in a device to either Google or Verizon and I've done it countless times be it a defect or a trade-in. Maybe luck of the draw. On my P5 trade I had the money in my account within a week of dropping it off at the PO. I didn't get the 4 bills plus but the quoted amount of $385 I think it was. I also got a beautiful refurb from a tier 2 CSR for a problem that was really not Google's. He was a really nice guy too. But that was before.
On Swappa, OTOH, I sold my mint P4 for a pretty fair price. The buyer bargained me down $60 and I said ah wft and sold it to him. Then I get an email with a telescopic picture of a slight rubbing along 1/8" where the case was. (an alcohol swab would have removed it) Still considered mint for all intents and purposes, I mean this was a gem. He said that rather than going thru a return if I gave him another $70 off he'd keep it. This is after paying for shipping, dropping the price, paying Swappa their fees, Paypal their fees so I reluctantly agreed but I'm sorry to this day that I did that. I believe this was hi MO but I did sort of let it go. Although I swore never again will I sell on Swappa. However, after this fiasco I might rethink keeping the device as a backup or figuring out a way to get it to Google where they can't claim this nonsense. But that's a year away about. Unless they come up with a face reader along with a FPR on the P7 which would make it oh.... 10 months? lol
I think really its the customer service thing... it is impossible to get ahold of anyone in customer service, and then your just waiting in limbo. The paperwork I received regarding my trade-in also said that it would be processed within 3 days of receiving. Its been a week since it delivered, and they still say that they are waiting to receive.
foobar66 said:
I had a similar issue with OnePlus tradein. I trade in a 'perfect' device (clean, absolutely not a single scratch, etc). Was quoted 320 euro. Sent the device to the trade-in partner. They claimed the device still contained my Google account (despite me having removed the account and factory-reset before I sent it). Zillions of mails and online support chats.
"Don't worry ... it will be solved sir ..."
Every single time had another support guy on mail/chat and had to repeat the same story over and over again.
Yeah right. After 4 months of trying and posting the story daily on OnePlus social media, threatening with legal action, even filing a police complaint, they simply decided to pay me 30 euro and that was the end of the story. After that they simply refused to accept any further mails/chats despite my formal complaint that I did not accept their offer.
No official reaction ever form OnePlus.
At the end, I was so tired of it that I "gave up".
Hearing your story, just wanted to post this here as well.
I don't even know with which obscure trade-in partner I was dealing with. They never wanted to reveal their true identity and kept hiding behind OnePlus despite them handling all online Q&A.
(apologies for slight off-topic)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude that sucks! The hopeless feeling of doing everything right, then realizing you're just a number to them hits hard. That's what I was feeling. I'm like "I've purchased 6 top end smart phones from google and blah blah blah.. " then I realize I by myself am nothing to Google. Not in a militant, entitled bad way, but I'm just a bottom line number in ink.
wulfgarfang said:
wait. So you got more than you thought. All you really had to do was wait? That's what it is? So maybe with the omicron virus
going around and no doubt affecting employees, as well as their families you should be a little more sensitive and put on the shoes of other people. You got your money, right? who cares that you waited and received a couple of confusing emails. Please understand that there is "real people" on the other end. With the way this world is right now my friend were lucky we even have customer service to begin with. We are on the edge of a cliff with one leg off in a full jump. So enjoy your refund.....count yourself lucky you got it.
Although this will undoubtedly piss people off, I am only being real.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I waited two weeks, ten business days, before I sent my first email asking what's up. That's patience enough in waiting twice as long as advertised.
If Google is facing greater trade-in times for whatever reason, they should update the 3-5 days stated on their website when you process the trade-in.
Not once did any of their correspondence mention delays related to COVID. This is Google over promising and under delivering. You're welcome to your own opinion.
I did everything I was asked within the time limitations, why should I ask anything different of Google?
Do you for a second think Google would "be patient and understanding" if you had waited 43 days after the trade-in period expired to send in your device? Not a chance.
If you drive through fast food, order a #4 combo, get to the window and they ask you to park in front. Thirty minutes later they bring out your food and say, be glad you got your food at all we've been short staffed for weeks due to COVID...You're fine with that? No, add a note about increased wait times on the menu so I know what I'm getting into BEFORE I commit myself.
BTW, customers are real people too, and instead of receiving a $400 dollar refund real people are charged interest while waiting 43 days for their refund or maybe real people were depending on that refund for other things.
Bottom line, you say I'll get my refund in X amount of time, either hold true to your advertising or update the X amount of time. It's called good business.
roirraW edor ehT said:
I'm really to sorry to hear about that, @Az Biker. The other person you referenced in the OP was eventually successful as well, and received the proper credit, from what I remember.
I'm really glad I always choose to sell our old phones on Swappa, when I don't keep one as a spare. So far - knock on wood - the only negative experience I had on Swappa was buying a used Pixel 1 128 GB that was supposed to be Google Edition for ~$50. It was Verizon Edition, and I could've sent it back for a refund, but there was no way I was going to be able to get a Google Edition for that low, so no real biggee.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I have always used SWAPPA until this time. SHAME ON ME Swappa karma got me good
Ghisy said:
Please, people need to stop with the "virus excuse". You don't need this lame excuse when you're being a cr*ppy customer service. This has nothing to do with the current situation.
Companies need to get their sh*t together and do what they're supposed to do. If I used the same excuse at my job, I don't think my manager or my company would care much for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I realize in certain circumstances this exists. I moonlight as a mechanic at a local TREK bicycle shop and ordered a 2022 Slash 9.8 GX using my employee discount (20% off a pretty expensive bike). Ordered it in March 2021 received it November 23rd, 2021, as an employee, but customers were getting theirs first, so I get it.
These things are made overseas and shipping backlog, yada yada yada. So I'm not immune to understanding delays. But yeah, the canned "COVID delay" response is being abused way too much!
bobby janow said:
But that aside, I have an alternate reality... er experience. I have never had an issue sending in a device to either Google or Verizon and I've done it countless times be it a defect or a trade-in.
Maybe luck of the draw. On my P5 trade I had the money in my account within a week of dropping it off at the PO. I didn't get the 4 bills plus but the quoted amount of $385 I think it was. I also got a beautiful refurb from a tier 2 CSR for a problem that was really not Google's. He was a really nice guy too. But that was before.
On Swappa, OTOH, I sold my mint P4 for a pretty fair price. The buyer bargained me down $60 and I said ah wft and sold it to him. Then I get an email with a telescopic picture of a slight rubbing along 1/8" where the case was. (an alcohol swab would have removed it) Still considered mint for all intents and purposes, I mean this was a gem. He said that rather than going thru a return if I gave him another $70 off he'd keep it. This is after paying for shipping, dropping the price, paying Swappa their fees, Paypal their fees so I reluctantly agreed but I'm sorry to this day that I did that. I believe this was hi MO but I did sort of let it go. Although I swore never again will I sell on Swappa. However, after this fiasco I might rethink keeping the device as a backup or figuring out a way to get it to Google where they can't claim this nonsense. But that's a year away about. Unless they come up with a face reader along with a FPR on the P7 which would make it oh.... 10 months? lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Swappa can burn a lot of time and knit-pickers can suck the life out of hoping for humanity, but I've been fortunate with the 4 or 5 devices I've sold on Swappa, and back in the day when turning in devices to VZW for an upgrade I never really had any issues.
What really burned by britches about Google was their canned "we're looking into it" emails. Really felt like I was gonna get the ol' shaft on this transaction, with little to nothing I could do about it either way.
shiftr182 said:
I think really its the customer service thing... it is impossible to get ahold of anyone in customer service, and then your just waiting in limbo. The paperwork I received regarding my trade-in also said that it would be processed within 3 days of receiving. Its been a week since it delivered, and they still say that they are waiting to receive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I waited until the link showed they received the device before I started counting days. After ten business days, I started sending emails. Luckily I don't need the refund money per se (like depend on it) as others might be, but I did have it in mind to spend on last minute Christmas gifts to add to the kid's pile
android_dan said:
That's what I did with my OP8. It was worth more to me as a backup than what I could sell it for. And personally the last thing I would do is trade it in because of exactly stories like these. I mean I don't want to offend anyone but what were you expecting? To me that course of action had clusterfuc+ written all over it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I was naïve in thinking that Google was big enough to meet their marketing and quoted timeframe. I had never been given a reason to doubt Google in the past with all the transactions I've done through their store. Trust me, I won't be making that mistake again
I'll let you guys decide who is Google and who is the consumer
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bobby janow said:
On Swappa, OTOH, I sold my mint P4 for a pretty fair price. The buyer bargained me down $60 and I said ah wft and sold it to him. Then I get an email with a telescopic picture of a slight rubbing along 1/8" where the case was. (an alcohol swab would have removed it) Still considered mint for all intents and purposes, I mean this was a gem. He said that rather than going thru a return if I gave him another $70 off he'd keep it. This is after paying for shipping, dropping the price, paying Swappa their fees, Paypal their fees so I reluctantly agreed but I'm sorry to this day that I did that. I believe this was hi MO but I did sort of let it go. Although I swore never again will I sell on Swappa. However, after this fiasco I might rethink keeping the device as a backup or figuring out a way to get it to Google where they can't claim this nonsense. But that's a year away about. Unless they come up with a face reader along with a FPR on the P7 which would make it oh.... 10 months? lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sucks! I learned when I sold our two Note 10+'s after we received our P6Ps that what I think is Mint is not, but I learned that before my posting was even approved, so I downgraded my listings to "Good". In my case, it was mostly slight damage around the charging port from where relatively blind attempts to plug the USB-C cable in took some trial and error.
Similarly, when I've really taken a good look at the outside of my door locks that were new three years ago, I can really see just much I missed the locks slightly with my keys. I wasn't happy the phones weren't mint - they'd been in OtterBox Defenders with tempered glass screen protectors since day one, but I still got nearly as much as mint models sold for on Swappa.
I also never, ever give a reduced price anymore no matter what. Take it or leave it. Every time I have (for other things in other places than Swappa), I end up regretting it, so I never do on Swappa. Basically, folks asking if they can get any $ off for any reason are just scammers themselves. Sure, there may be a few relatively innocents in there with valid reasons, but I've never been lucky enough to sell to ones like that. Relatively innocent folks don't ask for amounts off the price in my admittedly reasonably limited experience.
I have no idea how many phones I've sold on Swappa as they must only keep records for so long, or they wiped them out at some point because it's only showing the two Note 10+'s I sold a couple of months ago. I know I sold at least two or more other phones previously. I've bought two phones from there too, and as I said before, the only problem I had once was someone listed a Verizon Edition Pixel 1 as if it was a Google Edition, and it was a $50 phone so can't really beat that. It was just a spare phone at the time, anyway.
Now eBay...that's another subject. I'll never sell anything outside the country on eBay again. After years of avoiding it, about 8 years ago I thought what the heck, I'll try it. Scammed. I got my money first but had to lose my ~15-year old eBay account.
I normally don't buy new phones until the old one isn't supported anymore, so by the time I'd sell them they're not worth hardly anything, and I keep them as spares. I should find a way to donate some old phones, and only keep my two favorite (Pixel 1's) as spares.
Az Biker said:
Yeah, I have always used SWAPPA until this time. SHAME ON ME Swappa karma got me good
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL! Laughing, and crying.
roirraW edor ehT said:
That sucks! I learned when I sold our two Note 10+'s after we received our P6Ps that what I think is Mint is not, but I learned that before my posting was even approved, so I downgraded my listings to "Good". In my case, it was mostly slight damage around the charging port from where relatively blind attempts to plug the USB-C cable in took some trial and error.
Similarly, when I've really taken a good look at the outside of my door locks that were new three years ago, I can really see just much I missed the locks slightly with my keys. I wasn't happy the phones weren't mint - they'd been in OtterBox Defenders with tempered glass screen protectors since day one, but I still got nearly as much as mint models sold for on Swappa.
I also never, ever give a reduced price anymore no matter what. Take it or leave it. Every time I have (for other things in other places than Swappa), I end up regretting it, so I never do on Swappa. Basically, folks asking if they can get any $ off for any reason are just scammers themselves. Sure, there may be a few relatively innocents in there with valid reasons, but I've never been lucky enough to sell to ones like that. Relatively innocent folks don't ask for amounts off the price in my admittedly reasonably limited experience.
I have no idea how many phones I've sold on Swappa as they must only keep records for so long, or they wiped them out at some point because it's only showing the two Note 10+'s I sold a couple of months ago. I know I sold at least two or more other phones previously. I've bought two phones from there too, and as I said before, the only problem I had once was someone listed a Verizon Edition Pixel 1 as if it was a Google Edition, and it was a $50 phone so can't really beat that. It was just a spare phone at the time, anyway.
Now eBay...that's another subject. I'll never sell anything outside the country on eBay again. After years of avoiding it, about 8 years ago I thought what the heck, I'll try it. Scammed. I got my money first but had to lose my ~15-year old eBay account.
I normally don't buy new phones until the old one isn't supported anymore, so by the time I'd sell them they're not worth hardly anything, and I keep them as spares. I should find a way to donate some old phones, and only keep my two favorite (Pixel 1's) as spares.
LOL! Laughing, and crying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now you tell me. Lol. It was a learning experience for sure. I'll take your good advice in the future. I usually keep my devices but these last two I unloaded. I swore off Swappa but with your experiences I think I can safely crawl back. Thanks. But I'm still p'od that I let him get away with that. I should have known better. But it's time to let it go and well.. (smack) I needed that.

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