Getting Charged for "No-Cost Subscription", No Support Options to Contact Google Catch-22

[DrBrynzo]

It took months and multiple support tickets, going through the attestation link confirming the account is only for personal use, along with 3 false starts and multiple refunds but I *supposedly* was moved to the free/no-cost/personal option in June. Yet, today, August 1, I received an invoice for "Google Workspace Business Starter" even though my Admin panel states "You have chosen to continue using a no-cost subscription for personal use. If you'd like to access to more premium features, upgrade to Google Workspace".

I tried to contact support but I can't because "there are no support options" for my "free" account. Well, not a free account if you're charging me for it. My only options were to read support articles and this forum. I need help, please!

[KAM]

@DrBrynzo Is the invoice in arrears and covers a period of time when you were on Starter? -KAM

[DrBrynzo]

No. I was told my account was switched on June 16. I verified in my Admin panel that it was showing as no-cost on that date and *was* happy because I thought it was finally fixed. The bill that I just received is dated July 31 and is for the Interval "Jul 1 - Jul 17". 

I understand that I do not get business support with a free account, but the inability to make any inquiries (especially when it comes to financial transactions and billing) is stupefying. 

[KAM]

@DrBrynzo I fear you are going to need to write a letter to the address on the invoice.  I am worried you got a partial bill through the 17 and that's awfully close to June 16 like it took another billing cycle to get it done.  -KAM

[DrBrynzo]

Even more stupefying to resort to paper mail correspondence with one of the "leading" tech giants. Indeed, this might be the only option currently, as ridiculous as it is. I appreciate the feedback but wouldn't it be nice if a company that's made so much off me and my data could at least allow me to communicate with even tier 1 support or billing. God forbid I was having a security or harassment issue.

[KAM]

@DrBrynzo They have over a billion users a day on just Gmail.  There are at least 6 other Google tools if I remember correctly that hit that usage too.  Options to contact them for everyone on the internet simply wouldn't scale but you can contact abuse@ BTW.  #KAM

[DrBrynzo]

I do appreciate the response, don't get me wrong. At least someone is showing some kind of attentiveness. This isn't your problem but I hope you will be okay with me laying out a couple of issues here as apparently my best hope of someone at Google *maybe* seeing this and making some process adjustments is this ending up in front of the right pair of eyeballs. There is a massive wave of account changes going on as people are reverted to their (promised) free accounts and if someone is on the ball, a little action here could save a lot of trouble in the near term for obviously overburdened support reps.

"If you can't support it, don't build it." I'm a former AWS engineer but I didn't think customer obsession was a unique Amazon trait. I understand designing and operating at large scale.

The difference here is that I AM being charged. Given that context, I'm hardly "everyone on the internet", I'm a paying customer. If someone is taking money from you and they purport not to be and aren't offering you a service that they're taking money for (i.e. support), that's kind of crime-y and I think should warrant at least an online BILLING contact as the whole point is they're BILLING me. That makes me a paying customer. You can't take money for a service and not provide it. That should be the takeaway here.

If there is an open invoice with payment pending on an account there should be a check in place to not (completely) disable support. Maybe my current recourse is paper mail, sure, but still kind of amazing in a bad way. Someone isn't thinking about the organizational support flow. Speaking of Google tools, maybe they could open Google Slides or Drawings and chart the customer lifecycle a bit better in their development strategies.

[icrew]

I’m just a customer like you, but for me, if a company is billing me for a service they’re not providing, that’s the very definition of a fraudulent credit card transaction, and I just dispute the charge with my credit card company and let them handle it. 

For whatever that’s worth….

Ian

[DrBrynzo]

Indeed, I wish I had the confidence to do so right now. If I hadn't signed up on literally the day Google started offering domain services in 2006 and then later started using "Log in with Google" and foolishly tied myself to the account elsewhere it wouldn't be such an issue. I've updated where I can but I'm still finding places I used it.

This is ignoring, of course, the promise in the original email (which I still have) that I would always have the free account. When they announced they were killing free services I panicked and subscribed, right before they backpedaled. I would just cancel but I have so many things tied to the account I'd be afraid the dispute would close the account. I have near-zero trust in Google to do the "right thing" now. I feel like I'm in Google jail and the guards have their clubs out.

[mike_m]

I am in the same predicament as DrBrynzo.

I went through all kinds of stuff to get to the point where google said I now have a no-cost account like I have had for years (muralt.com).  Now I am being charged for Google Workspace Starter Edition, but I can not contact google to get this resolved because I have a no-cost plan.   That doesn't make sense.  I can't afford to lose this account so I wouldn't want to go through the route of reversing credit card charges.  Yet I can't contact the people who are taking my money.  Any help would be appreciated.

[nstadlman]

I am in the same situation as DrBrynzo... I was trying to get support and left with option to upgrade to Enterprise.

I too see the red banner that says 'Your account already has the no-cost option" yet I am getting charged for 8 family member accounts each month. Please let me know if anyone has discovered a solution to this. Or am I stuck paying whatever Google charges to use their calendar and email engine - that's really all we use it for.

[nstadlman]

Please let advise if you have learned any more on your issue. I have the same problem.

[mike_m]

Thought I should let you know that Google fixed my situation on their.   My admin console home page now says that "You have chosen to continue using a no-cost subscription for personal use."  I have not been charged since October.

[mike_m]

My situation has not been resolved.  At this point I am not being charged much so there is little incentive to risk upgrading to Enterprise in the hopes that I could then communicate with google, only to find that they might not let me downgrade for real.