Can't use Google Play credit for the purchase of devices???

[guinnkevinr]

Actually, it says it's good for "music, movies, books, Android apps and more on Google Play" It really is quite deceptive.
And again, the $25 credit you got must not have been a google play card. You could not have noticed a hardware exception on the play card because it's not listed there.

I agree with the OP on this situation.
There is no good reason why a gift card cant buy a tablet through the same online shop that the credit is used to buy other things.

There are companies who do things like this to make more money. Think of all the people who probably purchased $350 is play credit to give people for Christmas since the N4 was sold out. Now Google has that $350 and those people have nothing. The card is deceiving.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[skizzix]

The same situation happened to me. I called Google Play customer service various times, and of course they were completely unhelpful and useless.
As a last resort, I disputed the charge on my credit card. I wrote them a polite letter saying why I thought the terms and service on the Google Play card were unclear and deceptive. Amex customer service is really good. They got back to me in less than 2 weeks saying they contacted the merchant on my behalf and did not get a response, so they would credit the amount back to my card. Hopefully this can help others stuck with this problem.

 

[bcisys]

You can, however, go into an Apple Store and buy gift cards specifically for use in the stores. It can be used for anything in the store - computers, phones, cases, etc - but not for apps, music, movies, or anything else on iTunes.

 

[jimbobalu]

I had the same problem, got $350 in play cards for birthday and went to use them and was told I couldn't and of course you don't realize this until after you redeem them and can't get a refund. Thought I'd try again now that they have reduced the price of the Nexus 4 to see if they fixed this due to all the escalations, I see from the forum comments they say they will do this for the people who call to complain but they still won't accept play store credit.

Absolutely stupid of Google.

 

[ExceptforKhloe]

Are you effing Essing me? Wow. Granted, I'm not in near a bad situation as jimbob or amyshubby was, but.... Dear God, that's an offensive, obnoxious policy. There's a soon-to-expire $25 gift card I'm probably gonna lose then, because I don't want the account it's on connected to my current tablet.

 

[QMaverick]

Chalk me up as another angry customer. This is, quite literally, the ONLY negative interaction I've had with Google. I've got $275 worth of gift cards that absolutely do NOT clearly state that they won't work for devices.

I'm planning on getting a hold of a supervisor, and explaining that I fully intend to keep bothering people until I can use the credit to buy a device. I'll be happy to publicize my quest through all available social networks, my blog, and wherever else I can go to make a stink.

I'm sorry, but this is an absolutely ludicrous policy. I do not think we should stop just because a few managers say there's nothing they can do. Google needs to know that this is a terrible policy, or, at the very least, make it ABSOLUTELY clear on the PRINTED cards that they won't work for devices (in nice big letters).

 

[someguy01234]

Can you try asking them to transfer the credit to your Wallet account maybe?

That does sound stupid, but not as stupid as Apple. I purchased their giftcard, the code doesn't work, and customer service didn't help at all, and a bunch of people have the same problem.

 

[Benndogg]

I saw the nexus charger for $15.99. I needed a new one for my 2012. I was so happy after no luck with other chargers. I bought 2 $10 cards at the store. When I called they said its cause the software place is not the same as the hardware/device place so they can't help. Totally bummed

 

[B. Diddy]

Yeah, it's in the fine print of the card. Bummer!

Posted via Android Central App.
Please excuse any typos or autocorrect derps.

 

[Mcewan007]

Just found out the hard way about this. The advertising is really misleading, its not really a Google Play gift card, more of a Google App gift card.
Did anyone happen to either get a refund or be able to use it for the purchase of hardware? I was trying to buy the Nexus 5 to switch to Android so now I have $100 in Google Play credit that is completely useless, I can't even sell it.

I complained to BBB as well as Google (like that is going to do anything!) and am going to complain to Industry Canada and Consumer Protection Ontario as we have some fairly tight rules regarding gift cards in Ontario. Any other ideas on how to fix this?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Unfortunately, you probably won't get far with any action like that. If I recall correctly, the gift cards do say it in the fine print of the card, or the accompanying material. It's up to the consumer to read the material. It's like those ubiquitous 20% off Bed Bath & Beyond coupons--there's a fair amount of fine print there which excludes various brands. You could argue that the giant 20% off on the coupon made you think that everything would be 20% off, but it doesn't matter if the exclusions are there.

 

[Bazza1]

Try and sell the cards at a slight discount and then purchase the hardware you want? Hardly a perfect solution, but until someone goes to a government consumer affairs department (or makes a big stink about it on Big Media) and gets Google's a** near the fire, they won't do anything.