Project Fi HORRIBLE policy and customer service!!

[Weniki7]

Can anyone help me know how to file a complaint about Project Fi? It seems Google owns everything, so there's no forum on which to file a complaint. : / My son spent nearly 700.00 on a brand new Pixel 2 phone, flew to Asia for a 6-month trip and one week into the trip the screen went blank. He couldn't use his new phone at all! He spent weeks emailing back and forth with them and finally they sent a replacement phone. To the WRONG address. I had to drive two hours total to pick it up. Then I had to wrap it well and drive another half an hour (each way) to DHL to mail it to him in Asia.

Okay, I understand these things happen, but they replaced his brand new phone with a REFURBISHED phone! There was no compensation whatsoever. So, apparently he just spent nearly 700.00 only to get a used phone in the end. You'd think they'd offer him a refund of at least a couple hundred dollars for the fact that the brand-new phone they sent him was defective and they replaced it with a used phone!

I spent hours on the phone with the Project Fi representatives trying to get his phone to him, and afterwards trying to secure some compensation for the fact that they sent a used phone. The fact that he had to go eight weeks without a phone in a foreign country, and the hours upon hours of time trying to get it all figured out surely warrants a discounted service plan or refund of some sort, wouldn't you think!? He's been a customer almost since they started up. They treated him very poorly, and I am livid.

Please let me know how and where to leave this review so other people will know what a scam this service is. Thanks!

 

[hallux]

Sorry to hear about the troubles with getting the device replaced.

How long after he bought the phone did it fail? A refurbished device is absolutely allowed as a replacement under warranty (read the warranty). However, within a reasonable time after device purchase, it does seem reasonable to expect a new device as replacement but at some point there has to be a cut-off where refurbished devices are sent.

 

[Mooncatt]

That this happened while your son was overseas should not play into this equation. Yes, it added inconvenience, but was not the fault of Google and is unreasonable to expect them to take liability for it.

Them shipping the replacement to the wrong address was wrong, but you went through the hassle of driving to get it. So for this, I would ask them for a bill credit equal to the amount of gas it cost you to make the trip, or $25, whichever is more. That would be reasonable for me and I may settle for less than $25 since my fuel cost would be $12-15 for that round trip. The point here is that you'll have better luck stating what you would like and why, compared to just telling them they need to do "something."

The phone itself is more tricky, as Hallux pointed out. Replacing with a refurbished device is the industry norm across all manufactures. Yes it sucks but it'll be about useless complaining to them or venting online to expect them to change. I've been through this refurbish roulette many times and trust me when I say I get how frustrating it is.

I can't tell for sure by your initial post, but it sounds like your son only had the phone for a week or two when this happened? If so, I'd see what kind of return period Project Fi/Google might have. With most carriers, you have up to 14 days to return a phone for a refund minus a restocking fee. If that was available to you and the phone broke in that amount of time, I'd try using that as leverage into a new phone. If nothing else, normally you would just get the refund and purchase it again. The problem is you would be outside any sort of return window and convincing them to make an exception because he was out of the country will be hard.

If the actual defect happened outside of the return window, then I'm afraid you'll be out of luck. About the only time a carrier or manufacturer would give a new phone in this case is if they have no refurbs in stock.

If all else fails, you may have to go with the nuclear option. Tell them what you want and why, clear and to the point, and that you'll cancel your service if you don't get it. This will sometimes get their attention and they will work with you. If not, cancel. If you bluff and don't cancel, that will likely go into your account notes and make them less likely to work with you in the future.

 

[kramer5150]

Did either of you actually read the terms of the agreement when he signed up for the service?... 99.99% of the people don't when they sign onto a long term contract (myself included).

Is there anywhere in those terms that explicitly state they would replace a damaged unit with a brand new unit and ONLY a brand new unit?... I am guessing there's not.