Warning!! Google fi cut our service without notification and we were lied to by company employees!!

[akazaps]

People need to warned about google fi!

We have been google fi customers for over 5 years without issues or complaints, we have really enjoyed the service and have even referred some of our friends.

Recently my husband and I have been traveling back and fourth between Guatemala and the USA staying for extended periods of time in both places, the google fi phone plan is perfect for this (as it should because this is what they advertise!!) and has worked without problems up until last week when both of our phones suddenly shut off. My husband and I both contacted customer support on two separate occasions over the past week to ask what the problem was. They told us they had no idea and took us through several troubleshooting steps that didn't work. They told us to keep trying and it should be back on in no time. Finally I received an error message on my phone about the sim card. It took me a while but after reading different forums about the error message I came to the conclusion that fi were the ones who had intentionally suspended our service.

I called customer support for the 3rd time today and asked them point blank if they suspended our service, they still would not give me a direct answer, only said that the phones aren't meant to be used internationally for "extended periods of time". I requested to speak to a supervisor but "none were available".

This is very upsetting and concerning, especially since I just returned to Guatemala from the USA yesterday and with a brand new phone and simcard specifically for fi!! If I had known the truth a week ago when I contacted customer support I could have easily switched to a different phone company that does support extended overseas travel and bought a new device when I was in the USA. Now I'm in Guatemala for the next month and can't do anything about it. A little truth would have gone a long way in this situation as we would have understood and changed carriers.

We are shocked and very upset by how we have been treated by this company after 5 years as paying customers. Cutting our service is one thing, but not even notifying us about the cut and then directly lying about it has only made matters worse and cost us more money. I'm hoping that fi will do the right thing and rectify this situation, but It's not looking good at this moment.

 

[hallux]

There is a Fi user's group on Facebook, its called 'Google Fi' (we don't normally direct people to other sites but I think this is your best option to recover your account), one of the members there has responded to similar situations with offers to assist with escalation. Find that group, request to join (it's a closed group) and CALMLY post your situation (if you're abrasive or simply try to warn people off of the service they will boot you from the group and you won't get help), he usually replies within a day or so (but if he's on vacation it may take longer) and asks for a case number and he will see if he can get you help. I'm not guaranteeing he will offer, I'm not guaranteeing he will get you results, but it might be worth the message to try.

You don't say in your post exactly at what point you were told your account suspension was due to your amount of international usage. The terms of service DO touch on extended international use, see this support thread - https://support.google.com/fi/thread/589659?hl=en Of course - what is considered "excessive" is not really defined, but it's possible (note I said POSSIBLE) what happened to you was within the terms of service you agreed to.

I hope you get a favorable resolution and I ask that you come back and let us know that. I'll also try to keep an eye on that group (I'm a member there) and update folks here if I see the post there and see a favorable resolution.

 

[B. Diddy]

Excellent response by hallux!

I'd add that although Google's customer service certainly didn't handle this very well, you still have to understand the terms of service that you agreed to. It says here: "The Services are offered only to residents of the United States. The Services must be primarily used in the United States and are not intended for extended international use. Further, the Services are designed for use predominantly within our network. If your usage outside our network is excessive, abnormally high, or cause us to incur too much cost, we may, at our option and sole discretion, suspend your Google Fi account, terminate your service, or limit your use of roaming." Google (or any company in this situation) is completely within its rights to suspend or cancel service without any warning if the consumer is not abiding by the terms.

 

[Mooncatt]

I've been in a similar situation with Sprint. I had an unlimited data plan back when they were truly unlimited (no caps or throttling). When I looked at my usage, my account showed unlimited amounts on regular and roaming, yet one day I got a cancellation letter for somehow going over my unlimited amount on roaming. I did try to reason with them (especially because the only letter I got was the final notice even though they claimed to send warning letters before that), but it got me nowhere and now I'm on Verizon.

So I certainly understand your frustration and hope for a favorable outcome. Please take Hallux and B. Diddy's advise to heart, as I think that's about as good as you can get from us. This site has a lot of knowledgeable members, but we are all just a bunch of tech enthusiasts with no official ties to Google.

 

[hallux]

For the record @Mooncatt and @B. Diddy 4 days later and I have not yet seen a post on that Facebook group asking for this kind of help. I guess it's not THAT important. I have a feeling the OP was a drive-by trying to warn people off of the service because they didn't fully read the terms, I wonder if a similar post was made on other Android sites with Google Fi forum sections...