Consumer complaint received 2026-06-01 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Overcharged for something you did purchase with the card
Company: Google Compare Credit Cards Inc.
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
I have been a Google XXXX customer for XXXX years, so when I needed to upgrade my phone to a XXXX XXXX, I thought it would be a good idea to buy it from them. This was a MASSIVE MISTAKE!!! For months, I couldn't even get it out of my shopping cart on their website because there was a bright red warning message saying their was a problem billing my account, even though there was never a problem billing my account and asking me for identification which I always uploaded and it always rejected about a week later with no explanation .. Because of this, in XXXX, I had to take a trip to visit family in XXXX with an aging XXXX phone that had a completely smashed screen.. The warning message on the Google XXXX website finally went away in XX/XX/XXXX2025 and the transaction for the Pixel XXXX went through. I paid {$500.00} for this phone which was about {$50.00} less then the market price at that time. XXXX XXXX now sells them for {$250.00}. XXXX months later, in XXXX 2026, I noticed my credit card balance had gone up and was shocked to find that Google XXXX had made an unauthorized charge for {$250.00}. I called them immediately to find out what was going on but the first rep I talked to said I had " suspended my own account '' to be able to buy that phone, which didn't make sense. Several other reps said that Google couldn't charge my credit card, but they couldn't agree on the dates. I called my credit card company, XXXX XXXX, and the put a stop payment and said they would investigate. Then, Google XXXX retaliated by disabling my account to all outbound calls and text messages unless I paid them in full -which should be illegal illegal in the middle of a bank investigation because it corrupts the whole system. Google XXXX has its own story, of course - the " support team '' there will take a massive amount of your time and energy just to build a case against you. They will also engage in deceitful behavior XXXX days ago, XXXX different employees said my service would be fully reactivated and XXXX said it had already been reactivated- it hadn't - they were lying, and I still haven't received an explanation for it. There was a smaller ripoff from Google XXXX on my bill that is probably more significant to some. I found that they had been charging me {$4.00} a month for " device protection '' even though that device and been destroyed- it had a smashed screen and Google fi knew : it had been deactivated XXXX months previously. For me, that was only about {$25.00} bucks, but how many get caught up in that scam? I was told by Google XXXX support that finding this buried item was " my responsibility '' and that " we encourage our customers to monitor and review their billing frequently - or something like that. I'm XXXX, and this is now day XXXX with no outbound communication, and I am angry and disgusted at Google. I had an emotionally devastating experience right after they shut me off for not paying their extortion. Someone who had helped me in many ways needed help herself, and I was in a position to help, but I couldn't \without a phone and it almost broke me. Since then, I had a security concern at the small apartment complex I manage and couldn't notify the other tenants by text, and instead had to knock on doors at midnight. In a few days I have an appointment to see a doctor for the first time in XXXX years - another lovely story, but since I don't have a car this will make impossible and I will likely have to cancel. Not too long ago you could have called me a fanboy of Google but that ended forever this week. What they are doing to me right now is extortion, and I consider the {$250.00} they grabbed from my account to be outright theft. I was already having some tough things going on in my life, and this was the LAST thing I needed. Please tell Google I will NEVER FORGET what they did, and I doubt I could ever forgive.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation