• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Trade-in scam?

dosei

Member
Oct 11, 2011
57
12
CA
Has anyone else had trouble receiving the payment for trading in an old device for one of the Pixels? Google Store is trying to give me the payment in the form of a Google store credit, when their terms clearly state that they will return the payment to the credit card used to purchase a Pixel device. First they said I will not receive the full trade in amount because I didn't factory reset my old device. I know I did, and I told them, and they are now insisting on giving me store credit instead of crediting my credit card. If anyone else had this happen on a trade in please post here.
 
I'm not sure why that makes a difference. I'm here in the US, in CA, about 20 minutes away from Google HQ! And to have this problem with Google's own online store is frustrating!

Because the level and range of services and products you might get out of Google can and does vary very much by the country you happen to be in. Like I'm in China, where I can basically forget trying to get any kind of service out of Google for a Pixel phone. If it's a "scam" in the US, i.e. Google's home market, what are other countries going to be like?

AF is an international forum, with members all over the world. And often it can help to know where people are, for understanding the problems they might have.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Because the level and range of services and products you might get out of Google can and does vary very much by the country you happen to be in. Like I'm in China, where I can basically forget trying to get any kind of service out of Google for a Pixel phone. If it's a "scam" in the US, i.e. Google's home market, what are other countries going to be like?

AF is an international forum, with members all over the world. And often it can help to know where people are, for understanding the problems they might have.

Got it. I'm trying to understand if this is a systemic way of handling their trade-in's, as this is the 1st time I've attempted to trade in my old phone from the Google store. I've made purchased in the past, but without trading in my old phone. If this is systemic, there should be a legal recourse. Love the phone, not the way they've handled the trade in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikedt
Upvote 0
Yeah, I was thinking that terms and procedures will vary between countries. Also the relevant consumer laws depend on where you are. I know what I'd do in the UK, but not what the options are in CA.

With respect to factory reset, did you remove your Google account from the phone before resetting? I've had a look at their Ts & C's, and although they don't name factory reset protection explicitly they do say that they must be able to access the device, so if FRP were activated they would have a legitimate objection. But if they are now offering credit that sounds like they've conceded that one.

So do you have it in writing from them that they will refund you by credit to your card? The general terms of the trade in programme allow several forms of trade-in credit, so I'd think that the key is whether they specified one form to you before you agreed to the trade in. I'm not a lawyer, and certainly not an American one, but if they did that then I would think you should be able to hold them to it - any attempt to change the nature of the credit after it's agreed would sound very much like a bait and switch to a normal human being (as opposed to a lawyer).
 
Upvote 0
Did you factory reset your old device by following these instructions or did you just reset it through recovery? If you reset through recovery, it's likely that it tripped the Factory Reset Protection mechanism Hadron mentioned above which would prevent them from being able to refurbish the phone.

Per the Trade in your old phone article in the Google Store Help Center:
Important: Phones that aren’t reset when we get them will be valued at $0.

And under the reasons why a trade-in value might be less than expected:
Phone isn’t factory reset: The phone’s activation lock is still on.

"Activation lock" makes me think FRP, so that may be what they were reporting initially - in which case being offered a store credit is more than the terms say they'd do.

Of course that may not be it at all. All I can recommend is that you contact Google Store Support directly and see if they are able to help you out or at least provide more information about what's going on.
 
Upvote 0
I heard all over that the trade in program has issues. Google is using a third party organization to handle the return, check in and all that. There have been numerous issues. I always tell people ... I know it's "easier" to just do a trade in, but you always get better return (and more reliable) by selling it yourself. Craigslist or letgo or whatever your favorite flavor is.


I know this isn't the answer you're looking for but it's the best I got. Good luck.


Additionally, I will say, call Google and get it fixed, it's a pain in the butt, it sucks, you shouldn't have to, but ... this is how it works. Call and then call again, and then if need be call again. Wash, rinse, repeat until you are satisfied. Google is still new at this hardware thing, and they know it, you just have to get them to admit it.


Good luck!
 
Upvote 0
Yeah, I was thinking that terms and procedures will vary between countries. Also the relevant consumer laws depend on where you are. I know what I'd do in the UK, but not what the options are in CA.

With respect to factory reset, did you remove your Google account from the phone before resetting? I've had a look at their Ts & C's, and although they don't name factory reset protection explicitly they do say that they must be able to access the device, so if FRP were activated they would have a legitimate objection. But if they are now offering credit that sounds like they've conceded that one.

So do you have it in writing from them that they will refund you by credit to your card? The general terms of the trade in programme allow several forms of trade-in credit, so I'd think that the key is whether they specified one form to you before you agreed to the trade in. I'm not a lawyer, and certainly not an American one, but if they did that then I would think you should be able to hold them to it - any attempt to change the nature of the credit after it's agreed would sound very much like a bait and switch to a normal human being (as opposed to a lawyer).

Did you factory reset your old device by following these instructions or did you just reset it through recovery? If you reset through recovery, it's likely that it tripped the Factory Reset Protection mechanism Hadron mentioned above which would prevent them from being able to refurbish the phone.

Per the Trade in your old phone article in the Google Store Help Center:


And under the reasons why a trade-in value might be less than expected:


"Activation lock" makes me think FRP, so that may be what they were reporting initially - in which case being offered a store credit is more than the terms say they'd do.

Of course that may not be it at all. All I can recommend is that you contact Google Store Support directly and see if they are able to help you out or at least provide more information about what's going on.


Yes I performed the factory reset as instructed by Google. That's why they are crediting me the full estimated amount, except they are issuing funds as store credit instead of applying to my credit card. That's why I'm calling this a scam - by issuing store credit instead of applying the funds to my credit card, they are lowering their own costs. What they charge on the Google store is not their cost, but obviously is their cost + profit. Therefore they are paying me less than full amount of trade-in value. Plus, why should I be forced to spend the trade-in amount at their store when it's stated that the full amount goes back to me as a deduction for the cost of the Pixel 2?
 
  • Like
Reactions: codesplice
Upvote 0
Yes I performed the factory reset as instructed by Google. That's why they are crediting me the full estimated amount, except they are issuing funds as store credit instead of applying to my credit card. That's why I'm calling this a scam - by issuing store credit instead of applying the funds to my credit card, they are lowering their own costs. What they charge on the Google store is not their cost, but obviously is their cost + profit. Therefore they are paying me less than full amount of trade-in value. Plus, why should I be forced to spend the trade-in amount at their store when it's stated that the full amount goes back to me as a deduction for the cost of the Pixel 2?


They only give credit period. It only comes off the cost of a full price new device as a "rebate". Of course they don't put it on your card or send you a check. You could spend that anywhere and it's a trade in deal. If I go to a car dealer that advertises a rebate of 5 grand off a car it comes off sticker. You don't walk in and say I'll take that one in blue and get a 5 grand check. This is the way it works.
 
Upvote 0
They only give credit period. It only comes off the cost of a full price new device as a "rebate". Of course they don't put it on your card or send you a check. You could spend that anywhere and it's a trade in deal. If I go to a car dealer that advertises a rebate of 5 grand off a car it comes off sticker. You don't walk in and say I'll take that one in blue and get a 5 grand check. This is the way it works.
The car analogy doesn't apply here though, because what the car dealer is doing is reducing the price you pay, which is analogous to crediting the card you used to buy the phone - which is what the OP wants. Offering it as Play Store credit is like saying the car dealer will offer you 5 grand off if you buy another car from them - a deal that nobody would accept.

Of course store credit works out best for Google, but the terms of the trade-in scheme include several forms of credit:
  • Trade-In Credit” means the method by which You will receive the Device Final Trade-In Quote if your Device qualifies for it, through credit to Your original form of payment, or store or service credit for use on the Websites, Google Play credit, or any other credit or combination of the foregoing, as specified in Section D.6 below.
This is why I asked whether they had agreed the form the credit would take before doing the trade-in. If they did then they have to honour that. If they did not then it's worth being pushy, but it may be difficult to force them.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones