Google Play Refund Policy / Scam Apps

Rich_Z

Hi all, 
Somehow one of my several kids [all prmary school age] downloaded a App from Google Play [which after three days] then automatically took a £174.99 annual subscription for wallpaper! I didn't realise this until the money had been taken from my account. To say I'm fuming is an understatement as many times they have request app for their devices and I have always managed to avoid apps with charges and instisted they can only use app which are appropriate and free. I do use 'permissions' but i suspect that in a weak moment one of them got onto my computer! 
Anyway cutting to the chase upon looking more closely and contacting Google Play they have washed there hands of it and referred me to their refund policy staing its the developers of the app that I need to approach for a refund. They are in China I presume from the name of the email contact. But then looking into it further I appears the app is a scam and many people have been conned out of serious amounts of money and had money taken without permission. There are hundreds of 1 star rating comfirming this. So my gripe is why have Google Play allowed such an app to stay on 'their' site for so long [and it's still up] and allowed many more people unnessarily be scammed downloading the app off 'their' site. 
I'm not hopeful of getting my money back from the app developer [I've already seem many comments saying such] and I feel Google Play are allowing people to be scammed. 
Any advice on how I can get my money back would be most welcome. Thanks all, moan over. Rich.

born_again

What does it say in the APP T/C?

Any mention of a "Trial period"?

MattMattMattUK

Rich_Z said:

Hi all, 
Somehow one of my several kids [all prmary school age] downloaded a App from Google Play [which after three days] then automatically took a £174.99 annual subscription for wallpaper! I didn't realise this until the money had been taken from my account. To say I'm fuming is an understatement as many times they have request app for their devices and I have always managed to avoid apps with charges and instisted they can only use app which are appropriate and free. I do use 'permissions' but i suspect that in a weak moment one of them got onto my computer! 
Anyway cutting to the chase upon looking more closely and contacting Google Play they have washed there hands of it and referred me to their refund policy staing its the developers of the app that I need to approach for a refund. They are in China I presume from the name of the email contact. But then looking into it further I appears the app is a scam and many people have been conned out of serious amounts of money and had money taken without permission. There are hundreds of 1 star rating comfirming this. So my gripe is why have Google Play allowed such an app to stay on 'their' site for so long [and it's still up] and allowed many more people unnessarily be scammed downloading the app off 'their' site. 
I'm not hopeful of getting my money back from the app developer [I've already seem many comments saying such] and I feel Google Play are allowing people to be scammed. 
Any advice on how I can get my money back would be most welcome. Thanks all, moan over. Rich.

I strongly suspect you will not be able to get your money back, the requirement will have been to authorise the payment, probably with the password on your Google account. There have been a few cases where the person has reported their child to Action Fraud and were then able to gain a refund from Google/Apple, as long as the child is under the age of criminal responsibility the police will do nothing.

Rich_Z

I never authorised a payment for £174.99 for a wallpaper app for my kids phone. Its a con and a scam and as well as wanting my money back as stated my main gripe is why Google Play is allowing apps like this to carry on conning and ripping people off when there not just one or two complaints but hundreds and this app has been doing it for months. Surely Google Play have a responsibilty to manange these type of apps. 

MattMattMattUK

Rich_Z said:

I never authorised a payment for £174.99 for a wallpaper app for my kids phone. 

Someone did, Google Play will not authorise a charge without the password.

Rich_Z said:

Its a con and a scam and as well as wanting my money back as stated my main gripe is why Google Play is allowing apps like this to carry on conning and ripping people off when there not just one or two complaints but hundreds and this app has been doing it for months.

You may well regard it as a scam, indeed I do as well, in the sense that it is obviously never going to be value for money, but it is also an authorised transaction, as as such you are stuck with it, unless you raise it as the transaction having been conducted fraudulently. 

Rich_Z said:

Surely Google Play have a responsibilty to manange these type of apps. 

No, they do not and can not manage all apps, neither to Apple or Microsoft. What they do is put a safeguard procedure in place with regard to payments, requiring the password (or biometrics linked to the password) to authorise purchasing of apps, or in-app purchases. 

born_again

Going forward the OP, or anyone else needs to NOT let their children use the same account. They need to let the kids have their own account, but have no card details listed, this can't happen then...
If they want to use pocket money or birthday money then they can buy a top up card. Then they can only spend what is in the account.


Sadly treating it as a fraudulent, will it see it being rejected as app is as described and transaction was approved, and then odds on google account closed, on the basis of a fraudulent claim with the resulting issues that causes. 

Bet the app the op kids have used has a clause like this in the description...

Fantasy offers a weekly subscription of 89.9$. You can try it for 3 days before the official subscription. There will be no deduction during the trial period. The trial period will end. The fee will be deducted from your play store account. If you do not cancel, subscribe. It will continue on a weekly cycle. If you want to cancel your subscription, you can go to the play store account settings and unsubscribe.

Tokmon

Rich_Z said:

I never authorised a payment for £174.99 for a wallpaper app for my kids phone. Its a con and a scam and as well as wanting my money back as stated my main gripe is why Google Play is allowing apps like this to carry on conning and ripping people off when there not just one or two complaints but hundreds and this app has been doing it for months. Surely Google Play have a responsibilty to manange these type of apps. 

So why do your kids have a google account on their phones that allows them to purchase apps with a card payment attached? 

This is very reckless of you to allow that for primary school aged children especially when google offer a kids account for children's devices.