I just posted a similar, lengthy post in this subreddit (the r/google subreddit unsurprisingly removed my post despite carefully following their rules):
https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleOne/comments/1irbl3e/please_read_google_is_purposely_canceling_prepaid/
I am also posting copies of this comment across multiple relevant posts and forums. I’m hoping to consolidate the hundreds of similar complaints I’ve found scattered across different forums in just the past couple of weeks.
In short, Google cancels prepaid users’ accounts without notice or consent (even if they expressly request to revert back to their original plan prior to the end of the “upgrade”), refuses refunds for remaining balances, and forces users to purchase new plans to regain access. Contrary to what some comments suggest, users cannot “switch back” to their underlying plan prior to canceling the free trial - this option DOES NOT exist. Even if users contact Google before the “upgrade” ends, Google refuses to allow reverting back to the underlying plan. Simply put: Google forces cancellation of users’ original plans by forcing them to cancel the “upgrade.” They then unlawfully keep the user’s money and have the audacity to say (quoting verbatim from Google support’s email to me): “You can always purchase another plan.”
If this was in the fine print, perhaps Google could attempt to justify the forced switch. However, Google is so arrogant that they’re not only relying on a non-existent TOS, but what they’re doing directly contradicts their actual TOS which states: “If you cancel your subscription, you will retain access to Google One for the remaining term of your existing subscription.” This is particularly infuriating because I had actually read the Google One TOS prior to accepting the free trial and specifically relied on this provision when deciding to accept.
Can anything be done? Unfortunately no, and that’s by design. This appears to be a carefully-crafted and deliberate business policy that aligns with Google’s historical pattern of treating legal violations as mere business expenses (e.g., $391.5M settlement for misleading location tracking, $170M FTC fine for YouTube’s privacy violations, €4.3B EU antitrust fine for Android). The specific motivators are unknown, but likely include accelerated AI Premium adoption, forcing users into monthly billing models, and collecting valuable trial data for development.
This policy undoubtedly went through multiple levels of risk management and legal review. Unfortunately, their metrics must have shown that alienating loyal customers, fighting class action lawsuits, and facing federal investigations was worth whatever the ultimate prize turns out to be.
Up until about a month ago, I was a long-time Google customer and advocate, and my family was deeply entrenched in the Google ecosystem. Just like a lot of users in the comments here and everywhere I’ve been reading, this particular experience – though seemingly minor compared to others – has unsettled me more than usual. In the end, I decided to turn it into a teaching moment for my kids, and we made the choice to ditch all Google products permanently. I’m not naive, I know this decision is really just an inconvenience for me and has absolutely zero impact on Google or its bottom line (that said, who knows, maybe my voice will pop up in my kids’ heads someday, haunting them if they ever find themselves in a position to make similar ethical decisions, haha).
