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Google Cloud threatens to delete my project because they couldn't charge me
I just got an email from Google Cloud saying my projects will be deleted because of an unpaid bill that they're unable to charge my Indian credit cards for.
- It's only 1 paisa (1/60th of a cent), but that's apparently enough to delete my projects.
- Google, as usual, tried to pass the buck to my bank, saying they're at fault.
- I spoke to the bank, who said that Google is reversing the transactions as soon as they're made, not the bank, so the bank can't do anything about it.
- I have never had issues using the card at point of sale machines, online on Indian sites, or foreign currency (dollar) transactions like Twitter ads.
- Other Google departments like GSuite and AdWords never have trouble charging the same card. Google Cloud says that their systems are different from those of other departments at the same company.
- I tried a credit card issued by a different bank, and that didn't work either, so I'm 100% sure the problem is not on my side or the bank's, but on Google's side.
- Since Google is unable to automatically charge my card, I tried to pay manually, multiple times, with each of my two cards, but that didn't work either. "We couldn't process your payment."
- I offered to use a debit card, net banking or Paytm, but Google Cloud doesn't accept any of them, the agent told me.
- I suggested a $100 credit so that I don't face these issues again any time soon, but that suggestion wasn't accepted.
- The agent told me she's working on a credit of 1 paisa (1/60th of a cent), but before that could be processed, I was threatened with termination.
- They don't offer me phone support despite me paying for Google Cloud. That will cost me an additional $150 a month, and I refuse to pay that much money just for the privilege of having Google charge my card.
- The email support person wasn't helpful, in effect blaming me for the whole mess, though being very polite about it.
- I sent many screenshots, showing the support agent errors from their own console (why should I have to forward them?), forwarded emails and SMSs from my bank.
- The support agent ignored information I gave her, making me having to tell her the same thing again and again.
- I asked for this to be escalated to an engineer, but that suggestion wasn't accepted.
- I asked a friend at Google for help, who told me that he doesn't work in support, but will still try to help, but before that could happen, I was threatened with termination.
Thankfully, it's only Firebase analytics I use, so losing Google Cloud isn't the end of the world. At worse, I'll lose analytics, not user data or suffer downtime because of my backends going down.
Don't count on Google Cloud to run your business.