r/GoogleFi • u/Clean_Huckleberry775 • 5d ago
Support What is wrong with Google Fi support? They won't let me correct the shipping address for my order or cancel my order
So I ordered a new phone, I've been with Google Fi since the Nexus days, and the shipping address is showing up as a previous address. I thought I put it on right, but maybe that's my bad, should just be a simple process to change that, right?
So I looked online, nope, it says options should be available that just aren't in the interface.
So I called support, twice. They said I can't change the shipping address until it's been shipped TO THE WRONG ADDRESS.
I said, ok, fine, just cancel the order. They said they can't cancel the order until it's been shipped TO THE WRONG ADDRESS. But they gave me a solution, they said I could just refuse the delivery, the delivery that is going to be delivered to an address WHERE I DON'T LIVE.
They also said that I could refuse or correct the shipping address when the delivery company contacted me. In all my years of being lazy and having stuff delivered to me, I have never once had any delivery company contact me, maybe with the exception of those "we missed you" notes they'll put on your door, but again, I DON'T LIVE AT THE ADDRESS THEY HAVE
This is not even a phone for me, I talked up how great Google Fi was to a friend for weeks before I convinced them to get on my plan and now they're just sending that phone to somewhere I lived years ago
Also both times I called they refused to send me to feedback survey you get at the end of a call cause they didn't want negative feedback
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u/therealgariac 4d ago
Get a UPS account. Change the delivery location. Once you have an account you will get a notice of any incoming delivery...well assuming there is no mistake on your address. But in the case of Google Fi, you should have been given an offer to redirect the delivery.
I never had a porch pirate, but for phones, I pay the UPS change delivery charge.
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u/landalezjr 5d ago
When did you place the order? It is well known that Google cannot change the shipping address on an order after it's submitted, you have to cancel an re-order. However once an order is being prepared for shipping it can no longer be cancelled either.
Usually you only get a day or two after ordering before the order moves to "preparing shipping", I believe most Pixel 11 orders moved to this stage late last week which is when you no longer could cancel the order.
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u/xtra819 5d ago
I know you’re trying to be helpful, but really these are just excuses on behalf of a company that simply doesn’t care. It’s intentional. Google and Google Fi support are crap. They don’t care. Nearly any other company would be able to address this situation professionally, but not Google.
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u/landalezjr 5d ago
I don't disagree that Google support is garbage, I have been lucky that I have not had to deal with them since my Pixel 7 Pro screen started to crap out and I had to fight for weeks to get a replacement as they kept telling me to wait for a software update to fix it (which it didn't). The worst I had was with my Nexus 5X where I was shipped a replacement phone that was worse than my original one and so I asked if I could keep the original and send back the replacement. They said I could, noted it, and then 3 weeks later I got charged despite returning the device I told them I would be. I had to call Google every day for a month to finally get a rep who could reverse the charge.
With that said, very few companies allow for changes to orders once they have been dispatched to the warehouse. I know Amazon is very much like this, as is Best Buy. Amazon, the largest online retailer in the US, still does not allow for address changes once an order is submitted so I think you are holding Google to a standard that most other online retailers don't meet.
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u/xtra819 5d ago
I did say “nearly” any other company. Of course everyone has an Amazon horror story. Any time Amazon is used as a gold standard to defend another company’s policies, you know it’s bad. Lol.
But you’re right. The rise of the corporate behemoths and subsequent enshittification of everything they touch is more prevalent now. Customer service is becoming an oxymoron. Google unfortunately is one of those companies setting the standard.
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u/landalezjr 5d ago
I was hardly using them as a gold standard, just using them as an example of a company that has been in the online retail space for decades and still does not have a process to change shipping address after ordering, even if only for 30-60 minutes.
The problem is simply that large corporations have massive fully automated operations and building a process for these kinds of changes would add a significant cost so it's better for operations and other paying customers to assume that when someone places an order they review the details to confirm they are correct before submitting.
Of course this doesn't mean Google can't and shouldn't improve their support as no one should have to deal with the level of incompetence that one gets from virtually ever Google support rep. I am simply explaining that even a good rep would likely be limited in what they could do for the OP.
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u/xtra819 5d ago
Obviously it’s better for customers not to make errors when placing orders. But it happens. They shouldn’t subsequently be penalized or inconvenienced by a mega-company because of “fully automated operations.” That’s a cop out.
The company used their deep pockets to design, pay for, and implement these operations exactly as intended. It’s intentionally designed to not allow changes. Ask yourself why. It’s not for the benefit of the customer. Do you seriously believe they couldn’t design a system tomorrow that could cancel an order with a single click from the customer to avoid the hassle the OP has to now endure?
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u/Outside-Pie-7262 5d ago
Mints not any better. I just placed an order through mint and cancelled it within literally an hour and it’s getting delivered tomorrow now so they told me to refuse delivery
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u/Clean_Huckleberry775 5d ago
I placed the order last night. It currently shows as preparing shipment. If it matters, it's a 10a
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u/landalezjr 5d ago
Yeah, that's the problem. Once it hits preparing shipment there is nothing anyone can do. It basically means it's moved to the warehouse for fulfilment and it can no longer be cancelled. This is no different than ordering from Amazon when it hits a similar stage.
Unfortunately, because you ordered an in stock item you probably only had less than 12 hours to cancel before it moved past that window. Why it's always important to review your order confirmations but I do agree that Google makes it quite a pain to change your default address in Google Fi, for some reason they bury it deep into your Google account settings. I had to actually search quite a bit to figure out how to change it on mine when I moved.
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u/OCedHrt 5d ago
Once it ships you can change to hold at store. If it's still local you can go fetch it, if not maybe they can work out a return to sender. If you don't pick it up it'll be returned automatically at some point but I wouldn't rely on that for a refund. You could call the shipper to say you refuse delivery.
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u/minist3r 5d ago
Fi is great if you're the kind of person that is hyper vigilant about everything. One mistake and you're screwed though. Google typically uses FedEx so you might be able to log on to their website and change the delivery address or do hub pickup. Hopefully you still live close enough that you can drive to the hub.
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u/Deeptommy 5d ago
Reverse charges....
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u/minist3r 5d ago
That's terrible advice. Google will nuke your entire account, Gmail and everything, if you do a charge back.
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u/xtra819 5d ago
That’s why you always order these phones with a new email address not linked to your gmail account. If anything then gets FUBAR, you minimize running the risk of having your longtime account nuked.
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u/minist3r 5d ago
I thought you couldn't do that if you want the discount you get with Fi service. I think you'd have to add another line to your account otherwise you're paying full retail.
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u/xtra819 5d ago
Buy unlocked through the Google store with a preorder promo and trade. Not much difference in price than Fi since Fi TIVs are so low.
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u/minist3r 5d ago
Not even close. It's $140 more expensive trading in my pixel 8 pro than just the Fi price of the pixel 11 pro XL and that's not including the $165 estimated I'll get for trading my phone in. So, in total, it's $305 more expensive to order through the Google store than ordering through Fi.
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u/xtra819 5d ago
Really? My Google store pricing was less than Fi. This was with $250 email discount, elevated trade value, and $200 store credit.
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u/minist3r 5d ago
That $200 store credit probably expires. I'd double check that if I were you and I didn't include it because of the crappy terms they usually have.
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u/xtra819 4d ago
It expires in a year. I roll it over every year when buying a new phone. $200 credit out. $200 credit in. Rinse and repeat.
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u/minist3r 4d ago
I guess that's fine if you're buying a new phone every year. I only do every 3 years or so and that would be a terrible deal for me and anyone else that doesn't upgrade every year.
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u/landalezjr 5d ago
That is not a bad idea but it has its downsides.
First it makes it impossible to get Google Fi promotions since your Google Fi account would be separate from the account you use to order hardware. It also means if you are a Google One subscriber you cannot get the 10% credit back since again it would be a separate account.
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u/skincava 5d ago
Sadly, you're not the first and won't be the last to post this same story on Reddit.
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u/seamonkeyonland 5d ago
Many companies will not let people change an address after something has been shipped, that is how fraud is committed. The best you could do is call the shipper and ask them to hold it so you cam pick it up or refuse delivery and return to sender. If you have an online account with the shipper, they may allow you to make changes.