Google pay: Google Israel will compensate app store users to the tune of $12 million
Google pay: Google Israel will compensate app store users to the tune of $12 million
Users who purchased an automatically renewed subscription between 2010 and 2022 will be entitled to a 55% refund. This is a compromise that the company reached in a class action against it that concerns Google Play users, whose subscription was renewed without informing them. Google Israel: "We made changes to the way users cancel Google Play subscriptions in Israel"
Google Israel has reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit filed against it in 2017 in which it has agreed to compensate users of the "Google Play" app store between the years 2010 and 2022 in a total amount of NIS 46.5 million (approximately $12.4 million).
The lawsuit was submitted by Mordechai Malachi and was recognized as a class action in 2022. Malachi claimed that he purchased a subscription to an application called "Rimon" in 2016 for which he paid an annual subscription of NIS 149. After a year he received a message that his account was automatically charged the same amount for another year. The next day he asked to cancel the deal, but Google replied that there was no possibility of a refund. "Rimon" also claimed that it cannot return the money because the transaction was made in the app store.
According to Malachi, the fact that Google allowed automatic billing of subscriptions to apps purchased in its app store, and that it does not include a procedure to cancel the commitment period, and return the proportional part of the payment, violates the Consumer Protection Law. "The purpose of this proceeding is to change the respondent's policy with regard to Israeli customers, and to compensate the members of the group," the statement of claim reads.
At the time, Google replied that the plaintiff had made a mistake in the classification of the deal, that the deal in question was not for a "fixed period", because it was written in the terms of use that the subscription would be automatically renewed, and that the law applicable to the claim is the law of the state of California in the USA. Google further claimed that the app store is only an online platform on which the specific transactions are carried out, and the app developer is the one who provides the services and is therefore responsible.
Judge Ester Shtamer, who dealt with the request for a class action, stated that the Consumer Protection Law is intended to "release the consumer" from the obligation to notify of the cancellation of a transaction at the end of a period, and that a contract should not be extended without any action on the part of the consumer. She also stated that consumers have the right to cancel, and to charge them proportionally.
Following the approval of a class action lawsuit, the parties agreed to a compromise in which Google will clarify that subscriptions are automatically renewed, and those who purchased a subscription that was automatically renewed between 2010 and 2022 will be entitled to a 55% refund. In addition, Mordechai is set to receive compensation in the amount of NIS 1.89 million (over $500,000), and his representative, Adv. Assaf Shilo, will receive a fee of NIS 8.06 million ($2.1 million).
Google Israel stated, "As detailed in the settlement agreement submitted to the court, we have agreed to refund users in Israel. We have also made some changes in the way users cancel Google Play subscriptions in Israel. Our focus is on ensuring a safe and smooth experience for users."
