Google Support via Chat
My wife and I have been quite chatty recently. As we hoped, most efforts have ended up with wins. A few weeks ago, the wife product changed to a Citi Strata Elite via online chat. We’ve each hit up Amex chat to conduct a variety of business with our favorite card issuer. But a few days ago, we unexpectedly came out ahead with Google Support via chat. Here’s how Google Support made things right for us with a YouTube TV refund and can possibly do the same for you. But first, let me set the scene – one where some of you can probably identify.
Note: Since this article’s submission, Disney and YouTube TV have reached a new agreement. I still encourage YouTube TV users interested in refunds to request them and look at other basic cable streaming alternatives.
I Just Want My College Football
We previously paid for YouTube TV with rewards from our Verizon credit card. But due to multiple factors, we’ve changed our redemption strategy with those rewards. A couple weeks ago, it was time for us to pick up YouTube TV directly from Google. I paid for a month of service from the YouTube TV site, at a sticker price of $82.99 (check out the ugly history of price hikes).
I subscribe to YouTube TV about five months each year for a single reason – college football. ESPN leads the way with such content. My timing to resubscribe couldn’t have been worse. I started up service a day or so before all Disney-owned channels, including the ESPN portfolio and ABC, disappeared from YouTube TV. Actually, maybe it wasn’t the absolute-worst timing – my alma mater was on a bye that weekend. Anyway, I was feeling the brunt of not doing the research of ongoing carriage negotiations, which is now apparently necessary. That weekend, I settled for the limited selection on Fox and CBS channels, plus (gasp!) the CW. (My over-the-air antenna can be temperamental, and ABC just wasn’t working out this time.)
By the following Friday, still with no Disney channels, I jumped on my Google account and cancelled YouTube TV. Obviously, Google still had my money and my service wouldn’t end until 30 November, but clicking the button to cancel felt cathartic. I also wanted to leave feedback for why I was cancelling, but oddly, I wasn’t offered the option before cancelling. That’s when things got interesting.
Okay, I Guess We’re Chatting Now
After finishing up with the cancellation, I looked around the site for somewhere, anywhere to leave feedback. I clumsily went to the Help section. A YouTube TV form arrived next, one where subscribers generally ask for assistance with their existing service. I was just interested in leaving my feedback. In the ill-fitting window, I shared that I cancelled YouTube TV because the service still wasn’t offering Disney-owned channels, the primary reason we subscribed in the first place. I submitted the feedback, partially thinking I was done.
But a chat window then popped up; I had apparently shared info for use in the following discussion. I decided to ride the wave. I reiterated my reason for cancelling and requested a refund. The rep asked for my email address, checked my account, and returned. He immediately advised that he had just processed a full refund. I thanked him for the refund and taking my feedback seriously, and the chat ended. The next day, I saw the refund reflected in the account I originally used for payment.
Moving On
I subsequently flanked to another service offering a cheaper first-month rate (and a less-desirable interface). I went through an online portal to enroll in this service, and those rewards promptly tracked.
Meanwhile, it seems Google is now providing subscribers a $20 credit. Out of curiosity, I just went over to the YouTube TV site to see where things were at. What were they offering me to come back (which of course I’m not doing)? They pitched me 10 days for free. I can’t remember the last time YouTube offered me any promo.
YouTube TV Refund – Conclusion
Of course, perhaps we should’ve seen this coming. Disney has made major efforts to remove the middle man, more recently with the direct-to-consumer ESPN streaming service. I’m looking forward to pursuing that option later this month, stacking Black Friday-timeframe deals with the Amex Platinum Digital Entertainment Credit. (The new ESPN service apparently triggers it.) Otherwise, I’ll keep reevaluating on a monthly basis until I get through this current college football season and return to basic cable streaming hibernation.
Have you picked up a YouTube TV refund? If so, how?
