Google Play FTL
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Last month I finally got one of the new chip and PIN cards. This is on the card that is tied to purchases on my phone through Google Play. No big deal, just update the information, right?
Well, no, not really. The only subscription I have on there is to MileIQ that I use to track my mileage for tax purposes (great app, highly recommend). That subscription came due over Thanksgiving. Google sent me an email to update my payment information. "I will do it later", and never did.
Now Google has me in this weird limbo where I am unable to update my payment information. It takes me to the screen to do so, but when I save it shows me the old card information (which only differs in expiration and CVV) and says it is ineligible. I assume because my bank told them the card was now invalid.
Off to play.google.com. There I see the old card information. Let's edit payment methods. Surely I can delete the old card? Nope.
So I cannot edit my payment methods until I sign up for services, and I cannot sign up for services until I edit my payment information?
Let's add a new payment method then.
Same shit as when I try to do it from my phone. It does not save for some reason, that card is still "Not eligible".
As best I can tell from the UI, there is no way to delete old payment methods. They just hang around, even after they are long gone. There is still a card in there from the last bank I was with and that is probably ~7 years ago.
Speaking of old cards...if I try to buy a Google Play credit...it only shows the card that has not been in use for 7 years. It does not even show the most recent one. I figured I could do a workaround and buy a credit just to get the app paid for right now. Nope.
They have managed to get me stuck in a situation where I am completely unable to give them money in exchange for services. Good job Google.
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@Polygeekery You'll have to talk to a Google Human™
If they exist, because I don't think anybody ever found one.
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I have a similar experience with Google Play. When I was living in the US, I tried to get Google to acknowledge the fact that I had moved so I could install the app of a local pizza chain (region-locked, of course). So I removed my old address and credit card and entered my US address and credit card. Nothing happened for months.
Now, after I moved back to Germany, my account was suddenly switched to a US account, despite the fact that I deleted my US address from the account the second I moved back. I now have to pay for all my purchases on Google Play in USD, which means that my (German) bank charges an extra 2% for "using the credit card abroad".
Fuck you, Google.
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BTW: Moving between Europe and the US is a great way of finding bugs in a lot of processes in general.
Netflix is still charging me in USD, for example, despite the fact that they know I moved to Germany. I wonder whether they'll ever figure out they're charging me less than they could. Of course, the second $1 becomes worth more than 1€ I will not hesitate to complain.
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@Polygeekery Do you have another card? I don't think Google allows you to delete payment methods that are active on a subscription, but you might be able to do that if the subscription is on another card.
Other option is to call them up and they can probably fix it on their end...
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This kind of problem is not limited to Google Play. I had a problem with PayPal once, where I just could not delete my old credit card after I switched to another bank. No matter what I tried, it just wouldn't let me delete it. When I finally called the support hotline, they told me it's a common problem and had it fixed within minutes. The poor woman on the hotline sounded like she had that exact kind of call way too many times ^^
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@Polygeekery Expected faster-than-light travel, found mundane software problems.
I am disappoint.
ETA:
filed under: The Gran Sasso Response
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@Polygeekery said in Google Play FTL:
Last month I finally got one of the new chip and PIN cards.
I recommend sitting down before you find out what happened to the WTC. ;)
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@Akko said in Google Play FTL:
they told me it's a common problem [...] sounded like she had that exact kind of call way too many times ^^
Well maybe they should get around to fixing whatever bug is causing it.
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@anonymous234 said in Google Play FTL:
Well maybe they should get around to fixing whatever bug is causing it.
I agree. Are you going to tell them or should I?
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@TimeBandit said in Google Play FTL:
@Polygeekery You'll have to talk to a Google Human™
If they exist, because I don't think anybody ever found one.
Ohhh I have. I clicked on that support thingie in google play store and had a real live google human call me back. Not that he was particularly helpful. After about 2 hours of him doing some research, he came back and told me what I already knew - you cannot do family share if you're on a google apps account. He offered to post a message on google forums for me - yay?
The most annoying thing is that they emailed me on my google apps account to tell me to go sign up for google play family.
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@Polygeekery There's nothing "new" about chip and pin cards. You Americans are just way, way behind the times.
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@ixvedeusi said in Google Play FTL:
@Polygeekery Expected faster-than-light travel, found mundane software problems.
I am disappoint.
I thought it was going to be about a certain roguelike video game which I very much enjoy.
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@TimeBandit said in Google Play FTL:
@Polygeekery You'll have to talk to a Google Human™
If they exist, because I don't think anybody ever found one.
Oh, they exist alright; there are thousands of them clogging the roads on my way to and from work.
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@aapis said in Google Play FTL:
You Americans are just way, way behind the times.
This is one of those cases where you wish you could stay there, like when you went from Windows 7 to Windows 8.
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@boomzilla yeah, I am not enjoying the extra 15-30 seconds every time I checkout.
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@Polygeekery Thankfully mine are just chip cards. No PINs yet, although when I go to the local pizza shop and try to pay with one of my cards it asks for a PIN.
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@Polygeekery We've got contactless payment now as well as Chip & PIN, so where supported for purchases under £30 (with Apple/Android Pay, also over), payment is literally a two-second task.
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@RaceProUK we have that also. Guess I need to sign up for it.
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@Polygeekery I would have thought your bank/card provider would automatically give you one, but maybe not (I didn't have to request contactless).
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This is one of the unusual situations where Poland is ahead of the curve. Not only have contactless cards been normal for years, but most (maybe all) banks will also give you extra stickers which you can put on your phone, watch, etc. to act in place of the card.
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@coldandtired said in Google Play FTL:
Not only have contactless cards been normal for years, but most (maybe all) banks will also give you extra stickers which you can put on your phone, watch, etc. to act in place of the card
But you still need to give out your private key (credit card number) to make online purchases. And you still let 2 private companies (Visa & MasterCard) control 99% of financial transactions.
I believe the appropriate expression here is "polishing a turd".
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@anonymous234 said in Google Play FTL:
But you still need to give out your private key (credit card number) to make online purchases
Not necessarily. Bank transfers are still very popular here, with many online shops providing an almost-automated way of doing it.
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@RaceProUK said in Google Play FTL:
payment is literally a two-second task.
Unless it's the payment terminals used by our cafeteria staff, where contactless payment appears to be a two minute task. Because someone thought that going with the absolutely shittiest terminals possible was a good idea.
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@boomzilla You'd sacrifice security for convenience? On purpose?
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@aapis said in Google Play FTL:
@boomzilla You'd sacrifice security for convenience? On purpose?
Well, he did vote for Trump
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@RaceProUK said in Google Play FTL:
@Polygeekery I would have thought your bank/card provider would automatically give you one, but maybe not (I didn't have to request contactless).
lol.
Yeah no, I've never seen a contactless card.
Plenty of places are starting to accept Apple Pay though, which means they accept all forms of contactless payment (including Android Pay, which I use). It's really, really convenient
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@aapis said in Google Play FTL:
@boomzilla You'd sacrifice security for convenience? On purpose?
Toby Faire, I think all our POS systems are powered by one of these
so the crypto math is difficult for them to do in any amount of reasonable time.Personally, I still think it's worth it, but it can be obnoxiuos
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@sloosecannon said in Google Play FTL:
Yeah no, I've never seen a contactless card.
You may have and just did not know it. My last card I found out it was on accident. I tapped it on the machine as I was turning it around in my hand while holding my kid and it registered.
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@Polygeekery Hmm, interesting.
Contactless cards usually trigger the NFC thing on my Android device though (happens with CACs all the time) and I don't recall it happening with any of our cards.... I'll have to check though
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@sloosecannon it was pure chance for me. I just happened to accidentally lay it flat at the top of the card reader. beep beep Put in PIN, done.
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You'll know it's a contactless card because it has or similar on the front
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@sloosecannon said in Google Play FTL:
, I've never seen a contactless card.
I had one. It was removed when they re-issued it as a chip card. It had the little logo on the front.
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@sloosecannon My country has had NFC payment cards for probably 10 years, maybe more. I only just got one because for the past 10 years I've been with a bank that isn't really a bank. themoreyouknow.jpg
This shit: http://cdn.trend.az/media/pictures/2012/12/19/Master_card_191212_2.jpg
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@Lorne-Kates Zing!
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@Yamikuronue said in Google Play FTL:
It was removed when they re-issued it as a chip card.
This is why we can't have nice things.
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@boomzilla said in Google Play FTL:
@aapis said in Google Play FTL:
You Americans are just way, way behind the times.
This is one of those cases where you wish you could stay there, like when you went from Windows 7 to Windows 8.
I don't understand. What's not to like about chip and pin? Security?
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@kt_ said in Google Play FTL:
@boomzilla said in Google Play FTL:
@aapis said in Google Play FTL:
You Americans are just way, way behind the times.
This is one of those cases where you wish you could stay there, like when you went from Windows 7 to Windows 8.
I don't understand. What's not to like about chip and pin? Security?
@sloosecannon said in Google Play FTL:
@aapis said in Google Play FTL:
@boomzilla You'd sacrifice security for convenience? On purpose?
Toby Faire, I think all our POS systems are powered by one of these
so the crypto math is difficult for them to do in any amount of reasonable time.Personally, I still think it's worth it, but it can be obnoxiuos
So it takes, for the crappiest ones, something like 30 seconds to a minute to crunch the numbers required. Which is a little annoying.
Hopefully, as people complain though, those will become more and more rare.
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@aapis said in Google Play FTL:
@boomzilla You'd sacrifice security for convenience? On purpose?
You mean you don't? It's always a matter of how much security you trade off for how much convenience.
The chip thing makes sense even though the implementation isn't great. The PIN thing is just annoying and not worth it AFAICT.
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@boomzilla said in Google Play FTL:
The PIN thing is just annoying and not worth it AFAICT.
What good is the chip if you can still steal the card and forge a signature that nobody will ever look at?
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@Yamikuronue the chips are much harder to pick up and replicate with card skimmers.
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@Polygeekery Hmm. Fair enough. Thanks
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@Yamikuronue I would have said impossible, but the moment that I say that, someone will figure out how to do so.
(Cue someone to post an article of this exact thing happening)
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@Yamikuronue said in Google Play FTL:
What good is the chip if you can still steal the card and forge a signature that nobody will ever look at?
I'll report the card stolen so it's not really a problem (for me). If it's that big a deal for the banks I assume they'll require PINs eventually.