14 DAY TRIAL // A class-action lawsuit brought against Google by Pixel owners has been settled, and it looks that some people might get up to $500 each for their troubles.
Sometimes, it looks like each new generation of Nexus or Pixel was plagued by some annoying problems like the speaker or the display. They were solved, eventually, but it also means that some people went and bought defective models.
Most of the time, the problems were either remedied, or the clients received new devices, but not all the situations ended with a happy ending. In fact, the class action lawsuit against Google came about only because the company was accused of knowingly selling broken phones, which is much worse than some manufacturing problem that no one knew anything about it.
It’s a settlement, not an admission of guilt
It takes a while for these lawsuits to properly end, this one initiated by Google Pixel buyers didn’t’ actually reach a conclusion. According to report via The Verge, the company settled with the clients.
The first Pixel was released back in 2016, and the lawsuit was initiated more than one year later. And the main reason was that Google replaced the defective phones with new devices that had the same issues, as it’s underlined in the complaint. It's worth noting that Google claims less than 1% of their phones were affected by this problem,
“Yet, immediately after launching the phones, customers complained directly to Google of severe microphone issues. Despite receiving hundreds of complaints shortly after launch—and admitting the phones have a faulty microphone - Google continues to sell the Pixel phones without telling purchasers about the microphone defect. Moreover, instead of fixing the defective Pixel phones, providing refunds, or replacing the devices with non-defective phones, Google has replaced defective phones with other defective phones, resulting in many consumers repeatedly experiencing the microphone defect.”
All in all, Google needs to pay up to $7.25 million, but the money is divided into four tiers. First of all, people bought, returned, and got a defective unit will receive up to $500. Secondly, people who got a faulty device are eligible for up to $350 in compensation.
Thirdly, users that had to pay an insurance deductible need to be repaid, and lastly, Pixel users that have experienced no problems at all are eligible for a $20 payout.