After a premature disconnection of free data by Verizon for Chromebook Pixel owners, Google is setting things right with a $150 apology credit.
Google, the leader in internet web search and cloud services, launched the new Chromebook Pixel in February last year and offered 100MB free 4G LTE data on Verizon's network. Those who picked Google's OS-based Chrome laptops were treated with free data for just one year, as Verizon abruptly stopped offering the promised 100MB for free. But it now appears that Google is stepping in to set things right for the buyers of its $1449 worth machine by offering them free $150 credit in the form of Visa gift cards.
Computer World's JR Raphael, who is one of many Chromebook Pixel buyers, first reported the data debacle in a detailed post this week. But reports of the issue started as early as April. Verizon and Google stayed mum on the subject and the customer service reps had no answer, according to Raphael. But after months of frustrations Google has come up with a generous offer. The $150 worth gift card can be used to pay for LTE connections or anything else. Google's peace offering can buy consumers quite a lot of LTE data on Verizon.
While the initial offering was not much, it was used a sales pitch to push the Pixels off the shelves. And those who picked up the gadget, felt a cheated when the offer was suddenly stopped. But the compensation is a sweet deal, as Verizon charges $20 for 3GB of high-speed data for 90 days.
"While this particular issue is outside of our control, we appreciate that this issue has inconvenienced some of our users," Computer World qouted a Google spokesperson as saying in a statement.
Google has ended its promotion on the Google Play Store listing for the Chromebook Pixel. The offer was only available for early buyers of Google's machine. The debacle also attracted a law firm, Block & Leviton's attention that is investigating the matter under violation of the consumer protection laws, ARS Technia reports.
Chrombook Pixel customers who no longer receive the offered data for free can contact Google Play Store support center to initiate the credit process or get help on its Support Pages.
Verizon has also confirmed to the Computer World blog that it is looking into the matter and will come up with a solution for the affected customers soon.
