Don't want that app? Google Play expands refunds up to two hours after purchase
Regretting that $7 purchase of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on your Nexus 7? There's time to turn it around now that Google has expanded the window for refunds on app purchases. Google Play shoppers now have two hours to return an app to the store, whereas refunds were previously limited to just 15 minutes after point of sale.
Returning an app on Google Play is a simple process. Just go to "My Apps" in the store, highlight the locus of buyer's remorse, and select "Refund" to have it removed. While the process may appear to lend itself to gaming the system for free games, Google does have checks in place to prevent people from endlessly downloading and returning games. Anyone who purchases a refunded app a second time is stuck with it for good.
Google has had to broadly reconsider Google Play customer policies. On Sept 4, a Federal Trade Commission complaint forced Google to refund a minimum of $19 million in in-app purchases. Children making unwitting in-app buys on their parents' devices became a major problem for the store. Luckily, parents can at least get refunds provided they check their Galaxy Tab quicker than every two hours on family road trips.
[Images: Google]
