Overview
Update 4/9/18: Google Checkout has been retired and is no longer be available as of November 20th, 2013. See our list of Google Checkout Alternatives for other options.
Google Checkout (checkout.google.com) is an electronic payment service offered by Google.com that allows merchants to accept credit card payments through their website and at their retail location via consumers who use the Google Wallet app. The service is primarily marketed to consumers as a way to securely checkout of online stores by storing their credit card information in their Google Wallet account. Not only does Google claim that it’s a safer checkout option for consumers, but that it also speeds up the checkout process and stores the purchase information in one place so that consumers can easily review past purchases.
Google Checkout’s service is similar to PayPal’s “Payments Advanced” and “Payments Pro” accounts which allow merchants to either collect payments from a hosted checkout on Google’s servers, or through their own hosted shopping cart with either an HTML or XML-based API. Most merchants will likely need to work with an experienced web developer for the API option, but the other options can be implemented by just about anyone with basic knowledge of HTML.
Although merchants cannot type credit card numbers it into their Google Checkout merchant accounts to process sales, they can use Google Checkout’s invoice emailing feature to request payment from customers who then can fill in their own payment information. Essentially, if a buyer places an order via phone or fax, a merchant can generate invoices through his/her Google Checkout Merchant Center and email it to the buyer. The buyer is sent a link along with the invoice that allows him/her to confirm payment and shipping information. Unlike PayPal, Google Checkout does not offer a virtual terminal for processing face-to-face transactions but does have an app for Android devices that allow Google Checkout sellers to accept payments for in-store sales.
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Costs & Contract
Like PayPal, there is no cost for setting up a Google Checkout account and merchants can cancel anytime without incurring a cancellation fee. Google Checkout, also like PayPal, has no monthly fees, but does not offer as many different features as PayPal. As of this review, the transaction fees for Google Checkout are:
Additionally, Google Checkout has a surcharge of 1% if the buyer’s billing country is different from the seller’s. There is also a $10 fee for merchants found liable of a Chargeback and an additional $0.30 fee for each “partial capture” if a merchant selects to do so with a sale. Registered non-profits pay the same fees as above unless they are a Google Grants recipient.
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Google Checkout Bottom Line
Google Checkout offers a simple payment processing service that is ideal for online merchants that are just starting out, have a low volume of sales, and low dollar transactions. For more established merchants, Google Checkout can be implemented as an additional checkout option that can be paired alongside PayPal and a traditional merchant account giving the buyer the option to choose his/her favorite payment method.
With no setup fees, monthly fees and cancellation fees Google Checkout out is a great option for any seller wishing to accept online payments or donations. The ease of establishing account and the lack of other fees does mean higher transaction fees than most traditional merchant account setups. For most merchants, Google Checkout is best used as an additional credit card acceptance method rather than a sole option for collecting electronic payments.
About Phillip Parker
Hi, I’m Phillip Parker and I believe that the merchant account industry has been overrun by people who engage in fraud and deception in order to steal from hard working business owners. I created this website to help you avoid the bad players, save money on fees, and get peace of mind with your merchant account. If you would like to help support my work, check out my cost analysis service. I can evaluate your statement and tell you exactly how much you're overpaying for your merchant account. Get more information here.
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It is a sorry thing to see Google close Google Checkout. They were about the best when it comes to price. Now PayPal will dominate the industries, as there really is no real competition to keep their prices down. Expect increased PayPal prices, once noise dies down.
I paid a company – Sat tv – a subscription fee.
The ‘goods’ were not delivered to me.
I contacted sat tv and they told me google checkout had witheld MY money
Google have not contacted me 3 days later to even say why my money has not been allowed to pass to sat tv
I can only assume google are keeping my money to earn interest on it.
Imagine that X one million!
I’m about to contact the police or a lawyer
so far I have lost the money and have not received the goods.
thanks google checkout
The attempt to persuade people of the merits Google Checkout has just backfired. Google announced that they are handing off the checkout to a third party. So much for the all mighty GOOGLE CHECKOUT…. failure… Nothing will ever surpass PAYPAL. Google Checkout RIP
Look out for a Megan Bradley she scammed me out of 2000$ for a jeep through Craigslist. Promised me my funds were safe with google checkout and now I’ve come to learn different. Seemed legit with all the emails I received from google it’s self but wow has this blown me out of the park and I can’t even contact them about getting my money back. The supposed agent who was holding my money’s name was Cynthia Linsey in New Jersey. Can’t believe I was so stupid but be aware they make it seem so legit until they get your money. If I could go after google for this I would in a heart beat just not sure how to go about it. My lady as well claimed her husband had passed away and wanted to get rid of the jeep because of bad memories. This makes me sick
My mom went on craigs list in Jacksonville Florida in search of a RV for me. She reponded to the add got a Email back from a Margaret D Lopez later that night on 1/ 17/2013 in response she gave my mom all the details on the amount was 3,300 for a 2000 fleetwood terry EX M-34 5B wheel camper that was selling it through GOOGLE CHECK-OUT. She also sent myself a e-mail giving details about how to wire the money and also a invoice number and Google check-out also sent me a email with the same information Margaret Lopez sent me with a 1-877-827 8371 to call to get the account number and the banks name and the name on the account. I called Chase bank in Visalia,Ca to verfify the account they told me that the name and the account number was good. I went to my bank on 1/19/2013 and wire the money the banks were closed on 1/21/2013 the monies was in the account for this transactoin on Tuesday 1/22/2013.I called the 1-877-827-3871 to see when I was going to receive my RV the gentleman on the other end of the phone who I had been corsponding with is Peter.I was told it would delivered 3 to 5 business days then i was told it would be here on 1/25/2013 it never came then I was told 1/26/2013 and 1/27/2013 as of today i still have no RV and I’am 3,300 dollars so please don’t get scamed like I did so please becareful
Thank you Cheryle
This is a warning to all business owners thinking of using Google Merchant. D O N T. They recently extracted $644 from my bank account for my refusal to refund a product. Background: My return policy is for product quality/malfunction only. Not for customers that change their mind because the product is too difficult to ship back without damaging. Had a customer that tried. Even acknowledged my stance on returns in an email. No quality issue. Just, changed their mind. When I refused return. Customer complained to their credit card. I submitted my information ( including the email I mentioned above). That apparantly wasn’t good enough for Google and hid behind an excuse of ” Our hands are tied”. I will be suspending my working relationship with google immediatley. they’re not worth it.
Now I’m out the money and the product totalling over $1300. That alone should be waring enough.
Hi!
I am a victim of a scam through this google checkout. I saw an advert on automart and fall for the car and contacted the seller named Nadiya Naidoo who was selling a VW GolF V @ a very reasonable price. She told me to deposit money which I did and the google checkout will keep the money until I get the car then release the funds after ten days if the car is to my liking. Wow! Stupid me hesitated but later did all the transfers and emailed to a guy named Danny Alberts (thts if he exists any way) and the guy was always responding very well until I paid up the remaining balance. Until now I have not recieved any car. I want google checkout to refund me my money and failing which I am going international in every TV station and every news paper in any language to tell my story and I promise you, you will shut down in no time because I am not the only one who has a complaint. I want go believe google checout is part of all these scams because google checkout allows the scammers to scam people using their name. I need response before I sell my story and I am keeping all the messages i recieved via google checkout site. Please respond.
This just happened to me yesterday and I’m highly upset.
Google Checkout is withholding my payouts from my Merchant Account for no reason. Over $3600 is sitting on my account with them. I have received no response from the emails to their support group. Somehow we have to get this service shut down and all paym,ents made the their account holders.
I’ve been waiting for response from Google checkout for close to a year now. This is not going to happen. Take my advice , you’ll sleep better….that $3600 is a lost…what I have found out is, once you shipped products to clients….and Google closed your merchant account, they also in turn credited those monies back to clients. So a double whammy…product shipped, monies credited back to client…your lost. The unfortunate thing and they (Google) know it .. you need them for your business to survive online. I lost $700 – $800 with Google, I was lucky. I don’t advertise with Google … I don’t use any paid services with Google. Your business will still survive without Google. I was forced to start using PayPal as my principal merchant processor. I must say I have been quite happy and elated with PayPal.
Ramon Alvarez
I just saved my dad from this scam. A man named Brandon Andrews advertised a VW T5 on Gumtree-UK. We emailed asking for details and pictures and the reply we got was all about a story of a man who just divorced his wife and had to move back to spain to work and couldnt register the van over there so needed to sell it quick but had to be shipped back to the uk. He requested that we pay him using GOOGLE CHECKOUT because it was safe for both him and us, the money would be kept with the service till we receieved the van and released the funds to him, but had to pay shipping fees to go ahead with the exchange. I thought it sounded to good to be true so i started researching and came across this page. I have since found 4 other advertisements on gumtree, all for top notch vehicles and emailed all of them asking for details and had the exact email reply word for word, a story about a man divorcing his wife and needing to sell quick, from each vehicle advertised.
IF SOMETHING SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT MOST LIKELY IS!!! Research these things before giving personal details to anyone online. Be safe and dont use GOOGLE CHECKOUT!!!!!
Hauge Ruth tried to sell me a 05 camry! Told me it was in great condition and she was oceanographer nd she needed to sell it for research! I read these and told her nevermind and she is trying to make deals with me! She also told me that it was going through google checkout!
I almost fell for a scam too. The seller which goes by the name Hauge Ruth was trying to sell me a 2005 Toyota Camry. He/She claimed to be a Sergeant from the Malmstrom Air Force in Montana. And although there IS an airforce down in Montana by that name, I tried to search up the person’s name and couldnt find that person in the directory. The seller claimed that the car was in perfect working condition. He/she wouldnt contact me through telephone or even provide me with a phone number so tht I could get in contact with him or her if something went wrong. He/she told me that the car was 59,000 miles, automatic, smooth, no oil leaking, perfect inside out, great lights, and everything is in working condition. He told me to use Google Checkout because its supposely a SAFE way of making payment. At first, I was excited about this car, because I didnt know it was a scam. But then, I had a friend who thought it was a bit too suspicious. I then looked at the bigger picture of this and realize, this is all too good to be true. And thats when I decided to do my research on GOOGLE CHECKOUT and came across this page. Thank you LORD for bringing me to this page. Reading all this stories made me realized tht this car really WAS too good to be true! It really upsets and sickens me tht there people like this out in this world. How could they have the nerve to scam such innocent people?! They arent the only ones in need of money. So do we! And when something goes wrong, we would love all the help we need to get our money back! I feel truly sorry for all those who have lost money to scammers and to Google Checkout. I am soo lucky to not have fallen into this trap. God has saved me right before I couldnt fell right in. Just for all of you who are new to this stuff just like me, if you want some adivce, do not ever trust ANYBODY who asks you to use Google Checkout. It is known to be UNSAFE and untrustful. Dont do it. Its not worth the risk. And if something sounds too good to be true, dont EVER believe it can be true. Unless u wake up one morning and have won the lottery, then thts great news, but something like this is really too good to be true. And it sure isnt true at all. Dont trust it. Okay, just for a safety note. BEWARE.. of a person name: HAUGE RUTH. Who claims to sell a car for cheap. $2,150 is the proce the seller was trying to sell it to me for. He/She claims to be part of the Malmstrom Air Force base in Montana and claims he’s being deploy to Afganistan and thts why he needs to sell the car asap. SCAM!!!!! Im sure of it. No matter how soon or long Im going to be gone to fight for my country, I would NEVER sell an expensive car for such a LOW price. Never. Wat kind of ppl are these men/women? Telling all these fake stories of their husbands dying and claiming to being deploy to fight for our country when it all isnt even true? Is everything a joke to them? Even if it all is true and these stories about them being deploy and their husbands’ passing away, it still isnt a reason for them to scam others. What kinds of ppl would use these kinds of excuses to male money for themselves? EVIL PEOPLE! SCAMMERS. Thats who. Dont ever trust them!!!!
Thank you; You just saved me from the same scam; Little different story but a military SGT thats now serving in another country but cant give me a phone number, but is willing to ship me a vehicle from Texas to California. Of course he wants to use Google check out service. I knew the deal was to good to be true. Thanks again.
Same think happened to me recently — same person, same exact story. It was listed in the Boston area, but she had it at the airforce base in Montana. Checked the Blue book value and the car was worth $14,000. A lot more than the $1999 requested. If anything, that person would either sell the car to a family member or friend, or sell it to a dealer for $10,000. The glaringly obvious sign that this was a scam was they wanted CASH ONLY through Western Union and it would be handled by a person (Walter S. Stanfield of Milwaukee, WI) through Google Checkout. Duh. We traced the fax number provided back to a Day Care Center in New Jersey. This wonderful deal was such a disappointment. But my son ended up finding a 1998 Toyota from a real person for a good deal.
Since then, I look on Craigs list and flag her listings as a Scam. We’ve reported this to the police, Craigs List Security, and the FBI. BEWARE OF SCAMMERS!!!! If its too good to be true, it really is!!!!
aint this some bull, i just nearly fell for this scam lady named rebecca dixon from montana claiming to be an oceangeographer 2005 nissan altima $1920….. people this car looks awsome to nice for this price car is loaded but thanks to looking things up i realized the scam so key advice do not buy nothing through the internet its not worth it
Don’t buy anything from a Catherine Gooch [[email protected]] she will take your money and run. She is running an ad on the autotrader,ca site to sell a RV trailer in mint condition for $2150 & insists the buyer is to use the google check out program. She says her husband died and wants to sell it cheap due to bad memories, that she no longer lives in Kamloops & has moved to her brother’s in Red Deer Alberta. Upon further ‘google’ research I discovered almost instantly there is a ton of scammers out there using google check out to rip off innocent buyers! BEWARE! Google should do the right thing and remove their google check out service immediately from the internet or run it like a proper business. Shame on them.
Just got hit by this ”catherine”
What tipped me off was that her name in her email address is misspelled.
Would you make a spelling mistake in your OWN name when you are setting up an email account ?
LOL
I have asked if I could send my Brother in law to go look at the trailer first!
We’ll say what she has to say…
Any further development on your side Kathleen ?
I was also hit by this Catherine, her story is the same, however she lived in Lethbridge and has moved to her brother’s place in Winnipeg and the price of the camper is $2666.
She ([email protected]) is now trying again with a Miata in Oshawa, exact same story. I’ll post the email in it’s entirety so others searching can see it,
—————————————–
Catherine Gooch [email protected] (Note the misspelt name).
Hello ,
Thank you for showing interest in my 1997 Mazda MX-5 convertible with new soft top and 90,105 actual km’s. The general condition of the car is excellent, very well maintained, no damages, no mechanical problems and no electrical issues. The car is free of any liens or loans and has a clean carproof, free of accidents. The body of the car is spotless with no rust whatsoever. The car comes with a valid E-test and was just recently certified. I am selling it at this final price of $5,400 because my husband died 2 months ago (he had a heart attack) and brings me bad memories and that’s the reason I want to sell it asap . I along with my daughter decided to sell the house and we moved to my brother in Winnipeg MB trying to start a new life. The transaction will be made through Google Checkout buyer protection program. I believe this protects both buyer and seller and it’s the right way to do this.
If you’re interested to purchase just email me with your full name and shipping address, so I can notify Google Checkout that you are selected as my buyer and they will contact you to explain the entire procedure.
Thank you
It seems the lady is at it in California, She is offering to sell a bmw motorcycle for a very low price.
When I requested proof of ownership the question was ignored.
She used the same story “My husband died two months ago……………….”
the name used this time is ISABELLA CALEB” ([email protected])
This sale is listed on craigslist bakersfield ca.
WHAT !? I got hit with that SAME message! Except this person went through a divorce. SAME SAME text and everything ! I can’t believe this..
Google Checkout and Merchant accounts for nonprofits is not honoring their agreements to our nonprofit. Even though we have a GOOGLE NONPROFIT account, have submitted a 990EZ,a letter of Nonprofit status from the IRS and now a SCREENSHOT of OUR MERCHANT ACCOUNT, and have been trying to use the DONATE NOW service for over a year we are still getting the runaround.
This is what we were told after sending the letter of nonprofit status acceptance from the IRS:
“We attempted to verify your tax exempt status but were unable to do so
using the information that you provided us.
Please ensure that the proper documents were submitted and that the
address and company name noted on the documentation matches the address
and company name listed in your Google Payments account. We also request
that you provide any relevant address or name change documentation if you
organization has moved or is operating under a different name. Once we’ve
received and confirmed this information, we’ll be happy to reinstate your
account.”
Then after we sent the 990EZ which has all our information this was the response:
“We understand your concern, however we attempted to verify your tax exempt
status but were unable to do so using the information that you provided
us since the physical address available in the document is different and
the address available in your Google Payment Account.
Please ensure that the proper documents were submitted and that the
address noted on the documentation matches the address and company name
listed in your Google Payments account. We also request that you provide
any relevant address or name change documentation if you organization has
moved or is operating under a different name. Once we’ve received and
confirmed this information, we’ll be happy to reinstate your account.
We appreciate your interest in using Google Checkout!”
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! We have sent a final email with a screenshot of our merchant account information which exactly matches what is on our 990EZ.
I have no doubt we will receive a similar answer…
Phil – I run a non profit and am experiencing EXACTLY what you list above. I’m curious if you were able to resolve the issue? I have not had any success getting someone on the phone to help me. I need to get our online donation functionality up and running ASAP and I’m wondering if you have any advice/suggestions.
Thanks so much!
Bridget
I was in the process of buying a vehicle via google checkout, when alarms bells started ringing. It was a scam. I telephoned the Army base in dundee to check that the seller was genuine and was told immediatle that is was a scam, I could have lost thousands. The persons name was Julia Stollard the story was she wanted to sell her camper van as she was going to Affganistan on the 8th of August, it seems she has used this scam before. Be Aware!!!!!!!!!
i have been offered a vehicle at a really low price. The seller is from UK and says the vehicle is in South africa where i am but i need to payinto a secure acount and have 7 days to review the vehicle and sale andonly then will Google checkout pay over my money!!
does this make sense and it is normal, i truly do not want to fall victim, i cant afford to lose my money?
advice anyone??
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Therefore, you probably shouldn’t do it.
Leave it its a scam. I was given the same story, my vehicle was too good to be true, but I was tempted until I made further enquiries as Ive noted above I telephoned the army base where the vehicle was kept, no such person existed.
South Africa is a tip off that it’s probably a scam, because most of the those email phishing and scams are out of South Africa. For some reason it’s easy to get away with scams from there.
I believe I was just saved from loosing several thousand && on a similiar scam. I see there are others who have experienced the same thing. The vehicle I was VERY interested in did seem to good to be true considering the condition and the low price that is being asked. I found this one on Craig’s List. And, it was an alledged soldier who is getting ready to deploy to Afganistan. The email responses I was getting from this person, a Sam Carroll, claimed he is in a medical battalion, but none of his info checked out. Way too many inconsistencies. Fortunately for me, when I went to send the $$ to Google Checkout using the “Money Gram” service they recommend, Money Gram refused to process the transaction stating that they deal with these exact scams every day. After a bit more checking, I am discovering all sorts of anomolies in this “soldier’s” story. So I emailed him back explaining the situation with Money Gram, and I asked for more contact information so that I could verify his identity with his Commanding Officer and the National Guard………..absolutely no response. Money Gram called me later in the day to ask if I had any questions or concerns about them not processing my request, I thanked them for saving me $$$. I am still not absolutely positive this is a scam, but Google Checkout provides no way to speak with a human being, only email responses. This is a bit disturbing, especially when a person is trying to avoid being ripped off. Here is a copy of the seller’s email:
Hello,
Thank you for your interest in purchased my car! I’m selling it because I am in the army and my medical team will deploy back to Afghanistan and I don’t want it get old in my garage. Also, the car is too big for my daughter so there’s no use on keeping it. I’m under enormous time pressure cause I need to sell it fast, before September 10th that being the reason for selling it so low. The vehicle is in pristine condition, no accident history, no dents or dings and no scratches. Always adult driven and garaged, never abused. I have a clear title with no liens or loans. If you are interested, it’s still available for sale and the price, as stated in the ad, is $2315. If you decide to buy it I will take care of shipping. Let me know if you are interested, email back.
A few words about the car:
2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4×4 Limited
Mileage: 87,650
Exterior color: White
Engine:8 Cylinder Gasoline
Transmission: 5 Speed Automatic with Over-Drive
VIN# 1J4GW58N21C684148
Here is some pics: http://s1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj485/jeepphoto2/
Thank you !
Sgt. 1st Class Sam Carroll , senior medic, 146th Medical Battalion
Now, I have another email from this person stating he is at a National Guard base in Ohio, but the 146th Medical Battalion is a Michigan unit. Also, too many errors in the english, especially from a Sergeant First Class. He also stated that he was only allowed to communicate via email from his base, I find this to be suspicious, after all, I was a Marine for 8 years. If this was legit, he should have no problem with someone verifying his identity.
This has to be a scam. And shame on Google Checkout for their BS communication policy.
Thank God I came across this!!! I came close to losing lots of money too. Sam Carroll. Thanks Bill for posting.
Ordered from Gorgeous Symptoms and they took my money and I received NOTHING! Google doesn’t care evidently.
Geez. I must be the lucky one. I’ve only done about 300 checkout transactions as a seller. I’ve had only one chargeback for $3363.94. It took about two months to clear up the matter but my sale was made in accordance with the TOS and it was resolved in my favor. I agree with everyone about the lack of customer service. I expected better.
On april 28th I began to use Google Checkout to pay for a purchase at Greentackle.com but backpaged out and used Green tackle’s payment option. I updated my Google Checkout info but didn’t complete the purchase with GC. They still charged my bank account $1.00. I can’t see ever using GC again.
I just bought something on-line using Google during the checkout. I had no idea that they would charge me $1 for a process that was not any easier than normal. In fact, it was worse. It kept asking me for my state when I had very plainly already included that information. I don’t need PayPal or Google because I already use a virtual credit card number each time I buy something on-line. I thought Google would be easier since I use their email program and they already have all my information. I really think this is a rip-off that the consumer is not told in advance that they will be charged $1.00 to use Google for check-out. I will never use them again.
Where do I begin, lets start here….I have been a google customer since Google rolled out, with that said .. I have Gmail, Google Adwords, Google Places, Google +, Google SEO packages, Google Wallet and when I launched my website…Google Express Checkout Cart on my website….two weeks into launch of site everything
running smooth. March 28th, 2012 I woke up checked my E-mails as I do every morning, AND THERE IN MY GOOGLE INBOX……GOOGLE CLOSED MY GOOGLE CHECKOUT ACCOUNT…no explanation, no sympathy, no violations, no charge backs, no complaints, NO ANYTHING !!!! I went thru the roof….Email is the only thing available to contact google….I did that and response was even colder….Basically they can, they reviewed my account and said ” INCOMPATIBLE TO THEIR BUSINESS MODEL” and directed me to their
TOS…they will not tell you why, other than not to reapply. I had already shipped all products to my customers.
I was lucky…I lost about $400 in sales …and products shipped…again no explanations, no complaints, no chargebacks, Google is too big…Monopoly….I welcome a class action lawsuit against GOOGLE. I started to cancel everything with Google…EVERYTHING !! but what are you going to do without the number 1 search engine in the world? Google is the internet, they know it…a BULLY..
Hi, what do you mean by “I welcome a class action lawsuit against GOOGLE”? You mean, there is a way to get back the money? I am in UK, have similar problem
Rids Bruners, If others can come together, I would be part of that Law Suit, not having a process to resolve issues within THIS CONGLOMERATE is unacceptable, and yet they still solicit my advertising monies. If I don’t fit Google’s ” Business Model” why are they still soliciting my Click and Pay Business ? The worst thing is not knowing what I personally did as a merchant, that brought this closure. Maybe we should start a ” Down with Google Campaign”
Google has taken my money about 1400 in USD equivalent. I want to make this fact public, so that others do not get in the same trap. In turn, they are getting nasty and decrease my website rating. No use of “Anti google” campaigning ..
They cannot just take other people’s money and get away with it. In UK there is long procedure to “let them put things right”. That is, if you do not go bankrupt after 2 months, you can try to get your money back. No fines or any legal responsibility for them
Maybe in US somebody with balls to make “class action lawsuit” against google can change this situation. However, I do not believe it is likely
If you are still advertising with google, stop it. They maybe employ people around the US to click your ads for 0.1 cents/ click …
They have just cancelled my account for selling well known herbs that are safe and are benficial to health claiming that they are drugs. I tried to do as they said and impliment code to say you couldnt use google checout on the items they mentioned were breaking there policy but couldn’t. Then i just go rid of google checkout compleatly.
But they then sent me an email saying the money that was payed to me from customers I couldnt have, even though I had shipped the items and there was no way of getting them back. So basicaly I have been robbed by google!!
If there was a problem with what I am selling which there shouldn’t be any way, why did they take the customers money in the first place ? Why wait till money is changing hands before saying there is an issue? Seems to me the only reason is so they can then take the money for themselves and then blame you for it and make a tidy side line business of stealing from online merchants.
Google Checkout began withholding payouts systematically since end of 2011. Looks like they have some serious problem. I have been merchant with them 4 years, and they withhold my money since January 2012. And there is no use of complaining, they send you some automatic generated text. Only way, perhaps, is to send them formal complaint by letter and after 2 months you can go to Financial Ombudsman. If there is any use of it.
Merchants, beware of Google Checkout, and think about something else. Do not get into this trap. If they owe you money, put banner on your website, let others know
Hi, looks like this “Google Checkout” is going insolvent. I have been their merchant for 4 years. Since end of last year they systematically withhold payouts. And there is no means you can get your money out of them. They just send you automated response. The only way is to send them formal complaint, and after 2 months you can go to Financial Ombudsman. If there is any use of it.
Please tell other people NOT TO USE GOOGLE CHECKOUT, do not get into this trap. Merchants, put banners on your websites, if they owe you money
Your rating on Customer service is highly inaccurate… you gave it a C and it should be a FAIL – I’ve been a merchant with Google for almost 3 years…. maybe more…. and when the google systems works – everything is great – but when something goes wrong… there is virtually no customer service… even if you use their customer service email center, it’s a crap shoot if they will even respond to you or not. They can lock up your money without paying it out to you for months and months and there is no one you can contact
When there is no support phone service – and support will not respond to you through emails – where does that leave you? How can you build a business where the consumer product you offer is SERVICE, and then not provide any? I am a Google Checkout Merchant and I say Google Customer Support is a flat out FAIL!
I have pay for total cost by western union the car! Google checkout send me a email will tell me about the shipping detail ! But after all never let me know at all till now! I keep reply to them ! But them never send me any information ! What should I do? Can someone tell me! Is already after 3 day!
My husband almost fell for the car fraud. theres a few people on craigs list selling cars and they use google checkout for the payment. i said right away nope thats not right why do they place in ad from a place thats 14 hours away from them? and y so cheap for such an expensive looking car. but he wanted to do it anyway but then i came to read the reviews and ofc im right. Other people have been scammed this way… When something seems to good to be true, it is to good to be true.
We are a new business and have not had any complaints. Just recently out of the blue, Google Checkout stated that they were freezing the account and would in fact hold onto our funds even after the shipment had been processed and received. They provide no phone numbers, no live person that you can speak with, it is as though they are scamming everyone else, at random, as they please. For a company that states “We do no Evil”, they are about as low down as you can get. We have moved to another service, but still remain in limbo as to what our recourse may be and how in fact we can receive the funds that are ours. We provided a service, the customer paid, the customer received and no one filed a complaint. Where is there any ethical behavior on Google’s part?
I tried to set up an account with google checkout and it just isn’t happening. After three day of giving them all the info they ask for, I when from placing an order with an account, to an canceled order and suspended account, and when I gave them more personal information, they closed my account and won’t even tell me why or help in any way. Three day I have wasted trying to set up an account with them and I give up.
I finally contacted the company I needed to place an order from and they sent me to a sister company that takes paypal. No problem at all with paypal.
Last comment, google customer support is the worst I’ve seen in my life time. I guess everything would be fine if you just don’t need any help from them.
-Chris
I have been a merchant customer of Google Checkout for years. I am not sure why, but I am moving to another vendor asap. They recently refunded an order to a customer without my knowledge and then charged me $10 to do so. I called the customer and they were kind enough to write a letter to Google telling them there was a mistake. There is NO PHONE NUMBER to call. Google to this day, months later, still has not reversed the fee. its funny, I pay them over, $1,300/month in transaction fees and they dont even provide me with a simple phone number to call about a MISTAKE of theirs. GOOGLE IS TERRIBLE AND THEY ARE TRYING TO BE SOMETHING THEY ARE NOT. THEY ARE NOT A TRANSACTION MANAGAMENT COMPANY.
Yes, you cannot get to speak to a human at google and all you get is a generic response.
Google keep stating that they are regulated by the FSA. Yes I fully understand that, But we are “Merchants” and chose to employ Google to carry out the card transactions for us, whom in turn charge us for their services. We have to have a business bank account. To open a Business Bank Account you have to give all your personal and business details and all those details must check out.
Google are a transaction company.
They are NOT my BANK.
Why should they need a copy of my driving license and or passport.
My Bank Yes, a transaction company No?????
I think they are getting above their station!!!!
We were very impressed with how easy it was to order the product we wanted. And.. We were VERY surprised that the item was delivered so quickly. We would definitely order from them again-with the help of Google. thank you for making it so easy and quick.
Hello
I grow willow and would be classed as a micro industry.
I have been using Google Checkout since beginning of October 2010.
The last time I received a payment from them was 29th March 2011 it is now 21st Nov 2011.. They are withholding my payment as they said they were unable to verify some details from the details I had supplied. Nothing has changed. All my details have been the same for over 6 years.
Google have now asked for a passport or driving license. Yet when I opened the account they did not ask for passport or driving license. Why do they want now and what are they comparing it with.
They have no phone number and I keep getting the same generic answer that they are regulated by the FSA, I have contacted the FSA who also think this is odd.
I am lodging a complaint about them and will take it to the Banking Ombudsman.
I’ve been reading some comments and complaints and must tell you of my recent nightmare. I was scammed by a woman claiming to sell a vehicle to us but convinced us to pay with a western Union money transfer and I bet you can guess the rest of the story. They had (the scammers) set up a phony site using Google Checkout logo’s and such and claimed they were the one’s holding the money until i retrieved the vehicle. While processing this whole scam I kept trying to contact Google checkout themselves to get some answers but had no luck. Like many of you have stated, there are no phone numbers to contact them so this gives the scammers a wide open opportunity to suck you in before you can get a response from Google. If there are any others out there like myself, I could really use some advice about how to stop this and catch these scum. Tomorrow I’ll be opening a case with the FBI in Salt Lake, Utah. If I had been able to contact Google Checkout to verify, this never would have happened, but the scammers know this. All I can say now is that I am very ashamed of myself for falling for this and am sick about it. Be careful, the scammers and the real Google Checkout look a lot alike.
Would this happen to have been a Lady named, Sophia that showed the picture of the car in New Jersey, but said it was in Miami fl, but she has a mailing addr in Texas, they never gave a phone # but a person email me asking me to send him $4000. cash and the vehicle would be delivered. Is this the same person
Same almost happened to me today in the UK it may have been the same name Julia Stollard
I’m trying to buy a horse trailer and just feel it is a total scam. So gave them an option to have trailer delivered to me and once inspected would turn over a bank check with guaranteed funds made out in their name and then they could settle with the shipper. I have learned alot about dealing with scammers. This persons name is Mary Kester, works on a cruise ship, cannot be contacted, says shipper is in NY (no name) and the trailer is just too good to be true. The last bunch of scammers I dealt with got lead on by me as they wanted to buy from me (horses) and actually got the forged checks. Turned them over to Postal Service for mail fraud and Government. Beware. If Googlecheckout does not have a customer service numbers sounds like their are cohorts in all of this scamming. Shame on them!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe it is a third party, who knows. My way or no way is the best bet in my book now.
I’m thinking of buying a car from them but as you stated they give no number to reach them, and they want me to western union them $4000. cash and await the delivery of the vehiche, but all i have is a fax number to fax the receipt vertifying that the money has been sent.
WHAT DO U THINK
Never do a car deal like mentioned above. It is always a scam. If they tell you there is no risk because the money goes to escrow and you have 5 days to back out-run for the hills. The only way to do a long distance car deal is through a dealer or have some one local (mechanic; friend; unconnected 3rd party) go put their hands on the car and see the title too. NEVER send more than 100.00 deposit-then get a cheap ticket and fly in and drive home.
This happened to us today… tried to pay through google check out but they want us to send cash via Western Union to Spain… duh… the seller is on a ship in Spain… car is in LA…called their bluff and said BIL was stationed in La and would look at the car and pay “her lawyer” (whom she said handled everything in LA) and drive it home for us.. of course no answer.. and yes we got fax # but no phone.. and the fax # is Ca area code..