Google

Complaints & Reviews on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 107 historical complaints about Google, published between 2004 and 2013. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources below.

• Google map pins - Google MapsPublished Dec 30, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Wrong marked a PlacePublished Nov 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• New business listingPublished Nov 15, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Pornographic addsPublished Nov 5, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• 2910 Red Barn Dr. Gering Ne, Auto Wizard, LLC, wrong directions and name of business - Auto RepaiPublished Oct 28, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Sep 17, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Google Maps "Navigation" for phones and tablets - Android phonePublished Aug 13, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Misconduct-breach of privacyPublished Aug 9, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Unable to access my original, well loved navigation app): - voice navigation appPublished Jul 27, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Condos left outPublished Jul 18, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Jun 10, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Jun 7, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Jun 3, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished May 26, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished May 9, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Latitude V4.5.3 and Latitude V3Published Mar 14, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Feb 20, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Feb 1, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Jan 14, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation
• Consumer ReportPublished Jan 14, 2013 · Historical consumer allegation

Complaint Themes

Each tag reflects a complaint's single primary theme (not every angle it raised), and complaints outside any problem theme — a positive report, or one later retracted by its author — aren't tagged. Counts may total less than the full complaint count above.

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Contacts

• Official website: https://www.google.com/
• Google Account help and recovery: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/7682439
• Google Play refund request steps: https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/15574897
• Google Ads policy appeals and support: https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/1316548
• BBB-listed phone: (650) 253-0000 12 complaints mention this number

Locations

Google: how to get help, refunds and appeals (checked October 14, 2026)

People search for Google complaints for very different reasons, because "Google" covers many products. This section lists the routes the company itself publishes for the most common ones.

• Locked out or hacked Google Account / Gmail. Google's recovery article says changes to recovery info can take "up to 7 days" to take effect and that "you can't call Google for help to sign into your account". It also warns against services that claim to provide account or password support. Use the steps at support.google.com/accounts/answer/7682439.
• Google Play charges and refunds. Google Play Help opens with "Google doesn't give refunds for most Google Play purchases." It then says that within 48 hours of a purchase you may be able to get a refund depending on the details of the purchase; after 48 hours you contact the app developer, and that an app or game can be returned for a refund only once. To request one: play.google.com, profile picture, Payments & subscriptions, Budget & order history, Report a problem, then submit the form noting you want a refund. The same article says unauthorized charges should be reported within 120 days and that a decision usually comes within one day, up to four days.
• Google Ads: disapproved ads or suspended accounts. The Advertising Policies Help says you can fix a disapproved ad or appeal the decision in the Policy Manager, and can appeal an account suspension from a signed-in Google Ads account. General policy questions are directed to Google Ads Support.
• Charges you do not recognize on a card. Google's Payments help says charges for Google products or services appear on a card statement starting with "Google", that Google Play purchases appear as "GOOGLE*App developer name", "GOOGLE*App name" or "GOOGLE*Content type", and that "If the charge isn't in one of these formats, it didn't come from Google"; in that case it points you to your payment provider. Google Play Help says that if a family member or friend made a purchase you may be eligible for a refund; for a charge you believe was fraudulent, Google "can only take action on credit, debit, or PayPal transactions within 120 days", you can fill out its unauthorized-transactions form, and an update typically comes within 7 business days; after 120 days, contact the fraud department of your card company or PayPal.

Regulator routes if you are not satisfied: the FTC (ReportFraud.ftc.gov), your state attorney general, and the CFPB for payment-product questions. Complaints below are allegations by the people who filed them.

Google: who operates it

The Google Terms of Service for U.S. users (effective July 30, 2026, opened October 14, 2026) state that "Google services are provided by, and you're contracting with" Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California 94043, and that California law governs the terms, with disputes resolved in the federal or state courts of Santa Clara County, California. The terms state that Google LLC is "organized under the laws of the State of Delaware" and define an affiliate as "Google LLC and its subsidiaries, including the following companies that provide consumer services in the EU: Google Ireland Limited, Google Commerce Limited, and Google Dialer Inc."

Alphabet Inc.'s 10-K for fiscal 2025 (filed February 5, 2026) lists Google LLC, Delaware, in its Exhibit 21.01 "Subsidiaries of the registrant". Alphabet's own site (abc.xyz) also carries the 2015 founders' letter describing a reorganization in which "Google will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet" and "Alphabet Inc. will replace Google Inc. as the publicly-traded entity". BBB lists the business as Google, LLC with a business start date of 1998-09-04 and a file opened 2002-08-19 (raw page data). The Gemini AI assistant has its own page on this site: Google Gemini; this page covers Google's other consumer services and does not repeat that product's content.

Google complaint record: BBB, Trustpilot and this site

BBB (as displayed on October 14, 2026). BBB profile for Google, LLC, Mountain View, CA: not BBB Accredited, rating A+, "9,989 total complaints in the last 3 years", customer reviews "1.22 /5 stars", "Average of 664 Customer Reviews".

Trustpilot (as displayed on October 14, 2026). Score 2.3 from 10,456 reviews, unclaimed profile; Trustpilot notes that the company has not invited customers to review, so reviews may not be representative.

This site's archive. 234 approved posts are linked to this page: 107 name Google or a Google product as the subject (AdWords, AdSense, Maps, Gmail, Play and similar, filed mostly 2004 to 2013), and 127 more are linked as related: reports filed under a card-statement descriptor such as Google.com/chcaus or [email protected], and posts filed under the names YouTube, Orkut or Android. These counts are separate from BBB and Trustpilot and are not added to them. Another large group of archive posts uses the Google name for work-at-home kits, fake car-escrow offers and prize emails; those are not about Google's own services and are not linked here. Keyword counts across the 107 primary posts, not a measure of frequency overall: unauthorized or unrecognized charges 21, Maps accuracy 25, AdWords/AdSense 15, privacy 10, difficulty reaching customer service 13.

Google: FTC privacy orders and U.S. antitrust matters

FTC, 2011 (Buzz). On March 30, 2011 the FTC announced a proposed settlement of charges that Google's launch of its Buzz social network used deceptive privacy practices. The FTC's 2012 release refers to "a settlement it reached with the agency in October 2011". Terms listed in the release: a bar on future privacy misrepresentations, a comprehensive privacy program, and independent privacy audits every two years for 20 years. The release states the agreement is for settlement purposes only and does not constitute an admission of violation.

FTC, 2012 (Safari). On August 9, 2012 the FTC announced that Google agreed to pay a "record $22.5 million civil penalty" to settle charges that it misrepresented to Safari users that it would not place tracking cookies, which the FTC said violated the earlier settlement. The FTC's release says the Department of Justice filed the complaint and proposed consent decree on the Commission's behalf in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose on August 8, 2012, and that "The proposed consent decree is subject to court approval." The release describes the settlement as being for settlement purposes only and not an admission that the law has been violated.

Department of Justice, ad technology. A Justice Department release dated April 17, 2025 states that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that Google violated antitrust law by monopolizing open-web digital advertising markets. A Justice Department release dated September 16, 2026 says the court "ordered significant behavioral relief, including requiring close integration between Google's products and products offered by rivals, including the open-source solutions offered by Prebid", and that the Department "will continue to review the opinion to consider the Department's options." The release lists a monitor and technical committee for six years, data-sharing and non-discriminatory AdWords bidding requirements. Reuters, as carried by The Star on September 17, 2026, reports a 106-page decision unsealed on September 16, that the judge stopped short of requiring a breakup, and that Google said it disagreed with the liability ruling and will appeal. The DOJ case page did not list a final judgment or remedies order on October 14, 2026.

Department of Justice, search. A Justice Department release dated September 2, 2025 says the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia "prohibited Google from entering or maintaining exclusive contracts relating to the distribution of Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, and the Gemini app" and "ordered Google to make certain search index and user-interaction data available to rivals and potential rivals". The DOJ Antitrust Division's case page lists the complaint filed October 20, 2020, a Final Judgment and Memorandum Opinion dated December 5, 2025, compliance status reports through September 17, 2026, and a July 28, 2026 "Response Brief and Opening Brief on Cross-Appeal"; the page shows no appellate ruling. Google's position in these matters should be read in its own filings.

State attorneys general, Google Play (consumer payments). The Illinois Attorney General's release says a federal court "has stated it will approve a $700 million settlement" in a multistate lawsuit over Android app distribution and in-app payments on the Google Play Store, and that most funds go to individuals who made purchases on the Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023, mostly paid through PayPal or Venmo without a claim form. The page fetched does not show a date; see the settlement website it links for details.

Is Google Legitimate?

Google LLC is an identifiable operating company: its Terms of Service name Google LLC at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California as the U.S. contracting entity, and BBB lists the same address and a business start date of 1998-09-04. The complaint posts on this site that use the Google name include many that concern unrelated parties (work-at-home kit sellers and advance-fee fraud using Google's name), which is why they are not linked as complaints about the company. Third-party figures, regulator orders and court matters are in the sections above; this page assigns no rating of its own.

Court & Public Records

Related Complaints

Names this company in a role other than the primary subject — not necessarily current or complete.

• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report
• Named as a brand of this company: Consumer Report

Company Relationships

• Owned by: Alphabet Inc.
• Affiliated with: Google Gemini

Frequently Asked Questions