Google Says That Lawsuit Claiming Gift Cards Are Too Hard to Redeem Should Be Tossed Out

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

A class action lawsuit that alleges Google’s Google Play gift cards violate California law by being too difficult to redeem should be tossed out, or at the least moved to the correct district, the tech giant says.

Google urged a California federal court to dismiss the class action lawsuit, which was filed in February, and added that if the case was to continue, it must be moved to the appropriate court.

According to the company’s terms of service that govern Google Play gift cards, disputes must be resolved in the federal or state courts of Santa Clara County, in the Northern District of California, Law360 reports. The current class action lawsuit was filed in the Central District.

Google Play gift card holders Henk Meyers and Glenn Goza, the lead Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit, say that Google’s security system makes it almost impossible for holders of authentic gift cards to redeem their purchases or gifts.

Gift card holders are required to fill out a form saying when and where the gift card was purchased, and provide receipts documenting the purchase, requests that are difficult for many gift card holders – especially those who received the cards as a gift, Meyers and Goza say.

“Google’s arbitrary barriers to redemption likely dissuaded many gift card holders from redeeming their cards, either because they lacked the information requested or found it too burdensome,” Meyers said in the claim.

According to the claim, Google also uses an algorithm in its security system that often flags authentic gift cards as suspicious, invalidating them.

Meyers and Goza say that Google is violating California law with these practices, as the law requires gift card issuers to ensure cards are redeemable in cash for the value or can be replaced at no cost to the buyer or holder.

“As a result of its practices, Google was able to pocket the funds spent on Google Play gift cards that should have been redeemable by these card holders,” Meyers said.

However, Google says that the California law governing gift certificates doesn’t affect Google Play gift cards. The company says that its Google Play gift cards are within the law’s exception for gift cards as they are redeemable with multiple sellers.

“Because Google Play gift cards are usable to purchase from multiple sellers, Google could not, as a matter of law, violate California’s gift certificate law,” Google said, adding the claims by Meyers and Goza lacked merit.

Meyers and Goza want to represent anyone nationwide who had a Google Play gift card denied by the company.

Google is also facing another class action lawsuit, that alleges that the tech giant engages in illegal, omnipresent surveillance of people’s lives, in a way much worse than George Orwell imagined in his classic science fiction book 1984. Salvatore Toronto, a Google account holder, alleges the Internet giant continues to violate privacy laws, even after a record $170 million privacy settlement in 2019. 

Have ever had any issues redeeming a Google Play gift card? Let us know in the comments section!

The gift card holders are represented by Richard D. McCune, David C. Wright and Elaine S. Kusel of McCune Wright Arevalo LLP.

Google is represented by Michelle C. Doolin, Whitty Somvichian and Sharon Song of Cooley LLP.

The Google Play Gift Card Class Action Lawsuit is Meyers v. Alphabet Inc. et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-01767, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• More Than 10K Class Members Certified in Google Pay Bias Class Action Lawsuit
• Do You Qualify: Text Message Opt-Out Violations Class Action Lawsuit Claim Review
• Google’s Surveillance Worse Than a Science Fiction Novel, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges
• Do You Qualify: Wrong Number Robocalls, Text Messages | Business & Debt Collector Lawsuit Investigation