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Folks in this Reddit thread and the smattering of complaints in our own inbox prompted us to post this quick heads-up for those of you looking to sign up for Project Fi’s new $5 per month insurance on a smartphone bought before the service was available: you’ll be retroactively charged for coverage dating back to when you first bought your phone. This could be as much as $10 for the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X if you got your phone when he first shipments arrived late October.
Many were shocked and taken aback by the charge, claiming that they shouldn’t be charged for service that they had no access to when they first received their phone, but to Google’s defense they did clearly state this policy in fine writing (and even in help documents) when they launched the option. Google even made it clear in the email they sent to Fi customers:
Your device is eligible to enroll through Dec 27, 2015. When you enroll, your coverage will extend back in time to the date your device shipped (additional prorated charge for this coverage). If you’re a new customer, you’ll have to activate Fi service before enrolling your device. You can discontinue enrollment at any time.
That said, we wouldn’t blame the lot of you for disagreeing with the policy anyway.
It’d be easy to play devil’s advocate and say you should be happy Google is giving you the option of getting retroactive coverage at all, but Project Fi is technically a wireless provider, and offering industry-standard insurance is something we should have seen from the starting gate. The fact of the matter is it’s here now, and whether you want to take advantage is up to you so long as you know all the facts and understand what you’re getting into.
[Thanks Alan!]
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