According to various user reports, it seems that Google has started to go after unauthorized Pixel phone resellers, and they are going after them hard. The reports are claiming that Google has basically suspended the accounts of hundreds of people who took advantage of a sales tax loophole and made a little profit when reselling their Pixel devices.Basically what happened is that these customers bought the Pixel phones through Google’s Project Fi carrier and shipped them directly to New Hampshire, a state that has no sales tax. The reseller in the state then split the profit with the customers who sold them the phones. According to reseller Dan’s Deals, they have been exploiting this loophole for years without any issue, so it is curious as to why Google is suddenly cracking down on it.
It should also be noted that the suspension is for the user’s entire Google account. This means that any emails, contacts, photos, videos, documents, and etc. that are linked to the account have been locked, and that the account’s owner can no longer access them. One user even claims that an account that was not used to buy the phone was also suspended as it was listed as the backup address for the main account.
Google has yet to comment on the bans, but according to Daniel Eleff, the owner of the site, “I’m not defending those who violated the terms of the sale, but I do think it is heavy handed for Google to block access to all of their services for doing so. Was violating Google’s phone resale policy really worthy of an effective digital death penalty?”
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