$25 Google Play balance grayed out (RBC error)? Contact Google! - Nexus 7 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

There are dozens of threads about this issue, but no-one knows how to solve it. It's time to badger Google about it. Here's how:
Click this link:
http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/request.py?&policy=apps&contact_type=contact_policy
Select "Payment, purchasing or pricing", then "Other" (do not select "My payment method is grayed out" as it takes you nowhere).
Type your name, then your Google order number if you know what it is. I don't, so I just typed "NA".
Under Issue description I typed the following:
"I can't use my Google Play balance ($25.00) for any order. This option is grayed out and the following error is displayed: "This payment method cannot be used for this purchase. (RBC)". Please advise.
Thanks,
[my name]"

Where did you activate your Nexus 7 and which country do you use it in? It's only possible to use the 25USD in the USA as far as I know. This is how I bypassed it in the UK (Wanted to buy TV shows, Music etc).
1. Download and install Hotspot Shield.
2. Download and install Connectify.
Doing this will;
1. Make your connection think it's a USA connection via a proxy
2. Allow you to forward the USA connection to your Nexus 7 using a personal WIFI Hotspot.
Now my Nexus 7 thinks it is in the USA and this allows me to use Play Music, Play Magazines, Play Movies AND TV (This includes buying it).
Please NOTE this is my second Nexus 7. The first one I used on my primary email and received the £15 then I tried this with my second. I used a new gmail address and to my surprise it works flawlessly. That is untill I run out of Credit. I've now added both emails to my Nexus(es?) and can access all the Apps and Games from my UK account and everything else from my US account. My only gripe is all the prices are in USD and have to buy apps and games on my other device to stop it from realising I'm not in the USA.

I'm getting this error

TheChaoticLlama said:
Where did you activate your Nexus 7 and which country do you use it in? It's only possible to use the 25USD in the USA as far as I know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To the best of my knowledge I used a US-based VPN throughout the process. Maybe I missed something.
Bamboo_flute said:
I'm getting this error
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then please report it to Google. The more support tickets they get about this issue, the less likely they are to ignore it.

Google's reply but helpless
I get the replay from Google for same subject but it is not helpful at all. Can anyone work out ?
The contents of Google reply as below:
I appreciate you writing in with your question. I understand you are trying to use your $25 credit, but the option is grayed out. I know how frustrating this can be, especially when you would like to use it. Below I have provided the info needed to help you with this issue. And some explanation on the credit itself.
Your Google Play $25 credit is our gift to you when you have, or add, a valid form of payment to your Google Wallet account.
Your Google Play credit is ready to use right away. Just open the Google Play Store app on your Nexus 7 or visit play.google.com and start shopping, and remember to select “Google Play balance” when you’re checking out. If you have credit remaining, you can use it on your next Google Play purchase.
Your Google Play credit can only be used on Google Play. You can shop on the web at play.google.com or on the Google Play Store app on your phone.
*Note that the $25 credit may not be used to buy a subscription or in the Devices section of play.google.com toward the purchase of a Nexus device or on any device accessories.
Google Play credit can not be combined with other payment methods and is not redeemable for cash. For full terms and conditions, please visit: http://play.google.com/intl/en_us/about/offer-terms.html
If I can assist you further or if you have any concerns, please let me know.
Regards,
Coty
The Google Play Support Team
oren_b said:
There are dozens of threads about this issue, but no-one knows how to solve it. It's time to badger Google about it. Here's how:
Click this link:
http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/request.py?&policy=apps&contact_type=contact_policy
Select "Payment, purchasing or pricing", then "Other" (do not select "My payment method is grayed out" as it takes you nowhere).
Type your name, then your Google order number if you know what it is. I don't, so I just typed "NA".
Under Issue description I typed the following:
"I can't use my Google Play balance ($25.00) for any order. This option is grayed out and the following error is displayed: "This payment method cannot be used for this purchase. (RBC)". Please advise.
Thanks,
[my name]"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I think they're deliberately being useless. It's more cost-effective for Google to keep the $25 (multiplied by the number of users) than to actually provide this sum to customers.

I have written to Google and have received 4 replies from the CS person who kept copy pasting information from the FAQs. None of their copy-pasted information had anything to do with what I was telling them. >_> I'm so frustrated... Not so much that I can't access the remaining balance I have but rather that I can't change my home address...

Related

[Q] US Play Store on UK Nexus 7?

Does anyone know how to get the US Play Store working in the UK on a UK Nexus 7?
I want access to the magazines and TV shows which I can't get over in the UK store. I already registered my gmail account to a US address and bank card number (I used it on the US iTunes store). I also have a VPN but I don't know how to set up the N7 to use it like that...
u can try downloading hotspot shield on your computer(i think they have an app for android too) to get the US Play store. and try sending the app u downloaded to your device. not sure if it would work. but i tried it once and i was able to use the US play store. but didn't bother to try it out.
hope this helps
Sent from my Zte Blade using xda app-developers app
Marketenabler
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Questions go in the Q&A section
It turns out that all I had to do was set it up using a shared US VPN and it loaded all the US apps to my Nexus 7 including Google Wallet. It even generated me a prepaid card to use for shopping with $10 credit.
There are some extra things I did to make it work however which may or may not make a difference and even after these steps the US apps vanished after a few hours disconnected from the US VPN.
Steps I took:
1. Set up a US gmail address.
2. Set up a US Unlocked prepaid US debit card and US address (this works great on iTunes as well).
3. Purchased a US VPN service and set up the VPN to share over WiFi on my Mac so that as soon as I logged in on the N7 it thought I was in the US.
4. Registered my US unlocked card and address to my US gmail address.
5. Reset N7 and connected to shared US VPN over WiFi.
The N7 thought it was in the US and everything loads and works. Including the US $25 credit for buying a N7.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Now I had two problems here. I couldn't redeem my US credit as my US Unlocked card was not topped up yet.
So I couldn't download anything either using the free credit or the topped up card yet.
I disconnected the VPN and it would load up the UK store no problem. All the US apps remained accessible. I made an additional gmail account so I had one US and UK account as well.
I left the N7 connected to my standard WiFi and a few hours later all the US apps were gone!
Reconnecting to the US VPN had the effect of allowing the play store to let me access all the magazines and TV shows but I couldn't see if downloading a magazine would make the play magazines app appear again or not.
My next steps here are to reconnect to US VPN for several hours and see if that brings back the US apps and when I have credit on the card to try purchasing and see if the apps remain.
What is clear is if I reset the N7 I can set it up again as a US N7 with all the apps.
I find it strange that the US apps would be removed automatically because if you went on holiday from the US to anywhere else in the world then all your US content would be removed after a few hours connected to foreign WiFi.
That doesn't seem right...?!
LETS TRY IT ON A GALAXY NEXUS
So I thought I wonder if I can make this work on a stock unlocked GN without rooting.
I had a US prepaid T-Mobile SIM lying around that doesn't work but I put it in the GN and reset it to factory and connected to the US Shared VPN.
And it worked... Wallet appeared and I was again able to generate another $10 gift card. (If I go on a US holiday I have made $20 from nothing!).
What was strange was that the play store would not let me access any music, movies, TV shows or books - only the app store.
I then put my UK Sim back in and restarted the GN and all the US apps vanished again but the play store allowed me access to all its UK products again.
Stuck the US SIM back in and the apps came back but store only showed apps again. Wallet was back as well.
It seems to me that the play store won't load anything other than apps on the GN without a working US SIM card but will allow Google Wallet to work.
I realise that I can root the galaxy nexus and set up custom firmware to make this work but I don't need to do that - I was just experimenting with the phone.
The N7 on the other hand I would like to be able to access US content at all times so I will try again when I have credit on my US unlocked card.
How did you manage to get a 'Shared us VPN' Would really appreciate any help!
Regards
-nbsb-
NBSB said:
How did you manage to get a 'Shared us VPN' Would really appreciate any help!
Regards
-nbsb-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use superfreevpn or us newfreevpn.

Setup Google Play outside USA

So in a week or so my tablet will arrive in The Netherlands and I want to make sure I will receive my $25 credit and the free content. So I already have my Google Wallet linked to my credit card and my billing & shipping address are set to USA by default.
Do you think I will still need to connect to VPN first to a server in USA before signing in to my Google account?
Edit: Nevermind, I found the guide for getting the $25!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1792592
Zoide_ said:
Edit: Nevermind, I found the guide for getting the $25!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1792592
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In case it helps, I know someone in the UK got the free credit without having to take all those steps, just by ensuring registration, doing a test purchase eg of a free ebook to make sure their credit card details were recognised (apparently the system is very fussy if the details registered are even slightly different from what's on the credit card), and making sure they did all that BEFORE putting their Google Account details in the new Nexus 7.
Improbulus said:
In case it helps, I know someone in the UK got the free credit without having to take all those steps, just by ensuring registration, doing a test purchase eg of a free ebook to make sure their credit card details were recognised (apparently the system is very fussy if the details registered are even slightly different from what's on the credit card), and making sure they did all that BEFORE putting their Google Account details in the new Nexus 7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange. I've used the same credit card for months, purchasing several apps and games. Still, I didn't get the $25 credit. I'm going to try the VPN method.

[How to] Redeem a Play Gift Card from outside the US

Hey All!
There is a guide available on how to redeem your Google Play Gift Card from outside the US.
You can read this post here.
Hope it helps!
- reevester
What does this has anything to do with S2??
Prashanthme said:
What does this has anything to do with S2??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I have an S2 and I tested it on an S2!
But on a more serious note, Mods can move this to a more suitable thread if needed.
Great share thanks
---------- Post added at 12:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:10 AM ----------
ALso mate do you know any way it i can cheat the play store that im in UK or US instead of India?
anshmiester78900 said:
Great share thanks
---------- Post added at 12:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:10 AM ----------
ALso mate do you know any way it i can cheat the play store that im in UK or US instead of India?
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Market enabler...
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
sahibunlimited said:
Market enabler...
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
Thanks mate .!
Also can you tell me how can i make a US Gmail id ?
anshmiester78900 said:
Thanks mate .!
Also can you tell me how can i make a US Gmail id ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sign up for a GMail account using a US based proxy (P.S. - this is mentioned in the blog post!)
Is there a way to get it to redeem on Canada for an existing account? What if I actually go to the USA? Seems it is not possible but what do they propose you do if you move?
This method requires making of a new Email account with a US region... is it not possible to maybe CHANGE your current primary gmail accounts region to the US...?? I dont want to have some other email address which has all my paid apps on it... whats strange is iv given my email to someone in the US to redeem a card for me right there, Yet its Still saying the card not valid in your region... :S
Google doesn't let you change it. I have discussed it in length with them and "escalated" the issue only to be told that "if you move, you have to make a new account to change the region". My Canadian account and all its content, then, is completely useless. Hope they modernize and fix this soon. They seem to think it isn't a big deal having to manage multiple accounts.
Sean09 said:
Google doesn't let you change it. I have discussed it in length with them and "escalated" the issue only to be told that "if you move, you have to make a new account to change the region". My Canadian account and all its content, then, is completely useless. Hope they modernize and fix this soon. They seem to think it isn't a big deal having to manage multiple accounts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But that's ridiculous... I found where you can change your account region from... but its still giving the same error... that is by far the dumbest thing iv heard... a person is supposed to make a new email address just cuz he migrates...?? And what to do about all the other places your old email id has been in use........ jeez...
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Q
Send complaints to them and log tickets. Their poor service won't get any better if people don't speak up!
Sean09 said:
Send complaints to them and log tickets. Their poor service won't get any better if people don't speak up!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They actually just responded to my email a bit back... what they had to say was you need to have some credit card linked to your account, which has a billing address of that country where you want your account to be associated with... once you have that don't then you can redeem the card, if the credit card entered is a U.S card...
They sent it along with steps of what exactly needs to be done... if you want can post it here...
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Q
If you could, because I undertook those steps only to have the box greyed out to change country code. On contacting them again after complying with their US Credit Card demands they then told me it cannot be changed once set to Canada - I have to make a new account for USA. They are probably hoping most people can't do step 1 before breaking it to them that it doesn't matter if they do, since it won't change anyways.
Sean09 said:
If you could, because I undertook those steps only to have the box greyed out to change country code. On contacting them again after complying with their US Credit Card demands they then told me it cannot be changed once set to Canada - I have to make a new account for USA. They are probably hoping most people can't do step 1 before breaking it to them that it doesn't matter if they do, since it won't change anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for contacting us about country support for Google Play. We use the billing address of your default payment instrument in Google Wallet to help determine your home country for accessing the Play Store. Our collection of content can vary by country, so your view of the Play Store may differ from what others are seeing when you travel outside of the country listed on your default payment methods billing address. Please note that you must have a valid payment method with a billing address located inside a country in order to access that country's Play Store. If you're having issues viewing your intended country's Play Store, the US is going to be your permanent residency, and would like to change your default payment method or update an existing billing address in Google Wallet, please use the following steps:
1) Sign into your Google Wallet account to manage your payment methods (https:// wallet.google.com/manage/paymentMethods) 2) Add a new card or change your default payment instrument to one with a billing address located inside your desired country 3) Open the Play Store and navigate to any item available for download 4) Click to begin a download until you reach the "Accept and buy" screen (no need to complete the purchase) 5) Close the Play Store and clear data for the Google Play Store application (Settings > Apps > Google Play Store > Clear Data) or clear your browser cache 6) Re-open the Play Store. You should now see the Play Store that matches your default payment instruments billing country. If you haven't yet added a payment method to your account for the first time, please add a card directly from the Play Store with a billing address that matches your intended country location. Then, follow steps 3 through 6 to show your intended country's Play Store. If you believe that you're experiencing a different location-related issue, please first verify if the country of your primary payment method matches your intended country. If the countries match, please provide any screenshots and additional details that might help me resolve your issue. We appreciate your feedback as we continue bringing more content to Google Play. Thank you for reaching out!
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Q
I've not been able to get any proxies to let me make an American email account...
"Don't be retarded"
Yup,
I am Canadian and bought two $25 Google Play gift cards on one of my frequent trips to the United States only to find that I cannot use them in Canada and even when I go to the States.
The whole idea was not to have to offer up a credit card to Google. Why would I need the gift cards if I could use a credit card?
When I complained to the Google support line, I got a lame story about "exchange rates". Duh! The money had already changed hands!
I know that I can create a new bogus gmail account when I am traveling to the States and do a factory reset of my device but ... hey!? ... I've never heard of a retailer who would want to discourage a sale.
Google should update it's corporate motto.
Just venting. My apologies for the unhelpful post.
Cheers.
hey i can help you to it
just email me the google play gift card code and your gmail and password so that i can attach it to your account at [email protected]

[Q] Buying Nexus4 from Google Play using shipping forwarders

Hello,
I'm asking this from the people who have previously purchased devices from Google Play.
We know that Google Pllay devices are not available everywhere. When I use a US VPN I'm able to see the devices, all other times it says 'Devices are not available' in your country'.
So, my question is do I need to change my cards billing address, to US or the billing address of my home country works fine? It would be life saving if someone could guide me through this
P.S: I regularly buys apps from Google play and purchase other stuff using Google Wallet.
Billing and shipping adress put it as your forwarder's
beerope said:
Billing and shipping adress put it as your forwarder's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks for replying. Did you purchase it this way? I'm worried that changing the billing address(we are changing country) might put a red flag on google wallet and I've used the same card on counless times on google wallet before.

Change store location

Hi,
I have tried every method I could find (use a VPN, clear the playstore's data & cache, provide a UK address+credit card) but nothing worked. So is there a way to really change the country of the store regardless of where I am or is it locked to the country I am in.
Thanks for any help !
Van_Tastic said:
Hi,
I have tried every method I could find (use a VPN, clear the playstore's data & cache, provide a UK address+credit card) but nothing worked. So is there a way to really change the country of the store regardless of where I am or is it locked to the country I am in.
Thanks for any help !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have a look here it may help you Play Store
ag4751 said:
Have a look here it may help you Play Store
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link but I don't have another android device, everyone in my family is hooked on iPhones (as I was) :/
Van_Tastic said:
Thanks for the link but I don't have another android device, everyone in my family is hooked on iPhones (as I was) :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to have a payment method registered with a billing address located in that country in order to access that country's Play Store.
You could try this if you have not already done it search update google wallet it should be the top 1 or 2 returned results
1) Sign into your Google Wallet account and click payment methods
2) Add the new card and the UK billing address, change your default payment card to the new one save the changes and log out.
3) Open the Play Store App and go to any app that requires you to buy it
4) Install to begin download until you reach the "Accept and buy" screen but don’t complete the purchase at this point
5) Close the Play Store App and go to Settings > Applications > Application Manager and clear the data for the Google Play Store App
6) Re-open the Play Store,
You should now be in the Play Store that matches your default payment credit card country
ag4751 said:
You need to have a payment method registered with a billing address located in that country in order to access that country's Play Store.
You could try this if you have not already done it search update google wallet it should be the top 1 or 2 returned results
1) Sign into your Google Wallet account and click payment methods
2) Add the new card and the UK billing address, change your default payment card to the new one save the changes and log out.
3) Open the Play Store App and go to any app that requires you to buy it
4) Install to begin download until you reach the "Accept and buy" screen but don’t complete the purchase at this point
5) Close the Play Store App and go to Settings > Applications > Application Manager and clear the data for the Google Play Store App
6) Re-open the Play Store,
You should now be in the Play Store that matches your default payment credit card country
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Followed the steps but unfortunately this method didn't work either. I even went ahead and bought an app to see if that would change anything and even though the price of that app was sanctioned in £ the rest of the store and its content was still locked to the country I'm in (Morocco).
I think either google/samsung changed the way they locate the phone or the rom I'm using (XtreStoLite) changes something related to the store.

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