Google digital subscription, autopay practices need probe: TNTYS Founder Prez Kethireddy
Chennai, Aug 12 (TNT): Tamil Nadu Telugu Yuva Sakthi Founder-President Kethireddy Jagadishwara Reddy on Wednesday urged authorities in India, the United States and Singapore to examine the transparency and consumer-protection mechanisms governing digital subscriptions, payment processing and recurring billing on Google’s digital ecosystem.
In a release, Mr Reddy said his experience involving Google Play payments and digital subscriptions raised questions over accountability when a payment is successfully processed but the corresponding subscription benefits are allegedly not delivered.
According to him, he paid Rs 1,000 through Google Play on December 25, 2025 for a Suno AI subscription, but did not receive the expected subscription benefits.
He said he made another payment of Rs 1,000 on December 26 to continue his music-related activities, but the issue allegedly remained unresolved.
He further stated that he made a Rs 470 Google Play payment on July 25, 2026 as a test transaction for X, but again did not receive the expected subscription benefit. The total amount involved in the three transactions is Rs 2,470.
Mr Reddy said he had contacted both Suno Support and Google Support after the initial payment and provided payment receipts and other supporting documents as requested.
However, according to him, the matter was not satisfactorily resolved.
He said he subsequently raised the issue through the Google payment platform and continued seeking clarification regarding payment collection, subscription activation and delivery of the services.
Mr Reddy said the issue should not be viewed merely as a personal financial dispute, but should also be examined in the broader context of digital subscriptions, recurring billing, failed transactions, refunds, auto-renewals and grievance redressal.
He urged authorities to determine whether similar complaints have been received from other consumers and, if so, assess their frequency and whether any systemic deficiencies require regulatory intervention.
In India, he called for examination of the issue in the context of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 and the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, wherever applicable.
Mr Reddy said he has submitted complaints to the US Federal Trade Commission and cited FTC Report Nos. 204559043 and 204567721.
He also said he had submitted a complaint to Singapore police/cybercrime authorities after considering the relevance of Singapore to Google’s regional operations.
In India, he said, separate representations were submitted to Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister for Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi, seeking examination of digital subscriptions, autopay and recurring billing, payments collected without corresponding service delivery, refunds and grievance-redressal mechanisms.
Mr Reddy said he was obtaining legal advice and examining the consumer-remedy options available in India, including appropriate proceedings through an Indian lawyer if necessary.
He said he was prepared to furnish Google Play payment records, correspondence with Suno, complaint records, FTC acknowledgments and other relevant documents to competent authorities whenever required.
He stressed that his demand was not based on any presumption of wrongdoing against any company, but for a transparent and independent examination of the transactions, subscription activation process, payment records, refunds and grievance-redressal mechanisms to establish responsibility wherever consumers allegedly pay for digital services without receiving the promised benefits.
TNT KM
