A pair of Android users have sued Google over the company's app download policies, accusing the search giant of profiting off bogus apps and providing an insufficient window of time in which they can return underperforming apps.
Google misled Android users into thinking that apps in the Google Play Store "were in working order, were compatible with all Android phones, and functioned as represented," according to the class-action suit, which was filed in California Superior Court .
Google's 15-minute return policy, meanwhile, is far too short, according to the lawsuit, making it "almost impossible to return the application for a refund."
The suit, a copy of which was posted to PaidContent, names California residents Dodd J. Harris and Stephen Sabatino.
Harris purchased "Learn Chinese Mandarin Pro" for $4.83 in December. The app did not perform as advertised, according to Harris, but he didn't figure this out until 20 minutes after purchase, at which time the option to return had expired.
Sabatino, meanwhile, bought aBTC, a BitTorrent client for Android, for $4.99 in January. He was unable to download a torrent with the app, however, and tried unsuccessfully to return the app after an hour of tinkering with it.
The Google Play app policies do indeed provide a 15-minute return window and only allow users to return a particular app once. In December 2010, Google dropped the return window from 24 hours to 15 minutes "since most users who request a refund do so within minutes of purchase," Google said at the time.
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