Google Checkout cancellation policy

Question

I'm an Android developer and I've noticed some users download my paid app, then they cancel the order and finally they get a refund.

I've heard they can only use the app for 24 hours if they get a refund. Is this true?

Anyway, I would love to disable the "Get a refund" feature in my merchant account. I've read it was an option, time ago, but it's not longer possible.

Google Help says:

You can update your return/cancellation policy information at any time. Here's how:

• Sign in to your account.
• Click the Settings tab
• Edit the Return/Cancellation policy field.
• Click Save profile.

But believe me, there is no such field in my account.

The user/buyer purchase activy was like this:

1. Order received.
2. Payment authorized
3. Order sent (app downloaded, I guess)
4. Order sent (yeah, twice)
5. Google cancelled the order. Reason: user requested cancellation.

So, I'm guessing he/she got the app for free.
What's happening here? How to avoid this situation?

Answer 1

Google Play allows users to ask for a complete refund for upto 15 minutes after purchase. This used to be 24 hours, but it was reduced sometime back. You cannot disable this option.

However, rest assured that nobody gets your app for free. If a user asks for a refund, the app is uninstalled from their device. Unless they're rooted and somehow blocking this uninstall, in which case they probably wouldn't have bought your app anyways.