It didn't take long for Google (GOOG) to change its decision on users of its video download service. It never made sense when they made the announcement that they were going to shut down the service and offer refunds as credit for Google Checkout.
While the company originally said they were going to do this for all those who made purchases before July 18 because credit cards and addresses could have changed and no longer valid, you could see this was going to be a disaster for them the second they made the announcement that this was how they were going to handle the situation. Oh well, live and learn.
At least they are now responding to the outcry from their customers and will now offer refunds for all videos that have been purchased through the service. Those who have already been awarded Google Checkout credits will be allowed to keep them.
They will now also allow users to play videos on their system for the first six months after the service shuts down. Originally they were going to stop video playability immediately.
Admitting the company had made a big mistake, Google video product manager Bindu Reddy posted on the company blog, "We should have anticipated that some users would see a Checkout credit as nothing more than an extra step of a different (and annoyingly self-serving) kind."
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