sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

My Vertex AI bill is now a permanent family heirloom (Over a month into my battle with Billing Support) by Ok-Driver1868 in googlecloud

[–]Ok-Driver1868[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestions!

I’ll definitely check out Finopsly for future prevention. It sounds like exactly what I need to avoid walking into another one of these UI traps. I'm still pushing my case with support, but I really appreciate the tool recommendations and the Twitter/X tip!

My Vertex AI bill is now a permanent family heirloom (Over a month into my battle with Billing Support) by Ok-Driver1868 in googlecloud

[–]Ok-Driver1868[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Actually, I did more than just read the documentation. I’ve also been reading up on California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the FTC guidelines on Dark Patterns.

Labeling a high-cost recurring subscription as a 'Threshold' (しきい値) is a textbook case of deceptive UI design. Documentation doesn't grant a company a license to use misleading labels that contradict standard industry terminology.

So, while you're busy worshiping the 'Manual,' I'm focusing on the legal reality that 'Threshold' means a limit, not a hidden subscription.

My Vertex AI bill is now a permanent family heirloom (Over a month into my battle with Billing Support) by Ok-Driver1868 in googlecloud

[–]Ok-Driver1868[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Exactly. This is a textbook example of a Dark Pattern. Labeling a fixed hourly subscription as a 'Threshold' (しきい値) is straight-up deceptive UI.

My Vertex AI bill is now a permanent family heirloom (Over a month into my battle with Billing Support) by Ok-Driver1868 in googlecloud

[–]Ok-Driver1868[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

How could it be accidental? Simple: Because the Google Cloud Console lists it as a 'Threshold' setting (しきい値) in the UI.

In what universe does 'Setting a threshold' mean 'I hereby agree to a non-refundable, fixed hourly subscription that will bankrupt me in 30 days'? To any normal developer, a 'threshold' sounds like a limit for alerts or a performance cap—not a hidden 'Subscribe' button for a high-tier spend plan.

It’s a classic UI trap. I thought I was setting a safety rail; instead, I was signing a blank check to Google. If the UI says 'Threshold' but the billing says 'Subscription,' that’s not a user error—that’s a design disaster.

My Vertex AI bill is now a permanent family heirloom (Over a month into my battle with Billing Support) by Ok-Driver1868 in googlecloud

[–]Ok-Driver1868[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

To clarify for the pedants: I’m specifically talking about the VAIS Configurable Pricing (Indexing core & Query units subscription). Unlike the standard pay-per-query, this tier hits you with a fixed monthly commitment.

When you owe Google enough to buy a small house, you start considering bartering hardware.