Hey everyone, I messed up big time. I’m a freelance dev and was using Google Places API for a personal project. Didn’t really get the usage limits and now I’m stuck with a $1500+ bill. Yikes!
The project was just for testing, and there’s no way I can pay that much. I’ve already reached out to Google support to explain my situation and ask if they can maybe refund or make an exception. But I’m pretty worried.
Has anyone been in a similar spot? Did you manage to get a refund or some credits? Any advice or experiences would be super helpful.
Update: Turns out I made 75,533 API requests. Oops!
Update 2: My bad. 99% were duplicate queries. I had an alert set up, but it wasn’t enough. Now I’ve put a hard usage limit in place.
Update 3: Blocked my card and talked to support. Looks like they might waive the charge, but nothing’s certain yet.
yo, that sucks! ive been there. keep buggin google support—they might give u a break. try tightenin your limits and check your code to avoid extra hits. best of luck!
Been there, done that. Google’s API pricing can be a real gotcha if you’re not careful. Last year, I had a similar scare with their Vision API. Accidentally left a test script running over a weekend and boom - $800 bill.
Here’s what worked for me: I immediately shut everything down, then reached out to Google support with a detailed explanation. I was upfront about the mistake and how I’d prevent it in the future. They ended up crediting most of the charges.
Key things I learned: Always set hard usage limits, not just alerts. Use separate projects for testing and production. And most importantly, triple-check your loops and query logic, since those duplicate requests can pile up fast.
Hang in there. Google’s usually pretty understanding with first-time issues like this, so just be patient and persistent with support. Good luck!
I’ve been in a similar situation with AWS, and it’s definitely nerve-wracking. My advice would be to keep communicating with Google support. They often have some leeway for first-time incidents, especially if it’s clear it was unintentional.
In the meantime, review your code thoroughly to understand how this happened. Implement stricter usage limits and monitoring. Consider using a separate billing account for testing projects in the future.
If Google doesn’t waive the charges, ask if they’d consider a payment plan. It’s not ideal, but it might help spread out the cost. Also, document everything meticulously in case you need to escalate the issue.
Lastly, share your experience with other developers. Your mistake could help others avoid similar pitfalls.