Spotify is offering refunds to Car Thing following streaming device blocking lawsuit

Spotify has faced continued protests over its decision announced earlier in May to end support for Car Thing, an in-car streaming device. According to the company, the device will stop working from December 9, 2024. On TikTok, Gen Z users have been posting videos to express their dissatisfaction with Spotify’s move and the actions it recommends – such as switching to Android Auto or CarPlay. They often had no access to the car’s built-in infotainment systems at all, making them a target market for a dedicated player like Car Thing, users note.

The streaming service’s in-car gadget hasn’t been on the market long enough to become obsolete. It launched in February 2022 and was discontinued later that year, but it was promised it would continue to work for those who had already purchased units. Ahead of the launch, Spotify CEO Danie Ek suggested there was consumer demand for such a product, telling investors on a call that more than 2 million users had signed up for Car Thing’s waitlist in anticipation of its launch.

While Spotify has never released official numbers, it’s likely that Car Thing underperformed or was simply not worth further investment in today’s tougher economic market. In the latter case, Spotify laid off around 1,500 employees late last year, following cutbacks earlier in the year that affected hundreds of employees.

However, Car Thing users are not concerned about the company’s financial problems; they just want their gadget to work or at least get their money back for the $90 price tag.

This has led to some trying to complain to Spotify directly via DM on X using @SpotifyCares or via various Spotify emails shared on Reddit. Thus, some users reported that Spotify offered them several months of Premium subscription to compensate for the loss, while others claimed that they contacted customer service and were told that no one would receive a refund.

Spotify tells TechCrunch that it recently launched a refund process for Car Thing, provided the user has proof of purchase.

The ability to contact customer service was officially announced to Car Thing users in a second email, which was sent on Friday last week after growing opposition to Car Thing’s discontinuation. In it, Spotify directs users to the appropriate customer service link to contact the company. However, the email does not promise any refunds, but does say that users can contact us if they have any questions.

While refunds may satisfy some users unhappy with Car Thing, many are still urging the company via TikTok videos and in the comments of Spotify’s TikTok posts not to lock their device. (In fact, complaints about Car Thing are now so common for Spotify videos that the algorithmically recommended search TikTok suggests for some videos is “what is a Spotify car”).

“SPOTIFY PLEASE SAVE ME 😭😭😭 I LOVE MY CARS,” wrote Carla, a TikTok user who uses the nickname @carlititica on the site.

“Sad,” wrote another user, @nikkilovestech. “It’s like they want people to use their phone, which is distracting,” she wrote in the description of her video of the car device mounted on the dashboard. In her video, she also commented on the e-waste created by discontinuing a product that still works “perfectly.”

Spotify’s headaches over Car Thing’s discontinuation are far from over, despite its newly introduced – though not widespread – refund process. The company also faces a class-action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that Spotify misled consumers by selling them a soon-to-be outdated product and then failing to offer refunds, Billboard reports. The lawsuit was filed on May 28.

Spotify cannot comment on the lawsuit, but a spokesperson shared the following statement about Car Thing:

“The goal of our Car Thing US exploration was to learn more about how people listen in the car. In July 2022, we announced that we would cease further production and it was time to say goodbye to the devices completely. Users will have until December 9, 2024 for all Car Thing devices to be deactivated. To learn more about all the ways you can still listen to Spotify in your car, check out For The Record and Car Thing users can contact customer support with any questions: https://support.spotify.com/us/contact -spotify-support/”

While the Car Thing issues won’t affect Spotify’s entire user base, the news comes at a time when users are already upset that they’re being asked to pay more for things they consider crucial to the music service, such as access to song lyrics. a feature that Spotify recently made available as a paid feature. In addition to complaints about Car Thing, users are threatening to leave Spotify over paid access to song lyrics.

Additionally, Spotify increased its subscription rates last year, and there will be another increase in 2024, according to Bloomberg.