You keep talking about getting kicked out by the landlord which no one here even mentioned except you in the entire HN thread. "The cost of the phone" leads to additional late fees and in some rare cases to debt collectors harassing you. Suddenly a small $1000 charge that you can pay off next month turns into $1200 and you might pay additional fees to the debt collectors even if their claim is invalid just to get them off your back. Google could also just refuse to hand out refunds at all because they got your money and their law department is bigger than whatever defense you can get and you will lose more money in legal fees than you could possibly recover. Bonus points if they keep charging the monthly payments despite you paying the full price. (congratulations your $1000 phone is now $2000, "plan" better next time)