Spotify offers refunds to Car Thing after it’s sued for bricking streaming devices

Spotify is facing continued criticism over its decision to stop supporting Car Thing, its in-car streaming device announced earlier in May. The company said the device will no longer work from December 9, 2024. On TikTok, Gen Z users have been posting videos to express their dissatisfaction with Spotify’s move and its recommended actions — such as switching to Android Auto or CarPlay. Often, they didn’t already have access to a built-in infotainment system in their car, making them a target market for a dedicated player like Car Thing, users note.

The streaming service’s in-car gadget didn’t stay on the market long enough to become obsolete. It launched in February 2022 and was discontinued later that year, but with a promise to keep it running for those who had already purchased a unit. Prior to its launch, Spotify CEO Danny Eck suggested there was consumer demand for such a product, telling investors on an earnings call that more than 2 million users had signed up to the Car Thing waitlist in anticipation of its release.

Although Spotify never shared official numbers, it’s likely that Car Thing underperformed or wasn’t worth continued investment in today’s tight economic market. For example, Spotify laid off nearly 1,500 employees late last year, after laying off hundreds more at the beginning of the year.

However, Car Thing users don’t care about the company’s financial concerns; they just want their gadget to work, or at least get their $90 price back.

This led some people to try to complain directly to Spotify via DM on X with @SpotifyCares or through various Spotify emails shared on Reddit. Upon doing so, some users reported that Spotify offered them several months of premium subscription to recoup their losses, while others claimed they asked customer service and were told that no one was being reimbursed.

Spotify told TechCrunch that it recently began offering refunds for Car Thing, provided the user has proof of purchase.

The ability to reach customer support was officially revealed to Car Thing users in a second email sent out last week following the growing backlash over Car Thing’s shutdown on Friday. In it, Spotify directs users to the correct customer support link to reach out to the company. However, the email doesn’t promise any refunds but states that users can reach out with questions.

While refunds may satisfy some portion of the user base upset with Car Thing, many are still pleading with the company via TikTok videos and in comments on Spotify’s TikTok posts to please not brick their devices. (In fact, complaints about Car Thing on Spotify’s videos have now become so common that “what is Spotify Car Thing” is an algorithmic search suggested by TikTok on some videos.)

“Spotify please leave me 😭😭😭 I love my car,” wrote Carla, a TikTok user who goes by the handle @carlititica on the service.

“Sad,” wrote another user, @nikkilovestech. “It’s like they want people to use their phones, which is a distraction,” she wrote in the description of her video, in which she demonstrated the Car Thing on her dashboard. In her video, she also commented on the e-waste that is generated by discontinuing a product that still works “perfectly fine.”

Spotify’s troubles over the Car Thing shutdown are far from over, despite a recently introduced — if not widely circulated — refund process. The company is also facing a class action lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, claiming Spotify misled consumers by selling them a soon-to-be obsolete product and then not offering refunds, Billboard reports. The suit was filed on May 28.

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

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

While the troubles with Car Thing won’t affect all of Spotify’s user base, the news comes at a time when users are already upset about being asked to pay more for things they consider a vital part of the music service, such as access to lyrics, a feature that Spotify recently paywalled. In addition to complaints over Car Thing, users are threatening to leave Spotify because of the paid access to lyrics.

Additionally, Bloomberg reported that Spotify raised its subscription rates last year, and has another hike coming in 2024.