..making up in scale what you lose in margin.

I think Amazon pulls this off because their prima donna is the paying customer, not the programmer who thinks talking directly to customers is the worst possible reflection of their ability to automate. Automation is great and all, but Google has a major problem when it comes to empathizing with the customers.

Also, is there any possibility of legal action against Google for this bait and switch, which seems to be quite clearly the case here?

I would seriously look into small claims court. It's allegedly somewhat effective with airlines (e.g. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/small-claims...)

What trust does that earn exactly? It's a strategy, not some noble cause.

Trust that you won't be ~extorted~ bait and switched in the future?