Account locked, Consumer Rights Act refund (UK)

[🇮 🇻 🇴 🇷]

Just as a word of caution. Steam refused my request for a refund on a defective game, I'd tried for more than 2 hours, it crashed regularly, I thought I could live with it, turns out I couldn't.

I asked for a refund, Steam's rep basically said "no, our policy says ..."

Anyway, refund is a right for defective products under UK law. So, I requested a refund from PayPal.

PayPal acceded, according with their own policies, now Steam are trying to punish me by restricting my account (for 4 weeks). This must be unlawful action on Steam's behalf - it's extremely customer hostile in any case.

The money involved is very small, but I feel strongly that selling games you know are defective (many comments doing after the fact referencing the same/similar bug) and then refusing to adhere to the law on refunds should be punished quite harshly.

Anyone else has a similar situation (preferably in the UK) and investigated the potential legal redress?

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by Count_Dandyman:

Originally posted by crunchyfrog:

Well, I'd have to check on that technically, but generally I agree. Once he chargedback it does rather throw their chances away. Nobody is likely to play ball after that.

But I do the other point about troubleshooting (or lack thereof) would be a MAJOR sticking point, assuming things were not this far down the road.

They also tend to ignore the massive clause that a product isn't ever going to be considered defective just because it doesn't work on your PC unless you were specifically told that your exact combination of hardware and software would run it or you can point at something stopping it running for everybody.

Yup, I already pointed that out, under the point that you REALLY do have a pretty bad obligation to prove it's nothing you're at fault with.

Typically, with physical products this is a fair bit easier as you simply get a specilist to look at ait, and the vendor will pay the cost, if they request such checking. But of course, that ain't ever going to happen here. So they'd be kind of up the creek.

[Metshael]

Originally posted by Ganger:

Valve has locked his account and would of removed the game. Unless the OP has it saved in off-line mode or the game doesn't have DRM then he gets to keep.

Vavle restricted that account because a charge back have been made, for now the game is probably still in that account (i can't confirm it since their account is private and even then i would have no way to know what items are concerned by the charge back but when it happened for me a few years back the items concerned were not removed from my account and they never have since i've resolved the issue) but it will probably be removed once the 4 weeks restriction have passed however it will come at the cost of their account since it will become permanently locked from any utilization of the store/market and the payment method used in the transaction (Paypal account, specific credit card) that received a charge back will certainly be blacklisted by Steam, never be able to use it on Steam ever again even on another account.

Most of the times when a charge back is made it's because a fraudulent use of a payment method have been made, like for a stolen credit card for example but since it's not always the case (Banks can be annoying on how you use your money sometimes...) Steam will offer a month (4 weeks) to the concerned account to resolve the issue on their side before locking it forever (Steam don't take any risk and don't offer second chance since they have no way to know how or why the charge back have been made).

Originally posted by Ganger:

Anyway, why should we care as users, the issues are between him/her and valve.

I absolutely agree, it's a matter between the user and Steam but the user made the whole thing public by posting about it in the forums so of course other users will respond to say what they think about it.

[InnerPhoenix]

i feel ya bud, steams being going down hill for quiet a few years now, steam is now becoming the most toxic platform, lots of mods for games breaking rules they are supposed to enforce, steam doing the bounce around tactic, o no talk to *insert company* then you get from *other company* o no talk to steam, all these business tactics are lame and low brow, im not surprised by this post and i wouldn't be more surprised if these posts continue to grow more and more, steam needs to get their *insert meme* together.

[Nx Machina]

Originally posted by Ganger:

Valve has locked his account and would of removed the game. Unless the OP has it saved in off-line mode or the game doesn't have DRM then he gets to keep.

The game gets removed upon a successful refund.

For a chargeback I ASSUME the game remains on the account but is locked from been accessed or temporarily removed during the chargeback period as the onus is the OP to prove they did not purchase the game but they did purchase the game.

Originally posted by Ganger:

Anyway, why should we care as users, the issues are between him/her and valve.

Because we are trying to help them understand why the account is locked and what it means if they do not reverse the chargeback - a permanent account lock.

[Nx Machina]

Originally posted by InnerPhoenix:

i feel ya bud, steams being going down hill for quiet a few years now,

You may be want to understand consumer law which is applicable to both the purchaser and the seller commonly known as a contract both parties agree to.

The OP purchased a product, did a chargeback (which is for UNKNOWN charges) BUT the OP knew about the payment because they actually paid for the game.

[Halo]

Like NX Machina said - you are on to a loser.

People have been banging on about this for decades when a game 'doesn't work' and there should be some legal redress, but there is none in this instance.

The UK isn't the US and even there the class action law suits threads that pop up on release day 1 never come to anything.

As a gamer you need to be doing some research on what you buy, if it says it is a buggy mess then it is and avoid.

If you have a technical problem that may be your hardware you will just have to accept you bought a pup, you aren't going to get an ambulance chaser to no win no fee it.

[Count_Dandyman]

Originally posted by Halo:

Like NX Machina said - you are on to a loser.

People have been banging on about this for decades when a game 'doesn't work' and there should be some legal redress, but there is none in this instance.

The UK isn't the US and even there the class action law suits threads that pop up on release day 1 never come to anything.

As a gamer you need to be doing some research on what you buy, if it says it is a buggy mess then it is and avoid.

If you have a technical problem that may be your hardware you will just have to accept you bought a pup, you aren't going to get an ambulance chaser to no win no fee it.

Hell the Australian courts while fining Valve for telling people they couldn't ask for a refund ruled in Valves favour that every refund request they said no to was entirely in line with consumer law and that the games failed to meet the criteria to be classed as a faulty product because they were entirely identical to the copies working for other users and it is the customers responsibility not the stores when failure is caused by the product needing the customer to provide something specific for it to work with.

Basically the your petrol mower isn't faulty because it stopped working when you filled it with diesel clause.

[eram]

the product wasnt defective

[Brian9824]

It will be funny to see OP posting in 4 weeks when his account is fully locked.

[Ganger]

Originally posted by brian9824:

It will be funny to see OP posting in 4 weeks when his account is fully locked.

I can't see the OP's profile because it's private but the ball is in the OP's hands. If he values his steam account then he will reserve the charge within the time. Then work it out with support on his refund.

Can't see any other way around this for him unless his takes legal action which in my opinion is fruitless.

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by Ganger:

Can't see any other way around this for him unless his takes legal action which in my opinion is fruitless.

To be honest, I'd love reading something like that in the gaming news.

[Ganger]

Originally posted by ReBoot:

To be honest, I'd love reading something like that in the gaming news.

Valve is always being taken to court and sued for something it appears and by the looks of it, it's very rare valve loses a case and if they do, it goes on for years in appeals.

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by Ganger:

Originally posted by ReBoot:

To be honest, I'd love reading something like that in the gaming news.

Valve is always being taken to court and sued for something it appears and by the looks of it, it's very rare valve loses a case and if they do, it goes on for years in appeals.

... but not a single case as ridiculous entertaining as this.

[J4MESOX4D]

Originally posted by Ganger:

Originally posted by ReBoot:

To be honest, I'd love reading something like that in the gaming news.

Valve is always being taken to court and sued for something it appears and by the looks of it, it's very rare valve loses a case and if they do, it goes on for years in appeals.

Valve are usually taken to court based on local legislation in a region. The OP here would be taking them to court on the basis of a 'defunct' product that works 100% in which they would have to prove beyond any doubts that it doesn't work even thought it does for thousands of users each week.

OP really should've consulted the game forum, help sections or then gone through the manual refund rather than doing a knee-jerk chargeback. No legal council will entertain a case like this and I can't see any court hosting something so fruitless. It would also cost the OP around $25,000 in fees for the sake of a £4 refund.

[Ganger]

Originally posted by J4MESOX4D:

OP really should've consulted the game forum, help sections or then gone through the manual refund rather than doing a knee-jerk chargeback. No legal council will entertain a case like this and I can't see any court hosting something so fruitless. It would also cost the OP around $25,000 in fees for the sake of a £4 refund.

I taken a company to court over a faulty car and it cost me money, stress and time and it was all for nothing. If the game was only £4, then he should reverse the charge back and suck it up. He probably has more value in items in his inventory than this game cost. But what the OP should of done in the first place was to refund the game before the 2 hours was up.