WALLET DEMANDS FULL PERSONAL DETAILS TO MAKE A PURCHASE.

[RATTLER.]

During Xmas 2019 I received a number of gifts in the form of Steam Gift Cards from Argos UK (I expressed a preference rather than money so I could choose exactly what I wanted).
In this lunar sale I have just over £40 in my wallet. I had selected games totalling £50. I intended to use my gift card credits (since deposited in my Steam Wallet) then pay the remainder with Paypal. I have always used Paypal to keep my personal details private.

When I come to use the money in the wallet I have now been presented with the necessity to divulge personal details of name, address telephone number etc etc which I am not prepared to disclose. This is a clear case of "unwarranted invasion of privacy".

My position with this wallet code is, that if I dont provide this info, the money will sit in the account in limbo which is tantamount to theft if you conditionally demand first that I disclose personal info which itself under "Invasion of Privacy" laws is itself breaking the law.

The easiest and most convenient way to resolve this matter is to credit my Paypal Account with all contents of the wallet (you have my details because this has been the single most used means of purchase I have used).

Alternatively, you can remove this registration form altogether, freeing me and many others to use their wallet contents and money which does not belong to you until a purchase has been made. Any deviation from this will be deemed as "fraud" and pursued as such.

[Ogami]

Official Steam Support answer:

"We collect this information because your local tax or regulatory jurisdiction requires us to. This is a fairly recent change and Valve can't choose to ignore these requirements."

So dont expect this to go away anytime soon.

[Nx Machina]

Originally posted by RATTLER.:

This is a clear case of "unwarranted invasion of privacy".

Your issue is with your bank, paypal or chosen payment method as all those details you provide prevent money laundering and verifying who you are protects you from fraud.

Your privacy is not been violated it is been protected by those measures set in place.

[RATTLER.]

Originally posted by Ogami:

Official Steam Support answer:

"We collect this information because your local tax or regulatory jurisdiction requires us to. This is a fairly recent change and Valve can't choose to ignore these requirements."

So dont expect this to go away anytime soon.

Hi Ogami, I gather you use the the term "Official Support answer" as a banner and that you dont work for steam or valve yourself. I live in the UK and VAT is clearly identified on all game purchases through Paypal.
As I say, for privacy I have always used Paypal, they have my full details. I have had the case twice before where I have had two accounts running on American woodworking websites, money went astray in a purchase charged to my account which I diod not make, and I was left holding the baby with a £70 loss, as each group threw the blame on the other as responsible. Paypal serves as one port of call and Credit is protected and insured as are my personal details and anonimity so goods cant be ordered or mistakenly booked and paid for against my name. For this reason I wish to retain my anonimity and dont really care what American Laws say. I order this stuff in the UK with Britrish money and the simple fact I am identified as UK should serve for making it clear what State I live in which is none of them. What is your opinion?

[FMP]

if you feel so strongly about this. Contact support (link's at the top of the page) or a lawyer.

[Brujeira]

Personally I think that you should Google the word ‘local’ because if you think Ogami’s talking about US law then you’re wrong.

Also, that store credit that’s in the wallet? It’s not yours - it’s Valve’s and has been since the gift cards were purchased.

[Ogami]

Originally posted by RATTLER.:

Hi Ogami, I gather you use the the term "Official Support answer" as a banner and that you dont work for steam or valve yourself. I live in the UK and VAT is clearly identified on all game purchases through Paypal.
As I say, for privacy I have always used Paypal, they have my full details. I have had the case twice before where I have had two accounts running on American woodworking websites, money went astray in a purchase charged to my account which I diod not make, and I was left holding the baby with a £70 loss, as each group threw the blame on the other as responsible. Paypal serves as one port of call and Credit is protected and insured as are my personal details and anonimity so goods cant be ordered or mistakenly booked and paid for against my name. For this reason I wish to retain my anonimity and dont really care what American Laws say. I order this stuff in the UK with Britrish money and the simple fact I am identified as UK should serve for making it clear what State I live in which is none of them. What is your opinion?

Yeah i dont work for Steam, i just quoted the answer someone else got when they asked Steam Support about this new change.
Personally i dont really care about this new change, i entered my full address and phone number 8 years ago when i made my account so i dont get any warning when i buy something. Nothing changed for me.
I can understand though that some users want to stay anonymous when buying games on Steam.

Overall this whole situation has been handled very poorly by Valve ( shocking, i know :P).
They should have announced this change in policy with a NEWS article that everyone gets when logging in at least once.
if they really are compelled by new laws to collect this data then there is not much they can do but it would be way better when we learn from a official Steam announcement about it, not by users making dozens of threads in the forums because everyone is confused.

But thats VALVE for you.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Brujeira]

It has to be said that they are STILL legendary for their total inability to communicate with customers.

[Nx Machina]

Originally posted by RATTLER.:

For this reason I wish to retain my anonimity and dont really care what American Laws say. I order this stuff in the UK with Britrish money and the simple fact I am identified as UK should serve for making it clear what State I live in which is none of them.

You really are barking up the wrong tree as there was no mention of it been US specific.

"We collect this information because your LOCAL tax or REGULATORY jurisdiction requires us to. This is a fairly recent change and Valve CAN'T choose to ignore these requirements."

Originally posted by RATTLER.:

Paypal serves as one port of call and Credit is protected and insured as are my personal details and anonimity so goods cant be ordered or mistakenly booked and paid for against my name.

Your details are checked and verified when making online purchases from merchants. You are not anonymous as the merchant you are purchasing usually requires you to have an account with matching details such as name, address etc.

[Nx Machina]

Originally posted by adam1999x:

They can, they can just ignore it, they just get a ridiculous fine, just the valve is timid and follows everything.

They can't if is written into law, in the same way that you can ignore a parking ticket then explain to the judge why you did just before you pay the fine and court costs for all parties.