How long does it usually take for Steam to approve/deny a refund request?

[yona]

My refund request has been pending for over two days now. No email, no response, no anything. I accidentally purchased The Witcher 3 (base game) instead of the Game of the Year Edition, which is significantly cheaper since it already includes 2 DLCs. I haven't even installed/played the game yet so I have 0 playing hours with it. I requested a refund immediately after I realized that I checked out the wrong game (which was like after 2 hours). I purchased using my debit card and requested the refund to my Steam wallet. Is there something wrong with my refund request?

[Bee🐝]

Just to check, the refund request ticket is still open, right?

The answer is, it'll take as long as it takes.

Edit: Also, even if you miss the Steam sale window, know that The Witcher 3 goes on sale at GOG all the time.

[rawWwRrr]

Originally posted by Bee:

Edit: Also, even if you miss the Steam sale window, know that The Witcher 3 goes on sale at GOG all the time.

Not to mention that it goes on sale on Steam on a regular basis. It's certain to go back on sale soon.

[Wolfsun]

Based on my personal experience if the refund is set to go to your wallet and you paid with a credit card then the quickest I've ever gotten a refund is 6 hours; the longest it has ever taken is 2 weeks (but that one was a special case). Normal for me is 1 day.

IMO the key to a quick refund is 1) meet the 2 hour max playtime and the 14d limit to request
and 2) pay with a credit card and have the refund refunded to your wallet and not the credit card.

[yona]

Originally posted by Bee:

Just to check, the refund request ticket is still open, right?

The answer is, it'll take as long as it takes.

Edit: Also, even if you miss the Steam sale window, know that The Witcher 3 goes on sale at GOG all the time.

Yes, it's open. Would you suggest to wait for it go on sale again? How soon would that be? I'm quite new to buying games on Steam so I've no clue as to how often games go on sale. I've recently got super into the witcher lore so that's why I've been really impatient with this refund :D

[yona]

Originally posted by Wolfsun:

Based on my personal experience if the refund is set to go to your wallet and you paid with a credit card then the quickest I've ever gotten a refund is 6 hours; the longest it has ever taken is 2 weeks (but that one was a special case). Normal for me is 1 day.

IMO the key to a quick refund is 1) meet the 2 hour max playtime and the 14d limit to request
and 2) pay with a credit card and have the refund refunded to your wallet and not the credit card.

I've met all your tips to a quick refund. (1) I haven't installed the game yet so I have 0 hour playtime. I own the game for 2 days now. The refund request is also 2 days old. (2) I paid with my card and requested the refund to go to my Steam wallet.

And yet Steam support still hasn't responded to my refund request. Been 2 days already :(

[yona]

Update: After submitting a separate support ticket, a kind agent finally went over and approved my refund request. Weird because if I hadn't done so, would my request still be ignored for longer?

One slight problem though. When I requested for the refund, I chose for it to be refunded to my Steam wallet, and not the original payment method, which was through my bank account. But now they're telling me to wait 5-7 business days for the funds to be posted back to my account. I specifically chose the Steam wallet option to avoid waiting but it seems like they overlooked that detail as well..

[Al]

FWIW, I always buy steam gift cards and then buy my games with that. Far as I recall, the longest I've waited for a refund has been 2 days, which always refunds to my wallet. I think the extra level of debit/credit cards might complicate/slow things down when refunds are concerned.

Also, I feel better knowing I dont have a credit card number online that someone could get a hold of.

It also is good for self-discipline, I can't 'splurge' at 3 am because there is a sale and I have a credit card... I have to really want XYZ game(s), and thus it will be worth my while to go across the street to the convenience store when they open at 8am, to buy a steam gift card (and its another reason for me to get out of the house for fresh air, and walk the doggo :-) )

[yona]

Originally posted by Alan:

FWIW, I always buy steam gift cards and then buy my games with that. Far as I recall, the longest I've waited for a refund has been 2 days, which always refunds to my wallet. I think the extra level of debit/credit cards might complicate/slow things down when refunds are concerned.

Also, I feel better knowing I dont have a credit card number online that someone could get a hold of.

It also is good for self-discipline, I can't 'splurge' at 3 am because there is a sale and I have a credit card... I have to really want XYZ game(s), and thus it will be worth my while to go across the street to the convenience store when they open at 8am, to buy a steam gift card (and its another reason for me to get out of the house for fresh air, and walk the doggo :-) )

That's actually a good idea to practice self-discipline. I should ask some of my friends then where I could buy one of those steam gift cards. So that I wouldn't have to go through this inconvenience again. Lesson learned though. Next time I'm buying a game, it's going to be through gift cards/steam wallet.

[Wolfsun]

Originally posted by Alan:

FWIW, I always buy steam gift cards and then buy my games with that.

Also, I feel better knowing I dont have a credit card number online that someone could get a hold of.

That is a really good idea.