Steam Banned my Paypal :: Steam Community

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OwOen UwUilson Dec 23, 2017 @ 2:46am

Steam Banned my Paypal

I recently disputed a charge from Steam with Paypal because they were unwilling to work with me on a refund because I had "more than 2 hours in the game," when in reality, it took almost 4 hours to update said game so I could play it, and when I could play it, it was awful and didn't even run well. So I tried to return it with 5.6 hours in it (1.6 playable hours) twice, explaining what happened, and they wouldn't even try to work out a partial refund or anything. When I went through Paypal and made a claim I got what came out of Paypal back, but didn't get the $24.99 of Steam credit. When I asked Steam about getting my credit back, they gave it back as credit, locked my account, and banned my Paypal from being used on Steam again.

Edit: Issue has been resolved. If you really want to comment and tell me about how I'm committing chargeback fraud, read the comments before deciding whether to post or not, as I'm sure it's already been covered by someone else. To wrap this up, I was correct in the fact that I was technically eligible for a refund, although not using the automated refund system (which I had no idea was automated), only by opening a Steam Support ticket. Although I could reverse the chargeback and release my account lock, my Paypal would still be blacklisted, so I see no reason to; instead I will just wait out my reduced lock time of 1 week.

Last edited by OwOen UwUilson; Dec 23, 2017 @ 11:42pm

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Showing 1-15 of 42 comments

Tev Dec 23, 2017 @ 2:49am

And you answered your own question in the first statement.

Chargebacks are meant to be used in case of fraud. It costs the seller money when you do that.

OwOen UwUilson Dec 23, 2017 @ 2:51am

Originally posted by Teutep:
And you answered your own question in the first statement.

Chargebacks are meant to be used in case of fraud. It costs the seller money when you do that.

It could have been solved by just refunding the game.

Tev Dec 23, 2017 @ 2:51am

And they're not obliged to if you're over 2 hours. They can't differentiate the time you spent updating the game (presumably on its client).

Sorry, but that's the way it is.

Last edited by Tev; Dec 23, 2017 @ 2:52am

OwOen UwUilson Dec 23, 2017 @ 2:53am

Originally posted by Teutep:
And they're not obliged to if you're over 2 hours. They can't differentiate the time you spent updating the game (presumably on its client).

Sorry, but that's the way it is.

The game had a "time in game" counter that I could have taken a screenshot of that proved less than 2 hours if they wouldn't have restricted my access to it

J4MESOX4D Dec 23, 2017 @ 2:54am

Originally posted by BOT Yuri | ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.com:
Originally posted by Teutep:
And you answered your own question in the first statement.

Chargebacks are meant to be used in case of fraud. It costs the seller money when you do that.
It could have been solved by just refunding the game.

You weren't entitled to a refund. Not only is your account locked and your PayPal permanently banned from Steam; this information that you performed fraud can be shared with other online retailers meaning they may refuse to accept your PayPal on other sites also as your account is deemed untrustworthy. This red flag will remain for life.

OwOen UwUilson Dec 23, 2017 @ 2:55am

Originally posted by J4MESOX4D:
Originally posted by BOT Yuri | ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.com:
It could have been solved by just refunding the game.
You weren't entitled to a refund. Not only is your account locked and your PayPal permanently banned from Steam; this information that you performed fraud can be shared with other online retailers meaning they may refuse to accept your PayPal on other sites also as your account is deemed untrustworthy. This red flag will remain for life.

Which is why this whole thing is stupid

Donna Pinciotti Dec 23, 2017 @ 2:57am

Why would the game be running when updating?

OwOen UwUilson Dec 23, 2017 @ 2:58am

Originally posted by Donna Pinciotti:
Why would the game be running when updating?

It was an update that ran through the client, not through Steam

J4MESOX4D Dec 23, 2017 @ 2:59am

Originally posted by BOT Yuri | ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.com:
Originally posted by J4MESOX4D:
You weren't entitled to a refund. Not only is your account locked and your PayPal permanently banned from Steam; this information that you performed fraud can be shared with other online retailers meaning they may refuse to accept your PayPal on other sites also as your account is deemed untrustworthy. This red flag will remain for life.
Which is why this whole thing is stupid

It's not. Performing fraudulent chargebacks is very serious and leads to dire consequences. The feature exists to protect people against fraud and not so people can obtain a crafty refund when they aren't eligible.

OwOen UwUilson Dec 23, 2017 @ 3:00am

Originally posted by J4MESOX4D:
Originally posted by BOT Yuri | ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.com:
Which is why this whole thing is stupid
It's not. Performing fraudulent chargebacks is very serious and leads to dire consequences. The feature exists to protect people against fraud and not so people can obtain a crafty refund when they aren't eligible.

I wouldn't have had to do so if there was another way to get in contact with Steam. The only way is to create a ticket, which they respond to, then close half the time without even listening to what you have to say.

#10

feytharn Dec 23, 2017 @ 3:29am

Originally posted by BOT Yuri | ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.com:
Originally posted by J4MESOX4D:
It's not. Performing fraudulent chargebacks is very serious and leads to dire consequences. The feature exists to protect people against fraud and not so people can obtain a crafty refund when they aren't eligible.
I wouldn't have had to do so if there was another way to get in contact with Steam. The only way is to create a ticket, which they respond to, then close half the time without even listening to what you have to say.

Not reacting the way you want =/= not listening. You were not entitled to a refund. Steam has kept their part of the contract. They delivered the game you could have refunded within the limits Steam sets. You on the other hand did not fulfil your part of the contract when your ordered a chargeback. That is a serious issue on you side and locking your account is one of the consequences. As you have broken PayPals terms of service as well, you might face consequences from their side, too.

#11

Mivo Dec 23, 2017 @ 5:06am

Most businesses that accept PayPal will handle a dispute in the exact same way. There are various reasons for that, e.g. certain types of disputes cost the business money, and disputes lower the standing of the company with PayPal. It's crucial to discourage customers from charging back payments.

The refund policy is generous. Nobody else offers one that is comparable. You asked for an exception and apparently it was declined. It's your right to dispute the payment, but it's also Valve's right to terminate their business relationship with you. You have to decide what's more important to you: being able to buy games on Steam or doing what you feel is the right course of action based on your principle. The latter has consequences, but if you feel strongly about something, it may be the right thing to do.

In this case, I would just accept that my request didn't meet the clearly stated requirements and suck it up. It's already noteworthy that games can be refunded at all.

#12

ナルゴ Dec 23, 2017 @ 7:35am

In my world, transactions are binding. What ever happened to researching a product before forking over money?

#13

Mivo Dec 23, 2017 @ 8:01am

Originally posted by Nargo:
In my world, transactions are binding. What ever happened to researching a product before forking over money?

Most products you can try out before forking over the money. With software you have to relay on opinions (may be biased or purchased) of people who are not you, and guesses. The refund policy is a good thing, and the limitations are mostly fair to both sides.

#14