EA Bans Users for Asking for Refunds

[LordLundar]

I said in this thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.381769-Another-EA-horror-story#15048073] that I wasn't sympathetic to the user being banned for the threat of the charge back. I'm still not. That incident was clearly a screw up on the poster's end and trying to blame EA.

This however, is a perfect case of the example I gave. Almost piece for piece. I'm not even opposed to the concept of the charge back complaint because the service clearly isn't working.

 

[MoltenSilver]

Wow, isn't it a bit early for refunds in the first place?

To answer my own question, yes, yes it is too early. The vast majority of time, online games aren't going to work exactly right on release, it really is an unavoidable fact. A company can plan for ever contingency, but then things can happen out of the blue, even things that tests upon tests say will never happen.

EA were always up front about the fact the game was going to need an always on connection and that some of the game was going to be controlled via the servers.

Seriously, consumer rule number one for such a game is to not expect the launch to go smoothly.

Also, as people have been pointing out about the charge backs, with that EA has a very valid reason for such cowardice when dealing with a problem.

People need to take their refund request to EA first.

Of course, after giving them time to regroup the system to accommodate the actual amount of people lining up to play and address the problems caused by the influx of so many people.

The SimCity released like two days ago. Two days is not a viable maintenance and repair window. I would give them a couple weeks at the least, month at the most.

I whole heartedly disagree. The product does not work. The buyer didn't pay to have 'a product that would work at some point in the future'. I'm willing bet that no where prior to buying it was it visible to the consumer that EA claimed 'the game will not work for the first few days upon release'. If they had openly said that at some point (or course they wouldn't, but hypothetically), I might see the other side.

It's not an excuse to say that it's happened to every other online game ever; reasonable to expect yes, acceptable no: they sold the game under the agreement that by giving EA money, the purchaser could play this game. The purchaser gave them money, EA isn't providing them the ability to play that game.
Sounds like a defective product to me

But we know the game isn't going to work. I'm constantly shocked at all the outrage when people are surprised at day one disruptions. I'm actually kind of pissed off- at gamers- because this is why customer support is so hard to get. Rather than dealing with real issues, some ass clown who couldn't pass a marshmallow test to save their life, is hassling some rep because they cant wait a couple days on a game everyone and their mom knew wouldn't work on day 1. Personally anyone asking for refunds because they cant log in day 1 should be banned from any online game for life for being a waste of time and space. Always online = Weeks of disruptions deal with it or don't buy the game.

Do we? sure the 'we' meaning the Escapist community probably knew this was going to happen, but what about others? Casual gamer who hasn't played an always-online game before? Children &the parents who buy the game with no experience with always-online and its launch reputation? They entirely believed, and were led to believe, that buying this game meant they could play this game right when they bought it. Do they deserve a refund then? And if they do, why don't all consumers of that product? This is exactly why, as has been said by me and Silvianoshie, expectation based on past/other products is utterly irrelevant to what consumers have the right to expect from this game.

Always online = Weeks of disruptions deal with it or don't buy the game.

'Not buying online games' being a policy I fully intend to keep for exactly these reasons, but just because I'm knowledgeable enough to know what happens with online-game-launches and have made that decision for myself with that information, it still doesn't mean the consumers of this product don't have grounds to ask for a refund on the basis of the product being defective

 

[Church185]

Actual topic:

Ea informs user that if they proceed to issue a chargeback, as indicated by the user, that their account will be locked.



Because god forbid a business lock your account until a chargeback is resolved one way or the other (License removed and refund issued OR chargeback cancelled and lock removed), right guys?


I mean cmon. Those reps would be running on instructions to inform users their accounts will be banned for initiating a chargeback. Thats just how online retailers protect themselves. I've been there. Part of a small gaming community where we sell services. People accept the services, then initiate chargebacks on us, which leaves us having the onus of resolving the charge, as well as paypal marking against us due to the accusation of failure to provide the service. Its creates a huge process for us to prove its a false chargeback, and in the interim, we lose money.

All while the user has the thing they paid for.

Long story short = People on the internet are notoriously unscrupulous, with the assholes ruining it for everyone else. As such, "chargeback" is a dirty word to any online business.

Ah, but if the EA employee had simply just issued the refund, the customer wouldn't have to have threatened to get his bank involved. I understand that people can be dicks sometimes, but this guy appears to have tried to use the appropriate channels first, then found no other way to get his money back for a faulty product. The game in question is online only, so if a refund had been given or he issued a chargeback claim, his access to said product would have been revoked. He isn't trying to scam anyone.

 

[rednose1]

Meh, not terribly surprised by any of this. EA has grown to the point where they can run roughshod over customers, and they'll still make $$$. Being happy with the company while you buy their games, or insulting them while you buy their games, EA wins either way.

 

[waj9876]

> Misleading title with link to misleading story.
> People hate on [Company].
> A few people point out what's actually going on. Ignored.
> Hate of [Company] continues, with no one actually reading any of the comments.

Stay classy escapist.

 

[Elijin]

Actual topic:

Ea informs user that if they proceed to issue a chargeback, as indicated by the user, that their account will be locked.



Because god forbid a business lock your account until a chargeback is resolved one way or the other (License removed and refund issued OR chargeback cancelled and lock removed), right guys?


I mean cmon. Those reps would be running on instructions to inform users their accounts will be banned for initiating a chargeback. Thats just how online retailers protect themselves. I've been there. Part of a small gaming community where we sell services. People accept the services, then initiate chargebacks on us, which leaves us having the onus of resolving the charge, as well as paypal marking against us due to the accusation of failure to provide the service. Its creates a huge process for us to prove its a false chargeback, and in the interim, we lose money.

All while the user has the thing they paid for.

Long story short = People on the internet are notoriously unscrupulous, with the assholes ruining it for everyone else. As such, "chargeback" is a dirty word to any online business.

Ah, but if the EA employee had simply just issued the refund, the customer wouldn't have to have threatened to get his bank involved. I understand that people can be dicks sometimes, but this guy appears to have tried to use the appropriate channels first, then found no other way to get his money back for a faulty product. The game in question is online only, so if a refund had been given or he issued a chargeback claim, his access to said product would have been revoked. He isn't trying to scam anyone.

The EA rep should have issued the refund yes. That comes down to 'Some of those guys are just clueless'. I've used Origin support myself and have had a few times where after being told what I was asking is not going to happen, I roll my eyes, close the support ticket, and open a new one. The next rep let me have my reasonable request.

But the point of my original post was that the rep was doing a knee jerk response to the word chargeback, not threatening to ban the user for asking for a refund, as seems to be the popular opinion here.

 

[Agayek]

This is the first I've heard of it being either, but I assumed it was this. It doesn't make sense in context as a slur.

I agree WRT the context and everything here.

What people are getting annoyed by though is that "gook" is a slur for the Vietnamese that American armed forces came up with during 'nam. On this side of the pond, it's become a general-purpose slur for asians, in a similar vein as "******" for black folks or "cracker" for white folks, though in terms of offensiveness it's closer to the latter, simply because it doesn't have the history of the former.

 

[Church185]

snip

But I sympathize with the consumer, because at that point he felt a chargeback was going to be the only way for him to get refunded. I'm not arguing that EA is evil here, because EA as a whole didn't have much to do with the situation other than employ the rep. I'm arguing that the rep handled the situation badly and the consumer (if all the facts are correct) deserves to be refunded for a faulty product.

The only problem I have with any of this is that the dialogue we see wasn't a screen cap of a support window. It was from a forum post by the guy that wanted the refund. He could have doctored the conversation before posting it to the forums.

(dons tinfoil hat)

 

[Elijin]

snip

But I sympathize with the consumer, because at that point he felt a chargeback was going to be the only way for him to get refunded. I'm not arguing that EA is evil here, because EA as a whole didn't have much to do with the situation other than employ the rep. I'm arguing that the rep handled the situation badly and the consumer (if all the facts are correct) deserves to be refunded for a faulty product.

The only problem I have with any of this is that the dialogue we see wasn't a screen cap of a support window. It was from a forum post by the guy that wanted the refund. He could have doctored the conversation before posting it to the forums.

(dons tinfoil hat)

Is that Solaire in your avatar? >.>


I totally hadnt noticed it was a forum post and not a proper screencap. While I agree the rep was in the wrong in denying the refund, it does throw a least a touch of doubt on the whole affair, as we can see evident in these forums, hating on EA is really really popular.

 

[Church185]

Is that Solaire in your avatar? >.>


I totally hadnt noticed it was a forum post and not a proper screencap. While I agree the rep was in the wrong in denying the refund, it does throw a least a touch of doubt on the whole affair, as we can see evident in these forums, hating on EA is really really popular.

Why yes, yes it is.

Blind hatred toward companies and groups is rampant on these forums. I only try to dish out hatred where hatred is due. My personal annoyance at EA stems from Origin. When EA switched their accounts over to Origin accounts they reset everyone's password for security purposes. That is fine and dandy, but I no longer have access to the email account that I made my EA account with years ago. This means I can't get the confirmation email to change my password, effectively locking me out of my EA/Origin account. Customer Service could do nothing to help me so now I can't manage DLC for my Bioware games anymore and I can't access my Battlelog account for BF3. Yes it is my fault for not being able to access the email anymore, but it is still an annoying situation.

OT: I think it would be really funny if EA came out with the actual chat log and said "That is not at all how the situation went down, that guy was being a jerk, that's the real reason they threatened to ban him". But that will never happen.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Yay out-sourced CSR reading from a script.

That's a script??
I'm very used to dealing with disgruntled script-jockeys giving me the runaround and anti-consumer dodge, but what asshole wrote that?? Especially when it contradicts information EA released to their community ON THE SAME SYSTEM.

Either EA is completely unaware of what their outsourced customer service goons are saying on behalf of their company or they wrote the script and then outsourced it to create plausible-deniability.

Neither outcome is good.

Edit: Nevermind. That isn't just a script, that's company policy.

https://help.ea.com/article/returns-and-cancellations

 

[Atmos Duality]

Edit: Double, wrong tab. Disregard this.

 

[Rachmaninov]

If you read it, they're only banning people who try to get charges reversed at their bank, which is common practice.

Yeah I noticed that too. Even Valve will ban you with no recourse for charge-backs.

No time for that logic! EA IS TEH SUPRE EVALS!

At the top of this thread, we have evidence that EA do this. But because someone says "Valve do it, too!" without actually providing any evidence, that's all you've got to say?

Because, obviously, if someone says Valve ban people for charge-backs that means they do, and that means EA is totally a cool guy. Yeah?

 

[Colt47]

Why would someone even bother with a refund from Valve? Their sales at 75% off put most of the games within the McDonalds Fast Food range to the slightly more expensive chinese take out. o o;

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Why yes, yes it is.

Blind hatred toward companies and groups is rampant on these forums. I only try to dish out hatred where hatred is due. My personal annoyance at EA stems from Origin. When EA switched their accounts over to Origin accounts they reset everyone's password for security purposes. That is fine and dandy, but I no longer have access to the email account that I made my EA account with years ago. This means I can't get the confirmation email to change my password, effectively locking me out of my EA/Origin account. Customer Service could do nothing to help me so now I can't manage DLC for my Bioware games anymore and I can't access my Battlelog account for BF3. Yes it is my fault for not being able to access the email anymore, but it is still an annoying situation.

OT: I think it would be really funny if EA came out with the actual chat log and said "That is not at all how the situation went down, that guy was being a jerk, that's the real reason they threatened to ban him". But that will never happen.

Some of the rhetoric that gets thrown around regarding video game companies on these forums is pretty hilarious, EA included, but I'm not sure I'd characterize it as "blind hatred". I'd call it very cogent hatred, occasionally manifested as extreme hyperbole.

And my personal annoyance with EA stems from Origin as well.

Spoiler

Motherfuckers. I will never forgive them.

 

[Frostbite3789]

If you read it, they're only banning people who try to get charges reversed at their bank, which is common practice.

Yeah I noticed that too. Even Valve will ban you with no recourse for charge-backs.

No time for that logic! EA IS TEH SUPRE EVALS!

At the top of this thread, we have evidence that EA do this. But because someone says "Valve do it, too!" without actually providing any evidence, that's all you've got to say?

Because, obviously, if someone says Valve ban people for charge-backs that means they do, and that means EA is totally a cool guy. Yeah?

Then later in the thread we have evidence that EA will hand out a refund if you ask them and don't go to your bank first trying to get a charge back.

wat?

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Is that Solaire in your avatar? >.>


I totally hadnt noticed it was a forum post and not a proper screencap. While I agree the rep was in the wrong in denying the refund, it does throw a least a touch of doubt on the whole affair, as we can see evident in these forums, hating on EA is really really popular.

Why yes, yes it is.

Blind hatred toward companies and groups is rampant on these forums. I only try to dish out hatred where hatred is due. My personal annoyance at EA stems from Origin. When EA switched their accounts over to Origin accounts they reset everyone's password for security purposes. That is fine and dandy, but I no longer have access to the email account that I made my EA account with years ago. This means I can't get the confirmation email to change my password, effectively locking me out of my EA/Origin account. Customer Service could do nothing to help me so now I can't manage DLC for my Bioware games anymore and I can't access my Battlelog account for BF3. Yes it is my fault for not being able to access the email anymore, but it is still an annoying situation.

OT: I think it would be really funny if EA came out with the actual chat log and said "That is not at all how the situation went down, that guy was being a jerk, that's the real reason they threatened to ban him". But that will never happen.

That sucks...I had that happen to me for a few sites when my hotmail somehow locked me out...

Steam was cool about it and was able to transfer my account to the new email, though, thank GOD.

 

[RealRed05]

http://i.imgur.com/VEJIVmk.jpg

Ok apparently this guy got a refund with little to no fuss so...what the fuck is going on.

I thought this smelt a little fishy, and it wasn't just because of the misleading EA forum thread or the article's egregious spelling errors. I guess even journalists are unable to use spellcheck.

 

[AnarchistFish]

Find a story, twist it, write an exaggerated misleading title which backs up your point further, post as a thread

and voila, you have yourself a fucking escapist thread. now we have somewhere where we can air our irrational hate for a little while! who cares if it isn't true, i want to be angry!