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EA refuses to refund user for Sim City and then threatens a ban if they chargeback

I

IcyRhythms

Member
SimCity is having issues right now and majority of people are unable to play the game.


One user was understandably frustrated with this and tried to ask a refunding citing the official EA press release which said “if you regrettably feel that we left you down, you can of course request a refund for your order.”

The customer service representative acknowledged the press release but then later added “it is also the our discretion to process a refund.”

Not only that he also mentioned that if the user tries to dispute it, his “account will be banned.”

You can check the screen grab of the conversation below. This was posted on the EA forums.
Click to expand...

ea-customer-service.jpg


EA are upset with the reputation they have on the Internet as you can probably figure out from Peter Moore’s comments here accusing a website of using their negative reputation for traffic. However, when things like these happen where the consumer is unable to play the game they bought, it kind of shows why EA has such a negative reputation.

As you can see the above conversation, it was a really frustrating experience for the user. If you are facing issues with SimCity, it is advisable to wait for a few days so that the situation resolves since the core game is supposed to be very good.
Click to expand...

http://www.gamechup.com/ea-refuses-to-refund-user-for-simcity-threatens-account-ban/
Unreal...
 
C

cvxfreak

Member
Seems as if there's been a huge drop in customer service quality in multiple industries lately, if my shitty luck in 2013 with airlines, credit card companies, and cell phone providers are any indication. :/
 
B

Brobzoid

how do I slip unnoticed out of a gloryhole booth?
should always wait for the next steam sale. prolly a good amount of DLC out by that point too.
 
cj_iwakura

cj_iwakura

Member
cvxfreak said:
Seems as if there's been a huge drop in customer service quality in multiple industries lately, if my shitty luck in 2013 with airlines, credit card companies, and cell phone providers are any indication. :/
Click to expand...

One word: outsourcing. Most(if not all) customer service is not provided by the companies themselves, but call centers and the like. Most companies have an escalation or tier 2 division that handle things themselves, but only for real major complaints.

This 'Adrian' sap is probably just following a very strict script, and I bet that's not even his name.
 
Danny Dudekisser

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Sophia said:
Doing a chargeback is not the same as going to Steam's support and requesting a refund.

This is disgusting after they said they'd give refunds.
Click to expand...

Valve's reputation has generally been to refund your purchase if a game is just fucked, right? I have my (mostly minor) qualms with Steam, but they handle this sort of issue far better.
 
D

DrSlek

Member
I'm surprised this even seems to be a real person he's chatting to. EA chat bots have been caught out many times in the past.
 
U

Uncle Rupee

Banned
cvxfreak said:
Seems as if there's been a huge drop in customer service quality in multiple industries lately, if my shitty luck in 2013 with airlines, credit card companies, and cell phone providers are any indication. :/
Click to expand...

Most likely part of the problem is the language barrier, they come across as rude when they are just trying to do their job
 
L

LycanXIII

Member
While I believe that customers should be able to get a refund through EA/Origin, that press release doesn't say they will. It just says they can request one, not be granted. People could request anything, it doesn't mean they'll get it. They only stated that to look good, but have no intention of doing so.
 
S

SolarPowered

Member
I don't know what to say. Don't buy an old grenade thinking that it won't blow up in your face when the pin accidentally gets pulled out. :/

I feel for the guy, but sometimes you can see this sort of thing coming from a mile away. Hopefully EA rethinks this because it's not worth burning bridges with customers and it's better for gaming if they stay flexible on customer relations and return policy.
 
C

CheesecakeRecipe

Stormy Grey
Seems very uncharacteristic for EA's customer service, they're always held in a slightly higher light than others. He could have just gotten a really shit serviceman. That or EA fired all the good ones and is clamping down everywhere.
 
L

LevityNYC

Banned
I remember being allowed to return my copy of NHL 95 for Sega Genesis back to EA.

I hated that game compared to 93-94
 
S

Screaming_Gremlin

My QB is a Dick and my coach is a Nutt
Chacranajxy said:
Valve's reputation has generally been to refund your purchase if a game is just fucked, right? I have my (mostly minor) qualms with Steam, but they handle this sort of issue far better.
Click to expand...

In general you should be able to get a refund. Valve's major problem is just you can only contact them through email (unless this has changed) and they are really slow. I wish more industries had customer service like Amazon.
 
H

Hero_of_the_Day

Member
Sophia said:
Doing a chargeback is not the same as going to Steam's support and requesting a refund.

This is disgusting after they said they'd give refunds.
Click to expand...

It's almost impossible to get Valve to give you a refund (I have done it after filing a BBB complaint, and even then they told me it was a once in a lifetime deal). The EA rep threatened to ban him if he disputed the charges with the bank, not for requesting a refund.

It's shit all around regardless, and of course, fuck EA. Just wanted to throw the fact out there that doing a charge back would get you banned on Steam also.

Soulflarz said:
My integrated graphics wouldnt run a game and they refunded me....lol
Click to expand...

Crazy. Back when the first Witcher came out, the game was a huge unplayable buggy mess. I had to fight with them like crazy to get a refund. Like I said, they refused until I filed a BBB complaint.
 
R

Rabbit Lord

Member
It's funny he mentions amazon, I just had a package get lost in the mail somewhere and their first response was to either refund or send me another copy of the item.
 
Fixed1979

Fixed1979

Member
Hero_of_the_Day said:
It's almost impossible to get Valve to give you a refund (I have done it after filing a BBB complaint, and even then they told me it was a once in a lifetime deal). The EA rep threatened to ban him if he disputed the charges with the bank, not for requesting a refund.

It's shit all around regardless, and of course, fuck EA. Just wanted to throw the fact out there that doing a charge back would get you banned on Steam also.
Click to expand...

I know you said that it's "almost" impossible, but I got a refund on Portal 2 without any trouble at all, no begging or pleading.
 
D

DrSlek

Member
Hero_of_the_Day said:
It's almost impossible to get Valve to give you a refund (I have done it after filing a BBB complaint, and even then they told me it was a once in a lifetime deal). The EA rep threatened to ban him if he disputed the charges with the bank, not for requesting a refund.

It's shit all around regardless, and of course, fuck EA. Just wanted to throw the fact out there that doing a charge back would get you banned on Steam also.
Click to expand...

In the UK, EU and AUS it's quite easy to get a refund in these situations, as the laws there favour the consumer and supercede any EULA.
 
V

VALIS

Member
While I'm all for shining a massive spotlight on EA's clusterfuck problems with this game, here's a thread that contains a jpg of a post of a supposed chat between a user and EA help desk. I have no particular reason to think this is fake, but it's also a pretty flimsy premise for a thread. Some dude posted something on the internet. Neat.
 
H

Hero_of_the_Day

Member
Mr. Enigma said:
Oh no. Banned from Origin? What potential horror.
Click to expand...

All those free games I got from that coupon bug a few months ago would be gone forever!

Eaten By A Grue said:
I thought Valve gave refunds if people asked for The War Z because it was so broken.
Click to expand...

Correct. That was after multiple gaming sites ran articles about how misleading the description for the game was, though. Unless things have changed since the time I fought with them over a refund (it was years and years ago) under normal circumstances, it is no easy task to get a refund from Steam.
 
A

Azure Dream

Member
It's really about time consumer rights over digital purchases expanded.

Of course, every company out there is going to fight it tooth and nail, because right now they hold virtually all the power the moment you hand over your money.
 
P

PSGames

Junior Member
I'm no lover of EA but EA is clearly within their right to ban account if people do "charge backs". If there were no repercussions everyone would do it. This clown was fishing for something to post hence his remark at the end.
 
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