[Steam} Need advice

[dumpa]

Hey guys this maybe not the best forum for this but I figured gamers should know more about this.

Despite Valve's reputation as being friendly to gamers and have reasonable DRM there is also a different side to them. I hope you won't have to deal with this ever.

In Nov 2010 I purchased a game that had undisclosed DRM (activation, online account). This was a single player game and I do not buy single player games with this type of DRM. I promptly uninstalled the game without playing it at all. Steam client showed total time the game was active was 2 min. I figured no big deal I will simply inform Valve of this and get my money back. They refused saying their TOS states no refunds what so ever and that I need to contact the game publisher. OK I figured they are correct I should contact the game publisher which I did and was informed 'they cannot issue refunds' even though I told them I refused to accept the game TOS/EULA. So I again contacted Steam and explained what happened. They again replied with their standard no-refund reply. My next step was a credit chargeback since I had no other options.

Several days later my Steam account was disabled. This resulted in many emails back and forth with absolutely no results. I informed them I only disputed one game and they should let me play games I already paid for. Every single time it takes 3-4 days to get a reply and there is no other way to contact Steam. It's via email only. I was informed the game did not use DRM described (not true) and I was told the charge back was credit card fraud (not true).

Eventually I informed them I would reverse the charge back and once they restore my account I would provide screenshots of the activation/online account requirement because they said they would issue a refund for my Steam wallet if that's the case. The problem is my credit card company has tried multiple times to give the funds back but the bank used by Steam 'did not tell them where to put the money in'.

Steam has blocked access to approx $500 worth of games I paid in the 6 months I've used Steam due to a single chargeback for one game. Their replies are always the same in which they tell me Steam is missing the funds for a game sold to me yet they never once mention funds I paid them for all of the other games. The strange thing is they lost probably another $500 that I would have spent on their games in the last 6 months or so (since my account has been disabled).

So now I am considering a small claim suit and have the paperwork filled out already but I hesitate to do this since I have no experience with it. I am even considering a hiring a lawyer (not sure how much they cost but I could spend up to a $1000).

I fully understand Steam does not decide what DRM is used (other than Steamworks) but I believe they should inform their users so they can make an informed decision prior to purchase since we no longer have any rights once the money changes hands. To me this is a matter of a principle.

Need your advice/opinions.

Thanks.

[bda1967]

Well that's a shame for sure and down right scary that they can do that. I hope that you get your access or money back. Either way that would be enough for me to stop using Steam for game purchases for good.

[TheGreySpectre]

I'm not really sure how far you want to take it, but I know there is legal precedent for being able to return software for which you do not accept the EULA. I am not sure how that factors in against steam's EULA though which says you cannot issue charge backs. With the legal precedent though of being able to return windows on laptops it seems like you would have the advantage. It is quite possible that if you contact a lawyer and get help drafting a letter (that you would send via certified mail) that they will restore your account sans that game to avoid legal costs associate with travel and litigation.

*note: I am not a lawyer

[Leviathan41]

That's tough, have you asked them if there is another way you can return the money you charged-back because their bank is not accepting it? Maybe they will provide you another option? Or, since the point of contention seems to be whether or not this game actually had the DRM, could you have another user provide the screenshot on your behalf?

You could try posting on the Steam forums, maybe a Valve employee will see your story and take care of it, although you may just get one of the non-Valve forum mods that says "contact support" without really reading your post.

[dumpa]

That's tough, have you asked them if there is another way you can return the money you charged-back because their bank is not accepting it? Maybe they will provide you another option? Or, since the point of contention seems to be whether or not this game actually had the DRM, could you have another user provide the screenshot on your behalf?

You could try posting on the Steam forums, maybe a Valve employee will see your story and take care of it, although you may just get one of the non-Valve forum mods that says "contact support" without really reading your post.

There is thread with people posting about it and complaining about not being told about it prior to purchase. No Steam employee ever posted in there. I was thinking of maybe starting a thread but they have this draconian approach to this and I doubt it would do anything but get deleted.

In fact of all the emails sent only one was describing the DRM wasn't there and offered a Steam wallet refund. Not once they replied about me asking for access to my other games. They simply state they are missing the funds for this game and they can't enable my account until they get a refund or I show a proof of my credit card company issuing a refund. They also make it sound as if they are making an exception and a favor to me for doing this.

It's like there is a computer system auto generating responses to my emails. And as far as buying another game from Steam LOL not going happen. In fact every game I buy I read the fine print in the back making sure it's not a Steam game.

[RADIO_ACTIVE]

I'm dealing with an issue with Steam as well. I was double charged by both Steam and Trion for Rift, and its becoming annoying (5 phone calls, with 10-15 minutes of hold time each, 4 emails, 3 support tickets), they keep wanting more info, more screenshots of recepts and cd keys. I hope they don't pull some crap like they did with you. What if I was really tight with money and had to pay rent but couldn't because I was short the money they over charged me. Plus Steam support is just crap.

[dumpa]

I'm dealing with an issue with Steam as well. I was double charged by both Steam and Trion for Rift, and its becoming annoying (5 phone calls, with 10-15 minutes of hold time each, 4 emails, 3 support tickets), they keep wanting more info, more screenshots of recepts and cd keys. I hope they don't pull some crap like they did with you. What if I was really tight with money and had to pay rent but couldn't because I was short the money they over charged me. Plus Steam support is just crap.

Is there a phone number I can call? That would be great if you can share that info. I've been trying for months to talk to someone...

[Theocnoob]

This is why every game I have came in a box. I would sue but only if the lawyer said I couldnt get in any more trouble by doing so.

[jsharpley]

It sounds like a miserable situation, and whether or not Valve has a legal right to do what they have, their actions seem horribly abusive and extremely bad mannered. So far as I see it, the problem was created when a publisher, on Valve's platform, did not fully disclose details about a rather restrictive aspect of their software. I think I would have done the same as you if I could not bring myself to accept the terms of the software title. Your approach seems rational and calm, and I really feel for you given how much extra trouble their original mistake has caused you.

Very bad show, Valve. F*cking shame on you.

[dumpa]

This is why every game I have came in a box. I would sue but only if the lawyer said I couldnt get in any more trouble by doing so.

You do realize that some boxed games are also Steam versions. For example Homefront and Total War:Shogun 2. Read the fine print on the back of the box. The only thing I can think of is use separate accounts for each game but it would be a hassle.

[RADIO_ACTIVE]

Is there a phone number I can call? That would be great if you can share that info. I've been trying for months to talk to someone...I have yet to get a phone # for contacting Steam. I am currently dealing with Trion Support Staff, but they are requesting Steam purchase info, and CD Keys. I think for my situation Trion Support handles it I guess.

sorry for the late response I was out of town.

[Lennan]

I've had a steam account for a few years now with no problems, but I have heard of them being a bunch of idiots when it comes to customer service.
I sincerely hope nobody else has to go through this, and honestly if I was in your position and had the power, I'd sue the **** out of them. Just sayin'.

[dumpa]

Got my account back yesterday! :D Finally someone at Steam did the right thing and re enabled my account and removed the disputed game from my library. This is something I have been asking since day one!
Now that I know there are some good people with Steam I may even start purchasing games again but I will make sure to check other websites first since I no longer trust Steam to provide bundled DRM info.

[jsharpley]

Awesome... GL with future purchases.

[Leviathan41]

Glad to hear you got your account back! :)

[X0d1@k]

You do realize that some boxed games are also Steam versions. For example Homefront and Total War:Shogun 2. Read the fine print on the back of the box. The only thing I can think of is use separate accounts for each game but it would be a hassle.

Ive often debated with myself on creating new Steam accounts everytime i purchase a Steam-activated game, in-box or not. The thing that irks me is that even if you have more than one Steam account, they will not, cannot ever merge the two together. Regardless if you give them proof you own both accounts, so yea, you are either stuck with games you cannot ever sell to anyone, or you are stuck creating 20 Steam accounts, which you will have to remember at all times.

I hate Steam, but thats that. I would be more worth it, if your Steam games backed up your save games in the Steam cloud as well (in case of emergency reinstall-format), but that is not always the case either. For the games i have on Steam, its about 4/10 that save to the Steam cloud.

[RADIO_ACTIVE]

Well thats good news, did they just randomly notify you or something? Maybe they were watching this thread lol.
But seriously for a company that provides 90% (just a guess) of all PC games, and do it digitally, one would think they would have telephone support, especially with all the issues that could happen and do happen.

[burningcpu]

What gets me is that you aren't able to have more than 1 game on your account active at any given time. Before I realized better, I purchased some 20 games on my primary account. My wife got into one of them, and because they were tied to the same account, we had to take turns playing. NOT cool. It would make sense if they limited you to 1 user per game you purchased, but the way they have it is completely unfair.

From then on, I purchased each of my games on a new user account. And yes, this is a pain in the rear. I have something like 10 user accounts now. Luckily I was able to simply increment my username (like username1, username2) and keep the password the same for all the accounts. It is also lame because at the time I was in a clan, and I started pissing people off because they had to add multiple steam accounts for just me.

Your experience scares me. I've put too much money into their system to have my games held for ransom.

[Aynjell]

This is scary stuff indeed. I have had my pc games stolen. having had this happen I took the digital approach to my game purchases. The only thing that survived that situation was my pc and my steam account, all my disc based games were stolen that day.

That said, this is a really crappy situation and boils my blood. Having a 1500$ steam account means this really hits home for me. valve needs to step up their customer service a huge notch.

I'm guess this is in relation to assassin's creed? :O

[dumpa]

Well thats good news, did they just randomly notify you or something? Maybe they were watching this thread lol.
But seriously for a company that provides 90% (just a guess) of all PC games, and do it digitally, one would think they would have telephone support, especially with all the issues that could happen and do happen.

I posted in their forum and asked for help (last ditch effort prior to suing them) and they locked the thread and the next day I got a message they have enabled my account.

[freakdiablo]

I posted in their forum and asked for help (last ditch effort prior to suing them) and they locked the thread and the next day I got a message they have enabled my account.

So you had to resort to bad publicity and threaten to sue to get positive results? That's kind of scary actually. Glad you got your account back though.

[RADIO_ACTIVE]

I posted in their forum and asked for help (last ditch effort prior to suing them) and they locked the thread and the next day I got a message they have enabled my account.Thats crazy.

I got my refund last night for the double billing.

[Lukee]

Maybe their only good CS agent was on vacation?