Boo Hoo Hooooooooooooooo :: Steam Community

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steh575 17 Sep @ 1:53pm

Boo Hoo Hooooooooooooooo

Well, thank you very much Steam.
I recently bought the game Scorchlands.
As a person with less time to enjoy gaming with a number of rather important things requiring too much of my attention, from a gas leak and having the supply rerouted and my floorboards taken up and pipes relaid and pretty much turning everything upside down, then onto some nice lovely storms and freak rains that have seen my roof damaged and leaking and insurance company taking their sweet time, meanwhile in the background an ongoing thing with my solicitor with regard to the untimely death of my father due to negligence of hospital admin staff, you really could not make up the bloody misfortune, it is like some sick dark humoured comedy show that is so crap it does not have a big fanbase, but all that aside I decide to treat myself to a game from the Steam sale, something that is stress free and an escape from all the bs i have to deal with daily. My limited time saw me buy the game and then not be able to play it for quite a few days, when i did install it and play it i had a short amount of time to just take a look at it, it seemed rather fiddly and not very much like it was described, so, as soon as I had some time to sit and try to play it properly and take it all in and enjoy it, I did, well, apart from the enjoying it part, it was definitely too fiddly and just does not seem anything like the game i was reading about in it's description.
So, I submit a refund, which is something I have never done before, and a real reason as to why I tend to buy from elsewhere for cheaper as if a game is total crap or, as in this case, not very enjoyable and sold under false pretences and false advertising under a misleading game description, then you do not lose out so badly, and yet, even though this game was purchased at a reduced sale price, my refund request was denied based on the fact my purchase was over 2 weeks regardless of me not even having the chance to play it, which is logged in my Steam game history. Absolutely laughable, but it is not that funny.
If this is an example of how Steam treats it's customers, especially one who has never asked for a refund before and not to be shown any courtesy of being able to give a valid reason for not doing it all sooner, then back to the game key sites spending pennies it will be for me.
Delisting games all over the show and disgruntled punters growing in numbers, what has become of this platform?

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Showing 1-15 of 17 comments

Thermal Lance 17 Sep @ 1:58pm

If you are not too much over the limit. Try a manual request. They might granted but it's not guaranteed.

You are free to pick another platform if you want. But they all have restrictions on refund.

Thermal Lance 17 Sep @ 1:58pm

Oh and everybody's treated equal. You are no more special than I am.

nullable 17 Sep @ 2:00pm

The automated process will deny you solely on time played and date from purchase though.

To make a manual ticket, Go to the help section, select the game you purchased, there's an option "I have a question about this purchase" and explain your issue nicely and concisely and hope for the best. And depending on how far past date you are you might have top accept that "No." is a complete and fair answer.

If you're weeks past the two weeks refund period you may not be eligible regardless. And in the same token, customers don't like being told no and can often rationalize that they're owed special treatment because... Well, I'm not sure I agree. Your misfortune doesn't negate the policy. Good luck.

Last edited by nullable; 17 Sep @ 2:02pm

Alexander HAMilton 17 Sep @ 2:11pm

As others have stated, Steam has been known to make exceptions to their policy when the user is filing a manual refund on good faith.

I am sorry for your loss, dealing with a parent's passing is difficult, especially all the logistics of closing accounts, handling funds, burial, etc.

File a manual refund, as others here have stated. The worst Support can say is no, after all.

Be clear, concise, and polite. You get more flies with honey than you do vinegar.

However it being close to a month since something was added to your library (assuming that's scorchlands). That means you might be 2 weeks over the limit? That MIGHT be pushing it, however it's worth a try. Support might sympathize with your situation.

I'm making no guarantees, and am advising you don't get your hopes up. Even if they say no, I advise still being polite with them, if just to build a better rapport in case other issues arise.

Last edited by Alexander HAMilton; 17 Sep @ 2:14pm

AmsterdamHeavy 17 Sep @ 2:22pm

If its your first refund, do a manual request and it WILL be accepted. Im no Valve employee but they give everyone a freebie outside of policy to my experience. Just be polite in the manual request.

That all being said, your attempt to invoke sympathy or whatever all of that unnecessary disclosure was falls flat.

Shreddy 17 Sep @ 3:23pm

Originally posted by ุ:
As others have stated, Steam has been known to make exceptions to their policy when the user is filing a manual refund on good faith.

I am sorry for your loss, dealing with a parent's passing is difficult, especially all the logistics of closing accounts, handling funds, burial, etc.

File a manual refund, as others here have stated. The worst Support can say is no, after all.

Be clear, concise, and polite. You get more flies with honey than you do vinegar.

However it being close to a month since something was added to your library (assuming that's scorchlands). That means you might be 2 weeks over the limit? That MIGHT be pushing it, however it's worth a try. Support might sympathize with your situation.

I'm making no guarantees, and am advising you don't get your hopes up. Even if they say no, I advise still being polite with them, if just to build a better rapport in case other issues arise.

Lmao steam has been known to make exceptions when a user refused to accept their 2 hour BS and points out what their countries consumer laws are, it has nothing to do with “good faith”. Steam is obligated to follow the laws of the countries it sells games in and no country on earth has a 2 hour refund window on purchased goods.

steh575 17 Sep @ 3:25pm

Well thanks for the responses, even the more negative ones. I am not looking for sympathy I am saying why I have had a lot going on and not just being on here playing other games whilst the 2 weeks expired, things you do not expect to happen, the knock-on effects can be all consuming, as in my case, hence why I add it, I did not just buy a game and then decide after ages of playing, I bought it during some down time I spent on here, it was quite possibly 2 weeks before I even got chance to install it, I had 3 attempts to get to grips with it over what took another week to 10 days, I really do not know as I have barely had chance to fart nevermind analyse my time spent on here.
I am also not happy with the game description making out it is a carefree and laidback easy going city builder type thing when it is actually quite fiddly and has quite a bit of info to take in just to get going, it just felt like it was not the game being described :s
I think I will be too far past any consideration, I am just glad it was on sale, asking for refunds for games is not something I think of but it was suggested to me that I should try, so I did, maybe I expect too much of a customer service and do not fully appreciate it's general lack of existence in this modern world of automation.
I will look at it again sometime I can spend a few hours with it maybe when can find more time, if it is a month since buying it then I doubt theres any chance at all to refund it anyway

AmsterdamHeavy 17 Sep @ 5:31pm

Originally posted by steh575:
Well thanks for the responses, even the more negative ones. I am not looking for sympathy I am saying why I have had a lot going on and not just being on here playing other games whilst the 2 weeks expired, things you do not expect to happen, the knock-on effects can be all consuming, as in my case, hence why I add it, I did not just buy a game and then decide after ages of playing, I bought it during some down time I spent on here, it was quite possibly 2 weeks before I even got chance to install it, I had 3 attempts to get to grips with it over what took another week to 10 days, I really do not know as I have barely had chance to fart nevermind analyse my time spent on here.
I am also not happy with the game description making out it is a carefree and laidback easy going city builder type thing when it is actually quite fiddly and has quite a bit of info to take in just to get going, it just felt like it was not the game being described :s
I think I will be too far past any consideration, I am just glad it was on sale, asking for refunds for games is not something I think of but it was suggested to me that I should try, so I did, maybe I expect too much of a customer service and do not fully appreciate it's general lack of existence in this modern world of automation.
I will look at it again sometime I can spend a few hours with it maybe when can find more time, if it is a month since buying it then I doubt theres any chance at all to refund it anyway

No, really. Dont keep the game if you dont like it.

I once, my first, refund was over 2 weeks and 16 hours of play time. I was denied. I insisted. I was given a refund, ONCE, way outside of the guidelines. If anyone is curious it was the debacle that was the NMS launch.

But seriously. Open the manual request. I believe it is: Help/Support/Recent Products

Someone please correct me if I got that wrong.

Tito Shivan 18 Sep @ 12:05am

Every refund request has its own special history behind making it unique. You'll probably be in the same situation had you bought the game at a physical store, they also have rules on how long they can accept refunds.

Your best chance is a manual ticket and crossing your fingers.

Jon the VGNerd 18 Sep @ 1:20am

Originally posted by Tito Shivan:
Every refund request has its own special history behind making it unique. You'll probably be in the same situation had you bought the game at a physical store, they also have rules on how long they can accept refunds.

Your best chance is a manual ticket and crossing your fingers.

In my case, it was more related to a user who doxxed my personal info, who got a community ban as a result. The other was from years ago when I refunded a game that was under EA and the devs have long stopped updating their game and abandoned it altogether and got my refund as a result.

#10

D. Flame 18 Sep @ 1:50am

I have gotten 2 or 3 refunds outside of the normal refund limits. I filed a manual ticket, bypassing the automatic system, explained the situation politely, described why I thought I deserved an exception, and they approved it.

Just make sure to be polite because a real person can still say no, and that is more likely to happen if you are unkind.

#11

Volfogg 18 Sep @ 2:29am

Personally I never refunded a single game here, so I don't know how it is like. I simply tend to forget I have games I don't like or don't work anymore in my library.
For some reason it doesn't bother me that much.

#12

Alexander HAMilton 18 Sep @ 12:15pm

Originally posted by Shreddy:
Originally posted by ุ:
As others have stated, Steam has been known to make exceptions to their policy when the user is filing a manual refund on good faith.

I am sorry for your loss, dealing with a parent's passing is difficult, especially all the logistics of closing accounts, handling funds, burial, etc.

File a manual refund, as others here have stated. The worst Support can say is no, after all.

Be clear, concise, and polite. You get more flies with honey than you do vinegar.

However it being close to a month since something was added to your library (assuming that's scorchlands). That means you might be 2 weeks over the limit? That MIGHT be pushing it, however it's worth a try. Support might sympathize with your situation.

I'm making no guarantees, and am advising you don't get your hopes up. Even if they say no, I advise still being polite with them, if just to build a better rapport in case other issues arise.
Lmao steam has been known to make exceptions when a user refused to accept their 2 hour BS and points out what their countries consumer laws are, it has nothing to do with “good faith”. Steam is obligated to follow the laws of the countries it sells games in and no country on earth has a 2 hour refund window on purchased goods.

You'd notice if you read, we're not talking the 2 hour playtime stipulation. But being past the two weeks after purchase, in this instance. By almost a full 2-3 weeks.

#13

Princess Luna 18 Sep @ 12:18pm

Ah yes - once a month we a get new user who does not know that you cant refund after 2 weeks

#14

Nx Machina 18 Sep @ 12:30pm

Originally posted by Shreddy:
Lmao steam has been known to make exceptions when a user refused to accept their 2 hour BS and points out what their countries consumer laws are, it has nothing to do with “good faith”. Steam is obligated to follow the laws of the countries it sells games in and no country on earth has a 2 hour refund window on purchased goods.

Refund policies - Take your pick. Note: (***) same refund policy.

(A) (***) Steam - Within two weeks of purchase and with less than two hours of playtime.

(B) (***) Epic - Games and products are eligible for refund within 14 days of purchase. However, you must have less than 2 hours of runtime on record.

(C) (***) Ubisoft (UPDATED) - You can request a refund for a digital PC game within 14 days of your purchase, as long as the game has not been played for more than two hours.

Previously it was: (You can request a refund for a digital order within 14 days of your purchase, as long as the content has not been launched).

(D) EA Play - Whichever comes first.

1) Within 24 hours after you first launch the game.

2) Within 14 days from the day you bought it, if you have not launched the game.

3) Within 14 days from the release date if you pre-ordered the game, if you haven't launched it yet.

(E) Blizzard - The game is newly purchased within the last 3 days. You haven't started the game; if the game has been played at all it won't qualify for a refund.

(F) GOG - starting now, you can get a full refund up to 30 days after purchasing a product, even if you downloaded, launched, and played it. That's it. #

# (Open to abuse and they monitor for abuse and reserve the right to refuse a refund as do all PC stores). https://ibb.co/ZzXPMwv

Even GOG the people's champion have set criteria for refunds.

How often can I refund my games? Is there some sort of limit?

We trust that you're making "informed purchasing decisions" and will use this updated "voluntary" Refund Policy "only" if something doesn't work as you expected.

We reserve the right to refuse refunds, or only offer Wallet Funds conversions, in individual cases.

Please respect all the time and hard work put into making the games you play and remember that refunds are not reviews. If you finished the game and didn't like it, please consider sharing your opinion instead.

Also, please don't take advantage of our trust by asking for an unreasonable amount of games to be refunded. Don't be that person. No one likes that person.

As for Australia the Judge ruled that Valve had not informed consumers correctly about the refund policy, ruled against Valve and fined them, BUT the Judge also ruled Valve can refuse refunds because you have to prove a product is defective for everyone and that is hard to do when others are playing the game.

Last edited by Nx Machina; 18 Sep @ 12:36pm

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Date Posted: 17 Sep @ 1:53pm

Posts: 17

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