Blizzard "battle.net" "support"

[philehidiot]

I've emailed these people twice now asking for a refund for COD as it's not playable and stated the appropriate laws. I've had no reply.

Steam has a refund button. I can find no such option on Blizzard's store.

Searching help for "refund" provides no articles aside from how to refund in-game items for in-game currency.

Just a warning that customer service is not on their priority list. Buyer beware.

I will be going to Paypal to get my money back if I don't hear from them within 7 days.

[Ferral]

Just found this on Reddit :


Refund Steps:

Visit https://us.battle.net/support/en/help

Click "COD Modern Warfare."

Click "Payments" (If you don't see payments, click "I would rather categorize the issue."

Click "Request a refund" or "Refunds."

Select the reason for refund as "Tech issues" or whatever you want.

You get refunded.

Refund Conditions:

Did not even start or play the game.

Refund only available for 3 days after you bought it. It seems any play time won't get you a refund.

[philehidiot]

I was looking on their website, not Reddit.

But once you've started the game and found it won't load properly, you have no way to refund. This is only there to satisfy distance selling regulations and not problems where the game fails to load or is unplayable.

I WILL get a refund. If required I'll take them to court because I WILL NOT be treated like dirt by these people who think that their popular franchise puts them above the law.

GRRRR.

Additionally, I wonder if I'm not seeing it on the official site due to a difference in UK and US? I tried and I got "'pooter says no".

EDIT: I'm appealing.... (that's a minority view).

[Ferral]

It is ridiculous them not bothering to get back to you. This is Activisions doing, instead of just putting the game on Steam, decided to use their (well Blizzards) Battle Net like they did with Destiny 2.

This is why I don't bother with AAA on PC now, it is to much of a chew on. I bought Mafia 3 when it came out on Steam and it worked until they started releasing the patches. Now it crashes to desktop and does other weird stuff like not keeping settings and loading up in windowed mode (not borderless). So I bought it again with season pass on XB1 and no trouble at all with it and it looks all but as good as PC maxxed out given I have the 1X and it is running in 4K

[philehidiot]

I've had a couple of games mysteriously stop working after enforced patches. Is it to convince you to buy the new one when you were satisfied?

Interestingly, since I used your instructions, I have had an automated response to my email address confirming receipt which is something I didn't get with the first two.

I have quoted the ticket numbers from the previous attempts to contact them.

If I get nothing back, I'll complain to Paypal. Then to my credit card issuer and then to the ombudsman.

Thanks for the help, it's appreciated.

[Saracen999]

....

If I get nothing back, I'll complain to Paypal. Then to my credit card issuer and then to the ombudsman.

....

Just a heads-up for you.

If you paid at the site with PayPal, and gave PayPal your crexit-carx number, then the crecit card company will lkke refuse any refund.

Why?

Because ylu have created two transactions, two contracts if you prefer. One if between supplier and PayPal, and the second is between PayPal and the card company. Thus, legally, the credit-card company is not a party to the contract you have a problem with, which is between PayPal and the supplier of "faulty"goods.

The contract between card comoany and PayPal worked perfectly. But the one from PayPal to supplier did not. It might seem like one transaction from your viewpoint, but legally, it's two separate ones.

This is a well-known exception to credit card liability ..... unless it's changed and I haven't noticed.



Edit - it has changed a bit , but it depends on the contract befween supplier and PayPal. If it's a Commercial Entity Agreement, then your S.75 rights still work.

[philehidiot]

Just a heads-up for you.

If you paid at the site with PayPal, and gave PayPal your crexit-carx number, then the crecit card company will lkke refuse any refund.

Why?

Because ylu have created two transactions, two contracts if you prefer. One if between supplier and PayPal, and the second is between PayPal and the card company. Thus, legally, the credit-card company is not a party to the contract you have a problem with, which is between PayPal and the supplier of "faulty"goods.

The contract between card comoany and PayPal worked perfectly. But the one from PayPal to supplier did not. It might seem like one transaction from your viewpoint, but legally, it's two separate ones.

This is a well-known exception to credit card liability ..... unless it's changed and I haven't noticed.



Edit - it has changed a bit , but it depends on the contract befween supplier and PayPal. If it's a Commercial Entity Agreement, then your S.75 rights still work.

Cheers, they are refusing and I've basically said your terms of sale don't grant you the right to violate the laws of the country in which you operate. I've strongly suggested they talk to their legal team and said it's the last time I will ask nicely.

I will not be bullied by companies who think they're above the law. If you don't want to abide by UK consumer law, don't sell your product here. Simples. You can't have all the rights to my money with none of the responsibilities.

They have one more chance. After this, I'll go through Paypal first and then my credit card company. I'll also be sending all this to various large YouTubers and social media entities to ensure maximum spread.

I have a lot of patience but when I snap, I get all autistic.

[Saracen999]

Silly question, maybe, but .... you have checked that it's actually UK law they're operating in? I mean, the actual contract is with Blizzard UK, under UK law, not Blizzard Luxembourg, or Ireland, or even US?

[Spud1]

Whats the problem you are having with the game? Maybe we can help you resolve that instead?

I'd be amazed if you manage to get a refund..as much as I symathise, the game itself works for hundreds of thousands of people, so i'm not convinced there is a good case for a refund under the SOGA for example. What laws are you looking at/quoting to them?

Steam offers a great refund policy, and blizzard used to...but since Activision bought them they have tightened up and are no where near as caring/flexible when it comes to this sort of thing

[Roderick]

Have you tried contacting their support ? They're responding really fast in general

[philehidiot]

Just as an update, I got my refund.

I will not abide companies who fail to comply with their responsibilities. If you want the right to make money off UK citizens, you comply with the rules. If your product does not work, you WILL refund it. There is zero cost to you doing this when it's a download. If you refuse to refund it, I WILL make you.

I had to contact Paypal, explain the situation and then the relevant laws and exactly the sections being violated. They contacted Blizzard and got it refunded. It is a disgrace that I had to use my payment provider to get a refund. I am playing games on a reasonably high spec gaming PC which plays most games at 4K and full settings. There is usually no issue. Their product doesn't work on a system designed and built for the purpose of gaming. Their first troubleshooting step is to "run a cable". This shouldn't be required for single player mode anyway so it's an artificial restriction and on top of that I'm not spending money on a cable and / or drilling holes in my house to troubleshoot a game and may or may not work. The solution is for them to remove their stupid, intrusive and broken DRM which adds no value to the game.

I will not buy another thing off Blizzard. Their attitude to their customers is shocking. Multiple contacts to get one response after several days. Only 72 hours refund time is not enough time to troubleshoot effectively. "All sales are final" may work in the US and in certain situations but, when you have artificially added restrictions to your product, and those restrictions mean your product doesn't work..... you have no leg to stand on. I didn't notice the disk space requirements (they weren't immediately clear but definitely my fault) and found I had to buy a new SSD to download the game. That was my 72 hours gone.

I wouldn't ever say to people "don't by from these people because I had a bad experience", but I'd strongly advise anyone buying off Blizzard to use Paypal AND ideally a credit card. Blizzard is anti consumer to the core and only directing Paypal to the exact legislation protecting consumers from abuse from big companies got me a refund.

I will now hold up my end of the bargain and delete all the game data from my system. I expect their DRM will stop me from being able to play it, although I won't be testing this.... amusingly, as they refuse legitimate refunds, it's not a very useful function.