WTF Steam?

[dgraham78]

Isnt your account a Lifetime membership? if it is how can they ban you from star trek online when your account has no reason to be banned. maybe you can see if cryptic/pwe can unlink steam from sto?

[dgraham78]

if cryptic/pve says they cannot do that, throw some leverage saying that you want the money you paid for your lifetime membership refunded.....

[cmdraftbrn]

Just a heads up, Steam has finally replied to my message, Id like to have a second set of eyes on this because I still dont believe that Steam recognizes my situation (confidential details have been removed).

Thank you for contacting Steam Support.

We apologize for the delay.

The Steam account has been automatically locked due to the payment dispute and is restricted from purchasing, gifting, trading, CD Key activation, and Steam Community access. Additionally, the disputed purchase has been removed from the account.

To unlock your account, you will need to contact your bank and have the bank withdraw the chargeback, cancel the dispute and return the funds to Steam for this purchase. As soon as the chargeback dispute is settled, your account and the disputed game, will automatically unlock.

If your bank is unable to withdraw the chargeback, we will need them to fax an affidavit that clearly states that they are unable to withdraw the chargeback and, more importantly, that the chargeback was not due to the credit card being used fraudulently.

Please have them fax this affidavit to ******** Attn: Fraud Department. Make sure that your bank has included the phone number for their dispute department so that we can verify the statement with them. Please reference your ticket number ********** on your cover letter. As soon as we can confirm this information with your bank, we will review the situation so that we can make an exception and unlock the account even though the chargeback is still pending.

We understand that this is an inconvenience, but we hope that you understand the logic of our actions. We appreciate your patience with this issue.

Id like to know if Steam even acknowledges what has happened, they seem to been keen on simply getting my money back.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

they acknowledge theres a problem, but their taking the victim role.

[Prototype_No.98]

You could be right, I have the feeling this is another Copy and Paste reply that they use for anyone who has issued a chargeback against them.

I am currently writing my reply, I would like to know if anything could be changed before I send it.

Thank you for your reply,
Before we get down to business, I would like some clarification if Steam Support Recognizes and understands my unique situation here. By submitting to your request, I would be loosing the £25.00 in question, in which Steam had no right in taking out of my account in the first place.

If you check my transaction history, you will see that I have made a total of 81 Transactions towards Star Trek Online since 5th March 2012, with a total of £863, not including the £25.00 in question, you can see that my actions have credibility.

I am not contacting Steam Support to resolve an issue regarding this "restriction" as of this moment, I am contacting Steam Support in an attempt to settle this disagreement.

Cant believe I spent over £863 (£987 with Lifetime Sub) on STO since I started playing, I always joked that I didnt want to know how much I have spent on STO, but now I know... Really sad.

[LBlackmoor]

Yeah, from the content of their message, they are essentially saying that they did nothing wrong and your trying to defraud them of money you owe THEM.

They go so far as to demand that even if the bank refuses (or is unable) to rescind the chargeback, that they send them an affidavit stating so, including that it was essentially your fault, and not due to any fraud on their part.

It looks, at least from my perspective, that while the response may have gotten wordier, their essential position (give us the money you stole,) hasn't changed.

my two cents, for what that's worth...

[cmdraftbrn]

rule of acquisition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvFYBkesqGU

[Prototype_No.98]

I cannot believe it, I am absolutely gobsmacked, I heard rumours that Steam Support was terrible but this is a whole new level!

I have sent them my message and this morning I wake up to find this is their reply:

Hello,

You have to contact your bank to withdraw the chargeback.

Once the charback canceled your account will automaticly unlock.

Regards,

It is absolutely clear now, either they havent read my message or they dont give a rats anus, its like talking to a brick wall.

I will not submit to their bad service, I dont care about my account being "restricted", Im asking if my query can me forwarded to this persons superior or Steam's Complaints department (If they have any).

[cmdraftbrn]

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... s-2013.pdf


did a little digging this may or may not apply to this circumstance.

outside of that i'd suggest a lawyer.

[Prototype_No.98]

I suppose this process could fall under "Inertia selling", Since they basically took my money and gave me a service I didnt ask for.

However I think this falls under the category of making a second payment by deception, which is a form of fraud. I know this used to fall under Section15A of the UK Theft Act 1968 (obtaining a money transfer by deception), however that Act is no longer in use.

[Hevach]

http://www.valvesoftware.com/company/people.html

Carpet bomb email everybody with an email link on that list with as detailed an account of events as you can complete, including your dealings with Cryptic/PWE, and the text of any replies you got back from all parties including Steam and your bank.

Send the same information to The Consumerist (tips@consumerist.com) and maybe even find some heavily pro-consumer vlogger like Jim Sterling and see if they might pick it up (not really Sterling's thing since he's more about Steam screwing gamers as a whole and not individual acts of screwing, but emails and tweets are free and once you've finished with the carpet bomb and consumerist submission, you're just pasting it to new addresses).

If Consumerist runs it, submit or email the link to everyplace you can think of - Gamepolitics, Fark, Escapist, Penny Arcade, whoever. Fill the internet. Most will trash it, but Fark might greenlight it to the front page and that'll be all it takes to start bringing out other people screwed in the same way.


It is absolute, positive shit that this method works, but only because it should never come to this - it's much greater shit that it ever does. Greater shit still that people who don't do this, who work through proper channels like you are, get screwed over.