I want my money back!

The funniest thing I think most people in this thread is missing... It won't install!!! Kind of makes all the discussion about meeting minimum specs useless. I have a 300mhz laptop that the game will install on but won't run.
I agree with what someone said about possibly a safedisk compatibility problem. I would try to use the same disks and install on a different computer and see what happens. What exactly is the error and how far do you get on installing?
 
Like enchanter100 said , try installing on another computer or computers. If it installs and runs fine than the problem must be your computer. If it is the disk it will not install on any computers.
 
I had a problem with Silent Hunter III, to make a long story, (4 months long), short, UBSoft finally sent me a factory sealed box that I could return to the store for a refund.
I've been in retail 25 years now, couple things to keep in mind when dealing with employees.
1- Most employees want to do the right thing but are limited with what they have the authority to do.
2- The dept. mgr, store mgr and even district mgr did not make the policy, but are being paid to enforce it.
For all we know Best Buy, as an example, may have posted in the break room an e-mail about fraudulent software returns and stores under no circumstances are allowed to process a refund.
My suggestion would be, if you feel you are at the end of the road instore, to contact the main office. Dont accept talking to the first person that answers the phone, they have the same limitations that the people in the store do. Get as high up the ladder as you can, be persistant and polite. If you shop at Best Buy often, offer to take an in-store credit.
Wish I could help you with the software issue, but I have my share of CD's that are now coasters on my desk.
Good luck...
 
I had a problem installing Silent Hunter on my newest pc a few months ago. It won't install because of the copy protection. I kept ejecting the dvd then inject back in a few times ( it retry to read the dvd)until finally it install. Now I have no problem running the game.
 
Kayigo said:
My retailer (Best Buy) has an exchanges-only policy on software.

At this point, I dont want an exchange. I want my money back.
Click to expand...

This is slowly but surely creeping in in the UK also. It got bad with people buying NWN just so they could get the cd installation key and then returning the game.

Regardless, this is not your fault.

I've never had this problem, but here is what I'd do if a store tried that on me...

DO
while refund = 0
illegally copy the game
exchange the game for another, claiming it was faulty.
LOOP
 
Jimbo30 said:
This is slowly but surely creeping in in the UK also. It got bad with people buying NWN just so they could get the cd installation key and then returning the game.

Regardless, this is not your fault.

I've never had this problem, but here is what I'd do if a store tried that on me...

DO
while refund = 0
illegally copy the game
exchange the game for another, claiming it was faulty.
LOOP
Click to expand...
That would be piracy. Piracy = Bad. Not allowed on these forums. That right there is why stores don't allow refunds on open products. I find it really interesting that you suggest this as a solution when the first part of your post is about how people doing those types of things is resulting in a change in the UK.
 
Ranos said:
That would be piracy. Piracy = Bad. Not allowed on these forums. That right there is why stores don't allow refunds on open products. I find it really interesting that you suggest this as a solution when the first part of your post is about how people doing those types of things is resulting in a change in the UK.
Click to expand...

Ripping off Consumers = Bad.

This is also illegal in the UK, yet it's becoming the norm. Any store MUST replace or refund defective articles here, however they have changed this to suit themselves...ie they must replace.

Sure...they can replace my faulty discs, again and again and again.
 
Kayigo said:
Thanks, but that a) was not my problem and b) not what this thread is about. I have been through the tech support forum and done everything they have suggested short of upgrading my hardware. I want my money back.
Click to expand...
In some retail situations I've encountered a gift card in lieu of a cash/credit refund has been a workable compromise on unacceptable software.

I think it's been mentioned that in a lot of cases the store has to "eat" the cost of software it returns. The issuance of a gift card gives the customer their buying power in that store and the store has that customer back in their aisles. The store also has a record of a customer satisfaction issue with that game's sku attached.
 
As your husband has a PhD in Computer Science, I don't see why you are so up in arms and mad at Firaxis and 2k. Bad batches of game runs happen. It is unfortunate that there is a batch out there of bad disks. However, Best Buy's return policy should allow you to return damaged equipment. You didn't buy the game from Firaxis or 2k Games so your beef isn't with them.
 
"That's because it's a laptop. They are made different. They aren't meant to run like a laptop, you sacrifice a lot to get that portability."

Yes, it's thin and has a battery, but it's more of a desktop replacement.
2.8 ghz , hyperthreaded p4, not a mobile chip. 2 gigs of ram.
dual layer dvd writer, 17 inch screen, 256 mb ati card. 60 meg 7200 rpm HD. If i sacrificed something i don't know what it was.

my old dell with 1 ghz chip, 256 mb ram and 32 meg vid card actually played this game.

I suspect it's an ati problem.

You know, i was at a music software web site, and they had posted a msft hot fix for xp or sp2, which they said helped memory resources. I wonder if that will help?

i can play with the map with 11 civs
 
auldian said:
In some retail situations I've encountered a gift card in lieu of a cash/credit refund has been a workable compromise on unacceptable software.
Click to expand...

That might be workable for some, but not for others. In this case the OP has made it clear that a replacement is not what she wants.

I think it's been mentioned that in a lot of cases the store has to "eat" the cost of software it returns.
Click to expand...

That's a load of crap that some clever store manager thought up.

The issuance of a gift card gives the customer their buying power in that store and the store has that customer back in their aisles. The store also has a record of a customer satisfaction issue with that game's sku attached.
Click to expand...

Eh? So you get a choice of a gift card only redeemable in that store or you can have a replacement. The difference is.....?

The stores think that once you've paid for an item, your money now belongs to them...regardless of what happens thereafter. It has nothing to do with the store 'eating' the cost of returns and everything to do with the store trying to keep the profit on the article they sold.

This is probably illegal in every country in the world outside of the US.
 
Jimbo30 said:
This is probably illegal in every country in the world outside of the US.
Click to expand...
It isn't illegal but it is bad business. You are essentually agreeing to a contract when you purchase something. It is one thing if you don't have a reciept but it is technically legal. Capitalism certainly has its problems these days.
 
enchanter100 said:
The funniest thing I think most people in this thread is missing... It won't install!!! Kind of makes all the discussion about meeting minimum specs useless. I have a 300mhz laptop that the game will install on but won't run.
I agree with what someone said about possibly a safedisk compatibility problem. I would try to use the same disks and install on a different computer and see what happens. What exactly is the error and how far do you get on installing?
Click to expand...
From Kayigo:
2) even when the discs DO work, the game has problems in the program itself that are not resolved by the most current patch

As a consumer, I find this poor quality unacceptable.

My retailer (Best Buy) has an exchanges-only policy on software.
At this point, I dont want an exchange. I want my money back.

For $50, we deserve a product that works. Not one that sort of works after two exchanges if you replace your graphics card, and may still crash in the late stages of the game.
Click to expand...
It looks like she got it to install finally, but she still was unable to run the game on her computer which meets or exceeds the min. requirements. Personally I don't believe any Min. requirements on games anymore, it seems to me every computer is so different that its impossible to forecast its playability from a generic set of guidelines. And with all the problems of returning a game to a store (hence this thread) I truly believe that you must play a demo of the game before you purchase it, or borrow it from a Friend to try it out. Otherwise you could be out $50...:mad:
 
Having a no-refund policy does not protect a company from living up to its end of the bargain. Ask for a refund from whoever is responsible for the no-refund policy. if they dont grant it, contact a consumer protection agency. California has a few of them.
 
I had a friend get his money back once from Best Buy for a game that was within his computer specs. He told the manger that he would come back to the store every day with a new opened game, until he got his money back! And he got his money back (and yes he would have gone there every day until he got his money back even if it cost him 10 times the price of the game in gas!)
 
It just amazes me the number of people who jump on the minimum specs bandwagon, or have some notion that its an ATI card issue. For heavens sake ppl.... its an *INSTALL* problem. Her PC *cant read the install disk*. How could this possibly be an ATI card problem? Do ppl actually read the thread before they reply?
As I said earlier, if she has tried 2 sets of disks and gets the same problem with both, its probably a problem with the CD drive not being able to read the disks. Almost certainly a incompatibility with safedisk. (As stated before this was an issue with some drives and civ III)
 
ShooterSix said:
Know what? I simply downloaded the game from www.direct2drive.com and boom, everything is beyond perfect :) I understand you want your money back, as would I. If this DOES happen, and you want a crack at it, I suggest looking at www.direct2drive.com for your gaming needs.
Click to expand...
has direct2drive released a patch yet, last I heard people were still waiting on 1.09 . I could be wrong
 
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