Steam pay now policy

[Osama Bin Davis]

I view chargebacks as a reasonable precaution against Steam accidentally adding a 0 to the bill.

3 posts above is my stance on the issue.

I don't like steam and many practices they use. But chargebacks aren't meant as a simple refund tool for the consumer, its a safeguard against theft from the consumer. Far too many people resort to using it before even discussing matters with the vendor, and then many people use it to steal from vendors.

I find it highly unlikely you would have to use a chargeback with a vendor such as steam, if you buy a game by mistake you obviously made a mistake yourself and no one else is to blame. And it is highly rare that there is a mistake in the transfer, and then you can actually use the support, which in the case worked for me fine (in other cases they were useless, but it seems when it comes to money they are actually on the ball)

They should put a big warning up about the pre-orders though.

 

[plesniak]

Steam will do what ever they can to get your money...if the game doesn't work...they don't care. If you complain to them about thier poor service...they don't care. If everyone stopped doing business with Steam they would go out of business...There should only be one warning in regards to Steam...THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF IF THEY CAN...DONT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM!! Taking money out of ppls accounts and not sending billing info is totally irresponsible.

THis kind of behavoir by a company should tell the whole story right there...Steam is not to be trusted. They only do what is in there best interest. They care only about getting money from you.

YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WARNED NOW.

 

[epicivfreak]

They only do what is in there best interest. They care only about getting money from you.

We cannot let this stand! How dare they act like every other for-profit business on the planet, doing what's in their best interest, trying to make a profit, and all that other stuff.

 

[MaxCiv]

Taking money out of ppls accounts and not sending billing info is totally irresponsible.

First, every time I purchase anything from Steam, preorder or not, I get a mail within 2 minutes stating exactly what I Just purchased and how much it was.

Second if you buy a preorder on Steam you will be charged the full amount. Many retail stores do the same, I don't see anything wrong with that.

 

[bhavv]

When you unjustly file a chargeback against a company, you're in essence stealing from them.

Not offering full refunds within 7 days for all brand new purchases is also illegal, I dont understand how steam gets away with that.

 

[Senethro]

Not offering full refunds within 7 days for all brand new purchases is also illegal, I dont understand how steam gets away with that.

Sounds like you got a rock solid case bro, why not sue them?

 

[LightSpectra]

Not offering full refunds within 7 days for all brand new purchases is also illegal, I dont understand how steam gets away with that.

I don't know where you're from, but that's a load of malarkey if you're speaking about the U.S. Otherwise I'd never pay a cent for video games; I'd always return them on the seventh day, as would all smart consumers.

 

[isndl]

I don't know where you're from, but that's a load of malarkey if you're speaking about the U.S. Otherwise I'd never pay a cent for video games; I'd always return them on the seventh day, as would all smart consumers.

People are going to abuse return policies regardless of what the item is. Some people will buy clothes and return them once they've worn them, or 'buy' a high definition television right before a major sports game. The solution is to stop selling to those people, rather than abolish the return system.

 

[Mercade]

So if I read well, this is the summary of the thread:

1. When you pre-order at Steam, you have to pay the full amount up front. You get an e-invoice by e-mail.
2. Other companies may have different pre-order payment options, e.g. on dispatch.
3. If you want to cancel your Steam pre-order before delivery, you can do so and get a full refund.
4. Don't use a ChargeBack as that's a mechanism meant for undoing fraud by a company.
5. Steam will terminate the account of anyone who does a ChargeBack against them (with all consequences).
6. There's no need to do a pre-order this long before the release anyway. No pre-order, no need for a refund either.

Did I miss anything? Otherwise, moving along, nothing here to see.

 

[krasny]

Unless there is a compelling reason to preorder, eg. a substantial discount, people who preorder are idiots.

Seriously, they're drooling imbeciles.

They give money to a vendor for no reason.

Moderator Action: Trolling
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[xmen510]

A lot of people pre-order to make sure they will be able to afford it when it comes out. No need to go around insulting people for that. Not everyone can afford things at the drop of a hat.

 

[toft]

I dont know about other countries, but in Denmark it's illegal to charge a creditcard for a product that haven't been shipped or delivered. And why preorder all together?? It's not like Steam is suddenly running out of games, as it's just a download.

I have bought about 6 or 7 games through Steam and haven't had a problem yet. International trade, foreign trade legislations/laws isn't as easy as the local Blockbuster when it comes to refunds, but if there isn't any problems then I'd say Steam is better than a DVD.

 

[krasny]

Most civvers can afford the cost of a video game. Those who can't will pay for it using their credit card to spread / defer payment.

If they can afford to preorder, then just save the money until the game comes out.

 

[BobDole]

Most civvers can afford the cost of a video game. Those who can't will pay for it using their credit card to spread / defer payment.

If they can afford to preorder, then just save the money until the game comes out.

Well.....there's been times in the past that not preordering a game meant you were probably screwed if you wanted it at launch. I still remember driving all over to find a copy of GTA: Vice City cause I didn't preorder (I did get it, but it sure wasn't easy, even big chains like Best Buy were totally sold out). Of course, now there never seems to be that problem except for console launches and a few other exceptions (plus, there's more games that you can download....like Civ V) but still, there's nothing wrong with preordering. I like being able to preorder something and then not having to think about doing it later. Plus it means it's guaranteed that it ships on time (if I'm getting a physical copy which I usually do) and in Civ V's case, you can download it before it releases and then have it available once it's officially released without waiting.

 

[GeoModder]

A lot of people pre-order to make sure they will be able to afford it when it comes out. No need to go around insulting people for that. Not everyone can afford things at the drop of a hat.

If someone can pre-order on a certain moment in time they can as well put the money aside that moment to some 'hidden place' and not touch it again until the what they want is available.

 

[tom2050]

If they can afford to preorder, then just save the money until the game comes out.

Valve's (Steam's) bandwidth might run out on Day 0! Pre-order is good in this regard! But if that happens, you still won't be able to play the game if you cannot connect.

 

[Tylerryan79]

I don't like the idea of Steam closing out your account and losing access to your games. I'm curious as to the legal aspect of this. According to the agreement, are they selling you a license, the software, or what?

While I can understand the annoyance of receiving a CB, the cancellation of your account seems childish. Until I understand this more, I'm not pre-ording.

Speaking of pre-ordering, what do you mean about the encrypted version? Is it playable, or just a pre-install so when its released, you instantly have a copy of it ready?

The games you buy from steam are labeled as "subscriptions" in the user agreement. They can cancle your subscriptions at any time for any reason, and you get no refund. Doesnt mention preorders specifically, however it was rather large and boring so i could have missed it.

 

[Macadami]

You preorder to get it at a cheaper price and have the ability to preload the game....this isn't like gamestop where you pay $5-20 -TO- preorder only to have to drive back to the store on release day and pick up a copy.

This is how all digital distributors work, I'm sorry if you didn't read the details or have zero experience in preordering from an online vendor. It is actually quite nice and some games(not most but some) have been known to work a couple of days before the store copies are even released. Even if not, you do not have to wait anytime at all to play, 12:00AM of the day of release and the game should be activated and ready to be launched.

Sure you could wait until that day and actually pay full price to order and download a copy and wait to play it until the download and install are finished....but why?

As to the people saying 'what if the game doesn't work!?!'.....seriously? If the game becomes vaporware you will get a full refund....but uh chances are Civ V isn't just going to puff out of existence.

I haven't purchased a hard copy game in probably 5 years now, digital distributors are the way to go. Never have to worry about keeping up with disks, never have to worry about keeping up with CD codes, never have to worry about having the disk inserted to play....Hell i don't even have a DVD drive installed anymore.

 

[Alki]

Never need to worry about your kids using them as 'impromptu ice skates'.

 

[Tony.Uk]

THanks for all the responses, quite a lot in fact. Clearly I made a mistake by preordering from Steam, wont make the same mistake twice. What I am worried about is that they might charge me again for this. I have asked them for a receipt but they have not responded and I think that no responsible company would take money up front like this until the goods have been sent, or released in this case. If nothing else let this thread serve as a warning to others who preorder from Steam. They dont exactly make this very clear in block letters before ordering do they.