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Valve under fire from Aussie consumer watchdog over refunds
Even though you're not based in Australia you still have to play by our rules
byJessica Citizen Aug 30, 2014
Video game publisher Valve is being sued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) over its apparent refusal to refund customers for defective games. Valve, creator of digital distribution network Steam (which boasts a userbase of more than 65 million gamers), has a blanket "no refund" policy, regardless of where in the world its customers live.
This doesn't sit so well with the ACCC, which argues that because Valve is operating in Australia by selling to an estimated 1.3 million Australian consumers, it doesn't matter where in the world the company is physically based, it is still held to Australian Consumer Law.
That law gives Australian consumers the right to request refunds or other remedies from retailers or manufacturers, when goods fail to live up to expectations. (In Valve's case, this means a game that does not work, as opposed to a game that is less fun than a gamer may have hoped.) The ACL explains that if a good is not of acceptable quality, the consumer may be entitled to a replacement item or outright monetary refund.
According to the ACCC, Valve's false statements may have mislead Steam customers into believing:
consumers were not entitled to a refund for any games sold by Valve via Steam in any circumstances;
Valve had excluded, restricted or modified statutory guarantees and/or warranties that goods would be of acceptable quality;
Valve was not under any obligation to repair, replace or provide a refund for a game where the consumer had not contacted and attempted to resolve the problem with the computer game developer; and
the statutory consumer guarantees did not apply to games sold by Valve.
"It is a breach of the Australian Consumer Law for businesses to state that they do not give refunds under any circumstances, including for gifts and during sales," says ACCC Chairman Rod Sims. "Under the Australian Consumer Law, consumers can insist on a refund or replacement at their option if a product has a major fault."
The thing is, Valve does not claim it will not offer refunds "under any circumstances". In fact, the company's blanket refund policy has a clause directly related to international laws like the ACL. "As with most software products," the policy reads, "unless required by local law, we do not offer refunds or exchanges on games, DLC or in-game items purchased on our website or through the Steam Client" (our italics).
ACCC Regional Director Sam Di Scerni explains that it's not necessarily the wording of the policy, but the general feel of the thing. "There's a lot of text that uses language that says all sort of stuff about warranties and denies rights," he says. "Just having one disclaimer doesn't void that."
The ACCC's stance on the matter looks at how the situation is perceived by a "reasonable consumer". If they look at the page and understand they are not offered any refunds, then regardless of what the document actually says, the company will be investigated for potential breaches of the law.
Sims explains: "What we always ask is what does the reasonable consumer see and understand when he looks to get a refund." The fact that Valve is an international company with no Australian physical presence further muddies the water, with many gamers simply assuming a refund is out of the question.
The reality is that Valve does offer refunds on Steam purchases, seemingly on a case-by-case basis. If the customer asks for their money back before the game is released, the transaction is swiftly reversed. If the game's already out and playable, reports are mixed, particularly for individuals. Company-wide refunds have been offered in the past, such as Colin McRae Rally (where fans were sold a port of a mobile game, rather than an HD remake of an earlier title), or From Dust (which featured unadvertised copyright protection software that made gamers less-than-pleased). Both of these cases were refunded by the publisher (Codemasters and Ubisoft, respectively), following serious gamer backlash.
This isn't the first time that Valve's behaviour has been scrutinised - Sims says the Commission has been in close contact with the publisher for a while now, but the Seattle-based company has refused to change its behaviour, prompting the court case. (There's also an element here that suggests that Valve is being used as a scapegoat, being held up as an example in order to keep other companies in line.)
A hearing has been scheduled in Sydney's Federal Court for October 7, with the ACCC seeking declarations, injunctions, pecuniary penalties, disclosure orders, adverse publicity orders, non-party consumer redress, a compliance program order and costs.
In the meantime, Doug Lombardi from Valve tells PCMag that the games will go on: "We are making every effort to cooperate with the Australian officials on this matter, while continuing to provide Steam services to our customers across the world, including Australian gamers."
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