Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe has been fined $3.5 million AUD after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) charged the company with misleading PlayStation Store customers. The Federal Court of Australia ordered the penalty "for making false and misleading representations on its website and in dealings with Australian consumers about their Australian Consumer Law (ACL) rights".
This stems from four customers who reported to Sony about having bought and downloaded "faulty" games from the PS4's digital storefront. Customers were told that a refund would not be issued after a digital game had been downloaded, or if it had been two weeks since the date of purchase. This doesn't fall in line with Australian law; "Consumer guarantee rights do not expire after a digital product has been downloaded and certainly do not disappear after 14 days or any other arbitrary date claimed by a game store or developer," ACCC chair Rod Sims states.
Furthermore, SIE Europe had told one customer that only the game's developer could issue a refund, and told another that a refund could be made with PS Store credit rather than money. These claims have been labelled "false" by Sims, and go against consumer guarantee rights in Australian law. "Consumers who buy digital products online have exactly the same rights as they would if they made the purchase at a physical store," Sims says.
[source accc.gov.au, via gamespot.com]
Comments 38
Psn should have the same rules as steam for refund, I have no problem buying games on steam because if the game didn't run well on my pc or there's a lot of bug, I can refund it with no problem.
I can't refund street fighter 5 on psn after I found out it's still in beta, now I don't want to buy any games on psn before the reviews are out.
Well, that sounds bad. Not sure how this differed for other regions but in the UK, I've never had an issue getting a refund from Sony.
The process has always been polite, quick and efficient. Why different regions report a difference in the practice is quite odd. The standard should be worldwide.
For example, I've heard some horror stories regarding the PlayStation US customer service that has never seemed to be the case with UK support.
Actually, this might lead to something good. I'd very much like the option on PSN of getting a refund like on Steam (2 hours to test the game or 2 weeks since purchase). There was a rumour on PS some time ago about PS5 demos being standard for every game. That would be even better.
I live in Australia and there is literally no way to even ask for a refund via the PSN store. It involves a deliberately convoluted process through the official website, which is mind numbing.
@Arnna
I've received refunds from Sony both over the phone and via a refund form on their website with no issue. Even when using the form I've had my refund within 48 hours.
As per my earlier comment this is in the UK. No idea why this standard doesn't apply to the rest of the world.
@GADG3Tx87
well you must be very luck the fast majority its a pain and those you speak to are rude and unhelpful. Sony really need refund policy like steam etc
also i'm in uk and everyone i know its been a pain to get a refund if at all
@GADG3Tx87 I've always had really good experiences with Sony, you just have to ring them and I'm based in the UK as well.
I do agree that if games are buggy then you should be allowed a refund and they can easily track how long you've played a game so they should use a play time limit rather than 14 days after downloading
A wake call for Sony's PSN policy.
@suikoden
The three most recent games I got refunded were Spyro Reignited Trilogy, Heavy Rain and Detroit Become Human.
Each time I was met with a polite person and the conversation basically was "I can see you haven't already started playing, how would you like to receive your refund" (card or credit).
Each time I've been off the phone in less than 10 minutes.
The one time I used the form I got an email in less than 24 hours confirming the refund and the funds back in my account in less than 48.
@GADG3Tx87
still must be very lucky especially with the amount of games you seem to getting refunds for, can i ask what was the problem with those as all great games
@suikoden
Not a problem per se, well except for one. At the time these games were cheaper digitally than physically but I quickly regretted my decision because I've always bought physical since the NES and have tried many times to embrace digital, it just ends up giving me a mini breakdown. Kind of pathetic I know. Even then, as I stated to them my reasoning was to buy the physical copy instead they never had a problem issuing a refund.
The one I did have a problem with was again, a little personal. I was upset at the time with the requirement that Spyro required two thirds of the game to be downloaded with the physical copy, so I opted for digital and even then I struggled with the decision.
One day I'll have to accept it because it likely will be the norm, but I dislike the idea that for games I feel like I want to play forever one day I might not have access to them.
I have bought and kept several.games as digital copies, but these are games that I'm not afraid to lose access to in the future.
Good! One area where Sony is really really really bad is in consumer rights and refunds. Here in the U.K. I can tell you Microsoft are streets ahead of Sony and much more consumer friendly from my experience.
I don't buy a game on digital, until i know what i'm buying. Why would you need a refund? If the data gets corrupted during download, try again! This sounds more like the consumers fault than Sony's.
@S1ayeR74
I have to disagree with you there. My above comments state my personal experience with Sony which seems that some have had differences to my own but I've had absolute nightmare with Microsoft customer service in the UK.
One particular time the person was very rude and accused me of being a liar and a theif.
I had an XBL prepaid card for MS points. When I entered the code I got a message to say it had already been used. I contacted MS who then accused me of using it myself and trying to gain extra funds out if them despite me currently having registered no funds to my account.
The conversation went on for a couple of hours and I never did get that credit back, since then I used my debit card. But the guy was so damn obnoxious and rude. Worst customer service I had ever experienced.
I completely agree with this.
A lot of companies and stores will quote policy and hope you don't know the law.
If you're in a store especially and you quote the law to them they don't know what to do. My brother was great for this back in the red ring of death days with his old 360.
I'll never forget it: "This must be returned to the manufacturer by you for repair."
"No. Under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980, anything I buy from you must be of merchantable quality. This xbox is broken. You must either see to its repair, replace it, or refund it."
That was my brother's rock star moment. He walked out of the store in slow-mo with a new 360 as the shelves exploded around him. Truth. It happened exactly like that.
@Shepherd_Tallon
Went through a few Xbox 360's myself due to the famous RROD. My last one literally had one day left before the 12 month manufacturer warranty expired. It was one of the models with the "Jasper" chipset. They replaced it with the brand new S model. Atleast the GAME store did anyway.
I look after my stuff. I still have aging consoles from 25 years ago that work but the X360 was pretty bad for reliability. Went through five if them due to hardware problems.
@GADG3Tx87 I know exactly what you mean. I still have all of my consoles except my old Mega Drive. I keep them all as close to perfect as I can.
The 360 is the only one I had to replace 3 times. Between myself and my brother we had 5 in total too I think.
@Loftimus Steam's policy is just better; play less than 2 hours, get a refund if you don't like it. It should be adopted across the board on every platform.
@EVIL-C
I can agree with you. Even on consoles it could just be as simple as on the transaction screen under account settings have a timer active from the moment you start the game. If you wish within the two hours just have a refund button there that can be activated if you are within the two hour parameter.
As for preorders just do that up until the day it releases along with the two hour policy.
It would be welcome I think. Certainly easier than having to phone them.
The Steam policy is king (I believe GOG and EGS are both doing a similar policy). Microsoft's policy has also worked well for all my friends who have used it. I don't buy digital on PSN or Nintendo eshop (save for 1 or 2 specific exceptions) because of their terrible policies and systems. Hopefully this forces a change in the right direction.
Never had an issue with getting a refund on psn and I'm not sure I agree with downloading, playing a game and then changing your mind. If that were the case, shouldn't you be able to do that everywhere, including cinemas? I don't know.
But if it goes against the law in Australia, Sony can't do whatever it wants. I find the fine excessive, but hopefully it will teach some people in Sony an important lesson.
How their lawyers never told them they can't do whatever they want is beyond me.
@GADG3Tx87 Agreed. A store preorder can be cancelled before release. Digital should be no different.
In the UK I have tried several times to get refunds for games I have played but turn out to be buggy messes, e.g. Mafia 2 most recently. Each time I have either been told that I can’t get a refund because the game has been downloaded or they ask for videos/photos of the game going wrong, something I don’t have the time to do. Some people will say that you should wait for reviews before buying but sometimes the bugs don’t arise until much later in the game. Sony needs to rethink its policy and be a little more sympathetic or, failing that, make sure that games are working properly before offering them for sale.
@wiiware If memory serves,I think it was only as a result of Valve's court loss in the High Court in Oz,& other similar pressures coming from the EU that Valve were dragged kicking & screaming into what's now accepted as among the pioneer of consumer friendly refund policies.
In so far as certain other digital store fronts go,this doesn't pertain to a change of mind. ACL have pertained to faulty releases,(eg: similar situation recently with EB Games denying refunds on Fallout 76 after its bugfest launch). If the product doesn't function as advertised the retailer must provide a remedy/fix/refund.
Yep,it'll be interesting if Sony will have to provide a form or something either on the ps4/psn or via the desktop website for refunds going forward,or a revised system on the EU store we piggyback off. (Including a steam style change of mind)
@Arnna Usually steer clear of live-service ones which are the chief culprit,didn't realize us Aussies had no phone number? Where did you have to contact them? Daresay as part of the settlement they'll have to provide a fix in the near future-guess we'll see.
AU$3.5 million... isn't that about £50? 🤔🤣
But joking aside, I've never felt a need to refund anything I've bought. I know the risks when I purchase, and I agreed to the T&Cs that it was final... so if I didn't wait and see, that's on me. As irritating as bugs can be, they tend to get fixed. Plus, I don't consider "well, I don't really like this" as a reason to as for my money back.
But the law is the law. At least Australia are enforcing theirs. The hopeless EU ruled years ago that we should be able to re-sell our digital products when we're done with them, buy no-one provides that option, and they've done nothing about it.
@Robocod While steam forced to do the refund policy because of EU laws, I live in asia country and I can refund games on steam although there's no law like EU in my country, so I think steam is pretty pro consumers compared to sony.
Nintendo is the worst though, they go to court against the law rather than refunding preordered games 😕
@wiiware I'm not saying Valve didn't make efforts to change their ways,(& extending it to territories that didn't have this policy is certainly pro consumer),but if you ever read the legal defence's of Valve through both the Federal court,Appeals court & ultimately the High Court in Australia at the time they were little different to what was offered here. They essentially tried to argue as an overseas based shopfront they weren't subject to our local consumer laws. Its precedent is slowly but surely leading to other Digital shopfronts finding out the hard way too. If Ninty haven't been taking heed of it here,they'll need to! They'll have a hard time arguing something that's already had precedent!
@GADG3Tx87 Ah well I’ve never had to call them, it’s all been handled online, I think I may have emailed them once and my query was handled swiftly. It’s dead easy to get a refund even if you have played the game for an hour I think it is.
@wiiware Yeah i recently took advantage of STEAM's refunds policy and was amazed at how quick and easy it was. I had my refund for two games within a couple of hours.
never had an issue with it here.
I wonder whitch games they wanted to refund?
this is all completely believable as standard responses from Sony, the PSN website and store, is still garbage, the website is just as bad as using the store through the PlayStation itself. They are plenty happy to take lots and lots of money from consumers but aren't bothered about maintaining and consistently improving the store experience. Absolutely no way do they employ the correct staff to apply the correct legislation to purchases in all the countries they operate, they'd much rather take all your money, fob you off and hope for the best.
Never had to refund anything from Sony (UK) but I hear they are an utter pain in the arse to get anything from.
Also, they really need to introduce a trade in scheme for digital purchases - revoke the license and give you store credit or something.
@gollumb82 I like the 2 week option. Game developers just need to release stable games! there's no black and white.
and if they don't as a consumer we need to be able to obtain a refund.
I was infuriated when Sony told me I couldn't have a refund on Samurai Shodown 6. My problem was I could not start the game using my (only pad at the time) ds4. The touch pad for start and select had not been mapped on the old day one pads. So basically I could only play it once that pad gave up the ghost (last year) when I had to buy a new controller.
I like the way steam handles refunds. Far more consumer friendly.
Thank the EU for protecting consumer rights
@Clytorial_Impact Yeah, even before steam automatic refund they still refund the games I bought because I changed my mind (I emailed steam saying I bought the games on mistakes).
Granted they refund my money with store credits, but I have no problem with that, but now (after the eu laws) the process is automatic and the refund money goes straight to your credits card which is great.
I’ve only ever pursued a refund once from the PSN. It was for some baseball game on the PSP that I had actually already owned in a collection and didn’t realize it. Since the error was my own I would have accepted them refusing me, but I decided to give it a shot. I had literally bought it, downloaded it, realized what I had done without even playing it, and immediately called for a refund. They kindly gave it to me.
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