Steam’s controversial “no refunds” policy has come under legal fire.
Steam does not give refunds for purchases post-launch except under extraordinary circumstances, and Valve’s official policy is that it simply doesn’t offer refunds. This has sparked the ire of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which argues Valve is in violation of Australian consumer laws.
“Valve may be an American based company with no physical presence in Australia, but it is carrying on business in Australia by selling to Australian consumers, who are protected by the Australian Consumer Law,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said in a statement sent to press.
The ACCC alleged Valve made the following “false or misleading representations” to its Australian consumers:
- 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.
