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Techly.com.au are leading with a story about Valve falling foul of Australian legislation:
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has commenced a lawsuit in the Federal Court of Australia against Valve Corporation, alleging that Valve made “false or misleading representations” regarding consumer guarantees by its popular online games service, Steam.
The ACCC’s case alleges that Valve has failed to comply with Australian Consumer Law by refusing to refund games purchased through the network, for any reason.
The very fact that they refuse to refund purchases "for any reason" contravenes Australian consumer protection legislation.
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Australian Consumer Watchdog Sues Valve
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(Score: 2, Informative) by deimtee on Sunday August 31 2014, @12:13AM
The law says that if something is "not fit for purpose" the vendor must provide a process to fix, replace or refund it.
Steam saying "no refunds for any reason" is a blatant defiance and they will get their arses kicked.
The ACCC has both big balls and sharp teeth, and is quite popular with citizens in Oz.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Sunday August 31 2014, @09:33AM
The problem is the rule and reality? VERY different as I have had friends whom for one reason or another a game simply wouldn't run and after Steam support couldn't fix the issue they gave them back the money, hassle free. I think the rule is because there are some game companies (Ubisoft I'm looking at YOU) that just use Steam as a bootloader and then hand off to their own service so in those cases there really isn't any way for Steam to "take back" the game as you can just launch it through the other service.
But I try to help out on the Steam forums and I don't think I've come across anybody who legitimately couldn't run a game that didn't get a refund, valve has been frankly one of the best companies I've ever had to deal with. Like I said show me any other company that would get a tier 1 tech with extensive networking exp on the horn on 10pm on Xmas eve just because you are having an issue with a $20 gift from your kids. Honestly he really impressed the hell out of me, he even emailed me a link to a dev only alpha build of Steam because he thought (and was correct) that some of the new networking code they were working on would fix the issue I was having with the game. When you go THAT far above and beyond to make things right? You have earned yourself a loyal customer who will happily sing your praises, as you just don't se that kind of dedication to customers anymore.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 1) by deimtee on Sunday August 31 2014, @11:54AM
I'm not a gamer, and I don't use Steam. If you say they are a wonderful company, fine, no problem. I believe you, ok.
But under Oz law they cannot say "no refunds for any reason".
Even if they then ignore it and give refunds, they are not allowed to say it.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Sunday August 31 2014, @07:56PM
So they just do what everybody else does and add a 40% "tax" on Australians for having to support an "any reason" refund law. I'm starting to see why Australians get screwed when it comes to just about everything, because they ignore the fact that every additional burden you stick on a company WILL be passed right back to the customer.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 1) by deimtee on Monday September 01 2014, @09:49AM
It's not an "any reason" law. It's a no "no refunds for any reason" law.
If something is offered for sale in Oz by a business, it must be "fit for purpose".
If it doesn't work, doesn't do what is claimed, or breaks down unreasonably quickly, then the seller must make good on it.
No exceptions.
That can be repair, replacement, or refund, depending on circumstances.
When Steam said "no refunds for any reason" they were claiming the law didn't apply to them. The ACCC takes a dim view of that.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.