EA - Now going after Origin accounts / Sim City keys of people who complained

[Charizard 284]

It looks like EA is now going after Origin accounts from people who ordered from Amazon and complained. They seem to be targeting accounts of people who asked for refunds, but there are also Origin accounts getting the ban hammer for just sending a complaint or in other cases, people losing access to their legitimate copy of SimCity.

A few early signs:
http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1aeoub/warning_origin_disabled_my_legitimate_simcity_key/

http://www.reddit.com/r/SimCity/comments/1abtky/ea_disabling_simcity_for_some_amazon_orders_and/

https://i.imgur.com/nMBlmf0.png

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3536634&pagenumber=213&perpage=40#post413488508

 

This is beyond sickening.

[snake117 18]

I've heard of this happening before...surprised they're still at it. After all this crap with SimCity and Battlefield 3, I decided that I am no longer going to buy any games with the letters 'EA' written on them. I know it won't do much to the company, but it's nice to know that they won't be getting my money / ripping me off.

[JaceTwice 115]

There's really not much more you can say about this but "Eugh".

 

I still think SimCity is fun in and of itself, but I just can't belive the way EA is treating their customers. Definitely never buying anything from them again.

[Hoipus 292]

I could care a less. That is what those people deserve.

Why would they deserve it? They bought the game, had a problem with the game, talked to Amazon about it and DIDN'T chargeback, and they had their ability to even try to play the game revoked.

[ddav6108 18]

This sounds like it could potentially end up as a legal mess if a group of angry gamers decide that they want to call their lawyers about being denied a service they legitimately paid for. Bottom line is (in australia at least) if you pay for a product or service and it is defective in any way you are entitled to a refund. If at any point a service provider takes steps to actively deny you a service then that is grounds for legal action as they advertised a working product and have yet to provide it or actively sought to stop consumers from making use of that product.

 

As well informed consumers we should be aware of our rights in this regard.

[Urban Cartographer 601]

EA is acting very undemocratic.  They suppress any criticism of Origin.  I hope that the lawsuit against EA succeeds, because many people have legitimate concerns with the Origin service and EA kept lying in the face of many loyal gamers.

[SomewhereSim 13]

Another example of a mountain made out of a molehill.  Most likely the chargeback was initiated by the customer and this causes additional fees to the developer.  Of course, they are going to ban accounts if additional costs were incurred by the customer in addition to the refund. No harm no foul if they take the time to deal with Origin directly for a refund as they have stated. 

[Hoipus 292]

The problem is that people who complained to Amazon but didn't chargeback are also having their keys invalidated.

[ddav6108 18]

Personally, I am not entirely sold on the idea that EA have a right to deny service if it costs them money. It would ultimately cost them less money if they shipped a game that was as buggy! And all this negative PR about how EA cannot manage a game is really going to hurt them where they may actually notice, stock prices.

[McFluffy 4]

I have not read their TOS, but I have read the valve TOS, it says explicitly that any American citizen waves the right to sue in group.

[spiritbw 111]

Reading through the posted links, sounds like there was something between Amazon and EA that got taken as charge backs on a bunch of keys, even if the key was for a person who had not gone for a refund from Amazon.  The only other thing they have in common is that they did file a complaint.  So really does sound like for some reaosn EA somehow got a bunch of complaints associated with chargebacks, even when no such thing was done.

[SomewhereSim 13]

 

If this is the case then I am sure Amazon will step in, but things are always made out more dramatic then what is always stated on the internet and most of the time it is the customer to blame for their actions or incorrect ones that cause the issues.

[Wilkono 2]

Just off topic first - do we really need to be quoting in our replies like this? The same Youtube clip is now spammed three times on this thread and it doesn't even have a dozen replies yet (edit... 14 replies to be exact, I can't count). Seems to be happening on a lot of forums lately too.

 

Anyway. This is quickly becoming an unbeatable mess for EA, even with their millions. Most likely the banned customers have refunded through their credit card company, which obviously causes headaches for EA. Headaches that could have been avoided if their refund policy had been more clear, let alone appropriate. Like a previous poster said earlier, consumers in Australia have inherent rights to refund purchases on defective merchandise. If EA refuse to give refunds, then this is simply what happens. It's a textbook lesson for EA, and other publishers out there. 

 

While these Reddit posts do raise a few red flags, they're still just Reddit posts. If EA have used marketing spin to promote Simcity, it's just as likely that nameless, faceless individuals will spin their woe-is-me tales to rally support. It's also just as likely that a week-old EA coordinator has ticked the wrong boxes on their computer terminal and disabled accounts that shouldn't have been disabled. It's a hassle, and I won't deny that I would be utterly furious if this happened to me, but it's not unsolvable. 

 

One resolution would be that, if the customer actually hasn't used chargeback up to this point, they certainly should now. Perhaps this is what EA wants to happen in this grand orchestra but it would be an adequate solution to inadequate customer support. 

[macvirt 361]

To be honest, while reddit remains a niche, and while EA have already utilised communities like this one to generate messaging pre-release, if there is one headache potential in the exposure management it is that of the mainstream consumer industry sites. For example, RPS. Sure, there are a lot of "easy" (and cheap to buy) places out there, but there are several ones which create trends in exposure patterns. RPS certainly has not helped EA, though I must admit that if RPS continues the course of moving further towards journalism (as opposed to mere reporting, so to speak) it is certainly not going to be unhealthy for the future of the industry as a whole. 

[Herdervriend 46]

Isn't there a group called Anonymus that can do anything about this criminal acts? (Clearly we need them because real court, real justice, doesn't exist anymore in this world)

 

It actually doesn't surprise me that they are doing it. It's happening worldwide! and not only with EA.

[Jasoncw 12,060]

If they're insisting that you requested a chargeback, then let them, and just make sure you get refunded.

 

Wait 6 months to see if the game is still broken.  If it's been fixed up enough, buy it again.  I bet this game is going to get a pretty severe reduction in price, so don't worry if you originally bought it on sale.

[duxie 0]

The problem is that people who complained to Amazon but didn't chargeback are also having their keys invalidated.

any proof of this?

[Xenocity 343]

This is not unusual for companies to do this.

Microsoft has done it as well.

[CaptCity 4,941]

We'll just close this since this is all supposition and rumor, not any kind of fact that can be discussed. If facts support the implications (and that's all it is at this point), then a real discussion can take place, rather than the arguing that has gone on here.