Blizz Can't Refund Gamer's Diablo II $$$ After Digital D/L Has Double Epic Fail
Blizz Can't Refund Gamer's Diablo II $$$ After Digital D/L Has Double Epic Fail
October 14, 2008
The Consumerist spins the sorry tale of Zach, a gamer who tried to twice download Diablo II from Blizzard's online distribution system. When a Blizz rep finally suggested he go to a brick-and-mortar store and grab a copy, Zach did.
The problem came when Zach's credit card bill showed up and the charges for the failed digital D/L's were included. Amazingly, Blizzard's response was to suggest that Zach wait until their system had the ability to process a refund.
Uh, what? Blizz never had to process a digital D/L refund before? Really?
Luckily, The Consumerist gave Zach the right advice:
The emails Zach forwarded us show that Blizzard is willing to refund the money — but claim that their system will not allow it and that he should wait for that "functionality to become available." That's unfortunate for them, but there's no reason Zach should wait around for the company to debug its software.
Zach, call your bank and let them know that you've been mistakenly charged and that the vendor says they aren't able to refund your money. Tell them that you'd be happy to provide them with the emails from Blizzard. There should be no problem getting a straightforward error such as this fixed. Your bank is there to protect you from this sort of nonsense.
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Posted 07/04/09 at 01:18pm
Andrew Eisen: Rodrigo - A fun idea but you might want to fix the typos.
Andrew Eisen: Rodrigo - A fun idea but you might want to fix the typos.
Posted 07/04/09 at 12:57pm
GRIZZAM PRIME: Happy 4th of July!
GRIZZAM PRIME: Happy 4th of July!
Posted 07/04/09 at 12:44pm
Yuuri: Happy Blow Crap Up Day!
Yuuri: Happy Blow Crap Up Day!
Posted 07/04/09 at 11:09am
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: I designed this shirt for Jack debate today: http://i44.tinypic.com/2552t89.jpg
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: I designed this shirt for Jack debate today: http://i44.tinypic.com/2552t89.jpg
Posted 07/04/09 at 11:06am
BearDogg-X: There's a one minute and a half preview of the video game episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! up at http://www.sho.com/site/ptbs/home.do
BearDogg-X: There's a one minute and a half preview of the video game episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! up at http://www.sho.com/site/ptbs/home.do
Posted 07/04/09 at 10:08am
Arcanagos: Happy 4th all
Arcanagos: Happy 4th all
Posted 07/04/09 at 09:32am
Firebird: Greetings GP community, and HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!
Firebird: Greetings GP community, and HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!
Posted 07/04/09 at 03:48am
Michael Chandra: I missed out on Jack? =(
Michael Chandra: I missed out on Jack? =(
Posted 07/04/09 at 01:52am
Escanor94: hmm, looks like when someone gets banned all their comments are automaticly deleted
Escanor94: hmm, looks like when someone gets banned all their comments are automaticly deleted
Posted 07/03/09 at 11:46pm
Arcanagos: aww, did i miss the JT party? :(
Arcanagos: aww, did i miss the JT party? :(
Posted 07/03/09 at 11:00pm
Leet Gamer Jargon: Where's the recent JT bullcrap? Which comments section has he vomited on? EDIT: Nevermind; it's in the "Radio" thread.
Leet Gamer Jargon: Where's the recent JT bullcrap? Which comments section has he vomited on? EDIT: Nevermind; it's in the "Radio" thread.
Posted 07/03/09 at 09:17pm
BearDogg-X: I wonder what the Metropolitian Moron of Miami said in response to my comment saying that he got a dose of his medicine on the SGC09 Debate thread?
BearDogg-X: I wonder what the Metropolitian Moron of Miami said in response to my comment saying that he got a dose of his medicine on the SGC09 Debate thread?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:51pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He gets offended with a bunch of flowers.
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He gets offended with a bunch of flowers.
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:49pm
GoodRobotUs: LOL He takes offence at the fact he might have *chosen* to be crazy?
GoodRobotUs: LOL He takes offence at the fact he might have *chosen* to be crazy?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:47pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He warned me to get a lawyer after I called him "crazy by his own choice"... that´s libel for him
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He warned me to get a lawyer after I called him "crazy by his own choice"... that´s libel for him
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:45pm
HilaryDuffGta: "libel" what did he threaten now?
HilaryDuffGta: "libel" what did he threaten now?
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:44pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Was fun to be threatened for "libel" again.
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Was fun to be threatened for "libel" again.
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:26pm
HilaryDuffGta: hey so what did i miss??? the usual spam of "crap"
HilaryDuffGta: hey so what did i miss??? the usual spam of "crap"
Posted 07/03/09 at 06:15pm
FlakAttack: Jack ruined his chance to have civil debates with us here. Glad you banned him (again).
FlakAttack: Jack ruined his chance to have civil debates with us here. Glad you banned him (again).
Posted 07/03/09 at 04:04pm
Krono: Unexpected is probably the best word to describe it. Particularly as no decent reason is given.
Krono: Unexpected is probably the best word to describe it. Particularly as no decent reason is given.
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Comments
How could a company, that produces the most popular MMORPG on the PC nonetheless, not have systems that allow refunds?
IMA FIRIN MAH LASER!!!
Most of their charges are non refundable.
Funny in my experience it seems the banks are there to protect the vendors, especially Merchants Bank.
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"The most difficult pain a man can suffer is to have knowledge of much and power over little" - Herodotus
Even though it's really fishy everytime a company doesn't refund rightfully when wrong has been done, especially when it generates a business yearly profit like they do...
The system, as a whole, and we all know it, is a REALLY BIG fuck up when credit is to be refunded. At this point, Zach might as well ask for a few extra months of WoW gameplay, or a copy of Diablo III!
Blizzard can't seem to get anything right these past few days
First it was the announcement of Triple dipping on Starcraft 2
then it was the Diablo III to console rumour
Now this. They really ARE part of Activision now!
I'm curious how Diablo 3 coming to consoles would be a bad thing...
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I'm not under the affluence of incohol as some thinkle peep I am. I'm not half as thunk as you might drink. I fool so feelish I don't know who is me, and the drunker I stand here, the longer I get.
If anyone wants to read Blizzard's side of things (not related to this article but all the Blizzard business):
http://www.edge-online.com/features/blizzard-were-not-milking-starcraft
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
An interesting way of looking at it.
-Gray17
Great job... great job... Not even testing your systems before making them public... I guess I prefer that over not testing your games that much...
One more reason to ditch Blizzard. This does not help their current image as gamer-ignorant, money-grabbing 'tards, at this point.
Because their purchasing software has a glitch? Wow, you are touchy. D oyou ditch your car at the first time the check engine light comes on?
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
I suppose you think it's reasonable to divide a sequel to a popular franchise into 3 parts at a grand total of $150 for what SHOULD be one entire game? Or to completely shatter the integrity of another series by adding monthly fees, non-Diablo like evironments and barring every previous class save one from making a return to the game?
No... this is less about a "glitch" and more about the company's lack of insight regarding its consumer's. Nevermind that the primary solution to THIS particular problem requires a higher working force on behalf of the consumer rather than the consumer himself. Nothing gives off a vibe of "we really don't give two shits about you" than not taking a consumer seriously. And again- at this point, they really haven't done much to prove otherwise.
Wow, you have alot of anger regarding creative decisions they made for Diablo 3 don't you.
1. No one has said anything about price for the three parts of Starcraft 2. $150 is all speculation at this point. Plus the fact that each are going to be a full blown game in their own right, I see no problem with it. You pay just as much for any other three games out there.
2. Oh no, Blizzard added color and sunlight to my Diablo game. Diablo is supposed to be all dark and depressing.
3. Oh no. We may have to pay to use someone else's servers and software. Why should we have to pay for anything that is not provided to us on the disk? Why can't they be more like XBox Live...Oh crap. Right now that is still a bit unconfirmed. It was mentioned in passing with no follow up information. At least as far as I can tell.
4. POS systems have bugs and glitches like all software. There are a lot of businesses that have problems giving refunds because a) the software was not built for it (I agree that that was stupid) or b) the user of the software does not have the access rights for that function. We do not know the whole story about the refund issue. AS it stands the guy has two options. 1) wait for Blizzard to issue a refund which they will eventually. or 2) get his bank to reverse the charges. Both are valid options and both will get his money back.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
I haven't seen Blizzard say anything about a monthly fee for Diablo 3. And since its being released on Battle.Net, which has always been free since its inception and is still heralded as one of the greatest things Blizzard has ever done, it most likely won't have a monthly fee, or a very nominal one if it does. I seriously doubt that Blizzard will create competition for their own game(WoW) by charging the same monthly fee for their own traditionally free service.
And in regards to your comment about color in D3, D2 has all sorts of color in it already. Anyone that whines and complains about the color needs to change the gamma on their setup, or at least stop squinting and open their eyes. There was an entire act that was nothing but bright, sun-baked yellow and tan. Not to mention the fact that acts 1 and 3 took place mostly outdoors, in well lit areas where the oh-so-missed in D3 light radius had no effect at all. Actually, now that I think about it, the only places that light radius mattered in the least in D2 was when you were underground, and even then there were usually enough torches and flames to show you where everything was anyways.
It seems to me that people are confusing the 3 Diablo games with each other. They say that Diablo 2 was dark and dreary, but it was actually a lot brighter than Diablo was. They complain that light radius isn't in Diablo 3 when it really wasn't in Diablo 2 much either and only had a noticable effect in Diablo 1. They complain that only one of the classes is getting to stay in Diablo 3, but none of the original Diablo classes got to stay in Diablo 2. Where was all the furor and hatred at the D2 launch? Hell, Diablo took place entirely in dungeons or underground unless you were in town, and Diablo 2 introduced bright outdoor areas and no one whined then. What gives? Then again, I suppose that most of the people who are complaining about Diablo 3 being bright and not keeping classes are only people who played Diablo 2 and not Diablo. Or they got hooked on D2, then played Diablo for 5 minutes to say that they've played the original before going back to D2.
Can you spell "sarcasm"?
I was agreeing with EZK on pretty much all fronts there.
1. Oh please. Even a scant search on the topic ANYWHERE will pick up on the high possibility of such a thing. And who the hell do you think the Terran forces will be fighting against in this first "campaign"? I don't think it counts as a "full-blown game" if you're creating enemy content for the campaign and locking its use from the player offline, until the next game is released (which will take... what, a year? Sounds like bullshit to me.).
2. And here's the type of retarded response that comes from somebody who mistakens "dark, violent and foreboding" with "dark and depressing". At this point, Diablo 3 is Gauntlet- Warcraft 3 graphics, Gaunlet button-mashing, inability to push points into stats. Guild Wars was more Diablo than this game.
This is common- most people overlook the general point of the argument and (fruitlessly) attacks the smaller points. Like I said- you're not garnering favor with anybody if you refuse to treat the consumer at least halfway seriously.
"Like everyone knows how it is" Doesn't cut it. I can't find a single official, or even semi official source for blizzard charging a monthly fee.
Digg and forum speculation doesn't fucking count. There is nothing on the wiki article discussion page and It hasn't come up in the revisions on the page yet. Honestly, if rabid fans aren't trying to add speculation to the article, its not a serious rumor.
Just curious though, have you ever tried stringing together a scenerio for a blizzard game?
For the record, Blizzard has actually specifically said they WON'T be charging monthly fees.
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/13/blizzcon-2008-rob-pardo-talks-battle-n...
"Here's the way I would put it. We're definitely not looking at turning Diablo into a subscription based game. It's clearly not an MMO, so it's not appropriate to do a business model like that."
What happened was people saw the words "monetize" and "battle.net" and started thinking "OMG OMG OMG THE MONTHLY FEES ARE COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" when the reality is there's a lot of different ways Blizzard can "monetize" battle.net and most of them don't involve monthly fees.
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I'm not under the affluence of incohol as some thinkle peep I am. I'm not half as thunk as you might drink. I fool so feelish I don't know who is me, and the drunker I stand here, the longer I get.
<i>"barring every previous class save one from making a return to the game?"</i>
Umm. You realize that that is a completely accurate description of the transition from Diablo to Diablo II as well?
IOW, what's your point? Do you want a new Diablo game, or do you just want Diablo II all over again? Because if it's the latter, I'm sure that can be arranged as well.
Actually, Diablo II didn't have ANY class from the first Diablo return in it, except as part of the story. Rogues were the focus of Act 1, and that was it. Sorcerer and sorceress, while technically just a gender variation of the name, were not the same class as the sorcerer was a Viz'Jerei, and the sorceress was a Zann Esu. The new wizard class is the same kind of change as the sorcerer/sorceress change, except that the wizard doesn't belong to any mage clan.
So really, there wasn't a single character class that stayed between Diablo and Diablo II. And its a moot point anyways since all the classes are simply being tweaked and renamed anyways. The barbarian got the same tweaks as every other class is getting, except it didn't get a name change. The necromancer got tweaked and its name changed to witch doctor. Sorceress got tweaked and its name changed into wizard. Next we'll probably see a tweaked paladin named "crusader" or "zealot." And the Amazon might even become the rogue all over again.
How many years has Blizz been doing digital sales and still no refund function? Does not seem like a glitch to me...
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"The most difficult pain a man can suffer is to have knowledge of much and power over little" - Herodotus
Very peculiar. Usually transaction software is purchased rather than scratch built, so I find it rather odd that their doesn't have the capability for refunds. Maybe they just mean that the interface between their software and the billing software is still buggy?
-Gray17
Ah, Blizzard really has joined the Ghostbuster hating side of Activision now.
Did I miss something ironic in the article or did a journalist really use the phrase "epic fail" in the title of an otherwise professional article?
Nah, Dennis just like being a little cheeky in the headlines.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091