For those who don’t know or reside outside of Australia this is a bit irrelevant but for our Aussie readers, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is suing Valve over its refund policy, which it claims is operating in breach of the Australian Consumer Law. Those who have faced purchasing a game via Steam and finding out it doesn’t run on your rig may know about the absolutely gargantuan process it takes to get a refund, with many users resorting to talking to their credit companies instead of Valve. The blatant NO REFUND policy directly goes against Australian Consumer Law, which for the most part looks after the customer in all purchases made in Australia.
“The Australian Consumer Law applies to any business providing goods or services within Australia,” explained ACCC Chairman Rod Sims. “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.”
“It is a breach of the Australian Consumer Law for businesses to state that they do not give refunds under any circumstances, including for gifts and during sales. Under the Australian Consumer Law, consumers can insist on a refund or replacement at their option if a product has a major fault.”
The OFFICIAL refund policy under Steam’s guidelines is as follows:
As with most software products, unless required by local law, we do not offer refunds or exchanges on games, DLC or in-game items purchased on our website or through the Steam Client. Please review Section 3 of the Steam Subscriber Agreement for more information.
