Question about software returns

daywalker

I bought a PC game in Gamestop today and when I was making my purchase I was told that I could not bring it back even if it was faulty as it was a PC game, I am just wondering if this is legal, also would I have any recourse if the game is faulty?

Thanks

CutzEr

You can still bring it back if it is faulty, although the chances of it being faulty is extremely unlikely. They won't take it back if you bought it, and it wont work on your computer as it is clearly labelled in saying that..

Afaik, it's legal.

dudara

If it is genuinely faulty, then your consumer rights are unaffected.

jahalpin

The only reason that they would be liable to take the game back would be if the disc was physically damaged on delivery and even then they would only replace it with another copy of the same game.

Due to the very high risk of piracy with PC games they would not even have to offer a refund as there is no proof that you have not installed the game and then returned it as damaged.

rubadub

daywalker wrote: »

I was told that I could not bring it back even if it was faulty as it was a PC game, I am just wondering if this is legal, also would I have any recourse if the game is faulty?

It is not legal but I would question if they said those exact words, if so they might have worded it wrongly themselves.

i.e. they might have said "if the games doesn't work on your PC you cannot bring it back", which is not the same thing as the product being faulty, I expect they have loads of people buying games and not getting them to work, even though the disc is in perfect condition.

foggy_lad

I was told that I could not bring it back even if it was faulty as it was a PC game, I am just wondering if this is legal

they just quoted store policy to you which means very little if you open the game and find something wrong with it, many games, cds dvds etc are flawed/faulty due to the high numbers being manufactured and dropping quality controls to keep costs down.

you have the same statutory rights as with any other purchase in the event of any issue with your purchase!

if the disc is damaged or the game faulty(wont play on any pc or console) etc they are legally obliged to provide redress.

Gillo

foggy_lad wrote: »

if the disc is damaged or the game faulty(wont play on any pc or console) etc they are legally obliged to provide redress.

Any PC or console, reaching the required specifications.

Dravokivich

foggy_lad wrote: »

you have the same statutory rights as with any other purchase in the event of any issue with your purchase!

if the disc is damaged or the game faulty(wont play on any pc or console) etc they are legally obliged to provide redress.

Gillo wrote: »

Any PC or console, reaching the required specifications.

Usually with PC games and faults like this... wouldn't you go back to the manufacturer / Distrobuter as opposed to the shop?

- Drav!

dudara

Dravokivich wrote: »

Usually with PC games and faults like this... wouldn't you go back to the manufacturer / Distrobuter as opposed to the shop?

- Drav!

Officially, your contract is with the shop and that is where you should start. However, following that, you may find it more productive to deal with the manufacturer/distributor.

ch750536

This is why I condone piracy, the media companies want cake & to eat it.

When you buy a game what you are actually purchasing is a licence to play the game in privacy. Hence the 'readme' that you have to accept before playing. (this used to be a seal on the box, bit of a joke as the licence was inside the box...)

anyway, you part with € to buy the licence to play the game. If there is an issue with the delivery method of the code then you should get another free of charge, simple as.

If you want to change the game as you didn't like it, tough, you have purchased the licence which is non transferable.

Some game companies like Blizzard for example now do the right thing, enter a licence number in the website and you can download the games, brilliant, will not 'torrent' one of their games again.

Retailers are stuck in the middle of this. You have a legal right to return a game stating 'I couldn't read the licence until I put the disc in my machine and then I did not accept it. Since this licence was only available once I purchased the game I would like a refund please.' You may get a frown from the retailers but the truth is that you are purchasing a licence which you did not know the terms of until after the purchase, their issue, not yours.

axer

ch750536 wrote: »

When you buy a game what you are actually purchasing is a licence to play the game in privacy. Hence the 'readme' that you have to accept before playing. (this used to be a seal on the box, bit of a joke as the licence was inside the box...)

anyway, you part with € to buy the licence to play the game. If there is an issue with the delivery method of the code then you should get another free of charge, simple as.

If you want to change the game as you didn't like it, tough, you have purchased the licence which is non transferable.

Some game companies like Blizzard for example now do the right thing, enter a licence number in the website and you can download the games, brilliant, will not 'torrent' one of their games again.

Retailers are stuck in the middle of this. You have a legal right to return a game stating 'I couldn't read the licence until I put the disc in my machine and then I did not accept it. Since this licence was only available once I purchased the game I would like a refund please.' You may get a frown from the retailers but the truth is that you are purchasing a licence which you did not know the terms of until after the purchase, their issue, not yours.

That is a good point. Piracy is still wrong though - nothing forcing you to use a particular game or software.

ch750536

axer wrote: »

That is a good point. Piracy is still wrong though - nothing forcing you to use a particular game or software.

Example, you buy the latest game, you lose the disc, can you get another copy of the code without buying another licence? Nope.

Answer = piracy.

axer

ch750536 wrote: »

Example, you buy the latest game, you lose the disc, can you get another copy of the code without buying another licence? Nope.

Answer = piracy.

I don't think that equates to piracy since you have a legal license to use the game. You are just downloading the installation files. Piracy would using software you are not licensed for but I see you were really talking about downloading the installation media again from torrent sites etc.

ch750536

axer wrote: »

I don't think that equates to piracy since you have a legal license to use the game. You are just downloading the installation files. Piracy would using software you are not licensed for but I see you were really talking about downloading the installation media again from torrent sites etc.

Agreed, however is an indication that they don't play fair, hence they insist you buy a new licence even though you already have one.

If they don't play fair, why should I?

witnessmenow

When ever I buy a PC game in gamestop they ask "are you sure it will run on your pc because it cant be returned if it doesnt"

It must really be bet into their employees to say it because I know a guy who works in the Athlone one, I wouldn't call him a close friend but our parents would be and I'd know him quite well, and every time he says it to me!

Gauge

They really do have to say it to every person that walks in the door, because people WILL blame the shop when the latest game fails to work on their PC. I worked in a shop that sold a few console games and after one incident with a particularly stupid customer we had to ask every customer if they were sure they had the correct game for their console. The customer accused us of selling her a faulty game when in fact she'd bought the PS3 version not realising her kid had an XBOX 360- when we pointed this out, rather than admit she was wrong, she accused me of switching the game behind the counter!

Another issue was with high definition DVDs. We had to ask everyone if they had the correct DVD player because frequently people would bring back blu-ray DVDs complaining they didn't work in their standard DVD player.

It was a pain- 99% of customers would look at us like we were eejits and some were even midly offended. But there's no other way to make sure the 1% that would have come back and yelled the place down got the message.

the_syco

ch750536 wrote: »

Agreed, however is an indication that they don't play fair, hence they insist you buy a new licence even though you already have one.

If they don't play fair, why should I?

Actually, if you inform them that you have lost your disc, the company will usually give you a new disc, once you show them proof of purchase of the license.

ch750536

not true, i tried this.

Cabaal

ch750536 wrote: »

Example, you buy the latest game, you lose the disc, can you get another copy of the code without buying another licence? Nope.

Answer = piracy.

Ah ok so piracy is ok when you feck up?
So I take 100e out of the bank I loose it I guess its ok to counterfit 100e to make things even again....after all I'm not stealing from the bank.
:rolleyes:

Now get back to the real world

Now to actually bring this thread back on topic,
What the shop says is illegal, HOWEVER they are simply saying it most likely to cover their arse as I'd imagine they get alot of stupid people buying PC games for PC's that are not up top spec and they try to return them when they don't "work right"

Elessar

I remember in the early 2000s it was still easy to get refunds on PC games. Being a teenager at the time I took full advantage more than once of this

But yeah it's highly unlikely the game will be faulty. However if it is, your rights remain the same. Good luck trying to convince the retailer of this though.

RangeR

ch750536 wrote: »

not true, i tried this.

That fact that it didn't work for you doesn't mean that it's not true.

ch750536

RangeR wrote: »

That fact that it didn't work for you doesn't mean that it's not true.

Surely it does.

FACT: In my time I have asked 2 software companies directly for a copy of their software having undeniable proof of licence ownership but they failed to send me a copy.

ch750536

Cabaal wrote: »

Ah ok so piracy is ok when you feck up?
So I take 100e out of the bank I loose it I guess its ok to counterfit 100e to make things even again....after all I'm not stealing from the bank.
:rolleyes:

Rolleyes all you want bud, learn to read the thread first before posting.
Point is that you should not have to buy a licence twice.

More like withdrawing £100 from the bank, losing it, drawing another £100 to replace it but instead of cash you get a note.
' We have debited 100 from your account but are not going to give you any cash as you have withdrawn 100 earlier today.'

Cabaal

ch750536 wrote: »

Rolleyes all you want bud, learn to read the thread first before posting.
Point is that you should not have to buy a licence twice.

More like withdrawing £100 from the bank, losing it, drawing another £100 to replace it but instead of cash you get a note.
' We have debited 100 from your account but are not going to give you any cash as you have withdrawn 100 earlier today.'

You buy a license you get use of the service, its 100% fault if you loose the license...just because you deam it unfair does not make it ok or legal to pirate software.

The law backs me up on this, your twisted morals only back you

eman66

Cabaal wrote: »

You buy a license you get use of the service, its 100% fault if you loose the license...just because you deam it unfair does not make it ok or legal to pirate software.

The law backs me up on this, your twisted morals only back you

I think ch750536 was talking about losing the media, not the licence.

Cabaal

eman66 wrote: »

I think ch750536 was talking about losing the media, not the licence.

Be it the media/software or the license again its your problem not the company who sold it to you

ch750536

Cabaal wrote: »

You buy a license you get use of the service, its 100% fault if you loose the license...just because you deam it unfair does not make it ok or legal to pirate software.

The law backs me up on this, your twisted morals only back you

You can lose proof of a licence but you can't lose the licence. In both the above examples I had registred my licence with the companies own websites at the time of purchase and still I did not receive a second copy of the code.

That is as good as theft in my books.

ch750536

Cabaal wrote: »

Be it the media/software or the license again its your problem not the company who sold it to you

Thats the cake & eating issue that I have. If I have bought a licence and they were to play fair then they would offer me a download for free (as blizzard do) or CD in the post (at cost) but they just dont do this.

They dont offer an option of obtaining the software without a licence.

Surely you can see this issue.

Attol

If you check the back of any recent PC games chances are it'll have a warning and tell you to go to some website address to check the EULA before opening the packaging. If you do not agree then return the unopened packaging in accordance with your retailer's policies.

And yes, shop staff do have to ask every customer if things will run.

Female customer : "Hi, I'd like to return this game. It's not working on my boyfriend's computer" *Hands me Crysis*

Me : *checks the disk* "Hmm, the disc looks ok. Did you check that his machine matches or exceeds the minimum specs outlined on the box?"

Her : "What does that mean...?"

Me : *Pointing to specs on the box* "Does the computer meet or exceed these hardware requirements?"

Her : *Getting very angry* "How the hell am I meant to know?! What normal person understands this"

Me : "Ok, how old is the computer?"

Her : "About 3 years. Why should that make a difference?"

Me : "You were warned at the time of purchase to check the minimum requirements against the machine before the packaging was opened as PC games cannot be returned once opened if uncompatible. Unfortunately I can't take it back"

Her : "Yeah but HOW WAS I MEANT TO KNOW?!?!?" She ranted and raved for a little bit longer.

If she didn't understand what we'd asked her at the time of purchase she could have said so and we could have clarified it for her. It's people like her that mean we have to ask "Are you happy it will run? Are you sure? Are you REALLY sure?". It's nothing personal.