Rights regarding digital download

stoofer

I purchased a PC game, FIFA 12, via digital download from EA's Origin store while I was over visiting my cousin in the UK in April.
I installed it on my laptop while I was there, played it for a little bit and have been playing it since I returned home to Ireland.

Yesterday afternoon, when I tried to play my game, I got a message stating that the product required activation before I could play (which I had already done when registering the product).
I learned, after contacting an EA support representative, that my activation key has been revoked because I am playing the game in a different territory than the one it was purchased in (i.e., Ireland instead of the UK).

Moreover, my purchase of the game, under Orders & Billing of my EA account has been removed, so the only proof of purchase I have is the email confirmation, I received (as well as my credit card statement).

I have had the game for less than a month and now I cannot play it since it requires validation through the Origin service each time it is started, and from my dealings with them so far it seems they have no intention of refunding me.

Do I have any right to redress or am I left at the whim of EA's policies?
Does normal consumer law cover digital products?

Looking at EA's terms of sale
document, the only bit I could see about purchasing from a different country was in point 4:
4. Gifts:

Gifts purchased from EA may be purchased for, and redeemed by, only residents of the same country as the purchaser. Gifts are completed transactions upon purchase. When you purchase a gift from EA, that transaction is between you and EA. You receive the gift at the time of purchase, and you give your gift automatically to your designated recipient.

and, regarding consumer law:

10. Governing Law:

If you reside in a Member State of the European Union: (i) the laws of England, excluding its conflicts-of-law rules, govern Terms of Sale; and (ii) you expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or action arising out of or relating Terms of Sale shall be the Courts of England, and you expressly consent to the exercise of personal jurisdiction of such courts. If you reside elsewhere: (i) the laws of the State of California, excluding its conflicts-of-law rules, govern the Terms of Sale; and (ii) to the extent applicable pursuant to Section 11 below, you expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or action arising out of or relating to the Terms of Sale shall be the federal or state courts that govern San Mateo County, California, and you expressly consent (to the extent applicable pursuant to Section 11 below) to the exercise of personal jurisdiction of such courts in connection with any such dispute not precluded by Section 11 below including any claim involving EA or EA affiliates, subsidiaries, contractors, vendors and content providers. Please note that your conduct may also be subject to other local, state, national, and international laws. The parties agree that the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna, 1980) shall not apply to the Terms of Sale or to any dispute or transaction arising out of the Terms of Sale.

Zab

Did you purchase it or did your cousin purchase it?

stoofer

I purchased it with my own credit card, which has a billing address in Ireland. I only mentioned the point about Gifts as that was the only mention I could see in their fine print relating to their reason for denying me use of the product I purchased.

Zab

Did you give any UK address at all?

stoofer

No, I didn't have to, as far as I can remember. I just gave the billing address for my card.
The Origin site was automatically redirecting me to the UK one, I assume because I was connecting via my cousin's broadband, so I just bought the game from that site.
I did put my location as UK when I was registering my EA profile (which is used as a Master a/c for all games across all platforms), which I subsequently changed to Ireland, after returning home.

Zab

All very interesting. I'm unsure of the legality of the section 10 you quoted, but I don't know if it really makes any difference anyway. You were in the UK at the time also, so Ireland doesn't come into it.

I'd email them and ask them to make it clear what happens when an owner moves country (as you did) and whether they plan on refunding you. Ultimately if they refuse to reinstate the game or refund you then personally I'd do a chargeback on the credit card. They've probably covered themselves for this in their Ts&Cs, but that wouldn't phase me.

Zab

Seems that Valve may do the same: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.273698-The-reason-why-you-should-NOT-buy-Steam-games?page=1

stoofer

I'll be heading back over to the UK in August, so it'd be interesting to see if it suddenly worked again but, somehow, I doubt it because the game has been removed from my Origin account. I emailed them about that but I haven't heard back yet.

The main selling point of buying it off Origin was the convenience as an impulsive buy but I'll certainly be more mindful in future about purchasing from a digital delivery service. I doubt I would've had this problem if I'd ordered the game from Amazon, or Play or some other UK retailer.

For the moment, I'll keep trying to get some satisfaction from EA but failing that, I've no idea if this comes under the remit of the European small claims court or not.
I'll look into the option of a chargeback too, as an option of last resort. Thanks.

jor el

stoofer wrote: »

I'll look into the option of a chargeback too, as an option of last resort. Thanks.

They sold you the game even though you provided an Irish address. If they didn't want the game to be played by someone with an Irish address then they shouldn't have sold it to you at all. Since it was their mistake to sell it to you, then they should refund you the cost. If they don't refund then a charge back is the very next thing you should do, not the last resort.

Before that, since the game purchase has now disappeared from your account, you should check if the money has already been refunded to your card. Any refund would normally take 3-7 days so give it a little bit of time, but if you don't get anywhere with your refund request then a charge back is the right course of action.

Keith186

I'd be back onto them. If it didn't say that the game was for UK use when you were buying it then there's nothing to say you can't use it in a different country within the t& c's.

If they have a Facebook or twitter account send them public messages about it on there - if they are getting bad publicity they will act to put it right (or knowing EA probably just delete your comments!).

stoofer

Thanks for the advice, jor el.
The EA representative I was dealing with on the phone yesterday was saying that he couldn't issue a refund but would escalate the matter up the chain, so I will wait to hear back from them but it's good to know I have at least some option if they are less than helpful.

Coriolanus

Get onto your cc provider and find out about.chargebacks, whether they have to be started within a certain period etc. Hopefully ea come good, but best not to be scrambling if they don't.

stoofer

Yeah, I'll have to check that up. The last time I went through the motions of a chargeback I think the limit was something like 3 months but that was a good few years ago (I can't even remember now, in that instance, if I got the money back via chargeback or if the retailer refunded me in the end).

Procrastastudy

PC Software is an absolute minefield. You aren't buying a product - well you are but the physical (or digital media) is something separate from actually using it. This is how they get away with supplying a product that has flaws and putting in all kinds of usage restrictions. I'd be very interested to see of anything like this has ever got to court.

Essentially you buy a licence to use the the software and they are able to put any restriction on that they wish, within the bounds of contract law within that territory.