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Dont ever try to dispute a transaction with Valve/Steam through PayPal. Your account will be banned.

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channelx99

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
One issue after another...

So I recently tried to buy a game through Steam. I had some money leftover in my Steam Wallet from a $100 giftcard I applied a while back and wanted to buy a game that was $59.99, a little bit more than the amount in my wallet.

At checkout it asks me to provide a secondary payment method to cover the difference after the Steam Wallet funds are taken out. No problem, so I choose PayPal and finish checking out. However, its only after I finish the checkout process I notice my Steam Wallet still has the full balance, and my PayPal was charged the full $59.99.

So I go ahead and open a ticket through Steam, my only option since they dont have phone support or chat. However, I noticed another ticket I opened with support about an unrelated issue over a week earlier has still not been replied to, so I go to PayPal and dispute the transaction hoping to get their attention faster to resolve this.

Not long after I get an email from Valve. Is it to acknowledge the billing issue and tell me theyre working on the problem for me? Nope...

The email says they are now aware I opened a dispute through PayPal and goes on to state:

1. My purchase is now locked and is not able to be used until further notice

2. I need to immediately close the PayPal dispute otherwise:

3. "the Steam account will be automatically locked and you will be restricted from purchasing, gifting, trading, CD Key activation, and Steam Community access. Additionally, you will lose access to the disputed game/item."

Really Valve? Ive spent a lot of money through the years with you. Now Im treated like a criminal. Your customer support is terrible so I try to get your attention to do the right thing and this is how you reply. Last I checked your business is doing very, very well and you have millions of customers. How hard would it be to get proper customer support in place and a call center to resolve problems instead of resorting to this?

Ive been hard on Origin and EA in the past, but at least they actually have a working number you can call to be connected to someone. They actually reply to support emails and have online chat too.

Whole thing really puts things in perspective for me. I dont really own anything in my account. Steam can take it all away if they wanted.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by hermitmaster View Post

I'm not surprised. The policy makes perfect sense. Why would Valve want to spend time fighting with Paypal over a dispute when they don't have to? Close the Paypal dispute and be patient.
Click to expand...
No, they dont have to youre right. But is it the right thing to do from a customer stand point? You have to agree its pretty crappy what theyre doing, forcing you to work only with them under the threat of losing your account.

If a company wrongfully took money from you, would you not try to get it resolved asap? $60 is a fair amount of money to me.

Sure enough, says it right their website you can lose your account if you dispute a transaction
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5406-WFZC-5519
 
#6 ·
Steam has terrible customer support. I'm still unable to play GTA IV months after purchasing it since the CD-key they sent me is invalid. They said there is nothing they can do about it.

The only thing I like about Steam is that it can update my games easily. Other than that, I find it useless. I liked it better when games had their own launchers.
 
#7 ·
These big companies don't care, they just want your money, if you feel they haven't treated you well, make a scene.
 
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#8 ·
Why would anyone stick up for Steam? The customer support is terrible. Actually, it's almost non-existent. I would have done the same thing, OP.
Hermitmaster is right in that you should probably close the dispute and be patient, even though it could take MONTHS. The policy does not make sense though. They do have to deal with a dispute and they apparently do not want to. Forcing them to do so, is completely reasonable. Unfortunately, according to the ToS, that method is ineffective and actually detrimental. I stopped using Steam long ago because of these things.
 
#9 ·
You went about "getting their attention" the wrong way and now it's the fault of Valve? I don't see how this makes sense.
 
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Discussion starter · #10 ·
I did close the dispute right away, mostly in fear of losing my account I spent well over a $1500 and 8 years building.

Still, Valve should not be threatening customers and forcing them into binding arbitration through them solely, otherwise they reserve the right to ban you.

If you open a paypal dispute with Amazon over something you bought, can they go back and repossess everything you bought from them over the last several years in retaliation?
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by That Guy View Post

You went about "getting their attention" the wrong way and now it's the fault of Valve? I don't see how this makes sense.
Click to expand...
Valve has virtually no customer service and has not responded to my previous issue submitted over a week ago. Its not in their interest to reply to customers issues it seems.
Valve wrongfully took money from me, and I opened a dispute through paypal which was the payment method. How am I in the wrong here?
 
#12 ·
Yeah Steam has terrible customer support. It takes absolutely FOREVER for them to respond to your emails.
 
#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by channelx99 View Post

I did close the dispute right away, mostly in fear of losing my account I spent well over a $1200 and 8 years building.
Still, Valve should not be threatening customers and forcing them into binding arbitration through them solely, otherwise they reserve the right to ban you.
If you open a paypal dispute with Amazon over something you bought, can they go back and repossess everything you bought from them over the last several years in retaliation?
Click to expand...
Maybe with their digital stuff. Should be easily reversed in your case with Steam. This is known issue with Steam and I can kind of see their side of it. I haven't had issue with their CS, but it would be nice if they had phone support.
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazy9000 View Post

Disputing payment is a pretty serious thing to do, this is why you don't do it just to "make them pay attention".
Click to expand...
I have to echo this. Per the paypal terms of use, they are to be used as a last resort after you've explored your remedies with the "seller".

You have to keep in mind that Valve does not have a "customer service department". Their regular staff (developers, coders, designers, artists and more) all take time from making games to answer support tickets. Compare making awesome games and answering irate 13 year olds who are pissed off they didnt like a game. It's pretty obvious what their priority is. I've had to go through Valves customer service multiple times in the past, and as long as you make a sound argument, relay it professionally and thank them for their time you normally see a sucessful turnaround in 3-4 days. Yeah its not instant satisfaction, but in the end I've had my money refunded (not steam wallet credit) for a preorder and for a game that was released/live without issue. Try to do that anywhere else.
 
#15 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by channelx99 View Post

Valve has virtually no customer service and has not responded to my previous issue submitted over a week ago. Its not in their interest to reply to customers issues it seems.
Valve wrongfully took money from me, and I opened a dispute through paypal which was the payment method. How am I in the wrong here?
Click to expand...
You stated yourself that if a dispute is started via PayPal against a Steam purchase, that you're account is subject to termination. This is why the situation went wrong. You started a dispute, they responded in kind as stated.

They took the exact amount that the game costs: $59.99 (No more, no less. No problem here.)

It was all taken via PayPal and not from your Steam Wallet prior. Which is the problem. You've submitted a ticket, which is likely amongst thousands upon thousands of others, a week ago and still haven't received a response. It is likely a low priority issue given that you didn't get over charged.

I'm not saying this situation is wrong, but the method you used to grab their attention for the issue is incorrect. Be patient. You have to be.
 
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#16 ·
Patience and professionalism go a long way. I see where all the hate for Steam customer service comes from, but that doesn't justify trying to circumvent it all together (not that it was your intention to do so). They delineate all of the payment dispute details in their legal disclosure, so it's not outlandish for them to adhere to them.
 
Discussion starter · #18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daegameth View Post

I have to echo this. Per the paypal terms of use, they are to be used as a last resort after you've explored your remedies with the "seller".
You have to keep in mind that Valve does not have a "customer service department". Their regular staff (developers, coders, designers, artists and more) all take time from making games to answer support tickets. Compare making awesome games and answering irate 13 year olds who are pissed off they didnt like a game. It's pretty obvious what their priority is. I've had to go through Valves customer service multiple times in the past, and as long as you make a sound argument, relay it professionally and thank them for their time you normally see a sucessful turnaround in 3-4 days. Yeah its not instant satisfaction, but in the end I've had my money refunded (not steam wallet credit) for a preorder and for a game that was released/live without issue. Try to do that anywhere else.
Click to expand...
I really disagree with this

Valve is a huge corporation now. I would think the majority of PC gamers have Steam installed on their computers. They make an insane amount of money and Gabe Newell himself has a net worth of 1.5 billion.

If its true what youre saying about them not having a customer service department at all and its coders and developers replying (I think this is entirely false by the way) then theres a big problem. As stated by others, Valve's customer support is severely lacking for a company their size. They need people to handle billing issues, compatibility problems and everything else that goes along with running a business like this. Theres no excuse for not having a dedicated call center and customer service support team to provide service for a company their size. Cost is definitely not the issue here.

I dont know where you got the complaining 13 year old thing from, but I submitted my other support request a week ago in a professional manner and it still wasnt replied to. Even had I been an "irate 13 year old", its still their responsibility to reply to me since Im their customer and paid for a service. This has nothing to do with instant satisfaction like you say, its about Valve providing adequate customer support for how large they are, and not threatening to ban users when a transaction is disputed.
 
Discussion starter · #19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by That Guy View Post

You stated yourself that if a dispute is started via PayPal against a Steam purchase, that you're account is subject to termination. This is why the situation went wrong. You started a dispute, they responded in kind as stated.
They took the exact amount that the game costs: $59.99 (No more, no less. No problem here.)
It was all taken via PayPal and not from your Steam Wallet prior. Which is the problem. You've submitted a ticket, which is likely amongst thousands upon thousands of others, a week ago and still haven't received a response. It is likely a low priority issue given that you didn't get over charged.
I'm not saying this situation is wrong, but the method you used to grab their attention for the issue is incorrect. Be patient. You have to be.
Click to expand...
I didnt find account termination clause in the TOS until after I submitted the paypal dispute and got the email from Valve threatening the ban.

Dont businesses have to agree to paypals dispute resolution process to be able to allow customers this payment method? I still dont understand how its right for Valve to hang something as big as an account ban over your head so they have full control and you do things their way? This wouldnt be an issue if Valve was an online retailer who sold physical discs that werent tied to an online platform like Steam is. Im still firm in what Valve is doing being completely wrong.
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by channelx99 View Post

I didnt find account termination clause in the TOS until after I submitted the paypal dispute and got the email from Valve threatening the ban.
Dont businesses have to agree to paypals dispute resolution process to be able to allow customers this payment method? I still dont understand how its right for Valve to hang something as big as an account ban over your head so they have full control and you do things their way? This wouldnt be an issue if Valve was an online retailer who sold physical discs that werent tied to an online platform like Steam is. Im still firm in what Valve is doing being completely wrong.
Click to expand...
Technically Valve is providing a service, nothing more. As such, they have the right to revoke service at any time, for any reason. I'm not certain of the legal implications, but your only recourse, should you choose to challenge them, is civil court.
 
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