[47 Knucklehead]

Just when you thought the EA/Maxis SimCity saga couldn't get any crazier ...

EA Disabling User Accounts Because It Thinks Any Contact With Amazon Must Be A Refund Request
Quote:

Jeff says he was finally able to use the relay to talk to EA, and found out that indeed, he'd been banned from the game because Amazon had instituted a chargeback. Except, it didn't, because he never asked for a refund or chargeback of any kind. He adds that Amazon was nice enough to give him a $40 credit for the problems it hadn't caused, while EA simply gave him a 15% discount off his next Origin purchase and blamed Amazon for his troubles.

 

[Kittencake]

thats crazy

 

[Vonnis]

That's it. These people love being hated. This isn't just being ignorant or out of touch with their consumers, they are deliberately acting as obnoxious as possible. Whether it's because of a bet or some deep-seated emotional issues I don't know, but this goes way beyond being bad at consumer relations.

 

[derickwm]

EA keeping it classy as usual.

 

[frickfrock999]

I'm starting to think they're doing this on purpose.
Honestly, did they not think people would try to get their money back? Why would they treat their customers like this?

This whole fiasco is like a car wreck that I can't look away from.

 

[wutang61]

Lol I'm not gonna jump on the flame @ ea bandwagon but if they did that to me I would be beyond pissed

 

[cdoublejj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vonnis

That's it. These people love being hated. This isn't just being ignorant or out of touch with their consumers, they are deliberately acting as obnoxious as possible. Whether it's because of a bet or some deep-seated emotional issues I don't know, but this goes way beyond being bad at consumer relations.

You know what... I think there is some logic to what you are saying. You'd think with this much bad press you'd think you would have a handle on EVERY thing around and about the game for the next few weeks. Guess not.

 

[Vonnis]

Perhaps they're operating under the assumption that there's no such thing as bad press, and as such are pulling no punches when it comes to winning that coveted "most hated company in the usa" title. If not, they're the most incompetent company I've ever heard of when it comes to customer satisfaction.

 

[Krahe]

Reading about EA's mistakes is actually more entertaining then playing their games.

 

[-Apocalypse-]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kittencake

thats crazy

Not really, this is almost assuredly another case of inexperienced coders, possibly interns, being trusted with systems that were more important than management believed (like the phone number fiasco). Think of an automated system, where anytime a chargeback is issued, the account is banned. However, chargebacks aren't instantaneous and if someone is doing a chargeback you want them to lose access as soon as it's started. So you've got the Amazon systems that send a query about the status of the key before the chargeback is completed. So the intern sees this query, and uses that query to trigger the automated systems. Problem is, Amazon sends that query anytime a support ticket shows up, but the intern never knew/paid attention to that.

Absolutely a screwup, but far from malicious.

 

[b.walker36]

The article said amazon said that EA is aware and re-enabling peoples accounts. It is possible that EA requested from amazon anyone who was given money back due to the game and perhaps their systems were disabling accounts incorrectly. If EA is re-enabling accounts its just a mistake and not the end of the world. But if these people are actually getting refunds from amazon then their accounts should be disabled.

You cannot expect to keep the game after getting a refund (which is tricky if EA still keeps the sale proceeds from Amazon, if this is the case you should be able to keep it but we dont have enough info). I just feel like the article is leaving out information and I really hate first hand accounts like this especially when a company already has a reputation. EA CS is slow as all hell but I have never had issues other than that.

If EA is disabling accounts that were not issued any kind of refund then that is just a disgrace if not fixed.

 

[Vonnis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krahe

Reading about EA's mistakes is actually more entertaining then playing their games.

I'm having a blast with SC4 on one screen, the EA/SC threads on another, and a bottle of whisky in the middle.

 

[47 Knucklehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by b.walker36

The article said amazon said that EA is aware and re-enabling peoples accounts. It is possible that EA requested from amazon anyone who was given money back due to the game and perhaps their systems were disabling accounts incorrectly. If EA is re-enabling accounts its just a mistake and not the end of the world. But if these people are actually getting refunds from amazon then their accounts should be disabled.

You cannot expect to keep the game after getting a refund.

Yes, but as the article said ...
Quote:

... because he never asked for a refund or chargeback of any kind.

 

[-Apocalypse-]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athrun Zala

So right after they give out free games, they go and do this. When I said this was a page rip from Dick Dastardly's book of schemes, I wasn't actually being serious, but in a matter of two hours EA done proved me right. They need a new PR person ASAP because they're outchea looking foolish smh.

This isn't new, it's been happening for a while.

 

[Zen00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frickfrock99

I'm starting to think they're doing this on purpose.
Honestly, did they not think people would try to get their money back? Why would they treat their customers like this?

This whole fiasco is like a car wreck that I can't look away from.

The only thing that could make this better would be three months of straight security breaches by every major security firm (and vigilante group) out there, ala Sony.

 

[Brutuz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krahe

Reading about EA's mistakes is actually more entertaining then playing their games.

Their more recent games, at least.

If you think Simcity is broken try Simcity Societies, I was playing it last night, (Friend loaned me his copy) had literally unlimited money very quickly (As in, I was literally just blowing cash on venues non-stop and still pulling massive profits) and even when I destroyed 90% of it all with tonnes of Earthquakes, Asteroids, etc there were still some ecstatic sims...All I could think is what type of person would be ecstatic in that situation.

 

[b.walker36]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 47 Knucklehead

Yes, but as the article said ...

My post was not direct to his experience more in general to what is happening. However amazon doesnt just give out money for free you have to ask for it or contact them and accept their offer. I feel like he is leaving something out.

We don't know why or how it happened and if its being fixed then we should stop labling them as evil.

 

[47 Knucklehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by b.walker36

My post was not direct to his experience more in general to what is happening.

Ah, my mistake.

 

[DiNet]

So, EA want's to beat usps in worst company of the year?

 

[Deadboy90]

This SimCity thing is a trainwreck wrapped in a plane crash into an elementary school for bunnies who may hold the cure for AIDS.