Mori_Yuki: I guess I got to clarify some things here. I'm not saying that OP got an absolute right to receive a refund. GOG grants him the right to
request one which he has obviously made use of. Based on their
policy there is no restriction in any way, shape, or form - implicit or explicit - not allowing to play for whatever amount of time.
...
GOG can very well reject the request but would
that be fair? If they don't react in a timely manner, refund requests taking weeks to be processed, whose to blame?
pds41: I don't want to keep harking on about this, so all I'd say here is that while there isn't an explicit restriction on play time, the first clause in the policy says that if it's using the policy in a way to hurt developers, then GoG can reject it. It's also a voluntary, not statutory refund policy.
How does what OP did hurt
developers any more than implementing this very lenient
voluntary return policy by GOG, without them asking input and advice from said
developers before taking that step? The policy is absolutely silent about this.
GOG is just asking not to abuse the system, which, the way refunds are handled here, is unlikely to become really become a problem. Steam, the way they handle it, within 2 hours, for whatever reason, you can apply and most likely be granted your refund. Some developers stated that they saw a massive drop in sales when Steam introduced their refund system. One could very well ask why people started to make use of it for certain games that sales numbers started plummeting.
I can't see how masses of customers would start asking for refunds for one particular game. CP being the exception standing out as regards GOG/CDPR ...
GOG states they aim to prevent abuse by monitoring account activity. If someone is
refunding a lot of games near the limit, GOG reserves the right to deny refunds. GOG and the policy again remain silent about where this limit is.
pds41: Now, that means that they basically reserve the right to look at whatever they want when they look at a refund (with an added proviso of ensuring it's not against local law). I believe that GoG would be very justified in refusing to refund in a case where the "customer" has played this long and got all those achievements.
Regarding the issue of playing after requesting the refund, that goes to intent on the part of the claimant. It actively undermines their request for a refund - i.e. you could interpret that as being a cancellation of the refund request (by actively continuing to use the product). Again, I think it would be fair for GoG to refuse to refund in this case.
You are absolutely right from a morale standpoint. I wouldn't, if I was GOG, grant that refund request. Sadly OP's case isn't as clear-cut as one would wish it was. Let's assume the initial request for a refund was made a day after the purchase was made. OP would have been entitled to receive this refund, alas GOG took their time because they couldn't handle all the other requests, so OP started playing it, waiting for the request to be processed. Time went by and OP still hasn't received it, kept playing, waiting. Now, months later, they have 50+ hours on record which makes it seem like he is trying to abuse the system. Taking all of the above into consideration, is this the kind of abuse GOG had in mind?
I cannot emphasize enough that I totally agree that it makes OP look bad to
still insist on a refund Neither ye nor I know and can speak to their motive for doing it. But again: Would it be really fair of GOG to refuse the
initial request and any that might have been filed thereafter
now? Just because it has taken them so long to process - or fail to process - those requests?
pds41: I agree that to stop scammers, GoG should probably tighten it's refund criteria and make it clear that you must stop playing immediately upon issuing a refund request - but that would also mean that the freedoms of the many are being restricted by the selfish few who have abused the system.
No ... I don't think it would hurt the majority as it would only apply to the 14 day mandatory law for EU citizens. GOG could also broaden it to cover their voluntary policy also by introducing a 2 hour time-limited trial period. Doesn't make sense though as the determining factor should be time and date of purchase, time and date of initial download, time and date of initial refund request, maybe number of filed and granted refunds within a period of a month or three months if they wanted to be generous, whether this new request is going to be granted.
Someone purchasing and refunding 5 games within a week, say, there is no doubt that this is a clear case of fraud and speaks to intent of that person. I guess the majority here doesn't wants to be
that person. I also think that the majority here isn't trying to get one over GOG by abusing the system so much so that everyone's got to suffer consequences from a select vew's selfish actions.