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General discussion (archive)Need help with Steam support...(61 posts)(61 posts)
(61 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted February 20, 2011
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StingingVelvet: Keep bugging them and bring up politely but firmly that the store page said it had English but it does not and that this is false advertising.

I bet they eventually give in. Getting refunds from Steam for legitimate issues is all about harassing them basically, from what I have read. Whatever you do don't refute the charge with your credit card company or bank though, even if you are right. Valve ban any account that files a charge dispute even if it's legitimate.
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reaver894: Why does that not surprise me??
For the same reason that I decided not to offer a swift kick to the balls. Steam already providing that service gratis.

Seriously, is there anybody out there that genuinely doesn't know that Valve is as bad as the other companies? It's just that they happen to offer a form of DRM that's more palatable to most people.
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HoneyBakedHam: I hate posts like this... It seems the guy has a 100% legit issue, and he can't get a resolution because he is stuck trading email back and forth.

I've resolved a lot of issues with email with a lot of companies, including Steam once, but a thing like this would get solved in 20 minutes if a human being were available to talk to the customer.

Has anyone ever spoken to Steam? Is that even possible?
Now that I think of it, the OP might try griping on Twitter. It's amazing how quickly news gets from there to a person at the company that can actually do something about it.
Post edited February 20, 2011 by hedwards
Posted February 20, 2011
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HoneyBakedHam: Has anyone ever spoken to Steam? Is that even possible?
No, there is no phone contact (that I have ever heard about anyway). It's pretty balls... they made a billion dollars off Steam last year according to recent articles and yet it always seems like Steam is run by three interns and a monkey.
Posted February 20, 2011
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hedwards: Now that I think of it, the OP might try griping on Twitter. It's amazing how quickly news gets from there to a person at the company that can actually do something about it.
No use, Valve/Steam don't reply on twitter. It's nothing more than a bot for announcing new products and/or sales.
Posted February 20, 2011
Steam makes me really appreciate GOG. All games here are DRM FREE and in ENGLISH.
Post edited February 20, 2011 by macuahuitlgog
Posted February 20, 2011
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StingingVelvet: Whatever you do don't refute the charge with your credit card company or bank though, even if you are right. Valve ban any account that files a charge dispute even if it's legitimate.
While I'm not surprised that Steam is scummy enough to do this, I am a bit surprised that they're still able to get away with it, since as far as I'm aware this kind of retaliation is explicitly forbidden by the Visa and Mastercard merchant agreements. Then again, I guess unless Visa and MC have money on the line they have absolutely no interest in going to bat for their customers.
Posted February 20, 2011
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StingingVelvet: Whatever you do don't refute the charge with your credit card company or bank though, even if you are right. Valve ban any account that files a charge dispute even if it's legitimate.
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DarrkPhoenix: While I'm not surprised that Steam is scummy enough to do this, I am a bit surprised that they're still able to get away with it, since as far as I'm aware this kind of retaliation is explicitly forbidden by the Visa and Mastercard merchant agreements. Then again, I guess unless Visa and MC have money on the line they have absolutely no interest in going to bat for their customers.
A lot of things are forbidden by the merchant agreements but are practiced anyways, such as those minimum order size to use credit. Under the agreement merchants aren't allowed to impose minimum sale size on credit payment.
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hedwards: Now that I think of it, the OP might try griping on Twitter. It's amazing how quickly news gets from there to a person at the company that can actually do something about it.
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Delixe: No use, Valve/Steam don't reply on twitter. It's nothing more than a bot for announcing new products and/or sales.
That's not quite what I meant, although that would be good as well. What I meant was when people post on their twitter feed that they weren't treated well by a company, it's surprising how fast the executives find out about it. Granted, I don't think that Valve cares, otherwise they wouldn't be making themselves look like greedy money grubbers, but who knows.
Post edited February 20, 2011 by hedwards
Posted February 20, 2011
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macuahuitlgog: So do I just give up and accept that I wasted money? Or do I reply and tell them they are wrong?
Give up with support they're useless and won't do a thing. You should now PM a Valve employee via the forums (perhaps BurtonJ to start with).

What you will need to happen, is for the German version of the game to be removed from your account, so that someone can gift you a version from their region. Support, however, really won't want to help you.

If they still fail to help, then tell them you're contacting the BBB and do just that.

I've never heard of them forcing a language on anyone depending on their region

It happens all the time primarily with Russian and German versions of games. It's only ever happened with Front Mission Evolved for Japan.
Post edited February 20, 2011 by bansama
Posted February 21, 2011
I know that the BBB has been mentioned so this may be the same thing but the likes of the UK have ombudsmen for almost everything, if you have a complaint that you have tried to resolve with the company and they wont play ball you can pass it on to them.


Is there anything similar for your country?
Posted February 21, 2011
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bansama: If they still fail to help, then tell them you're contacting the BBB and do just that.
The BBB is okay, but honestly I would also contact the Attorney General of the state that Valve is based in. They likely will not be able to solve the issue in its entirety, but they have the ability to investigate a company and take action if necessary, especially if a product is being falsely advertised.

I used this method when one publisher falsely advertised a game. They were being unreasonable through email, so I kindly informed them that I would be contacting the Attorney General of California regarding the matter. Suddenly they publisher cared, and my issue was resolved by the end of the week. The AG has a lot more weight than the BBB if you have a serious issue and the company refuses to acknowledge you. Just make sure everything is well documented and included with your letter. This was especially important here, as the company changed the store page and I would have been out of luck without the screen capture I had.
Post edited February 21, 2011 by Kurina
Posted February 21, 2011
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Kurina: snip
Never knew about the AG. Wonder if they will listen to complaints from non-American international customers as it's coming up time for me to once again complain about how a certain title is still being sold as a pre-purchase despite the publisher not okaying it's release (going on 6 months since the so-called "international" release date.

I also wonder if Valve will lie to the AG in the same fashion they lied to the BBB the last time I submitted a complaint about falsely advertising availability of many titles.
Post edited February 21, 2011 by bansama
Posted February 21, 2011
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HoneyBakedHam: Has anyone ever spoken to Steam? Is that even possible?
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StingingVelvet: No, there is no phone contact (that I have ever heard about anyway). It's pretty balls... they made a billion dollars off Steam last year according to recent articles and yet it always seems like Steam is run by three interns and a monkey.
The sad thing is they are allowed to get away with it. If you want a great support example, see Blizzard. They have email support, mail support, phone support, in-game support...

I'm sure Valve has the money to implement the first three kinds... I'm sure they don't care, however.
Posted February 21, 2011
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macuahuitlgog: The store pages for these 2 games do not mention anywhere that you can not play these 2 games in English. The store pages for the 2 games have written under the game details section "Languages: English". I would of assumed the games don't offer English if there wasn't "English" written somewhere on the store pages. (...)Titan Quest Gold
Actually, that's not true at all.

Directly from the Steam Store:
"Languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, German
Full audio support may not be present for all languages. View the individual games for more details."

If you follow the advice and view the individual game, you find a warning highlighted with an orange box saying:

"Low Violence: German low violence version only available with German language"

As much as I'd love to support a fellow GoG member, that's not really Steam's fault there, but rather German jurisdiction *FORCING* this kind of behaviour on Steam, or they'd end up with serious lawsuits.
Posted February 21, 2011
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macuahuitlgog: The store pages for these 2 games do not mention anywhere that you can not play these 2 games in English. The store pages for the 2 games have written under the game details section "Languages: English". I would of assumed the games don't offer English if there wasn't "English" written somewhere on the store pages. (...)Titan Quest Gold
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Fujek: Actually, that's not true at all.

Directly from the Steam Store:
"Languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, German
Full audio support may not be present for all languages. View the individual games for more details."

If you follow the advice and view the individual game, you find a warning highlighted with an orange box saying:

"Low Violence: German low violence version only available with German language"

As much as I'd love to support a fellow GoG member, that's not really Steam's fault there, but rather German jurisdiction *FORCING* this kind of behaviour on Steam, or they'd end up with serious lawsuits.
"Low Violence: German low violence version only available with German language"
It doesn't say English is not available. It says If I want to play the German low violence version, I have to play it in German. And I'm sure that is what many people will think if they also see "Languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish" written under game details on the same page. Okay. you probably think, I should of known better but the store pages are very misleading and I've never had a problem with other low violence German Steam games. And on my Steam store pages for those games, there is no "Full audio support may not be present for all languages. View the individual games for more details." written. Maybe because my Steam store pages are in English? I guess Steam didn't expect Germans to use their client in English...
Post edited February 21, 2011 by macuahuitlgog
Posted February 21, 2011
I don't think it is misleading:

"German language only available in Germany. German low violence version only available with German language."

Those are 2 separate sentences saying:
1. German Language is only available in Germany
2. Germany has the low violence version which is only available in German

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/410/?snr=1_4_4__13
Posted February 21, 2011
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Ubivis: I don't think it is misleading:

"German language only available in Germany. German low violence version only available with German language."

Those are 2 separate sentences saying:
1. German Language is only available in Germany
2. Germany has the low violence version which is only available in German

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/410/?snr=1_4_4__13
The store pages say exactly this.

"German language only available in Germany. German low violence version only available with German language."
The first part only tells me that if I want to play the game in German, I have to be in Germany.

"Low Violence: German low violence version only available with German language"
I already explained why this is misleading.

They should have written "German language only in Germany" or "No English option available" etc

And just for listing English as a language under game details on tthe store pages for those 2 games. They were being misleading no matter what you think.
Post edited February 21, 2011 by macuahuitlgog
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Need help with Steam support...(61 posts)(61 posts)
(61 posts)