Skip to main content

Bethesda's Fallout 76 refund policy causes confusion, as lawyers circle Deathclaw and order :/

28th November, 2018.
.

It's no secret that Fallout 76 has had technical issues. The PC version, in particular, has experienced several bugs - including one which deleted 50GB worth of game data, and another (slightly more amusing) bug which made players immortal. Yet for some, the problems proved too much, and several players have now attempted to claim refunds via the Bethesda game launcher. But with players getting mixed results, Bethesda's refund policy is leaving customers perplexed. So much so, in fact, that the situation has now caught the attention of an American law firm.
1

The online confusion began last week when reports of PC refunds began to surface on Reddit. Players claimed Bethesda had sent their money back almost instantly once they'd sent a support ticket listing reasons for needing a refund. This seemed unusual, particularly given the terms and conditions for Fallout 76 on the Bethesda launcher state you cannot apply for a refund once the software has been used.
Sure enough, in the following days, other players complained that their applications had been rejected on the grounds that "customers who have downloaded the game are not eligible for a refund". Bethesda has not yet publicly explained its returns policy, and Eurogamer has contacted the company to ask for clarification.
In response to the multiple complaints about refunds, Washington D.C.-based legal firm Migliaccio & Rathod LLP has now claimed it will investigate Bethesda for deceptive trade practice (via Gearnuke). Its statement claims Bethesda released a "heavily glitched game" and was now "refusing to issue refunds for PC purchasers of the game who found it unplayable because of its technical problems".
"While minor bugs and glitches are expected with the release of most new games, Fallout 76 launched with a 56GB patch that has proven to be but a starting point for the game's problems," the blog post continues. "Gamers who have tried to receive a refund because of the game's myriad glitches have been unable to do so since they downloaded the game, leaving them to deal with an unplayable experience until patches bring it back to a playable state".
2

Although some players are hoping this will lead to a class action lawsuit, there are a number of reasons to be cautious. The law firm provides no evidence it is actually investigating at this stage, and routinely writes blog posts of this type without necessarily following up with legal action. It could be more of a hopeful call to arms for a lawsuit which could earn the firm money, rather than a serious legal challenge.
It seems unlikely this class action lawsuit will actually come to fruition, but the investigation places more pressure on Bethesda to respond to player questions about the refund process.A look at the ZeniMax terms of service suggests American players have a limited time window in which to "opt out" of a class action waiver, while the jury waiver means no public lawsuits can be brought against ZeniMax unless the clauses in the terms of service are found to be "illegal or unenforceable". As Migliaccio & Rathod is US-based, the legal action would take place in an American court, potentially making the process of a class action lawsuit more difficult than if it were to be pursued elsewhere.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hello Moto: A Look Back at Six Classic Moto Phones

  12 December 2016 HIGHLIGHTS Motorola was the first company to ship a cellphone Its biggest hit was the Moto RAZR V3 Today, Motorola is a part of Chinese electronics giant Lenovo Recently, we relived the past with Nokia’s most memorable phones of all time. Although there may be a lot of fanboys and fangirls of the Finnish brand, many have equally strong feelings for the daddy of all mobile phone brands - Motorola. Its name will forever be etched in history as the  first company  to sell a mobile phone - the DyanTAC 8000X - in 1983. Since then, Motorola has been an easily identifiable brand to almost everybody in the world. Its designs were often strikingly unique and at the same time, Motorola phones often gave out a vibe that these devices mean business. Today, we’ve handpicked some of the most memorable Motorola phones we’ve come across. Here are our picks for the six most memorable Motorola phones of all time. 1) Motorola ...

Nokia 6.1 Gets a Price Cut in India Ahead of Next Week's Nokia 6.1 Plus Launch

  Dated: 18 August 2018   HMD Global is selling the Nokia 6.1 at a reduced price in India via its official site Highlights Nokia 6.1 seen to get up to a Rs. 1,500 price cut 3GB RAM variant is priced at Rs. 15,499 & the 4GB model costs Rs. 17,499 Nokia 6.1 Plus has been spotted online ahead of its launch Nokia 6.1 Plus is expected to be unveiled in India on August 21 and ahead of the launch, Nokia licensee HMD Global has dropped the price in India of the Nokia 6.1 or Nokia 6 (2018). Launched in India in April, the Nokia 6.1 was globally unveiled at MWC 2018 in February, but had first been launched in China in January. Later in May, HMD Global had launched another variant of the smartphone. Now, both the variants have received up to a Rs. 1,500 price cut in India. Meanwhile, Nokia 6.1 Plus, the global variant of Nokia X6 that was launched in China in May, has now surfaced online with that name. ...

Google Pixel Phone Users Complain of Audio Distortion Issues at High Volumes

  20 December 2016 HIGHLIGHTS Several users have reported the problem with the Pixel smartphones Some users are saying that the issue is independent of output source Issue seemingly present on both Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones Since their launch, Google's Pixel smartphones have been able to win over many critics as well as consumers with their camera performance, clean user interface, and Google Assistant. However, they haven't been without their share of problems. Now, some users are reporting a flaw on the smartphones that might not sit well with the search giant. Users are reportedly experiencing audio distortion issues with the Pixel phones when listening to media files at high volumes. A Pixel user with user name 'badmark' complained on a  Reddit thread  that his fourth Pixel XL replacement as well as his wife's standard Pixel phone have presented static distortion at three highest levels of volumes, ...