Kotaku reports that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking Valve to court with a lawsuit over its refund policy on Steam.
The ACCC alleges that Valve is breaching Australian Consumer Law over their policies. Specifically:
The ACCC alleges that Valve made false or misleading representations to Australian customers of Steam that:
– consumers were not entitled to a refund for any games sold by Valve via Steam in any circumstances;
– Valve had excluded, restricted or modified statutory guarantees and/or warranties that goods would be of acceptable quality;
– Valve was not under any obligation to repair, replace or provide a refund for a game where the consumer had not contacted and attempted to resolve the problem with the computer game developer; and the statutory consumer guarantees did not apply to games sold by Valve.
ACCC Chairman Rod Sims, says that Australian Consumer Law applies to “any business providing goods or services within Australia,” which he believes includes Valve.
“Valve may be an American based company with no physical presence in Australia, but it is carrying on business in Australia by selling to Australian consumers, who are protected by the Australian Consumer Law,” Sims continued.
The first hearing on the matter will take place in Sydney on 7 October.
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