Getting a refund for game purchased through Steam?

[GuitarDaddy]

Anyone had any luck doing this?

Downloaded Borderlands through Steam over the holidays as one of my Sons Christmas presents, and have never gotten it to work, won't even launch (windows GP error)
I spent 1 1/2 days searching and trying countless fixes and nothing works. Started a support ticket with steam and they don't support the game and referred me to a third party (2kgames) so I started a support ticket with them and have had no response in 7 days.

Is disputing the charge through my CC company the best approach? Anybody had similar problems with Steam? Can't believe they sell this broken crap and won't support it.

 

[fatpat268]

Careful with disputing the charge. I've heard others do this before, and they've had their steam account banned and lost all access to other games on that account.

 

[Elganja]

Anyone had any luck doing this?

Downloaded Borderlands through Steam over the holidays as one of my Sons Christmas presents, and have never gotten it to work, won't even launch (windows GP error)
I spent 1 1/2 days searching and trying countless fixes and nothing works. Started a support ticket with steam and they don't support the game and referred me to a third party (2kgames) so I started a support ticket with them and have had no response in 7 days.

Is disputing the charge through my CC company the best approach? Anybody had similar problems with Steam? Can't believe they sell this broken crap and won't support it.

Borderlands has worked for me since day 1... i wouldn't go so far saying "they sell this broken crap".

If you file a dispute with your CC company, you can bank on getting your steam account locked.

Lastly, IIRC steam says all sales are final.

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

What is the error message?

 

[MStele]

I sympathize with you, but buying a game from Steam is like buying a game from anywhere. Software can be hit and miss with all the various hardware and OS configurations out there. Since the vast majority of people can run Borderlands just fine, I wouldn't call it broken crap.

First and foremost, check the computer requirements and make sure that you meet them adequately. Assuming you do, write an email explaining the problems you had. I'm assuming you've done this so just wait a little longer. With the volume of games sold over the holidays, Steam is probably extremely backed up. Buying from steam is like buying games from any store which means there is no return policy. There is no way for them to know whether your problems are legit, and even if they were Steam is merely a distributer and doesn't write the software (except for Valve titles). While you likely won't get your money back, you can probably argue for a credit towards another game.

For now, double check your pc requirements. Update your drivers. Scan for viruses. They are going to recommend you do this stuff anyway. Good luck!

 

[Vampirrella]

have you tried removing the game and reinstalling from steam? Ive had my orange box games have issues on opening the game, and i removed the game and reinstalled and they worked again fine.

Sure its a pain to do, but this might be an option for you.

 

[tweakboy]

Listen to fatpat. nice one

 

[CptCrunch]

I wouldn't do much to piss off steam. They can easily ban your account or block access, which would cost you much more than $50.

I'd suggest updating drivers, directx, etc. If that doesn't work, uninstall steam and re-download everything. If that fails, try and reformat and reinstall windows.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

What is the error message?

The standard "Borderlands has encountered and error and must shut down" followed by a general protection fault error.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

have you tried removing the game and reinstalling from steam? Ive had my orange box games have issues on opening the game, and i removed the game and reinstalled and they worked again fine.

Sure its a pain to do, but this might be an option for you.

So far I have tried

removing the game and redownloading/installing (3times)
removing clientregistry from the steam folder forcing steam to update
defraging cache and validating game files
disabled AV and firewall, redownloaded
Updated video drivers
Updated direct X
And a bunch of other stuff


It seems I'm not alone, after looking at the Gearbox forums and the Steam support forums this is a huge problem

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I wouldn't do much to piss off steam. They can easily ban your account or block access, which would cost you much more than $50.

I'd suggest updating drivers, directx, etc. If that doesn't work, uninstall steam and re-download everything. If that fails, try and reformat and reinstall windows.

Good point, my son plays a boatload of games through Steam and I wouldn't want to jeapordize those. It just sucks that they are so unresponsive to a game they sell, they won't be getting any more business from us unless they resolve this soon

And I WILL NOT go as far as reformatting and reinstalling windows and all apps, thats beyond ridiculous just to get a game to play IMO. This is a clean machine with modern components that far exceeds the minimum requirements and plays all other newer games flawlessly

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Good point, my son plays a boatload of games through Steam and I wouldn't want to jeapordize those. It just sucks that they are so unresponsive to a game they sell, they won't be getting any more business from us unless they resolve this soon

And I WILL NOT go as far as reformatting and reinstalling windows and all apps, thats beyond ridiculous just to get a game to play IMO. This is a clean machine with modern components that far exceeds the minimum requirements and plays all other newer games flawlessly

System specs for those who care

Core2 duo @ 3.5ghz
2gb ram
ATI 5770 gpu with the newest 9.12 catalyst drivers
Windows XP 32bit SP3 fully updated

 

[coloumb]

I sympathize with you, but buying a game from Steam is like buying a game from anywhere. Software can be hit and miss with all the various hardware and OS configurations out there. Since the vast majority of people can run Borderlands just fine, I wouldn't call it broken crap.

First and foremost, check the computer requirements and make sure that you meet them adequately. Assuming you do, write an email explaining the problems you had. I'm assuming you've done this so just wait a little longer. With the volume of games sold over the holidays, Steam is probably extremely backed up. Buying from steam is like buying games from any store which means there is no return policy. There is no way for them to know whether your problems are legit, and even if they were Steam is merely a distributer and doesn't write the software (except for Valve titles). While you likely won't get your money back, you can probably argue for a credit towards another game.

For now, double check your pc requirements. Update your drivers. Scan for viruses. They are going to recommend you do this stuff anyway. Good luck!

yup. Buyer beware when purchasing from STEAM [and probably applies to other digital download services].

I purchased Saints Row 2 and it has the same bug Red Faction has/had in Windows 7 - everything runs at ~1.5 speed faster than normal. There is a 3rd party fix ["cheat engine" which allows you to hotkey to slow down/speed up the game engine] - but Steams answer to my request was "check with the 3rd party vendor". 3rd party vendor [Volition] answer - "We don't support Windows 7".

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

yup. Buyer beware when purchasing from STEAM [and probably applies to other digital download services].

I purchased Saints Row 2 and it has the same bug Red Faction has/had in Windows 7 - everything runs at ~1.5 speed faster than normal. There is a 3rd party fix ["cheat engine" which allows you to hotkey to slow down/speed up the game engine] - but Steams answer to my request was "check with the 3rd party vendor". 3rd party vendor [Volition] answer - "We don't support Windows 7".

From what you describe, your issue has nothing to do with Steam and would also affect the game if you bought a retail boxed copy. It just might be easier to return the retail version.

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

To the OP -- I also see tons of results when searching for "Borderlands general protection fault", so at least this is a visible problem. I would take this up solely with Gearbox and 2k games. Sucks they're taking a long time to get back to you, but so it goes with some support departments.

 

[theevilsharpie]

System specs for those who care

Core2 duo @ 3.5ghz

You're overclocking your PC, and your application is crashing. I wonder what the application's tech support agent will say :hmm:

 

[igloo15]

I have heard of people getting refunds through steam. Don't know the process but I know you can return games through steam and get a credit back on your debit card.

 

[Jschmuck2]

You're overclocking your PC, and your application is crashing. I wonder what the application's tech support agent will say :hmm:

mmmhmmm. Best turn that down and give it a shot.

 

[Rebel44]

As others said, your problem has nothing to do with Steam - you would have same problem if you bought somewhere else.

 

[paperfist]

Careful with disputing the charge. I've heard others do this before, and they've had their steam account banned and lost all access to other games on that account.

That can't be legal on their end.

 

[Rebel44]

I have heard of people getting refunds through steam. Don't know the process but I know you can return games through steam and get a credit back on your debit card.

They give refunds when people try to solve problem with developers tech support - if they are unable to solve that problem, game requirements arent problem etc. in those cases will Steam likely give refund.

 

[Alex C]

That can't be legal on their end.

I'm sure it's somewhere in the EULA.

 

[Rebel44]

That can't be legal on their end.

They do it all the time to people who dispute payment - if they later feel that issue is resolved they will unlock account - but I wouldnt risk it.

 

[MStele]

That can't be legal on their end.

It depends. If Steam has a legit claim on the money and he gets the cc company to refuse payment, its equivalent to bouncing a check. Since this is percieved as an attempt to defraud, it violates EULA and yes could mean a ban. There are legal routes to take to get the ban removed, but you would have to prove that Steam knowingly sold junk software.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

mmmhmmm. Best turn that down and give it a shot.

Tried all stock settings CPU,GPU and ram and same result