Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe is being taken to court in Australia over allegations of misleading consumers with its PlayStation Store refund policy.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said in a press release that Sony Europe violated Australian consumer law around September 2017 when it told customers that the company is not liable to provide refunds for “faulty” games that have already been downloaded, or if 14 days have elapsed since purchase.
The ACCC describes faulty games as those that are not of acceptable or advertised quality, those that don’t work as intended, and those that don’t match company description.
“We allege that Sony Europe gave false and misleading information to their customers about their rights in relation to games sold via its PlayStation Store,” said ACCC’s chair, Rod Sims. “Consumer guarantees do not expire after a digital product has been downloaded as we allege Sony Europe told consumers, and refunds must be given in the form of original payment unless a consumer chooses to receive it in store credit. Consumers who buy digital products online have exactly the same rights as they would at a physical store.”
Sony Europe is also accused of adding statements to its Terms of Service that implied the company has limited liability when it comes to faulty games.
“The Terms of Service state that Sony Europe is not responsible or liable for, and does not give warranty or representation in relation to, the quality, functionality, completeness, accuracy or performance of products, which represents that users have no statutory guarantee as to the quality, functionality, completeness, accuracy, or performance of purchased games,” reads a notice of filing.
The ACCC noted that all companies operating in Australia are required to abide by local consumer laws regardless of where their headquarters are based.
Sony has yet to respond to ACCC’s claims.
[Source: ACCC via Games Industry]
