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Thread: Attention lawyers: Is this grounds for a class action suit?

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Attention lawyers: Is this grounds for a class action suit?

    The scenario:

    You download a free game app which offers premium "in app purchases" for real money.

    You purchase 5000 "gold" for real money to be used in the game.

    The game is designed very poorly, and causes accidental and spontaneous "purchases" with your gold to be made, thus wasting it.

    You ask support for the gold back. They refuse, claiming "all purchases with gold are final". When you show the details which would make it obvious the purchase with gold was accidental (i.e. it would have no benefit to you in the game), they still refuse.

    Upon going on a Facebook group for players of this popular game, you uncover that likely thousands of people have been victimized in this exact same way, due to both the poor app design and the no-refund-of-gold policy. Furthermore, you begin to suspect that this is intentional.

    I am of the belief that the company acted illegally for refusing to refund the obvious accidental/unintended purchases with the gold, as the gold cost real money to get, and the app did not provide reasonable protections against accidental purchases (nor is a reasonable refund policy in place for when this occurs).

    Is this class action material?

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    How Could You? WillieMcFML's Avatar
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    jesus buddy

     
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      Mintjewlips: Lol
    Hi Lew!!!

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    Bronze RS_'s Avatar
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    How is the gold “accidentally” spent? Is it an actual bug? Or is it something where it’s very easy to misclick or something like that?

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RS_ View Post
    How is the gold “accidentally” spent? Is it an actual bug? Or is it something where it’s very easy to misclick or something like that?
    Both

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    Canadrunk limitles's Avatar
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    Post

    Was waiting for Tellatard, Tellatard and Tard to weigh in but until then did you read the fine print/terms of service and
    can you document that fact?

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by limitles View Post
    Was waiting for Tellatard, Tellatard and Tard to weigh in but until then did you read the fine print/terms of service and
    can you document that fact?
    It would be easy to demonstrate that the game is poorly designed to where unintentional purchases are made when one plays it actively.

    It would not be difficult to produce a large number of people to testify under oath that this happened to them.

    Terms of service do not matter, as they do not legalize fraud.

    However, law involving in-app purchases is immature, and the FTC is just beginning to address some of these issues.

    A few years ago, there was a case with the FTC involving in-app purchases by minors, and whether the parents were responsible. It was ultimately ruled that, absent of proper safeguards to prevent minors from making in-app purchases, the parents must be able to get a refund, even if the minor was allowed to use the device and even if the minor did intend to make that purchase.

    This, of course, is a lot different. But I'm saying that I'm not sure of the exact law here.

    I do believe that this is illegal (from a civil standpoint), though. To me it appears to be a case where you pay for a service and do not receive it, thus the customers have been (civilly) harmed.

    But I'd like to hear from a few attorneys on this.

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    Platinum duped_samaritan's Avatar
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    Did you tell Benjamin he can't play anymore?

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    Speedster Out of Clemson adamantium's Avatar
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    Druff is still not well so I will not make any comments at this point in time
    Slava Ukraini!

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by adamantium View Post
    Druff is still not well so I will not make any comments at this point in time
    You can make your snide comments if you want.

    For those wondering why I'm bothering with this, I'm pissed off even though I only got ripped off for a small amount of money. If this were just a one-off screw job, I'd probably just charge it back to the App Store (which you can do) and let it go, but it's clear that this is an intentional (and probably illegal) pattern to cheat mass numbers of people for relatively small amounts of money, which add up to be something large when all taken together.

    So I'm wondering if a viable class action suit could be started, because this piece of shit scam company deserves it. Not that I'll benefit much from it, but just the satisfaction of seeing these stubborn and shady cocksuckers suffer will be all the benefit I need.

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    Gold SetofKs's Avatar
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    Not making a snide comment. You were always hero in poker because you made your money at the poker table and not with sponsers. You are losing yer mind though. Relax Todd.

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    Stuff like this will become more and more rampant.

    Late stage capitalism and all that.

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    100% Organic MumblesBadly's Avatar
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    Sounds like a job for Ben “Smokin’” Semocken (sp?).
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    Were Republicans cowardly or unethical not to go along with [convicting Trump in the second impeachment Senate trial]? No. The smart move was to reject it.

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    Gold handicapme's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by adamantium View Post
    Druff is still not well so I will not make any comments at this point in time
    You can make your snide comments if you want.

    For those wondering why I'm bothering with this, I'm pissed off even though I only got ripped off for a small amount of money. If this were just a one-off screw job, I'd probably just charge it back to the App Store (which you can do) and let it go, but it's clear that this is an intentional (and probably illegal) pattern to cheat mass numbers of people for relatively small amounts of money, which add up to be something large when all taken together.

    So I'm wondering if a viable class action suit could be started, because this piece of shit scam company deserves it. Not that I'll benefit much from it, but just the satisfaction of seeing these stubborn and shady cocksuckers suffer will be all the benefit I need.
    1. Read terms of service
    2. Unless they are blatantly stealing from you (which they aren't but you feel they are) you have no remedies.
    3. Did you read the TOS yet?
    4. Delete the game and never pay "gold"again, you have enough in the pool.

    Honestly man I would have never pegged you as someone who would do this... you know I'm usually on your side with things, but I'm embarrassed for you right now. Also, I can promise you that you aren't the only person to think of this, won't be the last and the company doesn't give a fuck.
    "I GOT NO TOE"

    #FreeFluffler #FreeThisGuyIsCreepy #lockupGarrett

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    Gold MrTickle's Avatar
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    Wait... grown men actually buy meaningless points for real money?

     
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      zealanddonk: Dont get between a Jew and his Gold

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    Speedster Out of Clemson adamantium's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrTickle View Post
    Wait... grown men actually buy meaningless points for real money?
    I was balls deep in world of tanks for years, cost me about 100 euros a month
    Slava Ukraini!

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by handicapme View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post

    You can make your snide comments if you want.

    For those wondering why I'm bothering with this, I'm pissed off even though I only got ripped off for a small amount of money. If this were just a one-off screw job, I'd probably just charge it back to the App Store (which you can do) and let it go, but it's clear that this is an intentional (and probably illegal) pattern to cheat mass numbers of people for relatively small amounts of money, which add up to be something large when all taken together.

    So I'm wondering if a viable class action suit could be started, because this piece of shit scam company deserves it. Not that I'll benefit much from it, but just the satisfaction of seeing these stubborn and shady cocksuckers suffer will be all the benefit I need.
    1. Read terms of service
    2. Unless they are blatantly stealing from you (which they aren't but you feel they are) you have no remedies.
    3. Did you read the TOS yet?
    4. Delete the game and never pay "gold"again, you have enough in the pool.

    Honestly man I would have never pegged you as someone who would do this... you know I'm usually on your side with things, but I'm embarrassed for you right now. Also, I can promise you that you aren't the only person to think of this, won't be the last and the company doesn't give a fuck.
    Stick to finance. This is incorrect.

    TOS is inconsequential.

    What if you signed a TOS that I could shoot you dead if you disagreed with me on the forum? Would that mean I could do that legally right now?

    There is definitely a legal precedent for receiving the service you pay for, whether it's directly (you pay, you get a service) or indirectly (you pay for credits within the company and then use those to buy the services you wanted).

    Let's say I sold "Druff gold" at 1000 pieces per $50.

    The gold allows you to get premium services such as analysis of a limit holdem hand you played (600 gold), a radio shoutout (300 gold), or the ability to unban a banned user (10000000000 gold).

    So you send me $50.

    Then you go to redeem it for a limit holdem hand analysis, and I say, "Sorry, the system indicates that you already redeemed your gold for phone sex with me."

    You reply, "But I don't want phone sex with you, nor did I redeem it for that."

    I reply, "The system shows you did. And it costs 1000 gold. So you have zero. So do you want your phone sex?"

    You would definitely have a case to sue me.

    If I had a pattern of doing this to thousands of people here, then you would have a class action case against me.

    Unfortunately shit companies like this get away with stealing from people because it's "just a small amount of money" or "it's in the terms of service that there's no refunds" or "all sales are final", and the gullible customers are convinced into believing that it was somehow their fault that they got stiffed.

    I know you listen to the radio show, and I'm sure you've heard me frequently say, "If you didn't get what you expected when you paid for it, then you probably got cheated. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

    The class action lawsuit system, while flawed (it enriches attorneys too much and gives too little to the customers ripped off), is very important in order to punish companies who cheat a lot of people for a little bit of money.

    I'm still trying to figure out your criticism here.

    Is it that I'm making a big deal out of being cheated for a small amount of money? I already explained that.

    Is it that the company has a right to cheat me because it's "in the terms of service"? They clearly don't.

    Is it that I should be the one to pay for it when the app malfunctions and wastes the credits I paid for? Because that's bullshit.

    You're welcome to the opinion you want, but it's disappointing to see that this is your take. I thought you were smarter than that.

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    Welcher jsearles22's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by adamantium View Post
    Druff is still not well so I will not make any comments at this point in time
    You can make your snide comments if you want.

    For those wondering why I'm bothering with this, I'm pissed off even though I only got ripped off for a small amount of money. If this were just a one-off screw job, I'd probably just charge it back to the App Store (which you can do) and let it go, but it's clear that this is an intentional (and probably illegal) pattern to cheat mass numbers of people for relatively small amounts of money, which add up to be something large when all taken together.

    So I'm wondering if a viable class action suit could be started, because this piece of shit scam company deserves it. Not that I'll benefit much from it, but just the satisfaction of seeing these stubborn and shady cocksuckers suffer will be all the benefit I need.
    What’s the game?
    It's hilarious that we as a society think everyone can be a dr, a lawyer, an engineer. Some people are just fucking stupid. Why can't we just accept that?

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    The only reason I'm even asking for opinion of attorneys is because I want to know if actual law supports it right now, when it comes to In-App purchases.

    As I said, I know that area of law is immature, due to the newness of the whole thing. Ten years ago, there was no such thing.

    Existing law definitely supports customers getting services they paid for and didn't receive, but in this particular case, the proper laws may not have been written yet.

    FYI, Apple decided a few years ago that they are just auto-refunding anyone who complains about an app (either the app itself or the in-app purchases) because they believe the law is probably more on the consumers' side.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrTickle View Post
    Wait... grown men actually buy meaningless points for real money?
    This grown man usually doesn't.

    However, as dumb as this sounds, this game was actually very helpful regarding allowing me to relax and fall asleep since my LPR showed up.

    When my mind was constantly on whether I could breathe while lying down, distracting myself with the game reduced my anxiety and allow allowed me to get relaxed enough to fall asleep.

    So I got to play a lot of it, advanced in it, and I spent a token amount of money in getting the gold so I could at least be semi-competitive.

    Upon joining a Facebook group for the game, it really pissed me off to see how the company behind the game pretty much fucks everyone. That's why I would love to see something done about it, rather than just calling the App Store and getting a refund.

    I'm not going to put a massive amount of effort into it, but if I could lift a few fingers and get the right attorney's attention, let's just say I would enjoy watching Rome burn.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    BTW let's say I paid money for the game and just decided it sucked.

    Or perhaps I bought some kind of power-up and I still wasn't good enough at the game to win, and regretted my purchase.

    I wouldn't ask nor expect my money back in such situations.

    But when you buy gold to make premium purchases, and their own shitty app's malfunctions steal it from you, then you better fucking believe I just got cheated, and you better fucking believe the company is shady as hell if they know it and still won't make it right.

    It would be bad enough if this were a "negative check off scam" (that is, they steal gold, and only refund those who notice and complain), but here they refuse to refund anyone who complains, no matter how obvious that the purchase was not made or intended.

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