Source
r/AskGames•
ginx2666

Did Valve weasel out of having to refund games thanks to EU directive?

✔ Answered

I was pretty much out of the loop the whole time when reddit discussed that case, so could someone answer my few questions?

  1. Can I get refund for games in my library? I technically not own them, but surely EU commission knows how bullshit TOS are, and prepared directive to counter that.

  2. If I at any point don't agree with Steam TOS do I lose access to games and possibility of refund?

  3. If any points of Steam TOS are in conflict with EU law, am I obliged to abide the former? What happens if Valve blatantly broke the law, I lose access to games, try to sue them and they back up with TOS saying I can't sue them?

Posted Aug 21, 2012, 12:17 PM UTC

43
jacenat•

Can I get refund for games in my library?

Most likely not. The ruling did not really cover Steams situation from what I understand.

If I at any point don't agree with Steam TOS do I lose access to games and possibility of refund?

I don't think proper legislature in the EU exists at the moment. I would say you are entitled to compensation (even if not full compensation) if the change to the TOS is severely enough.

If any points of Steam TOS are in conflict with EU law, am I obliged to abide the former? What happens if Valve blatantly broke the law, I lose access to games, try to sue them and they back up with TOS saying I can't sue them?

Points of the TOS contradicting EU law are invalid and are usually just disregarded in court cases (think of them just not existing). I'm not really sure what you mean by "if Valve broke the law" though.

2
ginx2666OP•

Thank you for reply, it certainly helped.

1
Jim777PS3•

Valve already has a no refunds policy.

  1. No, though Valve are nice and do give refunds often they have no legal obligation to do so.

  2. Yes you do. At any point if you dont like (and thus don't accept) the Steam TOS you lose acess to EVERYTHING you own on steam. You are shit out of luck.

  3. Law always surpasses TOS, the recent addition of the class action lawsuit waiver is a good example. Since its illegal to do that in the EU Steam will tell you that section only applies to US and other areas where the TOS does not override the law.

1