I paid a fairly substantial amount ($69.99) to have a boxed copy of Demigod shipped to the UK since, understandably, I was excited to play the game, and would have been happy to pay the price, if the game worked well enough.
However, it doesn't.
Therefore, I contacted support@stardock.com about my dissapointment, and got a reply saying that a 75% refund would be issued, within the same day, Ed: WHICH I AM HAPPY WITH. I strongly urge anyone who has had a similar experience to do the same, and I have enclosed a modified version of the email I sent as a template if you have trouble with that sort of thing.
Ed: Just to clarify, stardock did not refund any of the shipping fee.
Hello,I would like to request a full refund for the amount I paid for my copy of Demigod, the reasons for this are two fold:- The multiplayer aspect is more or less unplayable for games of 4 players or more, and even smaller games than that are extremely difficult and frustrating to achieve; for a multiplayer centric game, this is just not acceptable. Considering I bought this game to play with a large group of friends whom I actually persuaded to get the game aswell, I'm sure you can imagine the embarassment and frustration I have felt, as we can't even play it together.- The AI is broken and the single-player element is too underdeveloped to make up for the multiplayer's shortcomings; whilst I know that a fully fleshed out singleplayer campaign was not advertised, if the singleplayer aspect had at least passable AI, it would have made the mutliplayer problems less dissapointing.I'm not sure how you go about making refunds as I paid via PayPal, but I have provided all the information you should require below.I hope to hear from you with 48 hours before I am forced to take further action.Yours faithfully,<Name>Impulse ID: ************Demigod key: ########################
<enclosed paypal receipt>
You'll get karkov vodka and you'll like it!
hahaha
As for the OP:People just need to quit bitching already. sheesh.
@thread: As a customer service person:
You have no idea how many threats of 'further action' many companies get. America is so lawsuit happy that it's hard not to get them.
You also have no idea how useless the threats are. I've seen hundreds. I have seen only one actually try to take action, and that didn't go very far at all. After a while, they just provoke a smirk and sarcastic comment. After longer, they just provoke an eye roll.
the one that I love best is when they threatening to never use your service/business again and go to your competitor. You can just see the thought "That'll scare them!" on their faces.
lol I told one of said person "Would you like me to give you directions?"
lol he stormed off.
2 points that some people seem to be stuck on:
Firstly, I never asked specifically for a refund for the shipping, I was happy to get what I did.
Secondly, 'before I'm forced to take further action' is just something worth throwing into anything customer services related - Some companies aren't as fast acting as Stardock have proved to be, but the again, they do state that they will respond to emails within 48 hours, so its perfectly reasonable to include this.
If my tone seemed somewhat sour, I do apologise; I will be sure to make any future complaints I have about anything else, in song, perhaps?
That was amazing. This should really be stickied as there's a lot of misinformation regarding refunds going around.
Just as a FYI, the UK distance selling laws only actually apply to UK based companies. I understand this even impacts purchases from online stores based in the channel islands.
Not that it matters in this case as Stardock have a very fair refunds policy.
I have made a slight amendment to my original post, since some people seem to think this thread was made as a continuation of my complaint.
I'm actually more of a beer snob than a whiskey snob... I also don't know any good places near plymouth =/
I however do know some fantastic microbreweries on the east side
Our refund policy on Demigod was just unrelaxed. It's a little complicated, but I'll do my best to explain.
So basically, if you've been able to play online and simply don't want the game anymore, a full refund is not possible. If you haven't been able to play online and have been sticking by us, you will not be penalized should you request a refund.
It's complicated, so each refund request will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
There's already been some confusion out there, so let me just reiterate that we're looking at all refund requests on a case-by-case basis. There are a few factors in the Demigod refund equation that will be weighed carefully for each person.
Really it's not that complicated at all. Stardock is one of the few companies that do this without hessitation, so people should be grateful. Thanks for making some of the consumer base not feel stupid by saying its complicated though. : )
Sounds to me like you aren't willing to stand behind your product, which is clearly broken. It was released with a large number of bugs, many of which still aren't fixed. People still can't really reliably play 4v4s and 5v5s (evidenced by the fact that you only recently dared to make pantheon 3v3.) You promised you would get these bugs fixed and its been over a month. What do people get for trying to support you and stand by you while you attempt to fix things, they get screwed.
People who pre-ordered the game paid more for it and Frogboy backed out of trying to remedy that. People who didn't immediately return it at release aren't getting full refunds now. Since when is Demigod satisfactory? Favor is still broken, the game still desyncs, the game still crashes, and the patches that were susposed to fix these issues and many others didn't.
Worst of all, you guys are giving us a 50% coupon for another copy of a defective product (which was never actually sent out.) So people who supported you early get screwed again.
Not giving people a full refund because they can technically play online in this trainwreck is against your Gamers Bill of Rights, releasing a game unfinished is against the GBoR.
Haiku would be best.
Not people a full refund because they can technically play online in this trainwreck is against your Gamers Bill of Rights, releasing a game unfinished is against the GBoR.
Clearly you are unhappy. Let me provide you with a refund.
Stardock's stance on DRM, their openess to the comunity, support, and their return policy is a breath of fresh air compaired to what gamers have had to deal with in the past. I just can't immagine why people would return anything Stardock has currently released. Stardock would have to put out a pretty awefull game (demigod is FAR from awefull) for me to even consider a return...even then I doubt I would.
WarskullX did not ask you for a refund, nor does his supposed unhappyness at the facts he presents in his comment warrants your actions.
Openness to the community and support?
You just banned one of the more constructive and active members of this community, and a member of our tournament team with a match scheduled for this saturday. All that based on one fact supported comment.
Ugly move.
how much refund is there for being banned?
and tenet i completely agree with you
He had some very good points in there, and didn't asked for a refund.
While MeliBee just got karma for her good work from me, i am wondering, why it isnt possible to give bad karma. Your answer didnt help anyone.
He wasn't bitching he was telling it like it is. Game has improved a lot now, but back a few weeks ago I was of the same mindset.
I'm thinking this was a joke? If it wasn't, then I'd want a refund too. Warskulls opinions match my own. I enjoy Demigod, but it's had more problems/hassles/facepalms and broken promises than any game should. The broken favor in particular is really tough to swallow at this stage.
Just to clarify as someone who did not purchase Demigod but am watching the release and how well this Impulse, Stardock, Gamer Bills of Right combo works... if you request a refund, or complain to a point and are forced (?) to accept a refund, you are thereby banned from the forum and Impulse/Stardock as a service?
No.
If you ask for a refund, you get a refund and that's that.
If you are an idiot, you get a forced refund and you're banned from the services.
If you simply mail sales and request a refund, no, there is no reason you would get banned. We've acknowledged the issues and if they're too much for you, we don't begrudge you wanting to put your money to better use.
But in the above example, a user insulted our support and dedication to Demigod and its users, and as a result was basically given his money back and shown the door; this is an exceptional case. We have no problem tolerating criticism, but if someone makes it personal like that we're not under any obligation to take it sitting down. Just as users can opt not to buy stuff from us if they like, we can opt not to *let* them.
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