Australia has won the case against Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe due to its PlayStation Store refund policy and now the gaming company is paying the price.
The country’s Competition and Consumer Commission recently had a victory on a court case against the gaming company over its PlayStation Store refund policy. The Australian Federal Court has declared the company that it should pay AU$3.5 million or around $2.4 million for making false and misleading representations on its website and in dealings with Australian consumers about their Australian Consumer Law (ACL) rights.
Four customers who believed that they got faulty PlayStation games were misled by Sony Europe with misleading representations. This happened when the company’s customer service representatives told them over the phone that the company was not required to refund the game once it has been downloaded or if 14 days has passed since it was bought.
ACCC Chair Rod Sims stated:
Consumer guarantee rights do not expire after a digital product has been downloaded and certainly do not disappear after 14 days or any other arbitrary date claimed by a game store or developer.
What Sony told these consumers was false and does not reflect the consumer guarantee rights afforded to Australian consumers under the Australian Consumer Law. Refunds under the consumer guarantees must also be given in cash or money transfer if the consumer originally paid in one of those ways, unless the consumer chooses to receive store credit.
Source: Official ACCC Website
