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Valve Complaints 63

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J
5:30 pm EST
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Valve Unethical business practice

Steam / Valve Software is an online software delivery service.
Those who are into online gaming will be familiar with Steam.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(content_delivery)

I purchased a software title from Steam. The software did not work and required a patch from the company that wrote the software. I downloaded the patch but could not run it because all software from Steam runs on the "Steam Cloud", cloud computing where your files are stored on a server and not on your physical computer.
Steam does not have a technical support phone number so I contacted them via email.
After one week Steam replied that this was not their fault but the fault of the company that wrote the software.
I informed Steam that they sold me this software, regardless of its faults.
Steam insisted that the software should work but if it doesn't then I must contact the support of the company that created the software.
Steam took it upon themselves to state that NO REFUNDS will be given.

So, I am out $39.99
There are a few lessons to be learned here.
1. Think twice about doing business with a company that does not offer a tech support phone number.
2. Always do a search to see what other consumers have experienced.
3. Never underestimate the greed or stupidity of any company when it comes to bottom line profit.

I am stuck with a product that will never work and Steam knows this. They seem okay and have defended their business practices as being completely above-board.

Be warned that what you buy from Steam will not be yours to own but yours to use, if it works.
Always conduct due diligence on any company online.
If I had done so, I would have seen the scores of complaints, and I would have declined to do business with them.

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James Lilley
US
Aug 20, 2019 5:21 pm EDT

I too have had similar dealings with Steam. I preordered a game, Post Scriptum, and once it was released it has done nothing but freeze during the startup, or freeze once it gets to the menu selection screen. They give the excuse that I have exceeded the 2 week period for a refund. The preorder date was over 2 weeks before the game was even released. Every support ticket I fill out only gets the standard reply from Steam. I will never buy another game through them.

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RichardGilbertSharpe
Haverhill, US
Aug 24, 2016 8:27 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I agree with you totally Jonathan. STEAM SUCKS! I initially thought that Steam was an interestingly efficient no hassle idea, that is until the customer begins to understand how something called "cloud computing" really works. I purchased four video games two days ago and requested a refund IMMEDIATELY within four hours of the purchase when I began to realize that there was nothing to show for my hard-earned money spent, NO DOWNLOADED GAME FILE MY COMPUTER! I then quickly realized that I hadn't downloaded anything tangible at all that could be used INDEPENDENTLY of the Steam software. I mean this is crazy! My video game software should be mine irrespective of Steam. As you stated
Jonathan, cloud computing is where your files are stored on an outside server and not on your physical computer. This is very important for everyone who reads this to know! The purchased video game downloads are somehow integrated into the Steam software program that the customer has no choice about installing on his/her computer. As soon as I realized this and saw nothing (no file) that I could call MINE to substantiate or validate my four video game purchases, I requested a refund without hesitation. The refund for all four of my Steam video game purchases two days ago did come this morning just to let you know, which is the only good thing I have to say about Steam, the likes of which I will never do business with again. I don't want to buy anything that I don't "physically" own on my end, and if this trend is going to be what the future holds for online software purchases, I want NO PART OF IT! Good-bye and good luck!

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Genesect_Films
US
Apr 10, 2016 8:08 pm EDT

I know that steam has made the new update for the hold on items needing to trade and I think that 72 hours to wait is enough but what I got was just ridiculous. I have to wait 15 days to wait for just trying to trade a few items with another player. I also cant use the items I offered while on the hold. I think that steam really needs to lower the time for the trades because 15 days is ridiculous.

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Gary Hollman
US
Aug 06, 2015 3:15 pm EDT

Irecentlyreformattedmycomputer toinstallWindows 10 . Ibackedeverything upwithusernames and passwords so I KNOWtheinformationiscorrect . Ihad noproblemsaccessing mygamesthrough cBattlenet or OriginbutSteam justwon'tallowmeaccess to my account .I'vespenthundreds ofdollars ongamesthatrequire Steam account toplay . I've reset mypassword FIVEtimesandstillwon'tallow me toaccessmyaccount. NOSUPPORT ORcustomerservicewhatsoever. EXTREMELY PISSED RRIGHT NOW! HOWCANTHEYGETAWAYWITHSUCHOUTRIGHTTHUGGERy?

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arcee72
Las Vegas, US
May 30, 2015 1:22 pm EDT

I bought Wolfenstein The New Order last July, and it installed okay. In December, I bought Skyrim II and added it to my Steam Library. Afterwards, I could no longer play Wolfenstein. After fighting with the software for several months, I uninstalled Wolfenstein and tried to reinstall it. I could not find the Product Key on the jewel case, or on any of the DVDs. Then I found out why. Apparently, Steam Product Keys are one-time use, only. You cannot reinstall any Steam game because it will not accept a Product Key that has already been used. That means that if your game software becomes damaged, or if you purchase a new computer, you have lost that game -- and your money. I decided to uninstall and reinstall Skyrim II. I successfully uninstalled it, but when I tried to reinstall it, the download folder was empty. Apparently, the game installer deletes the file after the game has been installed, so that it can never be installed again. This is taking anti-piracy a step too far, and I make this promise: I will never, EVER purchase another product that involves Steam.

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Tom Simpson
ZA
Apr 27, 2011 7:48 am EDT

I cannot get access to my games; I have asked for support on a number of occasions but get no reasonable replies.
After 3 months I still cannot get online to play games.
What can I do?

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Warman1138
Napoleon, US
Feb 26, 2015 1:57 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I had radeon rewards coupon to redeem and it took 3 days to download one game, I kid you not 3 FREAKING DAYS! Besides that they won't acknowledge the second game I tried. When I tried to download it, it didn't. Instead I got the download complete message when nothing happened. And now all they do when I inquire about it is nothing and nothing sucks. It seems that all Steam is, is a scam that does enough business to stay above obligations and thugging their way through theft and deceit of their customers. And that's not the least of it. Customer satisfaction appears to be a virtue they do not value, unfortunately too many games require their involvement freeing the manufacturers from responsibility of an unworkable or defective product. Ripping off the occasional customer outright just adds a little more for the bottom line.

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bub234
Gaffney, US
Oct 17, 2014 7:11 pm EDT

they hacked my bank card and I tried to get a hold of them thru site and was sent to a site that does research on stem power. scam scam scam

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ahammar
Lago Vista, US
Sep 25, 2014 2:09 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I too am having trouble with Steam. They are impossible to reach anyone BUT use extension 101 to reach the founder Gabe Newell or the billing person Melissa at 592

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Zededd2000
Redditch, GB
Sep 02, 2014 3:58 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

If you have any problem with steam, it stands to reason you'd contact the support, right?
Well, after waiting a week for a reply, you will just get some automated response. Don't understand the relevance of that response? Their response is the exact same words again!
Don't like that? After four or five messages, you will eventually get forwarded to talk to the community... who will subsequently crucify you for your views.

ComplaintsBoard
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6:18 am EST
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Valve's Steam is very poor. Playing games have many bugs and problems. The problem is that there is literally no way to get in touch with them once there is a problem. There are NO WAY to resolve billing or technical issues. There are many people upset about this issue. Simply google "Steam Support" and you see many post by many many people. There is no...

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1:35 pm EST
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I went to my nearby Circuit City in the company's final days in hopes of scoring some good prices on whatever electronics they had left. Imagine my joy and surprise upon finding copies of Half-Life 2 AND Team Fortress 2 for $5 each. I went home and eagerly installed Half-Life 2. No problems. Great game. However, as I opened the box for TF2, I noticed the...

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Overview of Valve complaint handling

Valve reviews first appeared on Complaints Board on Jan 2, 2010. The latest review Valve/Steam was posted on May 29, 2024. The latest complaint unauthorized charges was resolved on Apr 08, 2013. Valve has an average consumer rating of 1 stars from 63 reviews. Valve has resolved 5 complaints.
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    Jun 13, 2024
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