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I Got Ripped Off (Zen) - Winter Promotion
xgnxlentgamer02
Member Posts: 78 Arc User
So...I just bought my $50 worth of Zen through Steam during this promotion: https://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news/detail/11482063
Turns out, I'm not eligible for the 20% bonus because " only charges from the Arc site are eligible for the 20% bonus Zen."
I have NEVER had an issue with not getting bonus Zen before when purchased through Steam, which is how I got my Zen. There's NOTHING in the promotion that says ANYTHING about needing to purchase through Arc to get the rewards that they advertised. I'm now officially requesting a refund for my $50 worth of Zen unless I can get my 20% bonus. Gotta admit, this is some top tier TRIBBLE. My experience on STO buying things for the past 5-6 years I've been playing was positive, until now.
Turns out, I'm not eligible for the 20% bonus because " only charges from the Arc site are eligible for the 20% bonus Zen."
I have NEVER had an issue with not getting bonus Zen before when purchased through Steam, which is how I got my Zen. There's NOTHING in the promotion that says ANYTHING about needing to purchase through Arc to get the rewards that they advertised. I'm now officially requesting a refund for my $50 worth of Zen unless I can get my 20% bonus. Gotta admit, this is some top tier TRIBBLE. My experience on STO buying things for the past 5-6 years I've been playing was positive, until now.
Post edited by xgnxlentgamer02 on
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Either way, no one here can refund your money, you need to click on the Support Link at the top of the page and open a support ticket for a refund. We're just a bunch of lowly forum peasants, sadly we can't help you on that.
Good luck and hope you get your refund soon.
Bottom line, if the shop you need to use is important then that need, NEEDS, to be in the official announcement. Especially if you used the very popular steam to down load the game as the only in game store is steam and some players have never even heard of the ARC store or ever used it.
xgnxlentgamer02 you should open a support ticket. This happened to me in the past and when I pointed out all of the above to the support staff they gave me the zen promised in the promotion.
it's called personal responsibility, folks.
No, it is called a history of very poor and inaccurate announcement writing that catches people off guard when something actually does change. A lot of people got caught by the ARC version of that same problem during the black Friday sales, for the past few years except this year all of the zen buying levels got the discount regardless of what the announcements or purchase screen said.
People just get so used to the fact that Cryptic messes the stuff up that they tend to go by what actually happened in previous sales instead what they say.
That being said, whether by bad communication &/or marketing intent Cryptic isn't always the best using precise words to explain details in situations. I had a recent situation myself regarding the (4) retrain tokens & comprehending Cryptic's explanation leaving me feeling quite humble afterwards lol
Don't give-in to any allure of "trust" if before you buy & it doesn't look correct then don't buy.
As I've stated, I've never ever ever had an issue with purchasing Zen through Steam, even through promotions. I can't remember offhand whether or not it indicated that I'd be getting a bonus amount, but I don't believe it did. This is the first time ever that I've had an issue.
When you purchase through Steam, you will see in advance what you're getting. When you click Buy Zen, and the box pops up where you select your Zen Quantity, the amount will be shown there before you're taken to your Steam payment method. So on that screen, it should say 1000 Zen + 20%, if it doesn't.. then you're only getting the zen with no bonus.
I play through Steam and purchase primarily by that method and it is unusual that the bonus did not apply this time. In the past, promotions like this did indeed include the bonus for Steam, but this time it was omitted. After I saw your post, I tested it and indeed when I attempt to buy through Steam, no bonus is listed, just the base Steam Amount.
I can understand your confusion as this is not normal, they don't normally omit Steam from the bonus, but it has happened before. I am unsure what the deciding factor is, but Steam does not always get the bonus when these events occur. You have to be kind of careful when buying that way. It's usually easier to just buy the Zen on the web site, you can still play through Steam just fine.. it's just a better way to make sure you get any promotions or discounts currently in effect.
I don't believe it's ever said + #% whenever I purchased during a bonus, and I still got my bonus.
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
Well I doubt any appeal will be successful, but the worst thing that can happen by you requesting them to at least look into it since you state you've never had this happen before is them denying a refund & at that point you're not any worse so I wish you luck.
Cryptic has seemed to rearrange some of their bonus/sale amounts too so it definitely "pays" to look then re-look at the details before any purchase.
I also buy my zen with Steam, but when in the announcement is not mentioned Steam, well, i know is not incuded, also, the steam window shows you the bonus amount, if it's not there, i just buy in arc... it's a mistake, but not Cryptic fault.. i always check when promotions are up, to verify if steam is ncluded. Sorry for your situation.
Best advice is that you file a ticket, follow up on it until someone pays attention, and maybe try to get the attention of whoever our Community Manager is these days (I've lost track, we keep driving them off).
Should OP have double checked the zen amount they were getting? Yes.
Should Cryptic honor a sale advertise on their website even if it was never meant to include Steam, but they didn't mention that in the sale announcement? Definitely YES.
If the OP does not get his refund or bonus Zen, then perhaps he will think twice before supporting this company financially next time.
^^^
It mentions nothing about "Only through ARC..." (nor lists any vendors or methods actually).
I'd say that's misleading advertising by Cryptic at best; or criminally negligent false advertising at worst (although it would cost more in court cost to take it to small claims court); but given the way marketing wrote the copy, no this ISN'T a case of the OP misreading anything - it's (not surprisingly) Cryptic not fully announcing all the particulars, which is false advertising if one of the Zen affiliates doesn't honor it without Cryptic mentioning that's possible up from in their ad copy.
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
While I agree he/she has every right to request a refund.
I totally disagree with your other statement. If something is advertised for sale at one named store (in the real-world) I shouldn't assume that another named store is going to have the same sale unless I read it for that particular store regardless if it is the same product/service & same for websites.
Assuming something is automatically included is all on the buyer's responsibility.
If the Cryptic announcement of this sale/bonus stated Steam is/was included then by all means yes. If Steam stated there was a current zen sale/bonus then by all means yes too.
Otherwise don't assume even if there has been past precedent.
So if Cryptic does not specify a specific store, we should assume the sale does not include that store? By that logic, there should be no sale in Steam, Arc, or Epic. So where IS this sale then?
Real world there are terms and conditions and small print just like what you click past with Apple updates... Nothing with that with original news post. Granted the original poster, may be, should have checked with checkout but if the previous discounts worked then why should he assume any different if not stated. Just go through previous news posts where information is incorrect/refunds given/sorry's said. May be less staff (and out of office) on STO which is why the errors are creeping in?
Edit: If I am remembering right with their physical team up competitions they say it's not open to worldwide due to shipping etc. I imagine with their partners (Steam etc) they either didn't tell them or changed the way they are doing discounts.
That is correct, it always has been this way.. when is not mentioned, is not there.. to be in any store, an agreement must be made.. but in their own store, they can publish any discount and promotion they want.. i'been in this game for 10 years, and always has been that way..
Unfortunately, yes.. you have to assume that. It's part of the risk of doing business with Cryptic.. and make no mistake.. it's always a risk. This company is absolutely terrible about things like this and it's something that should always be considered when spending money. The Arcgames Store Page is the only place right now where the bonus is shown when you select your Zen Amount, it's the only safe place to assume you'll get the bonus.
Is it right or justified? No.. you're absolutely right that things like this SHOULD be specified, but with Cryptic they never are. You have to check and double check EVERYTHING you do if you're going to be spending money. Cryptic is a horrible company to do any type of business with and the risk involved in getting ripped off has stopped me from buying on more then one occasion.
It's sad, but it's the truth. I do agree that the OP deserves a refund, I just hope that Support agrees and that they process the request in time for him to get his money back to re-spend while the sale is still on.
Send them something like this: "I bought this through Steam after noticing the charge bonus advertisement. I thought this would apply to zen purchased through Steam as well since the blog didn't say otherwise. I would like to request the bonus zen or a refund since the original advertisement blog didn't specify Steam was excluded." Generally if you do something like this and just explain it they will be willing to work with you.
If you're short, polite, and to the point I'm sure they'll work with you. Anyways gents, there is nothing more that can be done here. Good luck OP. /closed
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