Is What Blizzard Did Illegal?

[justinny]

Hi guys, so i'm very interested in law and i just wanted to ask the community if what Blizzard did was illegal.

So the ban wave happened which is expected and falls within their terms of use. However, they will not refund Legion Pre-Purchases or provide Legion to customers that got banned. I believe this to be inherently unfair and actually illegal as Purchasing Legion is purchasing a separate product and starting a new contract/ promise which they have the duty to fulfill... but they are not doing that. Also, for many of us they flagged our accounts a long time ago- before the Legion Pre-purchase- Therefore, they actually accepted a contract/purchase with the knowledge of they were not gonna fulfill that promise. By contract law, this is illegal. its unethical, immoral, and just plain wrong.

The contract: Pre-Purchase Legion and receive product on August 30th--the day of release.

Result: they don't plan to fulfill this promise but are claiming a benefit.

Lawful Outcome: Both parties return to as well off as they were before the contract/purchase.


I see it as a scheme and actually stealing money. Although they have a term of use, it doesn't trump contract law and law of purchasing product. They can't just say their gonna keep the money and not give you the product/ fullfill their future promise.

Your thoughts?

Thanks

--Just some guy wanting answers...

 

[Shinyknight]

Take them to court.

Via con Dios, and all that.

 

[gamer427]

You are in your legal rights to do a chargeback for paying for something which was not released yet and which you will never be able to use as well.

No-one will also go to court against a billion dollar company because they banned them for $40.

 

[garoboldy]

provide Legion to customers that got banned

- Source?

Nothing in the announcement from them stated you couldn't buy legion and play it. obviously you can't buy legion on an actively banned account since that would make no sense at all lol. Buying it on non banned accounts is still just fine as they are playable.

 

[WolfpackPB]

In the past they have always refunded the Pre-Order if you request it. You would have to look into the Terms of Service to see if they set up any specific rules on pre-orders and the return policy. Realistically bringing a $50 case against Blizzard is not going to happen though, the best you could do is to try and go through the BBB (Better Business Bureau).

Found it for you.

Section 10 of Blizzard's ToU http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/legal/wow_tou.html

Termination.

This Agreement is effective until terminated. You may terminate this Agreement by deleting the Game Client and terminating all World of Warcraft Accounts registered to you. In the event that you terminate or breach this Agreement, you will forfeit your right to any and all payments you may have made for pre-purchased game access to World of Warcraft. You acknowledge and agree that you are not entitled to any refund for any amounts which were pre-paid prior to any termination of this Agreement. Blizzard may terminate this Agreement (and your access to the Game) with or without notice for any reason, or for no reason. The provisions of Sections 4, 5, 8, 11, and 12-17 shall survive any termination of this Agreement.

So if they deny your refund there is no legitimate legal recourse you could really take, as it's worded. You could try to charge back with your Credit Card or Paypal but honestly it would technically be fraudulent since you willingly agreed to the terms.

 

[gamer427]

In the past they have always refunded the Pre-Order if you request it. You would have to look into the Terms of Service to see if they set up any specific rules on pre-orders and the return policy. Realistically bringing a $50 case against Blizzard is not going to happen though, the best you could do is to try and go through the BBB (Better Business Bureau).

Found it for you.

Section 10 of Blizzard's ToU http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/legal/wow_tou.html



So if they deny your refund there is no legitimate legal recourse you could really take, as it's worded. You could try to charge back with your Credit Card or Paypal but honestly it would technically be fraudulent since you willingly agreed to the terms.

Blizzard can write whatever they want in their ToS, but they cant make the law out of their asses. I'm sure I read somewhere on gov website that it is against the law to take payments for a merchandize and then not deliver it.

 

[tyman102938]

The interesting thing is, I got a refund for Legion after my suspension during the December ban wave. I'd like to think I could take blizzard to court and win because of the precedent BLIZZARD themselves set by refunding me. Just take the NFL vs. Brady case for any sports fans, even though everything was collectively bargained, Brady still won his case in court (for now) even though it was in the "contract" that Roger Goodell can pretty much do anything he wants. This was the only thing that annoyed me about the bans today is because I now have a legion key that I cannot even use till November and will now be forced to buy another Legion expansion if I want to play the expansion when it comes out.

 

[Knob]

Well its not like they stole your money, and its not like you didn't get anything in return. You do own the game, but you broke some rule. So blizzard has locked/frozen that account for a period of time.

You should ask if you can have the Pre-ordered Xpac, transferred to new/clean account. So you can have access to the game you rightfully own, when it becomes available to the public.

The new rule is be Pre-order @ your own risk!

 

[tyman102938]

Well its not like they stole your money, and its not like you didn't get anything in return. You do own the game, but you broke some rule. So blizzard has locked/frozen that account for a period of time.

You should ask if you can have the Pre-ordered Xpac, transferred to new/clean account. So you can have access to the game you rightfully own, when it becomes available to the public.

The new rule is be Pre-order @ your own risk!

They won't even move my Legion to my account that's going to be off suspension in a month.

 

[WolfpackPB]

Blizzard can write whatever they want in their ToS, but they cant make the law out of their asses. I'm sure I read somewhere on gov website that it is against the law to take payments for a merchandize and then not deliver it.

Yes but the state laws for refunds and returns references the Refund/Return policy of the vendor, where the standard is generally 30 days to request a refund upon purchase. There is NO law which is specifically written about pre-orders or back-ordering to be illegal.

Source: http://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/customer-returns-and-refund-laws-by-state.html
I believe this also applies to e-transactions as well for almost all states.

 

[justinny]

In the past they have always refunded the Pre-Order if you request it. You would have to look into the Terms of Service to see if they set up any specific rules on pre-orders and the return policy. Realistically bringing a $50 case against Blizzard is not going to happen though, the best you could do is to try and go through the BBB (Better Business Bureau).

Found it for you.

Section 10 of Blizzard's ToU http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/legal/wow_tou.html



So if they deny your refund there is no legitimate legal recourse you could really take, as it's worded. You could try to charge back with your Credit Card or Paypal but honestly it would technically be fraudulent since you willingly agreed to the terms.

Yes i have read term but by definition is a unconscionable term as it is overwhelmingly one-sided in favor of the party who has the superior bargaining power, that they are contrary to good conscience. eseentially, you can't write terms that are against the law... which it is... you can't receive benefit without fulfilling that contractual promise. Even in Void contract cases costs are refunded and both parties are left the same as before

Typically, an unconscionable contract is held to be unenforceable because no reasonable or informed person would otherwise agree to it

 

[WolfpackPB]

Yes i have read term but by definition is a unconscionable term as it is overwhelmingly one-sided in favor of the party who has the superior bargaining power, that they are contrary to good conscience. eseentially, you can't write terms that are against the law... which it is... you can't receive benefit without fulfilling that contractual promise. Even in Void contract cases costs are refunded and both parties are left the same as before

Typically, an unconscionable contract is held to be unenforceable because no reasonable or informed person would otherwise agree to it

Which is true, go take it to court, let us know how it goes and how expensive getting that $50 is.

PS You may think that, but what you (or we as a whole) think means nothing in these matters. Just take the loss and learn your lesson, no more pre-orders when you are willingly and knowingly risking your account due to botting.

 

[justinny]

Which is true, go take it to court, let us know how it goes and how expensive getting that $50 is.

PS You may think that, but what you (or we as a whole) think means nothing in these matters. Just take the loss and learn your lesson, no more pre-orders when you are willingly and knowingly risking your account due to botting.

Absolutely agree with you, this is more of a philosophical debate. However, news headings/bad publicity and maybe a class action would not look too good for Blizzard right now. Therefore their is possible leverage. it's just funny how a corporation can do something unlawful and not care about. Don't forget they stole $50 from thousands of people....

For example, if i stole $1 from everyone on the planet and became on of the richest men on earth... is that illegal? no one really got hurt financially? its only a dollar....

 

[Knob]

They won't even move my Legion to my account that's going to be off suspension in a month.

Yeah cuz its suspended. Your a habitual offender, don't expect favors. Wait out the month ask again then, or try with a clean account.

 

[nytegeek]

You are in your legal rights to do a chargeback for paying for something which was not released yet and which you will never be able to use as well.

No-one will also go to court against a billion dollar company because they banned them for $40.

I guess you haven't heard of a class action suit? People have banned together and sued for smaller amounts, this would be no different.

 

[justinny]

Well its not like they stole your money, and its not like you didn't get anything in return. You do own the game, but you broke some rule. So blizzard has locked/frozen that account for a period of time.

You should ask if you can have the Pre-ordered Xpac, transferred to new/clean account. So you can have access to the game you rightfully own, when it becomes available to the public.

The new rule is be Pre-order @ your own risk!

Time is a essential term of a contract--August 30th.. some bans were 18 months as well. By not giving you the game on August 30th they also breach the contract.

Also, 30 day returning policy in some states are for purchases received and not for pre-purchases as they did not fulfill any sort of promise.

 

[Knob]

What don't you get about a suspension? Your own the game, in there eyes. You forfeited your right to play it, on that account until your punishment is over. Ask to move it the preorder to a clean account. If not contact your bank/credit card/paypal for a refund.

Now I think we got a lawsuit with blizzard over privacy. Where did I give consent to allow them to install spyware on my pc. Or allow them access to view/monitor anything programs running/stored on my system that Blizzard considers a violation of T.O.S. and with out Burden of proof.

 

[alley1]

What I would like to know is how they're able to detect a bot that doesn't inject into the client. Are they able to scan our processes? If so isnt that considered invasion of privacy? I'm not to good with knowing the law but I could't assume it's illegal to scan my computer. How would they detect the bot without scanning our processing tab? I don't even have anything with the words honorbuddy on my computer. Everything was renamed.

 

[gamer427]

What I would like to know is how they're able to detect a bot that doesn't inject into the client. Are they able to scan our processes? If so isnt that considered invasion of privacy? I'm not to good with knowing the law but I could't assume it's illegal to scan my computer. How would they detect the bot without scanning our processing tab? I don't even have anything with the words honorbuddy on my computer. Everything was renamed.

Yes they scan all programs that are run on your PC, its in a big bold statement before you create your battlenet ID with nothing else on the page.

 

[WolfpackPB]

What I would like to know is how they're able to detect a bot that doesn't inject into the client. Are they able to scan our processes? If so isnt that considered invasion of privacy? I'm not to good with knowing the law but I could't assume it's illegal to scan my computer. How would they detect the bot without scanning our processing tab? I don't even have anything with the words honorbuddy on my computer. Everything was renamed.

Honorbuddy doesn't use injection anymore? Didn't get that memo! They are only allowed to scan within their own memory space on your PC. Anyone who says "omg they scan our hard drives for Honorbuddy.exe" is flat-out wrong.