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STEAM - announcements, updates and WIN
- Thread starter Tony Rocky Horror
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Visualante
Member
This was posted several hours ago.Volcynika said:Weekend deal = Modern Warfare 40% off($23.99)
That's exactly why I was asking previously about the rules for splitting the cost of 4-packs. Speculawyer bought two 4-packs, and split the cost among different GAF people for each one. Everyone paid via PayPal, and he gifted us the games. It's the same as everyone else has done. Do you know anything wrong with that, and if so, why didn't anyone else have a problem?rezuth said:
Does anyone else have any suggestions for him? Specifically, is there an actual "support ticket" link? I'd also like to know that link since I heard that it may be the link with which you can ask an actual human to review a VAC ban in case it was some accidentally auto-triggered thing or whatever.
And please, if anyone has any ideas answer quickly, since it's about to be another weekend and they sure won't be doing anything then.
Short version, if anyone has the support ticket website please post it here, since getting four support requests ignored after losing hundreds of dollars and having your account completely disabled (without a message even giving a cause) seems REALLY lame.
Just to verify, speculawyer, did you check your bank/paypal/credit card info to make sure there weren't any sort of chargebacks etc.?
speculawyer
Member
What? No.rezuth said:
I merely distributed the games bought in a 4-pack. That is what they are for.
speculawyer
Member
Thanks for the help. I think I might just have to be patient. Well, I've got plenty of new console games from all the sales. :lol
I don't think I've been banned . . . just 'disabled'. Perhaps just creating an account and suddenly buying $300 worth of games sets off a red flag.
Well, at least I'm very happy that the other people that went in on the 4-packs with me have not had any problems.
I'm going to check on this. I was using a credit card that was still valid but I had received a newer one that wasn't activated yet. I then later activated the new one. But the card has the same number . . . I just have a later expiration date now.Blizzard said:
This is the only thing I can find about support tickets:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=1223-QROC-4460
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=1223-QROC-4460
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
In terms of VAC ban there is nothing you can do. The disabled account I am not sure about. If it wasn't fraud or a chargeback Valve will unblock it. I would goto the forums and messagd BurtonJ who is an Valve employee. He is good about these situations.
Huh. I was almost sure that someone (maybe on GAF) posted a little-known option where someone had gotten a mistaken VAC ban reviewed by a human.LovingSteam said:
I mean, I'd hope they're all reviewed by humans to begin with, but still. People's blind faith that they won't lose thousands of dollars of games (or even just online), dependent on automatic software detection systems, doesn't sit well for me, and I'm someone who develops software for a living. :lol I guess I don't trust the evil computers; they'll take over the world some day.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Blizzard said:
Nope, they won't even look at VAC bans. Even if your computer was hacked or your account was stolen, they won't do anything. For them its there is no way to confirm whether the other person caused the ban or not. A person with a VAC ban has two options: keep playing games on their account in non VAC servers, or start a new account.
"It sucks, but there you go" isn't usually an excuse for losing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise you paid for.TheOneGuy said:
Normally there are recourses to such things, but Steam is in a position where there's very little you can do, I suppose.I like Steam in general, but I just have to point out the negative things and maybe they'll improve. Plus if I wasn't so negative all the time, what would you have to be annoyed about?
oh wait, snipers
YuriLowell
Member
If my account was locked out of Thousands of dollars of games, I would be getting some legal action on them and FUCKING FAST.
They will unlock it if you bring legal action. Almost no way they would rather go to court and potentionall get hit with some punative damages then just to take 30 seconds and unlock your account.
No if you excuse me im going to change my steam password to something with above 20 characters.
They will unlock it if you bring legal action. Almost no way they would rather go to court and potentionall get hit with some punative damages then just to take 30 seconds and unlock your account.
No if you excuse me im going to change my steam password to something with above 20 characters.
Hasphat'sAnts
Member
nubbe said:
And where would that be? I haven't found a single store selling CoD4 PC for anything below 30.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
YuriLowell said:
You would be the first person in the US to do so. There is disagreement whether or not Valve could indeed lock someone out of their account. I would love to see someone sue as long as there is good reason (not a hacker/fraud).
Damn it...still couldn't hit $19.99 for MW1? :lol
I normally would hop on this, but the whole MW2 issue has soured me a little on picking up MW1 on the cheap. More importantly, I still need to get Torchlight and I would rather give runic the money instead of fueling the activision machine.
I normally would hop on this, but the whole MW2 issue has soured me a little on picking up MW1 on the cheap. More importantly, I still need to get Torchlight and I would rather give runic the money instead of fueling the activision machine.
rohlfinator
Member
How does that work? One of the codes in a 4-pack is tied to the buyer's account, so did he use two accounts?Blizzard said:
speculawyer
Member
YuriLowell said:
Well, it has only been over $300 so far (including the 4-packs that I went in on with others). I've been looking into the rules.
This link:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=6262-QXCN-0755
says:
May I sell or trade gift subscriptions?
But I don't think I was 'selling' anything. I just went in on a four-pack with some GAF friends. I didn't buy 4-pack and then go around selling copies for more than the $33.75.
A similar thing says this:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=4502-TPJL-2656
Again, I did not 'sell' the games . . . I purchased the 4-pack with friends.
And besides, the Steam Subscriber Agreement says this:
Even if you tried to twist what I did as "selling" copies of Borderlands (which it was not, it was going in with some friends), that provision refers to the "Steam Software" not to the games on steam.
If they have actually disabled other people for doing the same thing, I want to hear about from others. What do they expect people to do with the four-pack other than have 4 friends buy it together to play together? They are 4-player co-op games . . . that seems to be whole point. Do they really think there are lots of rich gamers that will go around and buy 4-packs and gift copies? If they consider what I did a violation, then I think they are really tricking people into a disabled account. And that really makes no sense. I can't think of a better way to get people fucking pissed at Steam and quit.
If they really considered what I did a violation and they get to ban me and did so with others, I'm filing a class action lawsuit.
But at least they haven't disabled the game for other people I went in on with.
FFS, with all the piracy going on, they are crazy if they want to alienate paying customers by tricking them into into doing the most obvious thing and then banning them. There are even huge discussion on the Steam boards of people organizing 4-packs.
YuriLowell
Member
LovingSteam said:
It seems like Valve is running a service here. Steam is a method of delivery for games.
Its like the UPS man coming into your house and stealing all of the shit he delivered to you.
I think someone would have a very good shot at winning a lawsuit against valve if they locked someone out of an account for a reason that was legit.
speculawyer
Member
Me too. (Of course I couldn't even if I wanted to.) :lolTim-E said:
It has been difficult to resist the $20 credit if you pre-order CoD: MW 2 from Amazon though.
YuriLowell
Member
speculawyer said:
I might get it on 360 just because the game is such a sham on PC, and I refuse to support the PC version.
I might get MW1 on pc just because of some of the insane fun that comes with 64 people on maps designed for 16.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
I would advise contacting BurtonJ. He is a Valve employee. You can find him by going to the forums and doing a search for the moderators. I would bet that you get your account back. It may take a few more days but honestly I wouldn't worry.
rohlfinator
Member
Ah, that makes sense.AstroLad said:
Based on their wording, it does sound like they consider sharing a 4-pack like this to be against their TOS.speculawyer said:
But I agree, that's really shady if true. There's no way they can expect that people are just going to spend $150 on a game so they can give away copies to their friends.
Were the people you grouped with on your Steam friend's list, or did you just send them the codes? If you emailed them codes, it might have looked like you were just ebaying them, which I could understand Valve cracking down on.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
rohlfinator said:
Believe me, they don't. I opened up a topic in the Borderlands forum for people who want to go in for a 4 pack. There are hundreds of replies and individuals taking advantage and it hasn't been locked yet. I think the issue may be Speculawyer buying two of the 4-packs. However, I still say that Valve will take care of it.
speculawyer
Member
Thanks, OK will do. I'm disappointed that I could not play Borderlands with the people I bought it with since I'm sure they are all leveled up way past me.LovingSteam said:
At least I didn't miss the TF2 sale, I got someone to buy it and gift it to me.
Oh:
LovingSteam
member
Fake edit: PM sent to BurtonJ
Edit: And this could all be some weird issue with my credit card.
ClovingWestbrook
Banned
Alex said:
I agree. That is why like Spec said it could be something with his credit card. Valve is usually very good with taking care of situations like this. The only time the individual will not get it back is if there is evidence of fraud, theft, or a charge back. However, even as someone else stated, a chargeback that wasn't made by the customer but by the bank can be rectified as well.
Yeah, I've always heard that disabled accounts usually get a ticket response in a day or two. I really doubt the actual 4-pack thing was the issue, or else surely someone else would have had it happen. Changing addresses and such on credit cards happen for some people, and I've seen two people on GAF have that happen resulting in a disabled account (after they moved or whatever?)...or maybe it just rejects their cards, not sure.
Anyway, the point is that usually they're pretty good about responding, so I'm interested to see how long it takes for them to get back to you. If you got the official ticket email response then you should be in the system, I guess...
Anyway, the point is that usually they're pretty good about responding, so I'm interested to see how long it takes for them to get back to you. If you got the official ticket email response then you should be in the system, I guess...
rohlfinator
Member
Yeah, I think buying two of them might have been the "problem". I'm guessing Valve is keeping a close eye on accounts who seem to be buying a lot of 4-packs, and maybe 2 is the magic number.LovingSteam said:
Yeah, but they can disable accounts of people abusing the system. Maybe it wouldn't hold up legally, but it would at least slow someone down if they're just buying a bunch of 4-packs to eBay.Alex said:
Not saying that this is what speculawyer (or any of us on GAF that went in on a 4-pack bundle) did, but I'm sure there are some people out there who are trying to flip codes on eBay for a profit.
speculawyer
Member
First ticket filed « Message by you on Wed, 28th Oct 2009 7:22 pm »Blizzard said:
But just the fact that they disable you and give you absolutely no explanation is frustrating. You waste your time try to play a guessing game as to why you are disabled. And you can't even filed detailed trouble ticket other than "I'm disabled. Why? Please fix this." since you have no idea why are disabled.
Is it because:
-Buying 4-packs with others?
-Because I modded my L4D with the Teletubbies mod?
-Because something to do with my credit card?
I was so scared with the Teletubbies mod that I never played an online game for fear that would be cheating and I'd get VAC ban.
This really is probably much ado over nothing. Perhaps the two 4-packs was suspicious? Perhaps a credit card issue? It is just frustrating to buy a bunch of games: L4D, Borderlands, L4D 2 (I can't play the demo), TF2, Assassin's Creed, and Stalker . . . yet not be able to play any of them.
You didn't buy two 4-packs on the same game, though, right? You bought one for L4D2 and one for Borderlands. Surely you're not the only one to do that. *shrug*speculawyer said:
I'd be afraid Gabe would come to your house and beat you up with a 2x4 if you filed a BBB report.
speculawyer
Member
I think I could take Gabe down.Blizzard said:
Bites tongue to avoid any jokes.
But anyways, I think he'd be more likely to fly me up to Washington.
zombieshavebrains
I have not used cocaine
speculawyer said:
Lol wtf?!
Hope you can get it resolved quickly because it doesn't seem like you did anything wrong to me.
HurricaneJesus
Member
What is the expiration on your old card?
If it is expired then Steam needs the new expiration date. I had this problem a few years ago with Xbox Live when my card expired. At least with MS I just called them up and fixed it. Sucks ass that you can't play your games, but once you get your card info updated, it should be smooth sailing. I have been using Steam for a couple years and the only thing that bothers me is that I need to start a game up once before I can play it in off-line mode. If I just download a game, and then try to play it later off-line, I can't. The game should be ready to go in either mode the first time I play it.
Steam isn't perfect, but I think it is moving in the right direction. Of course there are going to be bumps along the way.
As for Borderlands, I really want to play it but my PC is not powerful enough to make me get it on Steam vs my 360. Maybe I will see if Walmart is still selling it cheap.
If it is expired then Steam needs the new expiration date. I had this problem a few years ago with Xbox Live when my card expired. At least with MS I just called them up and fixed it. Sucks ass that you can't play your games, but once you get your card info updated, it should be smooth sailing. I have been using Steam for a couple years and the only thing that bothers me is that I need to start a game up once before I can play it in off-line mode. If I just download a game, and then try to play it later off-line, I can't. The game should be ready to go in either mode the first time I play it.
Steam isn't perfect, but I think it is moving in the right direction. Of course there are going to be bumps along the way.
As for Borderlands, I really want to play it but my PC is not powerful enough to make me get it on Steam vs my 360. Maybe I will see if Walmart is still selling it cheap.
speculawyer
Member
It was 12/09, so I don't think that could be the problem.HurricaneJesus said:
I just got a response from them asking for my credit card (but just last 4 digits) info so they could verify my account. I think things will be resolved.
speculawyer
Member
Totally funny, check it out. I bought L4D just so I could play it. As someone that watched hours of Teletubbies due to my daughter, it was nice to get pay-back.zombieshavebrains said:
If you actually FILE IN the report? Sometimes, steam support page will provide you with a list of possible solutions for your case and one of these options is "none of these helped me, please send my ticket for review by a valve employee" or something.
When I lost my account, my support ticket sat on the servers for a day before I noticed that. After I posted it up for review by a Valve employee, that employee answered me in a day.
When I lost my account, my support ticket sat on the servers for a day before I noticed that. After I posted it up for review by a Valve employee, that employee answered me in a day.
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