Valve loses Australian Steam refunds battle and faces large fines

Australian gamers have won their battle for the right to Steam refunds as Valve have been found to be breaking Australian consumer law.

The Australian Federal Court has ruled against Valve’s no refund policy stating that Valve “misleading or deceptive conduct”. Valve now faces fines of up to $1.1 million “a breach”.

The Australian court stated that Valve were not exempt from Australian consumer law just because they are a foreign company not based in Australia. ACCC chairman Rod Sims added, “There’s going to be a lot of companies we can now turn to and say look, be careful what you say about consumer guarantees because you are liable under Australian consumer law.”

According to SMH, this is first time that the ACCC applied the definition of “goods” to include software. This is a significant ruling for Australian consumers who should now receive protection for from other companies also based overseas with similar policies. This issue has been ongoing for some time and it focuses on Steam’s terms and conditions which state that games are “not refundable in whole or in part”.

Good news for consumers but terrible news for Valve who now face significant fines, although it’s unclear how they will be fined for every breach.

Thanks EricBrighteyes.