Just wanted to add, that if you get banned from a game and have prepaid for that game, you can contact your credit card company and do a charge back for the amount. A MMO company can not keep your money for a service they aren't providing. It doesn't matter if you got banned or not. As soon as they turn off your access to the game they are no longer providing the service you paid for.
See the thing everyone is missing is you are not breaking any law when they ban you from the game. So yes they can choose who can and can't access their software, but they can not keep your money past that particular month that you are currently in. These are mutually exclusive things. Account access and billing. They are not the same thing. The company by their right can refuse access at any time. But they can not refuse access and keep all of your money. They would have to prorate you some of your money back. (example in if you pay for a 6 month subscription and then 1 month into it your account access is removed, they would owe you 5 months of subscription back) If they did not refund you then that constitutes fraud. It doesn't matter what the TOS says is against their code of conduct or anything. Unless you break the law, they can not keep your money and would need to honor their agreement to either provide you with your account access or refund you the rest of your money.
Now of course this would take a legal fight and the reason you don't see anyone doing it, is because it is not worth the legal fees to fight the small amount of money lost due to left over subscription fees.
Currently playing: LOTRO & WoW (not much WoW though because Mines of Moria rocks!!!!)
Looking Foward too: Bioware games (Dragon Age & Star Wars The Old Republic)
Many people have stated why it is right to do so or why it is not right, now let's consider the OTHER side.
You get banned, and you get refunded. So you got your game money back and your subscription money back... so you can just , right away, go to a shop in town, buy the game again, re-subscribe and you are good to go.
So, what would be the purpose of "banning" if they give you back the money? there would be NO purpose whatsoever in the banning process. (ok, you lose your characters, but still...)
As such, yes, you should not get back the money for your game nor your monthly subscription. It is debatable in the case of a yearly subscription and you just played 2 months or so for example, in that case I can see the company refunding part of your money, but never, in any case, the money for the game box.
As for not being legal, well that is totally dependant on what you did for getting banned. Harassment, sexual or otherwise is no more legal when done in a videogame than on a street. Dealing in virtual goods is a shady practice and while there isn't much legal sides, one way or the other, it is still a grey area.
Other things like botting are not illegal and as such cannot have any other repercussions, but most of the things you get banned for are NOT legal.
Have a nice day.
"If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime"
You get banned for breaking the rules, cheating, stealing or harassing others. all the refund you should get is five toes in your behind. The Company have the obligation to protect the "good" gamer from "bad" games and protect there product (the game)
Banned for wrong or false reasons then you should get refunded and option refund of game license (price of game)
I do not see it as either or
As gamer you did agree to follow the rules and guidelines set down by the game company.
Oh My God no one reads the thread but happily posts. I SAID I GOT BANNED FOR BOTTING WHILE BEING ACTIVELY PLAYING . think about it, think about it. read before posting or buy glasses
How is that different from botting while afk? Most people bot while "at-keyboard".
I would be very surprised if there was a single commercial MMO that didn't state in the eula that you may not play the game using third-party programs.
as an agreement to many of the other posts, no, I dont think you should get your money back if you get yourself banned, if you got falsely banned, you should complain, some companies might even give you the money for your remaining gametime back. It's like that with most things, if you break the rules you're not eligable for a refund, although you might in some cases get one, it sounds a bit stopid to me to let those that break the rules go off with no consequences so to say , if it's a game you really like and really want to play, you shouldn't break the rules. Easy as pie ^^ (Doesn't apply to places with corrupt CSRs and bad Support systems :P but those are a chapter for themself that you wont get a refund from anyhows)
*hugs from lil me*
*Brain down for upgrade, don't try to understand my logic, I don't...*
Terms and conditions including bannable offences are not clearly marked on the box. You are not advised of them before you part with your money. In Europe this is a criminal offence, known as False Advertising.
Any terms and conditions applied without agreement prior to the bill of sale are fraudulent.
While I understand and, individual injustices aside, broadly agree with a companies right to protect it's business by banning disruptive or undesirable people from gaining access, I also believe that they if they take your money in advance, they owe you the service you have paid for.
If I was ever banned, I would simply contact my credit card company and cancel any of my payments I did not feel I had recieved value for money from.
They can ban me from their service, but they can't ban me and have my money.
If you paid by gamecard, take it back to the shop and tell them it doesn't work. Don't leave until they refund you.
I'm with the second poster on this,ban the suckers from everry mmo.The big factor the OP is missing,is related to why cheats are so hated by players such as myself.This reason is ,that you are not only breaking there rules,but feel lucky your not sued by every gamer who's playtime is increased due to a broken economy forcing more time on farming.You are ruining the game for all the legit players ,who's total paid time added up FAR exceeds the single player who is ruining the game.Just the time alone that is wasted because players have to over farm the broken economy is worth what?how much value do you put on your own time?do you think wasting time on behalf of the cheat is worth it?99% of the time cheats use that as there excuse ,they say they dont have time.That's nice of them,to feel there time is important but all the others gamers time isn't?
When players sign in or pay for there subscription,they don't ask to be ripped off by the cheats or have there game time ruined/flawed because of the cheats,nor are they told this will happen.Your getting off FAR too easy ,for ruining all the others players subscriptions.
I got so steamed at FFXI for not controlling there bots ,i quit that game twice.I could not enjoy the ENTIRE game because almost all the good drops in the game were camped by bots/scripted .ini files.I had to farm extremely long hours just to buy food and make arrows for my ranger,so i could party.A lot of my time/others as well was wasted because of a broken economy,the cheats,RMT ,are the ones to blame.That is exactly what cheating does it forces out a broken game economy wich ruins the whole gaming experience for everyone.Cheats are getting off far too easy IMO.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Buying gold and other ingame materials is kinda ok with some of you BUT if the botters/hardcore players you buy from happen to get banned through botting ro being falsley accused fo botting, that's tough and they don't deserve to get any money back for unclaimed play time. So it appears that people are :-
1. Happy to buy ingame goods from other players/companies.
2. Happy for possible botters not to get there money back for unplayed time game regardless if there innocent of botting or not if they are banned.
3. Pass the banning blame onto other people/companies making you innocent of any botting.
So in effect, those that have bought ingame material from companies that have used botting software. Have payed for botting and thus BOTTED INDIRECTLY.
I don't think the price of the game or that current month should be refunded, but any further months already paid for should be. If the player is a problem, then the problem has been removed from the game. I don't see any reason to punish the player for having paid for several months in advance. It is esentially a fine and I can see no reason why a gaming company has any legal right to do that.
Devs and CSRs can and do make mistakes, as well as sometimes being overly heavy handed. Players who feel they have been banned falsely should be able to have some kind of come-back, and preferably not with the same people that banned them.
I would be absolutely furious if I got banned for a game I'd just paid up a years worth for, especially if it was just over speaking my mind on something that the GM took offence at.
Comments
reminds me of a guy i know who bought a new gun and shot some guy in the head.
after the cops arrested him and confiscated the gun, he demanded they give him the money he paid for it.
See the thing everyone is missing is you are not breaking any law when they ban you from the game. So yes they can choose who can and can't access their software, but they can not keep your money past that particular month that you are currently in. These are mutually exclusive things. Account access and billing. They are not the same thing. The company by their right can refuse access at any time. But they can not refuse access and keep all of your money. They would have to prorate you some of your money back. (example in if you pay for a 6 month subscription and then 1 month into it your account access is removed, they would owe you 5 months of subscription back) If they did not refund you then that constitutes fraud. It doesn't matter what the TOS says is against their code of conduct or anything. Unless you break the law, they can not keep your money and would need to honor their agreement to either provide you with your account access or refund you the rest of your money.
Now of course this would take a legal fight and the reason you don't see anyone doing it, is because it is not worth the legal fees to fight the small amount of money lost due to left over subscription fees.
Currently playing:
LOTRO & WoW (not much WoW though because Mines of Moria rocks!!!!)
Looking Foward too:
Bioware games (Dragon Age & Star Wars The Old Republic)
Well, I've just woken up and have checked the forum and I have to thank everyone for all there response..
Thsi is good keep them all coming and don't forget to respond to the poll.
I said no. Here is my reasoning.
Many people have stated why it is right to do so or why it is not right, now let's consider the OTHER side.
You get banned, and you get refunded. So you got your game money back and your subscription money back... so you can just , right away, go to a shop in town, buy the game again, re-subscribe and you are good to go.
So, what would be the purpose of "banning" if they give you back the money? there would be NO purpose whatsoever in the banning process. (ok, you lose your characters, but still...)
As such, yes, you should not get back the money for your game nor your monthly subscription. It is debatable in the case of a yearly subscription and you just played 2 months or so for example, in that case I can see the company refunding part of your money, but never, in any case, the money for the game box.
As for not being legal, well that is totally dependant on what you did for getting banned. Harassment, sexual or otherwise is no more legal when done in a videogame than on a street. Dealing in virtual goods is a shady practice and while there isn't much legal sides, one way or the other, it is still a grey area.
Other things like botting are not illegal and as such cannot have any other repercussions, but most of the things you get banned for are NOT legal.
Have a nice day.
"If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime"
Why is it all so black and white????
You get banned for breaking the rules, cheating, stealing or harassing others. all the refund you should get is five toes in your behind. The Company have the obligation to protect the "good" gamer from "bad" games and protect there product (the game)
Banned for wrong or false reasons then you should get refunded and option refund of game license (price of game)
I do not see it as either or
As gamer you did agree to follow the rules and guidelines set down by the game company.
<iframe src="http://www.gamersgate.com/ggtag/2061"; width="225" height="198" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" title="GG Tag"></iframe>
I would be very surprised if there was a single commercial MMO that didn't state in the eula that you may not play the game using third-party programs.
*hugs from lil me*
*Brain down for upgrade, don't try to understand my logic, I don't...*
Terms and conditions including bannable offences are not clearly marked on the box. You are not advised of them before you part with your money. In Europe this is a criminal offence, known as False Advertising.
Any terms and conditions applied without agreement prior to the bill of sale are fraudulent.
While I understand and, individual injustices aside, broadly agree with a companies right to protect it's business by banning disruptive or undesirable people from gaining access, I also believe that they if they take your money in advance, they owe you the service you have paid for.
If I was ever banned, I would simply contact my credit card company and cancel any of my payments I did not feel I had recieved value for money from.
They can ban me from their service, but they can't ban me and have my money.
If you paid by gamecard, take it back to the shop and tell them it doesn't work. Don't leave until they refund you.
I'm with the second poster on this,ban the suckers from everry mmo.The big factor the OP is missing,is related to why cheats are so hated by players such as myself.This reason is ,that you are not only breaking there rules,but feel lucky your not sued by every gamer who's playtime is increased due to a broken economy forcing more time on farming.You are ruining the game for all the legit players ,who's total paid time added up FAR exceeds the single player who is ruining the game.Just the time alone that is wasted because players have to over farm the broken economy is worth what?how much value do you put on your own time?do you think wasting time on behalf of the cheat is worth it?99% of the time cheats use that as there excuse ,they say they dont have time.That's nice of them,to feel there time is important but all the others gamers time isn't?
When players sign in or pay for there subscription,they don't ask to be ripped off by the cheats or have there game time ruined/flawed because of the cheats,nor are they told this will happen.Your getting off FAR too easy ,for ruining all the others players subscriptions.
I got so steamed at FFXI for not controlling there bots ,i quit that game twice.I could not enjoy the ENTIRE game because almost all the good drops in the game were camped by bots/scripted .ini files.I had to farm extremely long hours just to buy food and make arrows for my ranger,so i could party.A lot of my time/others as well was wasted because of a broken economy,the cheats,RMT ,are the ones to blame.That is exactly what cheating does it forces out a broken game economy wich ruins the whole gaming experience for everyone.Cheats are getting off far too easy IMO.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Buying gold and other ingame materials is kinda ok with some of you BUT if the botters/hardcore players you buy from happen to get banned through botting ro being falsley accused fo botting, that's tough and they don't deserve to get any money back for unclaimed play time. So it appears that people are :-
1. Happy to buy ingame goods from other players/companies.
2. Happy for possible botters not to get there money back for unplayed time game regardless if there innocent of botting or not if they are banned.
3. Pass the banning blame onto other people/companies making you innocent of any botting.
So in effect, those that have bought ingame material from companies that have used botting software. Have payed for botting and thus BOTTED INDIRECTLY.
awesome.
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/120583
Nothing strange about it.
You broke the rules, you got banned. Cause and effect.
And *that* I'm just fine with.
I don't think the price of the game or that current month should be refunded, but any further months already paid for should be. If the player is a problem, then the problem has been removed from the game. I don't see any reason to punish the player for having paid for several months in advance. It is esentially a fine and I can see no reason why a gaming company has any legal right to do that.
Devs and CSRs can and do make mistakes, as well as sometimes being overly heavy handed. Players who feel they have been banned falsely should be able to have some kind of come-back, and preferably not with the same people that banned them.
I would be absolutely furious if I got banned for a game I'd just paid up a years worth for, especially if it was just over speaking my mind on something that the GM took offence at.