Yahoo Finance Sony hauled to court for allegedly lying about Playstation game refunds
The ACCC is hauling Sony Europe to the Federal Court for making false or misleading representations to Aussie consumers about its PlayStation online store on their website.
The competition watchdog is alleging that the tech giant told consumers that it didn’t need to give refunds for downloaded games or if 14 days had passed since its purchase.
Sony Europe also allegedly said it didn’t have to provide refunds unless the game developer said the game was “irreparably faulty or otherwise authored a refund”, according to a statement by the ACCC.
The competition watchdog is also alleging that Sony told consumers it could give refunds with virtual PlayStation currency instead of money.
The ACCC is making the case that Sony Europe’s representations didn’t reflect consumer guarantee rights afforded to Australian customers under Australian Consumer Law.
“We allege that Sony Europe gave false and misleading information to their customers about their rights in relation to games sold via its PlayStation Store,” said ACCC chair Rod Sims.
“Consumer guarantees do not expire after a digital product has been downloaded,” he added.
Additionally, refunds have to be given in the form of original payment unless the customer chooses to receive it in store credit.
“Consumers who buy digital products online have exactly the same rights as they would at a physical store.”
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Australian Consumer Law stipulates that consumers have the right to a refund, repair or replacement if the product is faulty because it’s of an unacceptable quality, isn’t fit for purpose, or doesn’t match the descriptions made by the business.
“Sony Europe’s alleged conduct may have caused Australian consumers to not seek a refund, replacement or repair for a faulty game when the Australian Consumer Law gave them a right to do so,” Sims said.
The ACCC is also alleging that Sony Europe told consumers in its Terms of Service that it had limited liability to redress faulty products when this was not true.
Australian Consumer Law applies to all businesses that trades with Australian consumers, including digital goods such as games.
“No matter where in the world a company has its headquarters, if it is selling to Australian consumers, the Australian Consumer Law applies,” said Sims.
The ACCC has also instituted proceedings against Sony Europe’s parent company, Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited (SIEE), which is responsible for the content on the PlayStation Australia website.
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