For broken games.
Sony has been handed a $3.5 million bill in penalties by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission for making false and misleading representations on its website and in dealings with Australian consumers about their rights. The fine comes as a result of misrepresentations made by Sony Europe to customers who purchased faulty PlayStation games. Customers were told that Sony had no obligation to refund the game once it had been downloaded or after 14 days of purchase.
The Australian Consumer Law disagrees.
“Consumer guarantee rights do not expire after a digital product has been downloaded and certainly do not disappear after 14 days or any other arbitrary date claimed by a game store or developer,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
Sony Europe was also found in breach of Australian Consumer Law by telling one customer that it was not obligated to provide a refund unless the developer authorized it, as well as another customer that refunds were provided to the customer’s PlayStation wallet instead of real money.
Despite being located in the UK, Sony Europe is still held to Australian consumer laws when serving Australian customers. The ACCC has previously ruled against Valve’s return policy, handing down a similar $3 million penalty.
Source: accc.gov.au
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