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Oculus Home store says all sales final, despite EU law

Oculus Rift Pierre

Oculus Home, the digital storefront supplying you with VR-ready titles for your new Rift headset, has declared that ‘all sales are final’ in a refund policy question on the site’s FAQ.

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The question asks if refunds will be possible on anything bought in the store, to which the Facebook-owned company states: “All software purchases from the Oculus Store are final, and unless required by local law, no refunds will be provided.”

The devil, as always, is in the latter half of that sentence in a complex legislative nightmare that Valve is all too familiar with. Consumer rights on purchases spanning international borders and in the digital realm caused the Seattle-based company to append the Steam Subscriber Agreement with a specific clause nullifying basic consumer rights for Europeans in early 2015.

European Consumer Rights directives state that there is a 14-day cooling-off period for any digital good purchased but in order to download these goods before the end of the two weeks you will be required to waive this right.

As such, in the Oculus terms of service, section 4.11, the company stipulates that “if you are located in the EU, you consent that the supply of the digital content may begin immediately following the completion of your purchase and you acknowledge that you therefore will lose any statutory rights you may have to withdraw and receive a refund.”

It’s a fairly standard clause in the digital commerce world, however Steam has since introduced a system for refunds that is fairer for consumers and closer in line with digital goods which negates the 14-day waiting period but still allows you to return unplayed or underplayed games.

The Oculus FAQ answer appears to be a little sterner with an air of finality in the wording, or perhaps they’ll come up with their own solution down the line. In the meantime, make certain you really want that VR Yard Work Simulator before you buy.