Citing issues over certain clauses in Steam’s user agreement, a French consumer association is attempting to sue Valve.
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UFC-Que Choisir revealed their decision to sue Valve in a French letter, revealing that they believe Steam’s subscriber agreement contains clauses which are “detrimental to consumer interests.” (Translation via Reddit user ‘Silencement‘).
Apparently UFC-Que Choisir has issues with Valve’s policies towards users not being able to resell their digital games, which is something French law allows.
There are also issues with Valve’s refusal to accept responsibility on cases where users are hacked, the way Valve takes ownership of any uploaded user-created content, and the way consumers can’t get their Steam wallet funds back if their account gets locked.
Basically, Valve appliesLuxembourg’s consumer law globally, and this firm thinks it’s about time for a change of policy.
Compared to some Digital distribution methods (hello, PlayStation Network), Valve seem to be one of the best in regards to consumer friendliness. At least you can get refunds, for a start. Good luck getting one on console.
However, this lawsuit does highlight some issues, so hopefully Valve respond in the correct way – by altering their policies to account for regional consumer law.
It is worth noting that similar suits have been taken out against Valve in the past, however, and Valve have come out on top.
Thanks, VG247.