Charged for the game 15 days early, never purchased 1.0, screwed by CS. (livechat)

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Originally Posted by Mychael

From the perspective of a lowly CSR, maybe this is correct.

But from a marketing perspective, this is not "free" stuff; this is a relatively small loss in the interest of retention, and to prevent posts like this from popping up over the internet. For comparison's sake, just see google results of "Square Enix Support" vs. "Nordstrom Returns."

And to be fair, the OP did purchase a new copy of ARR with a 30-day trial;

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Which the OP can't have used already, because you can't register the same platform version twice to the same service account.

I'm sure he registered only his preorder key, got EA, 14 days "welcome back" and 7 days because servers hiccup and that was it.

OP, have you bought the box or digital download? If the box, then the card with the real gamekey should be look like the left one:

http://www.damonx.com/wp-content/upl...llector-11.jpg

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Originally Posted by EvokerKeii

The problem I see is that you used the 1.0 Buddy Pass which were gifted free full accounts of the game because it was doing so poorly. So even though you didn't like the game and didn't use the game, you still owned the game thus you are a 1.0 account holder.

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Buddy pass was not giving out because the game was doing poorly it was part of the CE.

Sorry to hear. Definitely sucks. Not sure why that is in the user agreement.

SE should change this to allow the redemption of that key on your account. If it redeemed in the first place under that account and gave you 30 days you probably wouldn't have called.

The supervisor seems like he had his hands tied too cuz of the agreemnt.

All i have to say is, i work in web chat customer support and if i responded to a customer in some of the ways that CSR did and then I told HIM that basically kk were done with you then disconnected the chat like that id be fired in moments.
that's not helping the customer that's fighting with them "winning"
whether the OP was right or not is really irrelevant at this time, it is incredible to me that a customer service department chose to make an unhappy and angry customer and save a pathetically small amount of money.
never fall into the trap of thinking customer supports hands are tied lol that's complete shit there is always something they can do, give free codes or add time extend things and refund, all they had to do was refund tiny bit of money and that would of solved it all, customer service dept unable to give refunds? lol i think not.
But that all being said, Welcome to Square Enix Customer Support. It has never been good, helpful or even slightly easy to find its a shame, a real shame if they were any other line of business their customer support would of shut them down long ago.

I feel sorry that this guy from SE customer support had to deal with your "good manners".
I bet you have never worked as a customer support, but you really should try it out at least once so you can see by your own how does it feels when people talks to you in the way you did.

He gave you an answer, and the correct one for what I read. It was clearly stated by 1.0 launch that those codes worked like a full 1.0 version of the game (no a collector's neither a trial version).
You don't liked the response, but that isn't that persons fault.

Manners please. Behave like adults. Saying things like "you are stealing my money and my time" aren't gonna help anyone, it just turns people upset.

SE's customer service is shit. bought ARR collectors edition from their store using a visa debit, they charged it like a credit card and I ended up not getting refunded for the pre order hold charge. I have essentially paid twice for the game, when I phoned Digital River they told me it isn't their problem (It is) and that it's my banks job to refund my money now (It isn't). The CSR was completely wrong, not helpful at all, and has made a small matter of refunding my money into a giant hassle that my bank has to investigate.. They've promised that I'll get my money back, but how many other people paid online with visa debit cards and won't notice their money missing? It's ridiculous.

Digital River != SE.

SE's customer service is not shit, it's gotten a lot better over the years and I have never had a bad experience. The CSR in this thread did exactly what I would have done, and gave out correct information, was completely helpful and truthful, it was the customer not willing to accept the help, rather than help not being given.

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They've promised that I'll get my money back, but how many other people paid online with visa debit cards and won't notice their money missing? It's ridiculous.

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I paid with a visa debit card and had no issues. I had a $1 hold, like everyone, not just debit card users, would have, and everything was fine. In fact, generally debit cards should be run as credit for safety reasons, unless you are at a grocery store or other similar place and want cash back (as you can't get cash back if it's run as credit).

Just because you had one experience that didn't go your way, doesn't mean that their CS is "shit" all the time, and most of the time it in fact isn't. People just complain very loudly.

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Originally Posted by Vod

Is there any reason you came off as an asshole right out of the box? Being courteous will get people to bend the rules for you. It isn't Square's fault that you were a nub and bought the game when you didn't need to.

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Is there a reason you didn't read the original post, and see that I didn't come out as an asshole right out of the box, and was for the most part not upset during the entire conversation?

Should I have opened with "Hi I like fluffy kittens and rainbows, porkchops and apple pie and all things nice and sweet." or should I have done as I did, and got straight to the point and explain my issue to the CSR, instead of beating around the bush.

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Should I have opened with "Hi I like fluffy kittens and rainbows, porkchops and apple pie and all things nice and sweet." or should I have done as I did, and got straight to the point and explain my issue to the CSR, instead of beating around the bush.

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Your mistake was you didn't accept what the CSR was telling you as truth, when it in fact was the truth. The last CSR ended the conversation after telling you the only thing he could tell you, and you were being angry about it.

As they said your service code is still valid. Why don't you "sell" it to a friend? You could ask him to pay the 15 days you lost and play the game together :)

I think the CS clearly explained it to you but you don't understand what he said.

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Originally Posted by Alhanelem

Just because you had one experience that didn't go your way, doesn't mean that their CS is "shit" all the time, and most of the time it in fact isn't.

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It happened to me, it could have happened to others. I had proof that they double charged me and they did absolutely nothing to rectify the error and instead of taking responsibility they simply passed it off as a bank error.. Which it was not. Perhaps I should have said, "The CSR I spoke to was shit." I think if someone has money stolen they are entitled to complain. I'm not saying OP was right, I'm speaking about my personal experience.

I worked in customer service for four years and if I ever treated a customer like that when they have valid evidence of an issue I would have been fired on the spot. My job wasn't to pass off responsibility onto someone else, it was to ensure that our customers walked away with a good experience.. Especially if they were in the right.

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It happened to me, it could have happened to others.

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Could have != did. There are occasional bad apples in customer service. They don't usually keep their jobs very long though. Nobody is suggesting SE support is 100% perfect- but most of the time they are doing a passable job. You never hear about the positive experiences, only the negative ones, so reading forums like this one, the feedback you're going to see will be skewed negatively.

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I had proof that they double charged me and they did absolutely nothing to rectify the error and instead of taking responsibility they simply passed it off as a bank error.

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I've seen lots of accusations of double charges over the years, virtually all of them were the users fault (clicking buttons too many times or ortherwise submitting again when it had gone through), or notactually double charges at all (due to the confusion that existed with PlayOnline's old system). Regardless, in such cases where you are so sure you were charged for something you didn't recieve, the most expeditious solution would be to dispute the additional charge with your credit card company. SE does not just charge you twice for farts and giggles.

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I worked in customer service for four years and if I ever treated a customer like that when they have valid evidence of an issue I would have been fired on the spot. My job wasn't to pass off responsibility onto someone else, it was to ensure that our customers walked away with a good experience.. Especially if they were in the right.

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If you really had valid proof of a in issue and you were civil about it, you most likely would not have gotten the response you're complaining about. FOr someone claiming to have worked in customer service for years, you haven't really demonstrated you would know how to behave as one.

I have never had a bad experience with SE support, despite having to contact them more times than I would have liked. Only rarely do I not get a full resolution the first time, where it is usually a simple misunderstanding or I asked for something they couldn't give.

The attitude of some CSRs is why companies also need a customer retention dept.

.... so... what I get out of this is...you got the game without having to pay the $40... and have an game key... which you could sell... for idk $40 and pay 3 months of sub... and you are complaining? Because you didn't get 30 days?...

I see no problem. You should have registered your code as a new account like every other player. By using your old account you have screwed yourself. Instead of taking the agents advice and registering your code, your crying on the forums.

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Originally Posted by Riv

Learn to read. It's not SE's fault that you just clicked through OK on their fine print.

And my god, it's 30 bucks. Get over it.

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you should just stop posting, not entirely helpful at all. 30$ is a lot of money to some people.

Lol @ OP blocking his name out at the beginning but not blocking all the times the supervisor said "Michael"

:p

ROFLMAO!!! God this made my day! Back in 2010 buddy pass was full game and included 30 day trial. now as 2013 they made 2.0 where you got to buy to play not just swap disk with friends and just play on any platform. You have to buy installation codes for all platforms. :) so now there is only trail then you must buy game itself unlike before on 1.0 :) Some people :)

also be nice to CS. They human just like you.

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Originally Posted by JayCommon

Lol @ OP blocking his name out at the beginning but not blocking all the times the supervisor said "Michael"

:p

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I am the only Michael in the world.

You really took the time to type out all of that :/ ? Point is the buddy pass you used did count as you having a standard 1.0 account. Stop being so self entitled :/

And problems related to the game and the billing system keep showing up. Just get out of this game as fast as you can, wildstar will soon be out.

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Originally Posted by Felis

Which the OP can't have used already, because you can't register the same platform version twice to the same service account.

I'm sure he registered only his preorder key, got EA, 14 days "welcome back" and 7 days because servers hiccup and that was it.

OP, have you bought the box or digital download? If the box, then the card with the real gamekey should be look like the left one:

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That's why I said he should return it, if the store will take it back. If the store can't, I don't see why SE couldn't trade 30 days of game time for the unused code; like I tried to explain earlier, the OP paid more for the copy of the game than anyone will for a subscription.

This is such an easy problem to fix. Put up FFXIV ARR digital download code on Ebay for $19.99. Someone will buy it, get your $18ish dollars (minus paypal/ebay fee), email them the code, then use your $18 to pay for $15 for another FREE MONTH. PROFIT $3 AND FREE 2 weeks that you already got!!!!

THAT IS THE SOLUTION. No need to debate who is right or wrong as long as the problem can be solved. This is how the problem is solved.

Welcome to Square Enix support center...

This occurrence is normal for old FFXI players. Yes, it's been like this for ages.

You were a 1.0 service account holder. Period.
Argue that all you want.

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Originally Posted by Zeons

And problems related to the game and the billing system keep showing up. Just get out of this game as fast as you can, wildstar will soon be out.

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There is no problem about the game or billing system in this thread.
Only a misunderstanding what a buddy pass is.

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Originally Posted by Mychael

That's why I said he should return it, if the store will take it back. If the store can't, I don't see why SE couldn't trade 30 days of game time for the unused code; like I tried to explain earlier, the OP paid more for the copy of the game than anyone will for a subscription.

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I doubt that the store take it back if the box is already opened. How would the store can check if the key is still unused?
He get the 30 days after he register it on a new account, like everyone. Because he had his 30 days for the PC on his old account already in 1.0

SE decided that only new platform registrations get the 30 days and platforms that are already registered (the PC version from 1.0) get only 14 days.

The mistake is yours in that you thought the full version of xiv your buddy gave you was a trial version. There has never been a trial version of this game. Then you gave some poor CSR shit after he explained it to you. You're a real prince.

7-Day buddy pass translates to 30 free days?

SE pls.

Also you may want to delete your post, I posted a while back how "not so great" SE's customer service was, couple days later got slammed with the banhammer quoting it. Needless to say many lulz were had.

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Originally Posted by Alemana

7-Day buddy pass.

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No! Bad poster! stop it!

The was no 7 day buddy pass. There was a buddy pass that gave you ffxiv for free.

Next time imma get the rolled up newspaper.

1.0 buddy pass is 1.0 account

you didnt have to buy the game.