Hope looks bleak and my $40 might never return...

[MaeIsMean]

This could be easily managed by directly applying it to the account instead of giving you a key, that way it is "used". Is that a perfect solution? No, not by a long shot.

Then what happens to the key that is in the box you bought at the store? Or the one sent to your email if you bought a digital copy? Unless they had a way of disabling that key before granting you a key for the version you have, then they're essentially giving the game away for free because a player didn't bother to read everything before buying.

[Imoen]

Then what happens to the key that is in the box you bought at the store? Or the one sent to your email if you bought a digital copy? Unless they had a way of disabling that key before granting you a key for the version you have, then they're essentially giving the game away for free because a player didn't bother to read everything before buying.

Ya you would have to flush the existing key. Like I said, it isn't a perfect solution. The "they're essentially giving the game away for free" thing has been a problem for quite some time and not exclusive to this IP (early 2000s maybe earlier?). The best you can do is treat it on a per customer basis.

[Lambdafish]

snip

What usually happens is that if the original key is unclaimed then they would void it when giving a refund, that way it cannot be used or sold.