Dissatisfied customer

[Fyce]

If you buy the wrong part at Autozone for a car that is a different model then yours, they let you return it for the difference for the car you actually have. They don't simply tell you to buy the correct car for the part and say too bad so sad. Think about that for a moment.

That's not what happened, tho'.
OP actually owns two cars and bought a part for one, when he actually wanted to buy it for the other. And he went through all the automated online process without checking a single time what he was doing.
It's not as innocent as taking the wrong thing on a rack.

The bank can also blacklist SE too. This has happened with other MMORPGs with questionable business practices.

Sorry to say, but for many $75 is not a small chunk of change. Especially if being told to buy a $700 computer to get some use out of it. IMO, SE should do the right thing. It costs them nothing except the minorly hurt feelings of a company bureaucrat. But they gain the admiration of a paying customer.

It's not like SE tricked OP into log in on the wrong account, or hid information multiple time to prevent OP from checking what account he was on.
SE put multiple gates and systems in order to prevent this kind of stuff from happening. But OP, who's likely someone with full body and mind capabilities, completly disregarded all these things and went all the way through. And this started with him not linking his PS4 key to his already existing account, drastically increasing the chances of a mistake happening.

Besides, no, it's not as easy as it sound to do what OP's asked. SE needed to check OP's identity and ownership of both accounts, needed to check if it wasn't a fraud, needed to check with the financial department what course of action was the best (because remember, OP didn't ask for a 'simple' refund, he asked for a complex transfer of game time from an account to another, which is something SE might very well be unable to do if the payment & game time is linked to an account), and then give the job to someone with enough accreditation to modify a user's data regarding game time (which is already ticking). OP would've probably been more lucky if he asked for a refund because... I don't know, he made the purchase while being drunk or something?

I'd also argue that no, you don't earn the "admiration of a paying customer". If you, as a company, help people dealing with that kind of stupid mistakes which lies 100% into the customer's responsability, then you simply confort them in their mistake, making them think that it's not a big deal if they don't check anything since "mama SE will take care of them". This also means that you get an increased amount of requests you have to pay people to deal with.
In fact, the sole existence of this thread is a good thing in that it definitly warns people about the kind of responsabilities they have as a customer.

Don't get me wrong, I do actually pity OP for losing 75 bucks and I'm sorry for him that SE couldn't do something to fix the problem. But in the end, if this mistake turns out to be a valuable life lesson for him and anyone reading this thread, then not everything was lost. And chances are that OP will never make that mistake again, would it be for FFXIV or anything else.

[ApolloGenX]

Most credit cards have extensive protections.

Contest the charge. I have never had them not reverse a contested charge. Many cards even carry a satisfaction guarantee or coverage on goods/services considered not returnable by a vendor.

Heck, it's to the same company, you could contest it as a duplicate charge.

[Dustytome]

Most credit cards have extensive protections.

Contest the charge. I have never had them not reverse a contested charge. Many cards even carry a satisfaction guarantee or coverage on goods/services considered not returnable by a vendor.

Heck, it's to the same company, you could contest it as a duplicate charge.

That is essentially fraud in this case. The OP didn't request a refund (according to the info posted thus far) and paid to receive time on an account, which they provided. What the company didn't do (and doesn't have to, but imo would be good customer service - but a one time fix) is transfer the time to the account he actually wanted it on. People seem way too eager to flip that chargeback switch these days and quite frankly it's become too easy to do so. *sits back in rocking chair* Back in my day we had to provide proof of attempts at rectifying issues with the company and then the bank would contact said company as a further attempt before any of this chargeback jibber jabber!

[ApolloGenX]

That is essentially fraud in this case. The OP didn't request a refund (according to the info posted thus far) and paid to receive time on an account, which they provided. What the company didn't do (and doesn't have to, but imo would be good customer service - but a one time fix) is transfer the time to the account he actually wanted it on. People seem way too eager to flip that chargeback switch these days and quite frankly it's become too easy to do so. *sits back in rocking chair* Back in my day we had to provide proof of attempts at rectifying issues with the company and then the bank would contact said company as a further attempt before any of this chargeback jibber jabber!

No, it's actually not fraud.

He is paying twice for his intended service and will not be able to enjoy the benefit of the first payment. If he could use the first one that would be unjust enrichment.

Accidentally paying for a service you cannot benefit from for whatever reason is a mistake- a genuine error. He certainly can request reversal of the charge and should expect the account to be immediately unsubscribed and inactive.

Book a hotel accidentally twice for the same time period and see if the credit company has a problem reversing one charge if the hotel won't. What he can "technically" do is irrelevant. Credit card companies aren't there to judge people, they are there to keep their customers happy (and spending)- even if SE isn't.

SE has to sign agreements with card companies to accept their terms... so if a customer isn't getting satisfaction from them, they are certainly well within reason to go to the next step.

[Shougun]

That is essentially fraud in this case. The OP didn't request a refund (according to the info posted thus far) and paid to receive time on an account, which they provided. What the company didn't do (and doesn't have to, but imo would be good customer service - but a one time fix) is transfer the time to the account he actually wanted it on. People seem way too eager to flip that chargeback switch these days and quite frankly it's become too easy to do so. *sits back in rocking chair* Back in my day we had to provide proof of attempts at rectifying issues with the company and then the bank would contact said company as a further attempt before any of this chargeback jibber jabber!

Depends on the card's features me thinks. An important line in ApolloGenX's post would be the satisfaction guarantee. The wording and feature lists change depending on cards and accounts but I've got a few cards I could easily be in OP's situation and get all my money back with or without SE's consent (and be within the legal right of my card's protections). Keep in mind though for anyone thinking about doing this, SE could also find your business annoying and not want to do it again with you :P.

Some genereal features people might find on their cards that could relate to this:

Purchase protection: if the stuff breaks within a time frame, even if the company doesn't have a warranty your card might help set you up with a solution
Return protection: if you made a mistake, didn't receive, or even just didn't like the product within a specific period of time the card company will help you as well - even if the retailer refuses

[ApolloGenX]

Depends on the card's features me thinks. An important line in ApolloGenX's post would be the satisfaction guarantee.

Bingo - whatever the card guarantees, SE guarantees by accepting the card. - Also why I use a credit card for all major purchases. (People might be shocked by the protections, insurance, and guarantees some cards provide)

[Dustytome]

Book a hotel accidentally twice for the same time period and see if the credit company has a problem reversing one charge if the hotel won't. What he can "technically" do is irrelevant. Credit card companies aren't there to judge people, they are there to keep their customers happy (and spending)- even if SE isn't.

Again he hasn't requested a refund according to the information thus far, just a transfer of game time from one account to another.

[ApolloGenX]

Again he hasn't requested a refund according to the information thus far, just a transfer of game time from one account to another.

It might not matter. If his card doesn't require exhausting all matters of recourse with the company, he can just take it to the credit card company.

If you haven't noticed, credit cards are quite focused on the convenience factor.....just depends on the card benefits. People do so much international buying/selling, cumbersome requirements to get a resolution are not conducive to convenience.

(That is not to say it won't irritate vendors)

[Dustytome]

(That is not to say it won't irritate vendors)

From the stories showing up on reddit now and then I'd say SE doesn't like being irritated. Some banks/card have automatic double-charge protection and since the mogstation doesn't have a cart system, buying multiple of an item resulted in that double-charge protection kicking in and the customer's account getting banned. Just make sure if you go that route, you truly intend to be done dealing with SE.

[ErryK]

According to the User Agreement, outside of criminal activity (eg. RMT steals your account and uses your credit card to buy stuff), they can't give you a refund. And even then, it's down to SE to decide if the criminal activity is even valid.

The only other option is to ask your bank/credit card company to issue a chargeback, but that basically gets your account banned.