Sony pays $3.5 million over PlayStation Store refund policy

A refund policy lawsuit between Sony and The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has resulted in the PlayStation brand having to pay $3.5 million AUD in penalties.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has concluded that the current refund policy that PlayStation currently upholds created “false and misleading representations on its website and in dealings with Australian consumers”.

Sony’s lawsuit results that the current setup breaches Australian Consumer Law. Those who wish to claim a refund through a Sony PlayStation console wavers from consumer to consumer. Some customers were told that PlayStation doesn’t issue refunds unless they’re at the behest of the product’s developer; other customers were told that they can only be given a refund in PlayStation’s proprietary currency instead of money.

In extension, when refunds are allowed, Sony currently only allows refunds up to 14 days of purchasing. However, users are also not allowed to download or stream that content; those that access the content even once will not be granted a refund.

“Consumer guarantee rights do not expire after a digital product has been downloaded and certainly do not disappear after 14 days or any other arbitrary date claimed by a game store or developer,” said ACCC Chair Rod Sims. “What Sony told these consumers was false and does not reflect the consumer guarantee rights afforded to Australian consumers under the Australian Consumer Law.

“Consumers can obtain a repair, replacement or refund directly for products with a major fault from sellers and cannot simply be sent to a product developer.”

With Sony currently moving into the next generation with PlayStation 5, the company also needs to evolve on its pro-consumer practices like Xbox and Steam have moved toward.

Source: VGC