Annual Game Subscription and DSR

phil_qr

Hi everyone

I was wondering if somebody might be able to give me a little advice regarding a slight error of judgement I made a few hours ago!

I used to be a World of Warcraft player, and last night I thought I wouldn't mind reactivating my account and having another go. The way it normally works is that you pay £8.99 a month, which automatically renews every month until you decide to cancel.

So, I went along to the website intending to reactivate my account for a month, but as it happens they currently have an incentive where they give you a free game (Diablo 3) when it is eventually released, and in return you agree to commit to your subscription for 12 months.

On the spur of the moment, I clicked through and signed up for the offer. I instantly paid my £8.99 for the first month and my account got activated.

A few hours of sleep later and now I am thinking I should just have stuck to the normal subscription route, I don't want to be tied to a 12 month subscription.

I have searched high and low for the terms and conditions for the offer but they do not seem to be available anywhere (there are people on the game's forums also looking for the t&cs without success). To read the terms, you have to go through the sign up process. At the end of the sign up, just before you submit, the terms and conditions come up on screen with a checkbox you tick to signify agreement. After that they disappear, seemingly forever. The website does offer FAQs about the offer, but the only relevent things it says are:

Can I cancel my World of Warcraft subscription at any point during the 12-month term?
By taking advantage of this special promotion, you are committing to a 12-month World of Warcraft subscription, and you cannot cancel your subscription until the 12-month term of the agreement has ended.

Do I have to have a recurring subscription for the entire 12 months?
Yes, a valid recurring subscription must be maintained during the 12-month commitment.

Am I covered at all by DSR to cancel this 12 month subscription, or, since I paid by credit card am I covered by any other rules that would allow me a cooling off period or anything like that? I have had a read through the rules but can't see anything that seems to relate exactly to my situation. I am concerned that as my account was instantly activated and the service has therefore already started, that I might not be entitled to a cooling off period. The things that they offer as an incentive to commit for 12 months have not yet been delivered - they involve a free game that is still in development, to be delivered when it is released, and also access to a beta testing program for an upcoming update to World of Warcraft.

I haven't contacted them yet, but from reading their forums I anticipate that they are going to tell me that I am stuck with this for 12 months, so I would like to try and get an understanding of my rights before I get in touch with them!

I am sorry for this being such a long post, but thanks for reading if you made it this far!!

Any guidance would be very much appreciated!

Thanks, Phil

unholyangel

As you said, because the service has started, you lose your cooling off period.

Section 75 would give you the same rights with your card issuer as the retailer so not sure that would help any, even if they took into account the whole amount instead of it being a monthly subscription for a minimum of 12 months.

Best bet is to call blizzard and see what they say.

BottomRung

If you cancel your subscription at any point withing the year you will just lose the benefits, ie the Diablo III license and the mount. It's not forcing you to pay for the year so I wouldn't panic. Once the year is up you can keep the Diablo game and mount as long as you have kept up your subscription for a year.

To cancel i would change your subscription to paid game time via a code and then just not enter a code.

phil_qr

Thanks for the info guys.

There is usually a link on the account page that allows me to cancel the subscription, but since signing up for this 12 month pass the cancel link is greyed out. It would seem that the only way I can cancel is to tell my cc provider not to authorise any more payments - the account page won't let me remove my card details - but I worry that this might result in debt collectors and bad marks on my currently spotless credit file.

I did read somewhere that in situations where you lose your entitlement to a cooling off period, that this should be clearly communicated by the seller and that the seller must confirm this information after the purchase. As the T&Cs came and went during the sign up process, I cannot remember if this information was communicated, but I have not received anything by way of confirmation after the sale. Could this possibly give me half a leg to stand on?

Of course, I will be emailing Blizzard to see what they say, but I would just like to get a good idea of where I stand for when they say no.

Thanks again

unholyangel

phil_qr wrote: »

Thanks for the info guys.

There is usually a link on the account page that allows me to cancel the subscription, but since signing up for this 12 month pass the cancel link is greyed out. It would seem that the only way I can cancel is to tell my cc provider not to authorise any more payments - the account page won't let me remove my card details - but I worry that this might result in debt collectors and bad marks on my currently spotless credit file.

I did read somewhere that in situations where you lose your entitlement to a cooling off period, that this should be clearly communicated by the seller and that the seller must confirm this information after the purchase. As the T&Cs came and went during the sign up process, I cannot remember if this information was communicated, but I have not received anything by way of confirmation after the sale. Could this possibly give me half a leg to stand on?

Of course, I will be emailing Blizzard to see what they say, but I would just like to get a good idea of where I stand for when they say no.

Thanks again

It was clearly communicated. It said in big bold highlighted text that you cannot cancel once you confirm you wish to proceed.

As for the rest, it would depend. I believe blizzard EU are based in France. You may find it is subject to French law and not UK law.

Elle7

Did you read the terms and conditions or just scroll down and click?

I hate the font it is written in, I find it quite painful to read, but it does detail all this. Your points about the incentives isn't relevant - you weren't signing up to get Diablo 3 and the new expansion beta, you were signing up to a 1 year subscription and these were offered to encourage you to do so.

As you could log in instantly and start playing the game, your cooling off period is lost. You don't say if you did play last night, but I don't think that would make a difference.

As stated above, if you cancel you lose the incentives, but you will still be contracted to WoW for 12 months according to the T&Cs. So if you choose to cancel, you might well damage your credit rating. You could pay the annual cost rather then monthly, as this might be cheaper...

phil_qr

I did read the terms, I can't remember them, but I do remember getting the impression that if I quit then I would just lose the bonuses.

I have located a copy of the T&Cs posted by a customer service rep on the website forum, and in reference to non payment they just say this:

If your World of Warcraft subscription lapses during the Twelve Month Commitment, or if you fail to make any required payments or timely payments, Blizzard may, in its sole discretion, terminate your participation in this offer, including, without limitation, a termination of your license to play Diablo III.

The US version of the T&Cs is different and uses much stricter language, suggesting stronger penalties.

I have read elsewhere that if a company wants to pass debts to collection agencies, issue defaults on someone's credit file, or take similar action, then it needs to be stated in the terms of the contract. I don't know how accurate this is, but hopefully, if the T&C posted on the forum are correct then I only risk losing the forthcoming incentives.

I know WoW is a popular game and Blizzard a popular company so I don't expect I'll get a lot of sympathy for my mistake (there are a few posts on the WoW forums where people in a similar position to me have received quite aggressive responses), but I do enjoy the game and intend to play - I just can't stand the idea of being tied into a contract for 12 months!

Anyway, I have contacted Blizzard and asked nicely for them to switch my account to the normal monthly subscription, so I have my fingers crossed that it can be sorted amicably.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

Elle7

phil_qr wrote: »

I did read the terms, I can't remember them, but I do remember getting the impression that if I quit then I would just lose the bonuses.

I have located a copy of the T&Cs posted by a customer service rep on the website forum, and in reference to non payment they just say this:

If your World of Warcraft subscription lapses during the Twelve Month Commitment, or if you fail to make any required payments or timely payments, Blizzard may, in its sole discretion, terminate your participation in this offer, including, without limitation, a termination of your license to play Diablo III.

The US version of the T&Cs is different and uses much stricter language, suggesting stronger penalties.

I have read elsewhere that if a company wants to pass debts to collection agencies, issue defaults on someone's credit file, or take similar action, then it needs to be stated in the terms of the contract. I don't know how accurate this is, but hopefully, if the T&C posted on the forum are correct then I only risk losing the forthcoming incentives.

I know WoW is a popular game and Blizzard a popular company so I don't expect I'll get a lot of sympathy for my mistake (there are a few posts on the WoW forums where people in a similar position to me have received quite aggressive responses), but I do enjoy the game and intend to play - I just can't stand the idea of being tied into a contract for 12 months!

Anyway, I have contacted Blizzard and asked nicely for them to switch my account to the normal monthly subscription, so I have my fingers crossed that it can be sorted amicably.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

I'm glad it appears to be working out for you! It might have been the US terms I read, in that case.

Post back and let us know what they say, it'll be good for future reference

unholyangel

The exact wording on the site is:
You are committing to subscribe to World of Warcraft for the next twelve months (from date – to date).

Once you click ‘Confirm Sign up’, the contract cannot be cancelled.



As i said above, this is in a much larger font than the rest, in bold and the "next twelve months" and "cannot be cancelled" are in a different colour to draw attention to them.

p00hsticks

phil_qr wrote: »

It would seem that the only way I can cancel is to tell my cc provider not to authorise any more payments

That's not cancelling the agreement though - it;s simply removing the agreed method of collecting the payment from the service provider. Unless you cancel the contract with WoW they'll carry on providing the service and accumulating your charges for it, including the possibility of some additional fees for wasting their time trying and failing to collect the payments from your credit card.

arcon5

phil_qr wrote: »

Thanks for the info guys.

There is usually a link on the account page that allows me to cancel the subscription, but since signing up for this 12 month pass the cancel link is greyed out. It would seem that the only way I can cancel is to tell my cc provider not to authorise any more payments - the account page won't let me remove my card details - but I worry that this might result in debt collectors and bad marks on my currently spotless credit file.

I'd strongly advise you not to do that!! You have entered into a contract which you knowingly agreed to. They will chase you for payment and you will potentially incur fees from the collection agency.
If it goes to court you will have a choice of paying the total amount + fees (probably another £100) or destroy your credit file with a CCJ against you.

Cancelling your card (in the same way stopping a DD) doesn't get you out of a contract -- it simply means your in breach of it and to-be in arrears.

Maybe have another think about that option.