Nintendo E-Shop (No refunds)

freezin76

Hi Forum,
My daughter got a switch for Christmas, which was the best present ever.

Being the conscientious daddy, I set it up with parental controls which meant I had to create my own profile on one of the many Nintendo sites.
About a month ago I saw a deal on the Nintendo E-Shop for the heavily discounted Gold version of Mario Vs Rabbids. I wanted to buy it for her. I tried and failed to pay for it on her account because there was a restriction based on the parental controls I'd put in place. I naturally assumed that I needed to go onto my profile and purchase it that way. So I credited the account with £20 (which strangely it seemed like I could only deposit in multiples of £10). I then tried to see a way that I could transfer, credit, gift that balance to my daughter's account, which I couldn't. I eventually lifted restrictions on her account and just bought it using my PayPal account.

Bearing in mind I don't own a Nintendo console (the account exists purely for administrative purposes) I contacted Nintendo and explained the situation.
I asked if I could have a refund... The answer was No!
I asked if I could transfer the balance into my daughter's account... The answer was No!
I asked if I could purchase something and gift it to my daughter... The answer was No!

So basically I've got £20 sat in a Nintendo account that I can't get a refund on and I can't do anything with because I don't own a Nintendo.
I don't even think I can open a PayPal dispute because there's no option on my PayPal transactions to do that.

It's £20 so in the grand scheme of things it's not a big issue. It's the principal of it that gets under my skin.

Any advice or experience shared would be gratefully received.

Aylesbury_Duck

I don't think there's any advice anyone can give other than ask Nintendo for goodwill.  They've done nothing wrong.  You bought credit for your account and you got it.  What are the "administrative purposes" you have for the account if you don't have a console?

freezin76

Aylesbury_Duck said:

I don't think there's any advice anyone can give other than ask Nintendo for goodwill.  They've done nothing wrong.  You bought credit for your account and you got it.  What are the "administrative purposes" you have for the account if you don't have a console?

For parental control of my daughter's account.

RichardD1970

I'm a bit confused.

You have Nintendo account and a Switch (which is your daughters). Can't you set up a profile on the switch linked to your account and use that to buy and download the game?

I have a switch with five profiles/accounts linked to it. If I buy a game via the eshop it's available for all users of that switch to play. 

Aylesbury_Duck

RichardD1970 said:

I'm a bit confused.

You have Nintendo account and a Switch (which is your daughters). Can't you set up a profile on the switch linked to your account and use that to buy and download the game?

I have a switch with five profiles/accounts linked to it. If I buy a game via the eshop it's available for all users of that switch to play. 

That's what I was getting at with the question about why he had the account.  I think your suggestion works.

JReacher1

What annoys me about things like this is when people say "Its the principal".  What actually is the principal here? 

You've put £20 on your Nintendo account and have decided you want your money back.  There is no principle here just user error!

As others have stated all you need to do is go into the Nintendo store on the console and buy a game under your user ID.  The game is then on your switch.

davidmcn

freezin76 said:

I credited the account with £20.

I then tried to see a way that I could transfer, credit, gift that balance to my daughter's account

You did these things in the wrong order.

freezin76

JReacher1 said:

What annoys me about things like this is when people say "Its the principal".  What actually is the principal here? 

You've put £20 on your Nintendo account and have decided you want your money back.  There is no principle here just user error!

As others have stated all you need to do is go into the Nintendo store on the console and buy a game under your user ID.  The game is then on your switch.

Why would it annoy you?
I was trying to achieve something that didn't work. I paid the amount for which I didn't consume or take physical delivery of it. When I realised I couldn't use it I immediately asked for a refund and paid for the game directly through my daughter's account with my payment method. What should have cost £15 appears to have now cost me £35. I admit it was my naivety which lead to this but I haven't used the credit.

You also seem to have missed the part about me not owning a Switch.

freezin76

RichardD1970 said:

I'm a bit confused.

You have Nintendo account and a Switch (which is your daughters). Can't you set up a profile on the switch linked to your account and use that to buy and download the game?

I have a switch with five profiles/accounts linked to it. If I buy a game via the eshop it's available for all users of that switch to play. 

That's interesting!
So irrespective of who purchased the game, if that player has a profile on the switch then everyone else also with a profile on that same switch can use that game, logged in with their own ID?

Have I understood that correctly?

preables

If your profile is on the switch and you buy a game then your daughters profile can also play it too, I have 4 accounts on my switch and each one can play games bought from Eshop 

freezin76

Thanks to those who provided positive contributions and advice.
Its genuinely one of those situations where you don't know what you don't know... and i didnt know, so i appreciate the help.
Genuine question... Hypothetically, If I were to buy a 2nd Switch and load mine and my daughters profiles on it, would we both be able to log into separate switches and play the same title against each other, bearing in mind only one of us had paid for the game in the first place?