Bought a video game, got given a user account instead 18 December 2022 at 10:28PM edited 18 December 2022 at 10:29PM in Ebay, auctions, car boot sales, post & parcels 6 replies 469 views

triade

Hi, I wanted to buy a video game and made the decision to buy it from a store called G2a. I did a search and picked the cheapest listing. I read carefully and saw it said 'GLOBAL'  which is a keyword that applies specifically to game keys and it said steam account, so I felt safe that it was a key that I could use for my steam account, and not a key for epic or some other platform. I clicked on the listing, double checked it was for a steam account, then clicked purchase.  I was taken to the page that warns you before activating the key, you know the 'last chance for refund'  page. https://i.imgur.com/p2WKgnD.png

It looked OK to me, it absolutely looked like a 'high on life' key for a steam account to me. On to the next page, still looks very clear to me https://i.imgur.com/qc6HhvU.pngIt definitely says it's a digital key for a steam account.

Went onto the next page and I received login credentials for a steam account. No key, just login credentials.

I freaked out for a bit and went mad searching the Web for help. Steam accounts are non transferable. They cannot be sold because they are not a salable commodity. I never expected an online store to be listing this kind of thing so I didn't even consider that the listing could be interpreted differently. The site is a games site, it's for buying games, not accounts. As it stands, I have been given login credentials for an account that does not belong to me and can never belong to me.

I went back to the seller to request a game-key or a refund but they refused. They told me there was a warning on the item description. There was no warning when I purchased the item. I'm not about to discount the possibility that the page did not load properly, but everything I saw led me to believe I was buying a game.

I have gone to my bank and I have requested they reverse the payment as I have not received any game or anything that I can legitimately use to play the game. I don't know the outcome yet but I wanted to try and get some advice in case my bank doesn't feel they can step in.

Something I have already learned; I will not do business with G2a again.

Spies

Report it to G2A? 

MorningcoffeeIV

triade said:

I freaked out for a bit and went mad 

It's a game.

You shouldn't be freaking out or going mad over a game. 

Such extreme reactions should be reserved for finding a corpse in your bathroom or a bloodstained ransom note nailed to your front door.

triade

MorningcoffeeIV said:

triade said:

I freaked out for a bit and went mad 

It's a game.

You shouldn't be freaking out or going mad over a game. 

Such extreme reactions should be reserved for finding a corpse in your bathroom or a bloodstained ransom note nailed to your front door.

I have over 400 games in my steam account, the idea of my account being somehow linked to this other one made me worried that I could potentially lose that account that I've spent thousands of pounds on over the past 17 years.

Bradden

It's a common way to buy cheap steam games. There's no real issue having multiple steam accounts (I have one from a half life purchase years ago).. but it's not as convenient as having it all in one library.

There should have been this note on screen:

triade

Ah yes, I never saw that notice at all. nothing remotely like it.

perhaps it's relatively safe to keep this if my bank doesn't step in. I'm not comfortable with it of course, but as you say, you've had no issues, so if I can't refund it then I may be fine.

or as @Spies said, contact g2a directly.

triade

An update on this.

I asked my bank to reverse the charge and after some time, they did so. I have not seen any sign of G2A successfully challenging that but they did email me to tell me I am barred from their site, which is certainly a bonus. It means I won't forget about this situation and mistakenly buy from them again.