Thats great also, one live chat back in december, promised a reply from the "concerned department" within 72 hours. I am still waiting on that reply.
Here is a copy of the chat from 12/18/2011 where I was PROMISED A RESPONSE WITHIN 72 HOURS : (STILL WAITING FOR A RESPONSE)
You are now ready to chat with Akshun.
Akshun: Thanks for contacting EA Help! My name is Akshun how may I help you?
you: Hello Akshun, I purchased BattleField 3 for the PC and as I'm sure you are aware, there are multiple problems with the game that make it unplayable. I have spent many hours troubleshooting and attempting to get the game to work. I have attempted to play the game on a number of PCs, all well beyond the min required specs and the game is unplayable. It is titled as a first person shooter and finally when I have been able to join a server, my player spawns with no arms, no gun, no sights and both my teammates and enemies are invisible. I would like to find out how I go about getting a refund as this is completely unacceptable. I realize this is not your fault but I am very, very disappointed in how EA has handled this situation. Please advise of how I go about obtaining a refund for this game that is obviously broken.
Akshun: I apologize for the inconvenience you have faced.
Akshun: May I know from where you have purchased the game ?
you: Also to note, all of my experienced problems have been acknowledged in the official EA forums. EA has stated they are aware of the issues and working to resolve them as quickly as possible. It is now 6 weeks since the release of the game and the issues are still present. I purchased it online, give me just a min and I will get the name of the company from which I purchased it.
Akshun: Okay.
you: I purchased it from xxx on Oct. 24th, the night before the release.
you: I have a phone call I must take, I will be right back, please do not disconnect, I was waiting a long time to get into this chat, thank you.
Akshun: Please be informed that as you have not purchased the game directly from EA so we won't be able to process your request for the refund so I would suggest you to contact the retailer and check with their policies.
you: Please be informed that as you have not purchased the game directly from EA so we won't be able to process your request for the refund so I would suggest you to contact the retailer and check with their policies.
you: I couldn't ready your response as it was all one line and did not "word wrap".
Akshun: Please be informed that as you have not purchased the game directly from EA
Akshun: so we won't be able to process your request for the refund
Akshun: so I would suggest you to contact the retailer and check with their policies.
you: Of course I know I did not purchase from EA directly. I have contacted the retailer and they stated "we are not resposiable for the technical problems with the game."
you: So this leads me to contact EA. EA produced this game and it is EA's responsibility to provide the product as advertised.
you: Who do you think should be responsible for the technical problems with the game?
Akshun: Okay, I am forwarding your issue to the concerned department and you will be soon contacted through email.
you: I have posted on the "support" website through EA's Battlelog website and have not received a response as of yet and this was weeks ago. How long would you expect for it to take to receive a response from the "concerned department"? Also is there a phone number to contact this "concerned department"?
Akshun: You will be contacted within 72 hours.
you: Thank you, that is an acceptable time for a response. I greatly appriciate your time and assistance. Can I please get the phone number to the "concerned department" in case I am not contacted within 72 hours?
you: Please understand that my patience and trust with EA has worn very thin.
Akshun: I am sorry but there is no contact number for it and I assure you that we will be in touch with you.
you: I am sorry but there is no contact number for it and I assure you that we will be in touch with you.
you: for some reason the chat window will not line break your posts
Akshun: : I am sorry but there is no contact number for it
Akshun: I assure you that we will be in touch with you.
you: I hope this is true, my next steps are to file with the Better Business Bureaus, but I will wait to see if I am in fact contacted within 72 hours. It is now 4:19pm CST on 12/18/2011. I will expect contact, as you have promised, by 4:19pm 12/20/2011.
you: Thank you for your time.
Akshun: Sure, we will.
Akshun: Thank you for contacting EA. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
Akshun: If you need help with anything else, please feel free to contact us anytime!
you: All I request is the refund of my money paid for a game that is know by the manufacturer to not work. Thank you for your time and have a good weekend.
Your chat transcript will be sent to xxxxxx at the end of your chat session.
Akshun: I have forwarded the information and let see what we can do for you.
you: Thank you very much, take care and good luck fielding all of the unhappy BattleField players out there. I'm sorry that you have to deal with this problem.
you: Good bye
Your chat session has ended.
The second live chat advisor told me that I needed to upgrade to Windows 7 after the first patch as Vista was no longer supported.
Here is that log -
Chandan: Thanks for contacting EA Help! My name is Chandan, how may I help you?
you: Attempting to update BF PC via Origin and getting Error
Chandan: I understand your concern. I will do my best to help you.
you: how do I fix this?
Chandan : Please allow me sometime as I am checking it.
you: While you are working on looking for a fix, I have rebooted my PC and relaunched Origin with the same error
you: Battlelog and Origin are the only programs running
you: I have had problems with this game from day one with absolutely zero assistance from tech support. Please help.
Chandan: Thanks for being on hold.Can you please uninstall and re-install the Origin,it may works for you.
you: what?
you: you want me to reinstall origin? Why?
you: How?
you: will I have to reinstall all of my games?
Chandan: May the Origin get corrupted.Thats why it is showing the message.Sorry,you noneed to re-install you game.
Chandan: Please only uninstall the Origin only.
you: Honestly this is absolutely unacceptable.
you: can I do this while we are in the chat? Please advise with instructions.
Chandan: Sure,please takeyourtime.
you: absolutely, it has been 5 months so far and I can not play the game, I will take my time
you: instructions please
you: I have uninstall it from the program menu - origin - uninstall
you: how do I reinstall?
you: Hello?
Chandan: Pleasevisitthelinkasfollows:
Chandan: http://www.origin.com/in/download
Chandan: And download the origin from there.
Chandan: And then try to install from that downloade dfile.
you: ok, I have unistalled and re-installed origin
you: should I attempt to patch now?
Chandan: Yes,please.
you: same error
you: download failed
you: be right back I have someone at the door
Chandan: Then please right click over the game and select the update or repair option to update the patch.
you: error when attempting to repair or update
Chandan: Please allow me sometime as I am checking it.
Chandan: Thanks forbeing onhold.I would suggest that you try running the game using admin access. For this right click on your game’s shortcut available on your desktop and chose the “Run as Administrator” option.
Chandan: Sorry,please ignore the above line.
you: It is already set to run as admin.
you: ok
Chandan: Thanks forbeing on hold.Then you need to uninstall and re-install the game itself.
you: I have already attempted to do this on two occassions before contacting you.
you: I will try again with you here on the line.
Chandan: Sure,please take your time.I am online with you.
you: I have unistalled BF. Closed Origin. Reopened running as admin. In Orign it shows, Battlefield then next to it, reay to download. I click the ready to download button and it shows an error Operating System Unsupported You need to upgrade to a newer version of Windows to play Battlefield . I am running Windows Vista, which is on the supported OS list
you: :/
you: This is an absolutely terrible experience.
Chandan: Yes,you need to install the OSWindows7 to run the game.
you: What? Now after the patch the requirements have been changed to Windows 7, instead of Vista or Windows 7?
you: UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chandan: Yes,it is required to update with the patch.
you: So I am unable to play the game until I have Windows 7 EVEN THOUGH WHEN I PURCHAED THE GAME THE REQUIREMENTS WERE VISTA?????????????????
you: What is the customer support phone number for complaints, this is completely unaccceptable
Chandan: Please visit the link for more information:
Chandan: https://help.ea.com/article/origin-error-message-about-updating-windows
you: Did you read what the link said?
you: Minimum requirements for Battlefield
you: OS: Windows Vista or Windows 7
you: I would like to have a link that states the system requirements
Chandan: Sorry,as you getting the error message,you need to update to Windows 7 then only can up date the patch and run the game properly.
you: https://help.ea.com/article/what-are-the-windows-pc-system-requirements-for-battlefield-3
you: Im not going to go out and buy a new operating system to play this game, that is absurd
Chandan: But this patch require this thing thats why it showing the error message.
you: why would you have not asked this in the beginnning and saved me all this time
you: I am so cheesed off right now, I can not even tell you
you: The BOX states the requirements and now they have changes so I have to go out and spend hundreds of dollars to update this stupid game?
you: This is the LAST EA product I will EVER purchase
Chandan: Ok,I am forwarding the issue to higher level and they will in to the issue now,and contact back to you in your registered; email, withi 24 hours.;You;can please hold your patience for that time.
you: The last time I contacted EA I was promised a response within 72 hours, this was months ago and I have yet to get a reply
you: What could a higher level possibly do? If Win is needed that is the end of it. Why would this not be posted on the website?
you: Is there a customer service phone number?
Chandan: Sure.&#*****;Call us toll free at *****-*****-*****-***** (*****-*****-*****-***** outside of North America) from *****:*****am-*****:*****pm CST, ***** days a week.
I will be waiting for the reply within 24 hours. I advise that EA gives notice to the customers of this issue. This is terrible customer service
Guess what the reply was to the second chat?
Install windows 7. 🙂
Thank you for writing back to us at Electronic Arts.
I understand you're having problems with the game, and I apologize for the inconvenience you experienced. I understand the value of your time and appreciate your patience and cooperation. I will do my best to resolve your issue. To investigate your issue further we need to follow steps by steps solution so that we can identify your issue correctly. So first we will recommend you to install Windows 7 because you are getting error when you are using Vista. Please install windows 7 so that we could better know that does this error still continue. Please visit this link to see recommended system requirement not the minimum requirement:
https://help.ea.com/article/what-are-the-windows-pc-system-requirements-for-battlefield-3
Now install your Origin from here: http://www.origin.com/download
Now create a new admin account by following steps:
Please create a new administrator account in Windows 7. This is to check if there are any corrupted files associated to your Windows account. You'd have to uninstall the game using the old administrator account then reinstall the game using the new one.
Windows 7 and Windows Vista allows you to have multiple users sharing the same computer under their own individual accounts.
This allows each individual user to have their own location on the computer where they can store their personal documents, pictures, videos, saved games, and other personal data. This also allows the owner of the computer to assign certain accounts the ability to perform administrative tasks like installing software, while limiting other user's abilities.
Please follow the below-mentioned steps in creating a new account in Windows 7.
Click on the Start button. This is the small round button in the lower left corner of your screen that has a Windows flag on it.
Click on the Control Panel menu option.
When the control panel opens you will see a screen.
Click on the Add or remove user accounts control panel option.
You will now be in the Manage Accounts control panel.
This screen shows all the accounts currently on your computer. To create a new account, click on the Create a new account option.
You will now be at the Create New Account screen.
In the New account name field enter the name of the new account that you would like to create. This could be a person's first name, full name, or whatever other designation you would like to give. You then need to decide which of the two types of accounts you would like to create. An Administrator account has full access to the computer and can make all changes, install software, and create and delete accounts. The other type of account is Standard user and has limited privileges as to what
settings and changes it can make to the computer. It is suggested that for all users, you set them as a Standard User account and have one administrator account that you can logon to as needed. This will protect your computer from malware and other harmful activities.
When you have finished selecting a name and the type of account you wish to setup, you should click on the Create Account button.
Your new account will have been created and you will see it listed in the Manage Accounts screen.
We at Electronic Arts appreciate your efforts and involvement in our Games and take this opportunity to express our gratitude and extend support throughout. Please feel free to get in touch with us anytime. Also, please access our online knowledge-base on: http://help.ea.com/
Thanks and regards,
After countless hours trying to get the game to work, via the website, the chat, the phone, I gave up with PC and got a PS3, which is also riddled with bugs. I expected the support to be a bit easier and helpful than my experience.
