A Response from EA
Martymasterid wrote:I contacted EA directly in reference to the fact that the premium items I purchased were not actually providing the added bonus of money as advertised.
I wrote a formal email, I wasn't obnoxious, or using caps; knowing that whomever I would be speaking with was not the party at fault. Anyway, I asked for some kind of insight into the problem, and suggested some form of compensation. I also want to state that I enjoy this game, and I am NOT one of the people who continuously slam EA. With this exception, I've had a positive experience overall with the game.
So, here was a sample of their response: Thank you for contacting EA Customer Service.
"I am sorry, however please note that EA simply develops the games and makes them available to your itunes. We don't have access to your iTunes account; only Apple can access / credit / refund your iTunes account. If you have any disputes, please contact iTunes (Apple) directly. Here is the website you will need to reference if iTunes support is needed: http://www.apple.com/support/ For more information regarding "Where can I get help for the games I purchased for my iPhone / iPod / iPad through iTunes?", please click on the link given below"
I'm kind of at a loss. They didn't even address the issue, and basically told me, "go deal with apple, because we're not going to do anything about it."
Anyone else get any information on this?
Not to defend EA, but this is pretty much exactly what I would expect from a first-level help technician. If you want to pursue a refund (and I'm not sure it's worth pursuing in this instance), you need to contact iTunes/Apple. That's always been true insofar as I am aware.
If it matters to you, one of the EA folks who occasionally drops into this forum recently provided some semi-official assurance that the bug you refer to is being dealt with and may, in fact, be fixed as of the next update.
0
This discussion has been closed.
Howdy, Stranger!
Replies
I don't expect a cash refund, that's not realistic. I was hoping they would reimburse the "fake money" I was owed or toss me a few donuts or something. I just want what I paid for- I'm not looking to get over on anyone.
I sometimes wonder how much virtual money I've lost out on since I started playing this game. The assumption is that this is a bug of long standing, and since I own a fair number of premium items, I suspect I am "owed" a ton of Simpson money. No way to figure out exactly how much, of course, and I realize I will never be reimbursed. At this point in time, I just want to see EA fix the problem.
The more people do this, the sooner EA might fix the issue, or stop falsely advertising premium items.
You're stating this as fact, Tony, but is it? I'm not being contentious; I'd really like to know. I've heard of many users being granted a refund for purchasing donuts that they never received or in connection with Springfields that crapped out, but haven't yet heard of anyone receiving a refund for donuts used to purchase premium items. If anyone reading this has received such a refund, please step up to the microphone.
Speaking personally, there is another issue that would make me hesitate to request a refund. While true that a few of the early premium items I purchased were made in the expectation that they would generate a bonus, I learned about the premium bug fairly early on and made subsequent purchases with the full knowledge that the items so purchased were not, in fact, going to generate any extra income. For me, that muddies the ethical waters when it comes to potential refunds.
I did KrustyBrand. I purchased $50 worth of doughnuts to buy premium items. I figured I was using the game as much, if not more, than a PS3 game, so I didn't consider it too crazy. At the time I bought them, I didn't know about the bonus xp/cash bug. While I did buy my premium stuff partly because I liked how it looks, the bonus was a factor and I probably would have waited until the bug was fixed before buying, if I had known.
I contacted Apple, was very polite, but direct about my concern and they refunded my money. They were very nice about it. I haven't lost my premium items (though I wouldn't have much recourse to complain if they were taken away).
I too just want EA fix the bug. I agree that retroactive xp/cash for bonus lost is too much to hope for. And I hope I get to keep my stuff. I'll even buy more doughnuts if they fix the bug. And Santa brings me an iTunes card.
Thanks to you (and roonil) for responding to my request. Hadn't been aware that this was possible.
I don't doubt you about the existence of the thread. I was able to recall it in a rather fuzzy fashion, but couldn't latch onto the specifics and, I am embarrassed to admit, didn't bother to look for it. For all I know I may have contributed to it!
EA are adverting premium items in game by stating they give bonus XP and cash. In reality they don't. EA have been aware of this issue for over a month, probably longer. During this time, they have done nothing to fix the issue or remove the misleading claims from the game, despite releasing a number of updates.
If someone buys donuts to purchase bonus items falsely thinking they actually did something apart from looking pretty, then legally they are entitled to their money back.
Apple are in control of this, they will and do refund money for purchases that are being falsely advertised!
Yeah, pretty much me too.
While I'd like the promised increases, I'd probably buy it all again because it looks cool.