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Square Enix Facing Class Action Suit Over FFXI "Hidden Fees"
A class action lawsuit has been initiated against Square Enix over the fees they charge for subscription-based MMO Final Fantasy XI. The court filing alleges "deceptive advertising, unfair practices, and fraudulent concealment" of information about the game's pricing model, essentially saying Square Enix doesn't clearly advertise that there is a monthly fee, and that failure to pay can result in late fees and account termination. The plaintiff is seeking a settlement in excess of $5,000,000 and including "all persons who purchased or played the online games four years prior to the filing of this lawsuit."
monthy charges make sense but late fees!? it's an MMO not a utility so it's not like they can't suspend your service if you don't pay.
Snowden and Manning are heroes.
I've played this game since NA release and I've always known there is a monthly fee. I've never felt that it was hidden from me either.
It's clearly stated that if your account is inactive for 3 months, your character is deleted. This is a stupid argument... It clearly states
when signing up for the initial content ID that it costs $12.95 per month and you have to agree TWICE to purchase it. Every single content
ID after that you have to AGREE and then CONFIRM that you will be billed an extra $1 per month. This person's pissed because he didn't
want to pay for a game he was playing and then got penalized for basically stealing from the company providing the services.
I am not willing to pay for a game that I must pay in perpituity to play. I will pay for a game ONCE. Only Once.
MMOs are scams in this respect. You don't have a single player mode. You can't NOT play the game on line. (I would have Bought WoW had there been a way to either:
1. Play a single player RPG not on line.
2. Play on Servers that are not owned by Blizzard on independant networks/LAN.
That's the first I've heard of such credit-card like terms.
Blizzard is very cool with the subscriptions. I used to buy the cards for the longest time and they counted exactly 30 days every time. When you enter a new key card you get the whole 30 more days from whatever day you enter it....
I've had to turn off the subscription fees (and not play the game) a few times as well, and they just stop it and start it when you pay... they don't do stupid crap like late fees or interest on a pay-per-time account.
These people deserve to be sued. You don't have a contract to keep paying on a timed account. If you don't pay you "quit" by default.. what a way to keep customers.
it's not reasonable for the industry. When you sign up for any other MMORG it's pretty much pay-as-you-go... if you stop paying them , you stop going. Nice and simple. They're adding late fees and paying for the time you missed (if they disconnect you for a month you STILL pay for it!) in order to KEEP playing your account and not have your account deleted.. that's not something anybody signing up for an MMORG would expect.
I paid for Wow with cards for a long time and had 3 month gaps because I had other things to do with my money that month and they never charged a "fee" to turn the game back on, or to pay for the months I didn't play. I paid money and played my days... if they want me back they'll keep the tiny amount of space my character takes online to be ready for my bucks when I pay.