This is the story of how your valiant hero took on a large multinational corporation, and won:
For a number of reasons I decided to pre-order Dreamfall from Amazon for £17.99 (40% off the RRP of £29.99.) Upon receipt of the game I went about installing it and made the unsettling discovery of StarForce, which left me with a game I could not play.
I set about doing what any person would do when confronted with a purchase they could not use, that is to return it, however this was where I encountered a hitch.
Having never returned anything to Amazon before I was unaware they had inserted despicable a clause into their returns policy that affected my right as a consumer to obtain a refund for a purchase I was unsatisfied with. It stated that items must be returned "unopened (with any seals and shrink wrap intact)"
This infuriated me, the
only way to know that the game contained StarForce was to open it.
I was determined to return the game, for me it was not about the negligible sum of money, it was about principle. I had vowed never to purchase a game containing StarForce. Money is the only thing these corporations understand, for as long as Empire put potentially harmful software on their products, I will deny them my money. If Funcom choose to support a publisher like this, I must withhold my money from them also, it is the only way they will learn.
Amazon had thrown a spanner in the works with their unjust policy, but as a man of convictions I was not about to be deterred. I demanded satisfaction, and that was exactly what I was going to get!
As fortune would have it I happened to have an unopened DVD, complete with cellophane wrapping. This gave me a cunning idea.
I carefully opened one end of the wrapping and slid the cellophane off of the DVD, step one was complete.
I took my copy of Dreamfall and slid it into the empty cellophane wrapping, which I proceeded to seal with superglue.
There, I had it, one sealed copy of Dreamfall, good as new. Now all I had to do was send it to Amazon and wait.
As you've probably guessed by now everything went to plan and I got my refund in full, including all shipping costs. I was hardly going to start a thread documenting my failure. Anyway I feel quite pleased with myself, that will teach a company to dare try to thwart
me!
In the future I think I will stick to my usual practice of buying games from Game.
For now join me as I gleefully celebrate my victory.
