Ubisoft Reinstating Fraudulent Far Cry 4 and Assassin's Creed Unity Keys For Customers Already Playing

[Ertman]

I hope people learn a lesson here. I dint think they did based on some of these responses, but good on Ubisoft for doing something nice. I guess they are tryig to dig up now.

[SpaceCore]

meh.

[Paranoid Kami]

I...umm...what? 

Ubisoft is doing something they have ZERO obligation to do in keeping these keys valid. Keys that were purchased through credit card fraud (for the most part). An act that is somewhat ILLEGAL to a lot of people, including the banks and financial regulatory agencies. 

Ubisoft is protecting who? Ubisoft has stated they'll keep banning shady keys. G2A et al should be more careful and people should research a little more. Now we know, Ubisoft doesn't give a shit. They'll ban illicit keys ASAP. 

Ubisoft is protecting G2A. Thought I made that clear.

 

It was G2A's fault for buying stolen keys from a shady source and it should be on them to give their customers legitimate keys after they got revoked and not Ubisoft's.

 

Ubisoft SHOULD ban keys bought from stolen credit cards immediately. They were STOLEN.

[Victorious Secret]

Ubisoft is protecting G2A. Thought I made that clear.

It was G2A's fault for buying stolen keys from a shady source and it should be on them to give their customers legitimate keys after they got revoked and not Ubisoft's.

Ubisoft SHOULD ban keys bought from stolen credit cards immediately. They were STOLEN.

I don't get how you can say they are protecting G2A... They're banning keys but they're letting people who activated them this time keep their games, as something this big was unprecedented and while people had suspicions about places like G2A a major publisher has never come out and just laid down the law like this.

Then go tell G2A to do that. Ubisoft can't force them to. Ubisoft was just being nice. Not protecting G2A. Just being nice and not entire dicks towards customers who didn't know better.

Jesus, even something this positive and people need to somehow make Ubisoft look bad.

[razor767]

Keep on di.... oh wait they actually did a good thing?

[sgloux3470]

I don't get how you can say they are protecting G2A... They're banning keys but they're letting people who activated them this time keep their games, as something this big was unprecedented and while people had suspicions about places like G2A a major publisher has never come out and just laid down the law like this.

Then go tell G2A to do that. Ubisoft can't force them to. Ubisoft was just being nice. Not protecting G2A. Just being nice and not entire dicks towards customers who didn't know better.

Jesus, even something this positive and people need to somehow make Ubisoft look bad.

 

This has happened before to G2A.

 

As the merchant, G2A would technically be responsible for replacing the keys at their expense.  (Or atleast the consumer would hold them responsible, doubt there's any legal recourse.)  Ubisoft doing this saves them a boatload of money doing that.

[CyanideInsanity]

I'm not too happy about Ubisoft's decision. It was G2A who messed up by purchasing stolen keys from some shady Russian and it should be G2A who foots the bill for the customers that got ripped off. Ubisoft should not be protecting unauthorized sellers like this.

G2a doesn't buy keys, they just host keys from whoever is using their service.

[Majestic]

Way to go Ubisoft, you knee-jerking bastards. This was the first time I felt like they did something justified, and they backpaddled. 

 

/sigh.

[iSuzak]

Nice move ubi

[Puddleuk]

There seems to be a lot of misinformation in this post.

 

First of G2A cannot be held fully responsible for the actions of its members/merchants, G2A is simply a middle man between a customer and the merchant, very much like Ebay in some respects. Also even if you did purchase from G2A and if your key was revoked (and you can prove it) then you will be eligible for a refund or replacement, so no complaints.

 

It has been confirmed that the keys were purchased from EA store fraudulently, but that doesn't mean EA actually paid for the codes outright and the evidence shows that they clearly didn't otherwise it would be EA who had lost money. Basically for some trade partners it works like this:

 

Rather than a merchant purchasing 1000 units outright (at huge expense) they may instead have a deal with a publisher, they will send then 1000 units for free initially (or often for a small deposit) and then after a period of time (let says each month) they will pay for the units they actually sold and send the rest back, this gives the merchant a chance to evaluate the sales before ordering the next batch of units.

 

With EA they likely have an agreement with Uibisoft who give them unlimited units which they can sell, take a cut and then pay Ubisoft. That is how the chain often works between close/respected partners, although for many so called gamers they may be rivals and therefore by the laws of gaming cannot work together. I know that businesses often have respect for one another and will at times help each other.

[Yoinkerman]

G2a may have worked out a deal with ubisoft to reinstate en masse active keys.

[dalekphalm]

No, they did not have to. They're basically giving out free games because people QQed when they bought stolen goods and it was taken from them. Which country allows you to keep stolen goods? Not the US, nor Australia or any EU country.

Agreed. This was a PR move by Ubisoft, and nothing more. While I applaud them for being nice to those customers who got thrown under the bus by the likes of G2A, it was an entirely optional thing for them to do.

 

The customer(s) wasn't aware of the stolen goods but keep blindly following TB if you have too.

What? Are you familiar with the laws of most 1st world nations? Say you go to the market downtown, and a store sells you a really nice necklace. A week later, the police come to your home, because the necklace was stolen goods. You don't get to keep the necklace. The police will take it from you, and return it to the rightful owner. If you're lucky, you'll get your money back from that vendor, or (if the value was high enough) you could sue them.

 

Basically this,

 

 

I think Ubisoft would be much better off going after sites like G2A to stop this from happening rather than revoking keys and angering gamers. 

 

It kinda like counterfeit money, you could have it unknowingly in your pocket doesn't make it a illegal tender, but until someone checks for all intensive purposes it is legal and accepted. 

The thing about counterfeit money is this: They will take it from you as soon as it's discovered that it's counterfeit. If the bank was the one to give it to you, they will exchange it for real money. If you got it from some random person or from a gas station or something (Or you don't remember where the money came from specifically), then you're out of luck. They will take the money and not give you any compensation.

 

Except the bank already verified it's legit and later decided it was il gained.

Eh kinda not really. The bank doesn't check every single bank note (read: dollar bills) that they process. They'll do random checks here and there, because otherwise it's too costly and time intensive for them to check every single bill. This may improve in time with advancements in technology to automate the process mind you.

 

Whether or not the codes were bought with stolen money,

 

Ubisoft still gets that money, so how are the codes stolen? ill gotten goods yes, but not stolen goods.

Ubisoft gets nothing from stolen keys. This is how it generally works. Person A steals credit card A. Person A uses credit card A to buy 1000 keys from Origin. Person B discovers their credit card (credit card A) was stolen, and performs a charge back on credit card A. Origin loses all their money from the sales. Ubisoft also loses all the money too, as Origin will pass that along (or, depending on the time frame involved, Ubisoft may yet to have received payment anyway).

 

because the codes were obtained by method of credit card fraud, thus the codes are stolen goods. thats how it works. and no ubisoft doesn't get the money.

Exactly.

 

i don't understand, even if they bought codes from EA, and EA had to buy it from Ubisoft , then they got the money didn't they ?

EA likely does the same thing as Steam: They pay Ubisoft for a key after the sale is made. If Origin detects a chargeback or a fraudulent purchase, they will pass that along to Ubisoft.

 

Im not entirely sure how it works with EA whether they buy code bulk and resell or simply have an agreement with ubisoft and its like a storefront but uses the same stockroom as ubisoft.

 

but either way the codes are still stolen, just stolen from EA and not Ubisoft in which case ubisoft being the people who are capable of removing those stolen good being the ones who disable them.

More or less this.

[Imabigmac]

The thing about counterfeit money is this: They will take it from you as soon as it's discovered that it's counterfeit. If the bank was the one to give it to you, they will exchange it for real money. If you got it from some random person or from a gas station or something (Or you don't remember where the money came from specifically), then you're out of luck. They will take the money and not give you any compensation. 

Yes, and I would expect them to do that. However I believe its different, as it was a bank is who gave you the code. G2A and alike should have to refund you and then go after those who gave them stolen keys. And it would be in Ubisofts and Origins best interests to aid and develop a way for it to not happen again. If G2A was illegal or goes against how a publisher thinks their games should be sold, do something about or let it go. Taking the keys from paying customers (side stepping the retailer) who were unaware the key they were buying was stolen.

 

Go after G2A not the customers, which obviously with this recent move is what they realised. 

[Commander Llama]

I don't even feel bad for bad things that happen to Ubisoft customers anymore.  Not only are you asking for it, in this case you're asking for it through shady merchants.

[dalekphalm]

Yes, and I would expect them to do that. However I believe its different, as it was a bank is who gave you the code. G2A and alike should have to refund you and then go after those who gave them stolen keys. And it would be in Ubisofts and Origins best interests to aid and develop a way for it to not happen again. If G2A was illegal or goes against how a publisher thinks their games should be sold, do something about or let it go. Taking the keys from paying customers (side stepping the retailer) who were unaware the key they were buying was stolen.

 

Go after G2A not the customers, which obviously with this recent move is what they realised. 

That's exactly what they do... with legitimate key resellers. G2A are not legitimate key resellers though. They don't have permission from Ubisoft, EA, Origin, Steam, or Valve to operate. It's essentially the "used market", except the keys haven't been activated yet.

 

With an authorized key reseller, there are processes in place for the publisher (eg: Ubisoft) and the reseller (eg: Origin) to make sure that the end user doesn't get screwed over. They would get a refund or would get a new key.

 

Now with that in mind, you SHOULD go contact G2A for a refund or a new key. But you're basically asking Ubisoft to deal with the "black market" of video game keys.

 

Ubisoft can't do anything to G2A directly. What do you suggest they do?

 

It's the customers responsibility in this case to make sure they get a refund. If Ubisoft let them keep the key, then that would solve nothing. They wouldn't be combating stolen or fraudulent keys then.

[Rohith_Kumar_Sp]

Ubisoft can't do anything to G2A directly. What do you suggest they do?

G2a is the only thing that accepts my debit card, that's where i have to go to buy games legit , even though it's a re-seller , what do you have me do ? 

[dalekphalm]

G2a is the only thing that accepts my debit card, that's where i have to go to buy games legit , even though it's a re-seller , what do you have me do ? 

I would have you complain via social media to the various legitimate key resellers. Tell them your story and why you can't buy directly.

 

Write letters (like actual hand written letters) to the customer service departments of the companies.

 

Gather other people in similar situations who can only use debit, and start a petition.

 

You're stuck in a shitty situation, no doubt. Right now, there probably isn't a good answer for you. You'll just have to understand and accept the risks of buying from a non-legitimate key reseller until a legit one starts to accept your payment method.

 

And, when you're old enough, just get a credit card.

[Rohith_Kumar_Sp]

I would have you complain via social media to the various legitimate key resellers. Tell them your story and why you can't buy directly.

 

Write letters (like actual hand written letters) to the customer service departments of the companies.

 

Gather other people in similar situations who can only use debit, and start a petition.

 

You're stuck in a shitty situation, no doubt. Right now, there probably isn't a good answer for you. You'll just have to understand and accept the risks of buying from a non-legitimate key reseller until a legit one starts to accept your payment method.

 

And, when you're old enough, just get a credit card.

i am old enough , we just don't use Credit card here, no one does in India , 90% of the population doesn't use Credit Card (only the rich and those in business) and pretty much all of India has a Debit card , 

this is the reason whatsapp is free in India and Uber was forced to make a way for drivers to use thier service without a credit card :

source :

http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/now-use-uber-in-india-without-owning-a-credit-card-heres-how-it-is-done-241743.html

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/whatsapp-indian-users-hangouts-snapchat-we-chat-line-skype/1/212182.html

 

WhatsApp will not charge Indian users due to the lack of credit and debit card penetration in the country. If it does so, it will risk loosing users in the country. At the moment, the service has 70 million active users, which comprises 1/10th of WhatsApp's total user base

 

[dalekphalm]

i am old enough , we just don't use Credit card here, no one does in India , 90% of the population doesn't use Credit Card (only the rich and those in business) and pretty much all of India has a Debit card , 

this is the reason whatsapp is free in India and Uber was forced to make a way for drivers to use thier service without a credit card :

source :

http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/now-use-uber-in-india-without-owning-a-credit-card-heres-how-it-is-done-241743.html

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/whatsapp-indian-users-hangouts-snapchat-we-chat-line-skype/1/212182.html

 

This seems like a large cultural/regional issue then within India.

 

You have two "problems":

 

1. No one in India uses Credit Cards

2. The major companies are not catering to your needs (eg: Debit Cards)

 

How does your average Indian buy games on Steam? Or do they just not?

 

I would suggest starting a petition, and get as many Indian signatures as you can, to ask these various legit key sellers to accept your debit cards. Also use social media.

 

Basically, you need a paradigm shift. There's no easy answer for you. But you must understand the risks of G2A, as It's not authorized. This could happen again, and it wouldn't be Ubisoft's fault.

[Rohith_Kumar_Sp]

How does your average Indian buy games on Steam? Or do they just not?

 

I would suggest starting a petition, and get as many Indian signatures as you can, to ask these various legit key sellers to accept your debit cards. Also use social media.

 

Basically, you need a paradigm shift. There's no easy answer for you. But you must understand the risks of G2A, as It's not authorized. This could happen again, and it wouldn't be Ubisoft's fault.

i have to go to Ebay and buy steam wallet from re-sellers those who accept debit card , but the price is flawed, have to pay higher price+tax to buy , everything sucks here 

 

Five reasons why Steam sales don't make a difference to India

https://www.techinasia.com/five-reasons-why-steam-sales-dont-make-a-difference-to-india/