The head of the UK's trading standards has publicly stated that anyone who buys a game that contains bugs is entitled to a full refund from the retailer even if the game and its contents have been used (to find out if it is buggy), coming under another section of the same law that entitled all "Phat" ps3 owners to either a full refund or partial compensation from retailers when Sony illegally removed the other OS function that was included when they bought the ps3 this would (for example) allow anyone who got Call of Duty: Black Ops or any number of other titles for Xmas to return them for a full refund. If any store refuses to offer a complete refund mention "The Sale of Goods Act 1979 " and should the store still not comply just contact your local trading standards office as soon as you can.
Should people start using the law to demand their rights thus forcing developers and publishers to complete their games before selling them or should, as so many seem to do, we continue to be apathetic and just consider ourselves lucky that we have an internet connection that allows us to download fixes and patches.

Owners of buggy or glitchy video games are entitled to a full refund, Trading Standards has said on record.

Rules state that all goods should be of "satisfactory quality" it's said, which means (at launch at least) you should be entitled to your Black Ops PS3 and Fallout: New Vegas money back.

Speaking in a recent interview, Joint Lead Officer Sylvia Rook from the Trading Standards Institute said: "When consumers buy goods their rights are always against the retailer, so if there is a problem with a game, the consumer should return it to the retailer.

"The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) states that goods should be of satisfactory quality, fit for their purpose and as described. If the game is faulty, then the consumer should be entitled to a refund from the retailer (although it is not unreasonable for the retailer to return it to the manufacturer in order to ensure it is, indeed, faulty and it is not operator error, or a problem with the consumer's computer)."

Rook added that gamers wanting a refund should stop using the game immediately, otherwise they may only be entitled to claim for damages.

"If consumers wish to exert their statutory rights, they should stop using the game immediately as if they continue to use it they might lose the right to reject it and might then be entitled only to damages," Rook said.

"If the consumer wishes, they can also request a repair or replacement, but they don't have to accept this if they do not want to."

Posted: Dec 26, 2010 12:16 pm