The stardock ripoff

from GalCiv2 Forums
I'm a little pissed at stardock at the moment, mostly because i guess i'm only one person and apparently that isn't enough to warrant a response from Stardock... I recently pre-order DA through the purchase link on this website after submitting all my info i got a screen that was a reciept telling me that i WILL NOT be charged on my CC until DA is released and a copy of this receipt will be emailed to you... this was about a month ago NO EMAILS, I WAS CHARGED ON MY CREDIT CARD AND HAVE A STATEMENT TO PROVE IT. AND WORST OF ALL SUPPORT@STARDOCK HAS YET TO RESPOND(ITS BEEN OVER A WEEK)!!!!!! SO I HAVE COME TO THIS CONCLUSION: DARK AVATAR IS A RIPOFF!!! DON'T PRE-ORDER SCREW STARDOCK!!!

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Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
ROAR
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Maybe his name should be "unlucky" irishguy

Seriously if you're so close to the breadline that a bill for £20 is coming in this month instead of January maybe you shouldn't be buying computer games?
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Actually im not that close to the "breadline", i do very nicely for myself thank you... its more of the fact that it was billed when they said it wouldn't be and then I check my email for the reciept but it never came.
peace phoenix you are the closest thing to a stardock rep. to at least give a reply which was the intent of post to try to grab someones attention. as far as sales or support at the support.com website its says my request is in the sales dept, but its been there a while.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Stardock are busy people, I have had to wait much longer for a reply but I'm happy to do it, as for the whole SCREW STARDOCK thing, surely at some point you must have been confident enough to actually buy GalCiv 2, otherwise why else would you preorder the expansion, don't let one slip up drive you nuts, chill...

And don't bad mouth DA, it's just not done.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Maybe you should have waited until retail? I always wait until retail before I buy something. This is one of the reasons.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Are you sure you were actually charged, rather than having a temporary hold put on for the amount (often used to confirm the account's validity)?

In either case, you should contact sales@stardock.com concerning such issues, rather than support. And if you are not satisfied with the response time of the service, you can always get on IRC during business hours and speak with a sales representative directly about the issue.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Also keep in mind that the confirmation/receipt email could have been automatically filtered out by your email provider. Check your junk mail folder if you have one, if not, find out which email address it is sent from and add that to your white list, then request a second receipt and see if that was the problem.
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Imagine me saying something really obnoxious about the OP.

That's a valid substitute for this post.

Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Dark Avatar preorders haven't been charged yet.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Imagine me saying something really obnoxious about the OP.

That's a valid substitute for this post.

That's the way to do it. Something very zen. To offend without offending.
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Wheeloffire...

Thats a far better response from you than the norm.....good to see

And as for the OP....your understandably frustrated but did you really think blasting stardock on the forums was gonna do anything but annoy those who you need to help you?

Waiting a week for emails from a company is nothing to be worried about.....if you give them a bit of time and some friendly reminders im sure they will get to you in due course.

Stardock are one of the most supportive company's of their community that i have come across, and plenty others have said the same...so they are not trying to do anything untoward to you....

Here's hoping you stick around for DA.....you'll be pleased. No doubt about it.
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top
And as for the OP....your understandably frustrated but did you really think blasting stardock on the forums was gonna do anything but annoy those who you need to help you?

if they are annoyed and don't help him, it would speak volumes about their customer service. i would expect a reputable company to immediately respond and resolve the situation, not take it personally.

i would be interested in seeing how this plays out. i hope stardock will either refund the advance charge , or if it is only a hold, explain that. but being annoyed and taking it out on a customer who chose to spend with you vs the other choices on the market is a mistake made by people who end up out of business.

it can take years to develop a trust with a customer, and seconds to destroy it.

and from what i know, in a business context, an email should be responded to within 2 business days. even if it's just an acknowledgement of getting the mail. if he wrote on thursday night, he should get a response by end of business today. if it was earlier, he should have already gotten a response.

from what i have observed in the past, stardock does seem to do a decent cs job. hopefully that hasn't changed.

good luck to ya:)
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
As a general note, sales@stardock.com is always the best email address to send messages about billing issues to.  It goes right to the people handling order processing and who have the access/ability to make order corrections and fix billing errors.
Reply #15 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Imagine me saying something really obnoxious about the OP.


Wheeloffire, I can't believe that even you would say such... oh, wait, that was just my imagination acting up...   

irishguy, your frustration is understandable, but do you really think that shouting 'screw stardock' and that their product is a ripoff is a good way to get somebody to respond to your issues?
Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
but do you really think that shouting 'screw stardock' and that their product is a ripoff is a good way to get somebody to respond to your issues?

it's a good way if you want to bring attention to the problem. i know, as someone who has purchased from stardock before, i am curious and it will affect my future purchasing decisions.

on the flipside, if stardock simply overlooked this previously or something equally as non-malicious, then the customer shouldn't be too "squeaky" and not look to get a bunch of free stuff just because of a simple error.

again, i'm interested to see how this plays out.
Reply #17 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
DARK AVATAR IS A RIPOFF!!! DON'T PRE-ORDER SCREW STARDOCK!!!


u loose teh intarwebz.

Seriously. Chill out, and if you have a problem that requires immediate response, you use the IRC. Email != immediate anymore.

Check your billing, and provide any detailed proof/information you have, so the matter can be sorted out asap. Like has been said above, if you've been charged (and not the holding fee) then that's something that WOULD need to be looked into.

Your OP was wrong also in the sense that you implied it was a ripoff, as opposed to a miswording/mistake. If you had waited to release and never got one, THAT would have been a ripoff.

Kthxbai.
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top
Your OP was wrong also in the sense that you implied it was a ripoff, as opposed to a miswording/mistake. If you had waited to release and never got one, THAT would have been a ripoff.

i believe it's the customer's call on whether they are satisfied or not.
Reply #19 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
i believe it's the customer's call on whether they are satisfied or not.


Not when you're calling fraud it isn't. There's a difference between being unsatisfied and libel.
Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top
There's a difference between being unsatisfied and libel

lmfao...a company can't sue a customer for libel because the customer feels ripped off. it's the customer's perrogative to feel any way they wish.

i'm still wondering if this has been resolved.
Reply #21 from Stardock Forums Top
As far as I'm aware, we've heard nothing more on it from our end.
Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top
The Dark Avatar preorders haven't been charged.
However, anyone who submits a preorder is going to see a hold on the funds for the transaction for a brief time. This is the bank or credit card company authorizing the transaction. We haven't collected the money, and the hold is released after a period of time. The charge should show as pending, and your funding institution can confirm that we haven't taken the money from your account.

Please email sales@stardock.com for more information if necessary.
Reply #24 from GalCiv2 Forums Top


lmfao...a company can't sue a customer for libel because the customer feels ripped off. it's the customer's perrogative to feel any way they wish.


o.0

Ok kid, time for a dictionary definition!

li·bel (lī'bəl)
n.
A false publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person's reputation.
The act of presenting such material to the public.


^_^

So. By accusing stardock of setting up a ripoff by faking D-A in order to gain money (which was pretty much what was inferred) he could damage stardocks reputation. Now, if he HAD damaged stardocks reputation with the false claim that D-A was a scam, that would be libel.

Oh, and just so you know, quote tags are [ quote ] [ /quote ]
Reply #25 from Stardock Forums Top
So where's the OP?