How I Lost Money From Steam Holiday Sale

[misor]

My sister who works in new Zealand came home for the holidays.
she gave me a gift in the form of 100$ u.s., steam wallet, using a credit card issued in new Zealand, for which she will be billed 100$ u.s. from her new Zealand address.

then I bought total war grand master collection listed on steam holiday sale at 41.24 $.
I never checked that the purchased amount deducted from my steam wallet was different from the actual listed price on holiday steam sales until I received a receipt for my steam purchase.

Total War Grand Master Collection Nov 2012 52.49 USD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: 52.49 USD
Tax: 0.00 USD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: 52.49 USD
Payment Info:
Steam Wallet 52.49 USD
Confirmation Number: 1715042054119050322
Date confirmed: Sat Dec 21 03:46:23 2013

my questions to steam support:

1. why was 52.49$ deducted from my steam wallet?
2. can you refund 11.25$ and add it automatically to my steam wallet?
attached is a screenshot of steam client showing the actual price of 41.24$ which is different from the charged 52.49$

further messages:

2 Message by Support Tech Benny on Sun, 22nd Dec 2013 8:35 am
Hello *****,

Thank you for contacting Steam Support.

Our records indicate that you are attempting a purchase with a payment method registered to New Zealand. You will need to continue to make purchases from the New Zealand storefront using this payment method. The price you were charged is correct for the store page from which you purchased this game.

You will need to use the following link through a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc.) to complete your transactions.

http://store.steampowered.com/?cc=NZ

Please bookmark this link for continued purchasing while you are out of the country where you currently reside.

Prices in the Steam Store are set on a region by region basis. The price and currency displayed are the set prices for those games based on your location.

We are always working with publishers to adjust prices to be in line with what can be found at local retailers and online shops.

If you have any further questions, please let us know.

3 Message by you on Sun, 22nd Dec 2013 12:49 pm
I beg to disagree.

I am in the Philippines, the purchase was made thru steam desktop client for windows 8.
the initial 100$ steam wallet was purchased by my sister thru her credit card, from my pc in the Philippines.
I then made my acquisition by launching my steam client for windows 8, still from my pc in the Philippines.

are you sure that the price for the Philippine market for the total war grand master collection is 52.$+?
or
are you sure that the price for the New Zealand market for the total war grand master collection is 52.$+? because if this is the case, you are still wrong since the 100$ steam wallet was purchased thru my pc's steam client for windows 8 and the game collection itself was purchased again thru my pc's steam client for windows 8. my pc and I are located in the philippines.

if you have a record of my playing time (already installed game, left4dead), then you know that I'm using my intel core i3-530 desktop computer with a Philippine ISP.
unless I magically ported myself to new Zealand and vice versa, you argument is invalid and that your record inaccurately reflects my past and current location.

my sister works in new Zealand, her credit card was issued there. the actual purchase was made in the Philippines, for my use. there again, I am imploring your kind office to refund me the money "lost in translocation".

4 Message by Support Tech Benny on Mon, 23rd Dec 2013 7:43 am
Hello *****,

Since the Steam Wallet funds were added using a payment method registered to New Zealand, all Steam purchases using the wallet funds should be completed through the New Zealand store page.

The price you payed for this package, which was correctly displayed during the checkout process, is the correct price for the region where the payment method is registered.

Steam Support cannot adjust the price you received or issue a partial refund for your purchases. We will not be able to accommodate your request.

Since your Steam account was funded with a New Zealand payment method, you will need to continue to purchase through the following store page in a web browser when connecting to Steam outside of New Zealand:

http://store.steampowered.com/?cc=nz

If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you.

5 Message by you on Mon, 23rd Dec 2013 4:21 pm
"payment method registered to new Zealand".

with all due respect to you and to your company, I disagree again.

100$ u.s. currency was already charged to the credit card issued in new Zealand for my use in the Philippines.
your transaction record will show that.
based on my playing time, your record will show that I am in the Philippines.
based on my gaming downloads, your record will show that I am in the Philippines.

100$ u.s. was purchased for steam wallet.
I did not purchase 100 New Zealand dollars.
I did not authorize the transfer of my preferred steam store from the Philippines to New Zealand.
I did not physically transfer to New Zealand.

1. why would my store suddenly be in New Zealand mode?

2. how to change that back to the Philippines?

3. if another sibling would fund my steam wallet using a credit card issued in the united states of america, would my store change to the u.s.a then?

awaiting further response from steam support.

if I'm not mistaken, last july 2013 steam sales, I was very happy for purchasing left4dead bundle for about 7$+.
with my recent purchase, I am not. I lost 11.25$ (from the listed price of 41.24$ and charged 52.49$)

 

[misor]

Update 2:

my identity as a registered steam account and the circumstances surrounding the purchase of the 100$ steam wallet were verified.

until now my request was repeatedly denied:
re: restoration of the 11.25$ to cover the price difference between the 41.24$ listed price of "total war grandmaster collection" and the charged 52.49$

I received a reply stating that my store is now restored to PH.

in the spirit of the holiday season, I requested again that the 11.25$ be restored as I'm not rich.
(I hope that gabe newell is reading this)

 

[cliffordcooley]

That sux!