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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Why I'm Keeping my Switch, and Digital Refunds!

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Please see the previous edit underneath this post to see the original post, with story and context and a great platter of controversy. 

After probably about 6 cumulative hours complaining to various representatives from UK, US, and for some reason Danish (?) Nintendo support, I have pulled off the impossible. I have managed to get a refund from Nintendo for a digital purchase. 

Please read the previous edits if you're interested in why I wanted a refund, otherwise continue here. This will hopefully serve as a guide to help the good people here do the same if ever they should feel the need to. I also hope the discussion we've started about consumer-friendly returns policy can develop a bit more here in light of this. 

It took a long while, but in 3-5 business days i'll have the money back and i'll send it straight back for some online Mario Kart goodness. Feel very free to recommend alternatives but they *must* be playable online. I have a few scars with respect to my perception of Nintendo. I know that many people would have given up long before they got what they deserved, and the time we could have spent playing was instead wasted phoning an employee called Rasmus. Some of the most egregious practises, like not being able to cancel preorders, need to be gone and buried, and here's hoping that all platforms reach the standard that Steam, Epic Games and Win Store/Xbox set. 

So there you have it. The Gold standard is here: https://www.epicgames.com/site/en-US/store-refund-policy 

You can even get a refund there to benefit from a sale or if the game becomes free. 

How to get a refund

Spoiler!

1. Make a regular refund request.

2. Be rejected and be told something like "no refunds once activated".

3. Push a bit more and you'll be told more specifically that there are no refunds except in cases where the game is faulty.

4. Claim that the game is faulty (doesn't matter what you say, it's not her job to decide):

 

5. Be referred from the Nintendo Store to the Nintendo eShop. These are the guys (?) that make the decision, so don't be an arsehole in this next email. I didn't hear back from them for 3 days, and still haven't. They aren't the sociable types it seems. I don't think they get emails very often. 

6. Wait. Relax. Vent on an online forum. Don't launch the game. Make sure it stays at 3 mins or however long you had it running for before you realised it wasn't what you wanted.

7. Notice that the game has been removed from the "redownload" section of the switch eShop. Contact the store again (who actually have a customer support team) to confirm that your refund is ready. 

I can't comment as to whether it's possible to go straight to the email. The Nintendo Store is the party which issues the refund, but the eShop is the party which takes the decision of whether to issue it or not in light of the one valid reason - "faultiness". 

Some other things I did which I don't think were effective at all:

Spoiler!

1. Opened a ticket to return the console and a second ticket to have some incredibly minor stick drift repaired. I was gonna have fun fixing it myself, but not anymore while its still under warranty.

2. Phoned the corporate parent of the UK store - the European store. I had a lovely chat with a Rasmus and an Astrid. They answered in Danish but spoke incredible English too. The guy even said "it sucks, man", and that although he gets some games free from the company, he couldn't get a refund for Wolfenstein New Collossus even though it ran hot and blurry. They had the authority to access my case but were still bound by the same T&C's and the same awful returns policy. 

3. Phoning the US store. Apart from some nice complements about my "British" (smh) accent, she was actually quite rude. She did say however, that they don't offer refunds because "people are trying to get free games", "confused parents wanting free games". She also went on a bizarre tirade about parenting. Very strange. 

4. Leaving a bad review for NSMBUD. "0 stars, no multiplayer at all with Switch lite" (Don't worry, I've removed it now). 

Last edited by AkimboCurly - on 18 August 2020

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How much you selling it for? I need another one.



whose the man in this relationship?



 "I think people should define the word crap" - Kirby007

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This is well known that there is no online coop. If you didn't know it, you should do some research before buying a game. That's also meant as a general advice. Nintendo's policy is also well known and again, do your research. If the price is too high for you, don't buy it and wait for a discount. Since you've bought the game at that price, you've agreed on it.

This is entirely on you.



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Yeah, sure.
See you when Switch 2 launches.



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Nintendo is unfortunately particularly nasty when it comes to stuff like this. They really deserve to be taken to court. They even pulled Pikmin 3 from the Wii U E-Shop, because they now have a Switch version to sell at full price.



You have a complaint about Nintendo and you post about it on VGChartz... Might as well complain to your wall. At least then you wont get ridiculed.



I agree that policy seems anti-consumer. And it does seem a little weird that "online enabled" just means cloud saves. And yeah the $60 price is ridiculous for Wii U ports completely agree with that. I bought the game just after it came out on Switch just cuz I felt like some 2D Mario goodness, and was quite disappointed in the game, shouldn't have paid more than $30 for the game.

But the tiniest bit of research on your part before buying a $60 game would have shown you it isn't online.
Also this "I'm selling my Switch and never buying Nintendo again" is a super over-dramatic considering you're the one that made the mistake in not researching a game before you buy it when you were looking for something very specific.



Back to my question: how much? Seriously, if you're motivated to sell your system (and deny your gf what little time you want to give her in Animal Crossing) then sell this thing and make a profit. They are incredibly supply constrained and you'd likely double your money on the Switch, giving you plenty of bells in your pocket to recoup whatever you think you lost on the Super Mario Deluxe purchase.



I'm sorry for what you experienced. It would be nice if Nintendo provided you with a refund, but I'm pretty sure on the store front it tells you whether or not the game supports online play specifically. I don't have my Switch on me right now, but looking at the website it does say whether it's "Cloud Save Backup" or "Online Play". 

The idea of not buying another Nintendo product again because of this experience is pretty over the top though. You do you though.