3 January 2017
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today fined Valve $3 million for breaching Australian Consumer Laws relating to false and misleading statements to consumers relating to their return policy.
Valve, which had a reported revenue of $3 billion USD in 2015 and has over 2.2 million Australian customers, "...formed a view …that it was not subject to Australian law…and with the view that even if advice had been obtained that Valve was required to comply with the Australian law the advice might have been ignored” according to Justice Edelman, who determined the penalty. He also noted that Valve had ‘contested liability on almost every imaginable point’
In addition to the fine, Valve must also publish information about Australian consumer rights on their website, implement a compliance program for their staff and system and cease making their representations to Australian consumers immediately.
For more information: ACCC Website
Rod Sims, Chairman of the ACCC (Not the creator of The Sims).