As users of Valve’s otherwise fantastic Steam service will know, the company isn’t into the whole refund thing, and that doesn’t sit well with Australians. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission believes that Valve’s “no refunds” policy contravenes the country's consumer laws and – while other services have the same policy – is obviously looking to make an example of the top dog in digital game distribution. The ACCC Chairman Rod Sims has been making a number of public comments following the announcement that the body plans to sue Valve for breaching Australian law, and here is some of what he had to say: 

“Under Australian Consumer Law, everybody who buys a product or a service has a right to a refund if the product doesn’t work. They have a right to a refund, or a repair. Those rights are enshrined in Australian Law, and our allegation is that Valve sought to remove those consumer rights, which is a breach of Australian Consumer Law. The fact that they [Valve] are an offshore company doesn’t affect the rights for consumers… it is carrying on business in Australia by selling to Australian consumers, who are protected by the Australian Consumer Law. Valve had excluded, restricted or modified statutory guarantees and/or warranties that goods would be of acceptable quality."

“We know [Valve has] got about 1.3 million active customers in Australia. I’m not sure we know how many have been affected by denying their rights, but the representations themselves are on their websites and in their agreements with [all of] those customers. Those representations are going out to all 1.3m customers. We’ve also had a large number of complaints from individuals and consumer organisations. There’s a lot of concerns. We allege that the denial of consumer guarantee rights is pretty clear in that case.”

The ACCC has a history of taking on the big guys and winning, with companies like Optus and Apple already falling at the courts under its attack. Good on them, too! It’s nice to see somebody standing up against these faceless giants. A hearing is scheduled for October 7th.

Whatever happens in the courts, however, isn’t about to stop great games coming to the service. Check out our video below for our pick of the top 5 indie games currently available on Steam Early Access.

If you were wondering who we are, we’re a AAA digital magazine that you can pick up for US$2 on the App Store anywhere in the world to get dedicated coverage of the indie iPad gaming scene. We’re trying to not only push the boundaries on what a digital magazine can be by making the reader experience feel like playing a game with dynamic and interactive video, audio and animations, but we’re also full of hours and hours of exclusive developer interviews, footage, images, insights and more. Below you will find links to each edition, including our FREE sample.
    - Episode 1 - Includes The Making of République (*free sample issue)
    - Episode 2 - Includes The Making of Oceanhorn
    - Episode 3 - Includes The Making of Monument Valley
    - Episode 4 - Includes The Making of Last Inua
    - Episode 5 - Includes The Making of World of Tanks Blitz
    - Episode 6 - Includes The Making of Magic 2015 - Duels of the Planeswalkers
    - Episode 7 - Includes The Making of Tiny Troopers Alliance and Midnight Star
    - Grab It Presents Nihilumbra - Classics Collection

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