Problem with a Mass Effect Andromeda purchase on Origin

[bhooten]

Hey there,

I have had a really difficult time with my particular problem, and this is my hail mary for some genuine assistance.  I purchased ME:A using an ea cash card in January.  In February the system requirements came out - my pc falls below both the minimum and recommended specs.  Bummer.  

I contacted EA help for assistance.  I asked for my order to be moved from the PC to the PS4.  I will break down the assistance I received per support person below:

Ronald - he stated this was not an issue.  He would not be able to move the order from PC to PS4, but could refund the amount of the purchase to my debit card and I could make a new purchase.  He assured me the amount would be refunded to my debit card and not the wallet.  He then refunded the amount to my wallet.

Ryan - he told me that he could not refund the amount to my debit card, but he would email his supervisor, and I should call and speak to them the next day.

Henri - he told me that he could put the wallet balance back on the cash card and I could exchange it for a PSN card at Best Buy or Gamestop.  He assured me he worked in a Gamestop that did this regularly.  Employees at both stores laughed at me and said he was messing with me, they never have, nor ever will return cash cards that have been scratched off.

Liberty - told me that I should just buy another game that I knew would work on my system.

I am not including the two support staff who hung up on me.

Is there another employee that might be better able to assist me?  I am more than a bit sick of the current run around.  

Thanks.

[EA_David]

@bhooten I'm sorry that you received misleading info. The most that could be done here would be to refund the cash card, but as you note your retailer would not be likely to accept this as a return. If you have a friend who was interested in the PC version of the game perhaps they could use the card instead?

Unfortunately after checking on my end, this is a case where we can't do any more. We can't refund a payment to anything other than its original source, and the Origin & console environments are separate with no way to transfer a payment between them.

The restrictions of what could be done should have been made clear from the start, and thank you for flagging this case to us.  It is useful to have clear, well-written summaries of issues/miscommunication, even in cases where we can't assist. 

[bhooten]

@EA_David While I do appreciate the prompt reply, I remain astonished that this is the posture of your support staff.  My problem would appear to be quite simple: I want to give you my money and receive a usable item in return.  This should be a baseline expectation that any provider of any product can meet.  I am not asking for a refund, I am simply asking for the same product on another platform. 

To this point all of the replies I have received have focused on a quick dismissal of my concern, followed by a polite (for the most part) but quite shocking denial that this request is possible.  

To reiterate - all I want from you as a company is the game you made on a platform I can access it on, in exchange for the money already spent.  There is to much focus here on your limitations and not enough leg work to find a solution that will meet my very reasonable needs.

Again I would ask, please find for me an employee that is able to identify solutions not politely state no help is possible.  I cannot accept that answer from such a large and established company to such a simple request.

I am willing to think outside the box here - send me a code for the PS4 download and I will send you a video of me burning the card for example.  I have already sent you the money, then you send me the game.

I am open to whatever.

Thanks again

[EA_David]

Unfortunately the core issue lies with how the purchases on different platforms are set up. While there is some small amount of shared account data, purchases on the platforms are handled independently, and anything bought/redeemed is processed by that platform's holder. We have tools for limited visibility on first party systems, but these tools don't allow us to grant games.

As digital purchases on PS4 are from Sony we don't have any way to access their system, nor do we have codes for specific edge cases like this.

I have gone to the highest authority available today, and received a clear response on the limits. I check again on Monday when there will be more people available, but I think that I won't receive a different answer. 

[bhooten]

@EA_David Im genuinely confused at how this and every conversation I have had with one of your support agents has progressed to date.  You are falling into the same problem that everyone else has so far.  You continue to reference how your capabilities only extend so far, or how x system will not allow for y solution.  I cant imagine why you think that matters to me.

I am not asking for any one particular solution - and to date all I have received is canned responses that seem to follow the formula  - "I looked in my toolbox and there isnt anything there."  To each person that has responded this way I have asked - please find someone with a larger toolbox, or invent a new tool.

I have spent a large portion of my life working with support situations like this for companies large and small in various industries - sometimes the toolbox gets thrown out and you problem solve to help your customer.  Thats what Im looking for.  If that isnt you, then yes, please hand my request off to someone who can do that.

I appreciate that your job is difficult, and at times very frustrating.  I appreciate that you have looked into my situation.  I look forward to finding a solution that will work for me.

Thanks again.

[EA_David]

Sorry that I couldn't get back on this by Monday. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get any other options with your case, we can't assist with this. 

I hope you were able to find a way to get a PS4 copy, and I want to thank you again for the polite and well written responses/feedback about your experience.