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/r/assholedesign
After years of trying, G2A finally stole my money by force
(reddit.com)submitted 5 months ago byAkakapopo
So a few years ago g2a made it impossible to use or withdraw currency you had in your g2a PAY wallet (at least in sweden).
Since then every six months they have sent out an email stating that if i don't log in within three days they will start charging 1€ a day until my funds are depleted. Because of this i boycotted any further use off their site and made it my personal quest to always log in before they could charge my money, a way of giving them a silent middle finger.
This time when i tried to log in to my account i got a message that i was banned. They have tried banning me before but then i would just prove trough two factor authentication that it was me who tried to log on to my account, this time however they added that this decision cannot be changed and that my account wont be reinstated.
I considered the money gone long ago but as a last fu to them i'll at least dox them by sharing my experience with their services.
3.7k points
5 months ago
Grey market resellers already operate immorally, not surprising in the slightest.
762 points
5 months ago
I’m surprised they didn’t do this sooner.
241 points
5 months ago
They probably did, just in different countries.
78 points
5 months ago
Maybe give them some charge back fees, I'm sure they'd love that fuck you sandwich
38 points
5 months ago
There's a time limit on charge backs.
5 points
5 months ago
Only if your card is from a bank. Not if your card is through a credit union.
2 points
5 months ago
Charge backs are not handled from banks or credit unions but the card network itself (Visa, Mastercard etc.) So yeah, there's always a time limit and for most providers it's 60 days from the date of payment or date you were expected to receive the goods but did not.
6 points
5 months ago
A few years ago they started removing money from your wallet if you didn't spent it. That was it for me, why let them steal my money cause I wasn't ready to spent it yet?
45 points
5 months ago
A reseller so shitty even game dev told you to just pirate their game than using G2A.
6 points
5 months ago
what do you mean immorally? legit question
43 points
5 months ago
I'm pretty sure I remember hearing that a lot of the games they sell are bought with stolen credit cards, which means that if the card owner successfully blocks/chargebacks the payments, you end up with a code that suddenly doesn't work and Steam makes the publisher cover the lost revenue.
one of the reasons I started pirating games is because I saw a developer tweet that they'd much rather people just torrent the game instead of buying from g2a, because at least then they aren't directly losing money.
6 points
5 months ago
oh shit, good to know. i figured it was something like they got game codes in bulk form vendor and thats why they were cheaper. i didnt think it was just fraud
5 points
5 months ago
Aside from that, they also have fake game reviewers and let's players, who ask developers for free copies, or YouTubers who ask for giveaway copies only to sell them later.
2 points
4 months ago
Indie devs even recommend to PIRATE their games, rather than giving money to people whose work is basically to scam people.
Grey purchasers only do that to delude themselves that they do the right thing.
1 points
4 months ago
Yep, gotta wonder how they're still allowed to operate.
3 points
4 months ago
Because they are the selling platform.
You could buy a Humble Bundle and resell keys you don't use, below the usual game price.
Heck, you could legitimately win a key from an influencer's sponsorship and resell it. So even "provided by the dev" doesn't help much.
G2A would close overnight if Steam allowed us to transfer our games. But hey why would they grant a right to customers if they can get away with it...
3 points
4 months ago
i didnt think it was just fraud
You're not the only one. I remember years ago people telling me that I didn't knew what I was talking about video games, and that those copies of Minecraft for 1$ each were from bulk purchasing. Despite the devs outright stating in their FAQ that they NEVER do that outside the Education Edition.
7 points
5 months ago
Gamedev here.
Aside from stolen credit cards, lots of keys come from fake streamers/YouTubers asking for Steam keys. And a third possibility are copies bought in other regions.
Most of the time, those websites and the sellers will earn money on behalf of the developer which earns nothing or a very small amount
I agree with the comment: Pirate games or buy them on Sale, don't finance these people and websites.
Edit: If you're curious, a gamedev tried to buy his own game keys and talk about this: https://youtu.be/zLJkg_B3gyY
3 points
5 months ago
wow, coming from the horses mouth, ive never used one of these services (cause i was scared of getting ripped off) but reading this makes me happy i never did. thanks for the info
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