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Steam banned my debit card
Rhythagoras Mar 31, 2016
So the other day I was trying to purchase a copy of "Out There" via Steam. The transaction wouldn't go through. I would get a message "An unexpected error has occurred. Please contact Steam Support." I've heard horror stories about Steam Support before, but now I would get to experience it firsthand. So I opened a trouble ticket. And waited 3 days...

And the response I got...
QuoteThank you for contacting Steam Support.

This payment instrument has been banned in our system due to unauthorized use.

Steam Support is unable to provide further details regarding this matter or remove the ban on this specific payment instrument.

You will need to use an alternate credit card, PayPal account or other payment method to complete future transactions.

I had no previous idea that my card was banned. I don't have an alternative card and paypal is not an option - they suck. I'm a little more than angry that I had to open up a trouble ticket and wait 3 days to find this out. No warning whatsoever. I've been a customer of Steam for 9 years and have 319 games on account. Although at the moment, I'm considering never purchasing from Steam again. This is just friggin ridiculous.
Liam Dawe Mar 31, 2016
That's insane. I've never heard of that myself, and their support their is bloody laughable. They should be able to tell you why, and offer to remove the ban if you can at least prove you own the card (with some form of ID or something).

I'm a little shocked at their handling of it.

Have you requested more details?

Have you checked for any suspicious activity at your actual bank?
Rhythagoras Mar 31, 2016
Yea I asked for more details, but it looks like I'm playing the waiting game again.

Have been scanning through my bank transactions, although I don't see anything suspicious there. It all looks good. I was actually able to make two purchases on Steam on Mar 14th, and even refunded one successfully.
Rhythagoras Apr 1, 2016
A reply just echoed the original response.
QuoteSteam Support is unable to remove this restriction.

Please use an alternate payment method to complete future transactions.

All available payment methods in your region will be the ones listed during the checkout process.

Guess I'll never even know why my card was banned... Well I guess from now on if there is a DRM-free version of a particular game on humble bundle or GOG, I'm buying it there instead. I guess I can still use my debit card to purchase those steam gift card things in a retailer that sells them. But that will only be if Steam is the only place I can actually get particular games in the future. This whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth for Valve Corp. Oh well... If they want to provide useless support, I'll guess they'll be seeing less of my money in the future.
Liam Dawe Apr 6, 2016
That's not right at all.

Tempted to make an article highlighting this.
Rhythagoras Apr 7, 2016
Eh, if you want to... by all means do. Despite my initial frustrations, I've actually taken this as a positive experience. My focus has shifted from buying on mostly Steam to humblebundle and GOG. I'm happier buying games from humblebundle, as 10% of the store purchases go to a charity of personal choice. A few humblebundle purchases ago, I decided to search through the available charities and found one dear to my heart. Following this Steam support debacle, I would say humblebundle has become my primary store. Supporting a charity that I can identify with in my game purchases is a really cool concept. I have yet to buy a game yet on GOG, but I've been made aware of their push for DRM-free games... and I like that. I'll definitely make some purchases from GOG soon.
StianTheDark Apr 9, 2016
The problem is, Steam is so convenient so people don't give a shit about it's issues. It's basically a monopoly too.
m2mg2 Apr 9, 2016
Every company has problems. I had problems with Steam support in the past. I wanted to get my key for Quake 4 so I could activate the native Linux client. They were less than helpful. This is definitely a big issue, not being able to address what happened with a payment card. But the amount of work they have done pushing Penguin gaming is far more than anyone else (at least it has achieved more), so I cut them a lot of slack. Where would Linux gaming be right now without Valve? They definitely should address this issue and others but I still support them, Go Valve!

I also support others. I've purchased through Desura in the past and recently through GOG. But Valve are the ones bringing in the big dogs.
StianTheDark Apr 9, 2016
Quoting: m2mg2Every company has problems. I had problems with Steam support in the past. I wanted to get my key for Quake 4 so I could activate the native Linux client. They were less than helpful. This is definitely a big issue, not being able to address what happened with a payment card. But the amount of work they have done pushing Penguin gaming is far more than anyone else (at least it has achieved more), so I cut them a lot of slack. Where would Linux gaming be right now without Valve? They definitely should address this issue and others but I still support them, Go Valve!

I also support others. I've purchased through Desura in the past and recently through GOG. But Valve are the ones bringing in the big dogs.

The nazis made some useful technology, so I guess we should forgive them. Donald Trump has donated to charity in the past, so we need to support him now.

Just because Valve brought mainstream gaming over to Linux doesn't mean they can get away with being an awful company who have yet to properly apologize for what happened during the Christmas sale.
m2mg2 Apr 9, 2016
The Nazi's killed people and Donald is a racist and possibly a rapist. Not sure what the deal with the Christmas sale was but I don't see stating that an alternate payment method must be used without an explanation is in any way comparable. Yes their support is horrible, oh well. You don't have to like them. I didn't tell you to support them, I just said I do.
m2mg2 Apr 9, 2016
Well that is a much more reasonable statement then comparing them to Nazi's. I understand the view also. Do you think GOG cares about GNU/Linux? From what I can tell they don't. They care about DRM, or the lack of it. I care about that also and I like GOG. I also like Valve. Of course their main priority is money.
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