Undertaking date

Undertaking type

s.87B undertaking

Section

sections 18 and 29(1)(m) of the Australian Consumer Law

Company or individual details

  • Name

    Electronics Boutique Australia Pty Ltd

    ACN

    077 681 442

Undertaking

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Electronics Boutique Australia Pty Limited (trading as EB Games) in relation to conduct that was likely to have misled certain Australian consumers who purchased the Fallout 76 game from their stores or website about their rights under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), in contravention of sections 18 and 29(1)(m) of the ACL.

EB Games is a physical and online retailer of video and computer games, consoles, and associated accessories and collectibles.

The ACCC was concerned that certain statements made by representatives engaged by or on behalf of EB Games in response to complaints by customers that the Fallout 76 game they had purchased from EB Games was faulty were likely to have conveyed false or misleading representations to the effect that:

  • Australian consumers had no entitlement to any refunds from EB Games for Fallout 76 games when downloadable content (DLC) or ‘one use codes’ were redeemed or used;
  • Australian consumers had no entitlement to any refunds from EB Games for Fallout 76 games outside of the EB Games’ ‘7 day satisfaction guarantee’;
  • Australian consumers had no entitlement to refunds when the developers or publishers of the Fallout 76 game were providing patches; and/or
  • EB Games had modified or restricted statutory consumer guarantees/warranties in relation to Fallout 76 games purchased by Australian consumers.

EB Games acknowledges that its conduct is likely to have misled certain Australian consumers about their rights under the ACL in connection with the statutory consumer guarantees and is likely to have contravened sections 18 and 29(1)(m) of the ACL.

To address the ACCC’s concerns, EB Games provided the ACCC with a section 87B undertaking that it will:

  • provide refunds to consumers who had contacted EB Games to request a refund for the Fallout 76 game due to faults during the period 14 November 2018 to 31 October 2019 but were denied refunds. Such eligible consumers will need to contact EB Games within 2 months of the Undertaking’s commencement date to request a refund. Players who accept the refund will lose their entitlement to play and access the game.
  • amend its current Australian Consumer Law Compliance Program, and maintain and continue to implement it for a period of three years.