Software Question

[gnarlyjoe25]

I live in the Arizona and the company in question is located in California.

I have been playing an online game that requires a subscription that is unique to each software package that is sold, World of Warcraft, for around 3 years and have hundreds of dollars paid and thousands of hours played. My account was recently closed which makes the software that I purchased useless. The company accuses me of violating the Terms of Use Agreement as reasons for closure. When I asked them to provide me with proof of the violation, they refused stating they are not required.

This is very common with this online gaming giant, tens of thousands of accounts closed monthly, and is very rarely disputed. My question is, are they legally obligated to provide proof of my violation because when they close my account they also render the software that I purchased useless. The software was purchased, not leased or rented in anyway, and is not intended to be returned when done. I am aware of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act (CLRA) as well as cases similar to this such as SoftMan Products Co. v. Adobe Systems Inc (2001) and wonder if this applies and if I have a case.

I have too much time and money invested in this to just quit and start over, which is what most people do only increasing the company's profits from software sales at 50 bucks a pop. Each account closed is a potential profit for the company.

 

[CdwJava]

Apparently you agreed to the terms of use which include this catch-all condition:

7. Blizzard's Absolute Right to Suspend, Terminate and/or Delete the Account.
BLIZZARD MAY SUSPEND, TERMINATE, MODIFY, OR DELETE THE ACCOUNT AT ANY TIME WITH ANY REASON OR NO REASON, WITH OR WITHOUT NOTICE. For purposes of explanation and not limitation, most account suspensions, terminations and/or deletions are the result of violations of this Terms of Use or the EULA.

The full terms of use may be found here:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.shtml

I did not find any requirement that they notify you of the cause for the termination. In fact, the above condition allows them to suspend or delete your account for "NO reason".

I'd say it's a case of "buyer beware".

There are many things we invest money in that we don't get out later. They could always argue that for your money you received hundreds of hours of recreation.

I don't know that you have any real avenue of assault here unless you are willing to pay thousands for an attorney with no guarantee of even getting the account re-opened.

Just one more reason why I have never opted to get involved in a MMRPG.

Good luck.

- Carl