Anti consumer practices of the microsoft store

I spent the better part of today on phone support with Microsoft. I purchased Gears of War Ultimate Edition for the pc in an attempt to relive one of my favorite multiplayer games. Now I knew the game wasn't terribly popular, I don't hear much about it.
But as they advertise it as a multiplayer game, I expect it's at least possible to find matches within a small, dedicated community.

There is no community. In total I have spent around 3 hours in the various potential lobbies in pursuit of a game, of which, I found none. Now, I've purchased games before from steam that did not have a sustainable population, although it rarely happens
as steam openly communicates the health of a multiplayer game. The Microsoft store does not publish the player count of any of that games they sell.

I look for a refund option and find none. All sales are final. Fair enough, but I figure if I call and explain the issue they'll offer me credit for the purchase. After all, I'm a ten year xbox customer with hundreds of games on my account and zero refund
inquiries.

What am I told by phone support? All sales are final, and any issues I have with finding players online must be a technical issue of my own. So when I go to the windows store, every time I make a purchase I have to make a risk. Does this game have an active
population? Well, the store doesn't provide me this information. Is it optimized? Maybe. Maybe not. What I do know is that if any of these factors hinder the experience of the game, I am not protected as a consumer.

So I call again and explain why, as a customer, Microsoft has lost me. I mention that I feel the store operates under a predatory, anti consumer practice and I am told that the store does in fact offer a 30 day refund policy on digital distribution. I ask
where I could find this information, and of course, they're unable to to find it. I ask to be elevated, and he tells me there's no need, the decision is final and cannot be changed.

I try not to be the type of person who is a one store purchaser, and thankfully, I don't have to be. Origin and steam both offer the protections I need as a consumer in order to just browse their stores and buy with confidence. It's a shame because I'd really
like to try Gears of War 4, but I just can't be confident in making that purchase unless it is distributed by a more reputable company.

:)

 

Advertisements on the home screen - a backwards step

People still defending anti-consumer practices I see. *SIGH*

 

Stop hating over the Xbox One

LOL at people defending blatant anti-consumer practices.

Some fools will defend anything.