Refund denied for a game that does not work

On the 31st May 2020, I bought Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate. I have gamepass and Forza Horizon4 Standard Edition installed on my PC and bought Forza Horizon Ultimate through the Microsoft Store to play on my PC.

Unfortunately, after I had downloaded the game I tried playing it. It wouldn't even load. Thinking there was an issue with my PC. I uninstalled the game and reinstalled it multiple times. Unfortunately, nothing worked.

I raised a ticket with Forza Horizon and I was told this (I have highlighted the text that says they are aware of this issue for players upgrading to Ultimate edition);

Hello,

We are aware of the issue for players when upgrading to Ultimate edition, we are currently looking into a solution, for now here are some troubleshooting options that may help.

First make sure Windows Version is 1909 check by typing in start “Winver” to verify, if not on current version please update as this may also be causing issues, Here is the updated Windows version: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3159635/windows-10-update-assistant

Users that have the Car Pass installed Locally on their PC, try removing these manually with the steps below. You may see results when also removing Bond and Formula Drift Packs as well. If you are playing on

FM7: please remove any local car packs or downloads that you have installed

1. Reinstall the Title with NO additional add-ons,

FH4: You will need to manually remove the Car pass cars and add-ons including Bond and Formula drift, ONLY KEEP FORTUNE ISLAND AND LEGO ADD-ONS on your PC. You will still have all the vehicles from the car pass accessible in game. There are two ways to achieve
this,

1. Reinstall the Title with NO additional add-ons, Except Fortune Island and Lego. (You will still have access to all your purchased cars)

2. Manually Delete Car Pass cars and additional add-ons, NOT FORTUNE ISLAND OR LEGO EXPANSION.

1. Using Add or Remove programs you can select Forza Horizon.

2. Advanced options

3. Delete all items (Cars, Preorder items, VIP, etc.) everything, EXCEPT LEGO AND FORTUNE ISLAND.

Please let us know if you see this resolve your issue, For now we are working on this issue so we are going to close this ticket,

Thank you,

W0LFayame

I followed their advice and updated my Windows Version to the latest and deleted all the packs as advised. But unfortunately, it didn't work either.

On the 10th June, as a last resort, I requested a refund. Here is the reply I got from XBox support. I have highlighted the text that says "Our refund policy doesn't
allow refunds for digital game products that have been played or consumed."



Thanks for contacting Microsoft Support for Xbox



I understand you're requesting a refund. Here's what I found after looking into your request:

Our refund policy doesn't allow refunds for digital game products that have been played or consumed. Thanks for understanding.

For more information check out the Digital Game Purchase Refund Terms.

Keep security top of mind

Use these account features to ensure your information is secure and only you can authorize transactions.

• Keep your account secure by creating a passkey . Your passkey will be required when you sign-in and make purchase on any device.

• Prevent unauthorized charges by creating separate Microsoft Accounts (MSA) for each device user. Don’t share your MSA email or passcode with anyone.



Have more questions?

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Happy gaming,

Abrahan

Microsoft Support for Xbox

Your service request number is 1502909956 in case you need it.

My concerns are;

1. I bought this game with the belief that it would work. It never did. Forza Horizon was aware that users who upgraded from Standard Edition to Ultimate Edition would face this issue. I was not aware or made aware of this when I bought this game.
2. Microsoft's terms state, "Our refund policy doesn't allow refunds for digital game products that have been played or consumed.".
   But I never got to play or consume this game.

Here is proof that it does not work. Text from Event viewer on my PC.

The program ForzaHorizon4.exe version 0.0.0.0 stopped interacting with Windows and was closed. To see if more information about the problem is available, check the problem history in the Security and Maintenance control panel.

Process ID: 4428

Start Time: 01d63f0877e1d995

Termination Time: 4294967295

Application Path: C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.SunriseBaseGame_1.416.287.2_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\ForzaHorizon4.exe

Report Id: d5a80a5f-e885-4380-aa48-8e590303c698

Faulting package full name: Microsoft.SunriseBaseGame_1.416.287.2_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe

Faulting package-relative application ID: SunriseReleaseFinal

Hang type: Activation

Here is proof that there are issues with Forza Horizon (please look under PC where is states Crash Hang Type: Activation.)

https://support.forzamotorsport.net/hc/en-us/articles/360001991068-FH4-Known-Issues

What are my choices? I did everything to make sure the game worked but it never did.

What options do I have to claim my refund?

Thanks,

Stephen

:)