Fortnite players now have the option to apply for a refund for some unwanted in-game purchases made between January 2017 and September 2022. This is taking place because of a $245 million dollar settlement between the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Epic Games. Last year in December, the FTC made it to what it has described as two “record-breaking” settlements with Epic Games, the famous Fortnite developers.
This was after it was claimed that the company had broken some privacy and protection rules and carried out “dark patterns” in order to trick gamers into making unwanted in-game purchases. The entire settlement managed to increase all the way up to a whopping $520 million dollars. However, the FTC is now inviting customers of Epic Games who think that they might have fallen prey to the shady business practices to claim refunds for their unwanted in-game purchases.
It also includes different situations where customers were wrongfully charged for unwanted V-Bucks (the in-game currency of Fortnite) or any other items such as cosmetic items or battle passes. As per the official FTC website, players might be able to apply for a refund if any of the criteria mentioned below come true for them:
The players were charged in-game currency for items they did not want between January 2017 and September 2022.
Their kid made certain charges to their credit card without them knowing between January 2017 and November 2018.
The account of the gamer was locked between January 2017 and September 2022 after they complained to their credit card company regarding the wrongful charges.
From September 19, the FTC began its entire process of sending innumerable emails to Fortnite players that it believed might actually be eligible for a refund. To seek a refund, the applicants are required to be in possession of either a claim number (obtained through an FTC email) or their Epic Account ID. On top of this, they should also be above the age of 18, or have a parent or guardian in order to complete the claim form on their behalf.
As per the FTC, applying for a refund won’t have any effect on a gamer’s Fortnite account, which means that they will not lose any of their in-game items due to this claim. The FTC hasn’t yet revealed a proper date for the payouts and has also warned that the amount is to be expected on a couple of factors, such as the number of people applying for refunds.
Moreover, a hard deadline was released, i.e., January 17, 2023, for the Fortnite players hoping to file a refund claim. So, if you think you were a victim of the whole thing, then you should definitely head on over to their website and apply for a refund!
