A word of warning about THQ's customer support.

[Lord Sirian]

Hey everyone. I recently tried to activate my copy of Forged Alliance in order to play online. I received a message telling me that the CD-key had been activated. So, since I had purchased the game - and thus the right to use my own CD-Key, I contacted THQ's customer support, and the following is the result of that:

Originally Posted by Lord Sirian on 9th September 2009

Hi,

I purchased a copy of Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance some time ago, and never played online with it. I went to play online with it for the first time today, and created a new account. However, when I entered my CD-Key, I got a message saying the key was already in use.

The CD-Key is:
****-****-****-****-****

Could you please look into this for me, as the message is obviously an error, or someone has stolen and used my CD-Key.

Thanks in advance.

Sincerely,
*****

Originally Posted by THQ Support on 9th September 2009

Thank you, *****, for contacting THQ Customer Support.

Please send a Jpeg of the CD Key and all email address you might have used to create an account. Was the game purchased as a used copy? The developers are the only ones with access to the online accounts and will require a Jpeg of the CD Key on the original packaging.

Best regards,

Chris B
THQ Customer Support

Originally Posted by Lord Sirian on 9th September 2009

Hi Chris,

Thankyou for your quick response. I have attached two pictures - one of the CD-Key and one of the booklet and game box. As the picture of the box shows, the game was purchased new.

When I received the message about the key being in use already, I tried using the account recovery system to get my account name (in case I had registered, and had forgotten), however I have not received the information on any of my email addresses. I will list them below for you anyway:

**************************
**************************
**************************

Thankyou for your assistance in this matter.

Regards,
*****

Originally Posted by THQ Support on 10th September 2009

I have sent your information to our representatives at Gas Powered Games and will let you know what they find.

Originally Posted by THQ Support on 10th September 2009

How long ago did you purchase the game? Do you have any alternate emails from Hotmail?

Originally Posted by Lord Sirian on 10th September 2009

Hi Chris,

I purchased it quite some time ago, but I can't remember the exact date. It wasn't too long after it was released, though.

I have never had a Hotmail account, and I don't have any email accounts other than the ones I have previously provided.

Thanks,
*****

Originally Posted by THQ Support on 11th September 2009

Do you also own the original Supreme Commander?

Originally Posted by Lord Sirian on 11th September 2009

Hi Chris,

Yes, I own the original Supreme Commander as well. Does it matter?

Are you able to give me an estimate of how long this will take, and how many more questions you need to ask me? I had a game organised with my friends, and we have been hoping each day that we will be able to play, only to find more questions. I appreciate your help, but I don't see why the information I have already given isn't enough to get my own game put back in my name.

I am happy to answer your questions, but I would like to be able to give my friends some kind of timeframe for when I will be able to play. I hope you can understand that.

Thanks,
*****

Originally Posted by THQ Support on 14th September 2009

These are all questions directly from the developers in charge of your account. I will see what we can do to speed up the process, but the decision is theirs and they do have a lot they need to validate.

Originally Posted by Lord Sirian on 17th September 2009

Hi Chris,

It has been 4 days since your last reply. I hope I haven't been forgotten...

Regards,
*****

Originally Posted by THQ Support on 18th September 2009

I had to send a follow up email, but they are looking for your Supreme Commander CD Key to track the actions with that account. Did you ever have both games on the same account? Did any one borrow your Forged Alliance and create an account without you knowing?

Originally Posted by Lord Sirian on 22nd September 2009

Hi Chris,

I have attached photos of my Supreme Commander box, booklet and CD-Key.

As I said in my first message, I never played online, and I never created any account. That goes for both Supreme Commander and Forged Alliance.

"Did any one borrow your Forged Alliance and create an account without you knowing?"
I never let anyone borrow my games. But if someone did so without me knowing, I wouldn't know about it, would I?


Regards,
*****

Originally Posted by THQ Support on 23rd September 2009

Do you remember where they were Purchased? Were they purchased at the same time? The accounts will be reset so you can create a new account.

Originally Posted by Lord Sirian on 23rd September 2009

Hi Chris,

My brother bought Supreme Commander for me shortly after it was released, and I purchased Forged Alliance shortly after it was released. They were purchased here in town, at the local EB Games or GameTraders, but I can't remember which.

Thankyou for organising the accounts to be reset.

Regards,
*****

Originally Posted by THQ Support on 24th September 2009

After further investigation, we have found that this was a used copy. The used copy will still have full access to the single player content but you will need to purchase a non used copy to access the multiplayer.

Originally Posted by Lord Sirian on 24th September 2009

Hi Chris,

I'm sorry, but your "investigation" is wrong. Both my Supreme Commander and Forged Alliance copies were bought new. I am not so stupid as to buy a used copy and expect to be able to register the CD-Kay in my name. I don't know what you think you've found that tells you this is a used copy, but you've made a mistake. Either that, or MY CD-KEY HAS BEEN STOLEN, LIKE I SAID AT THE START.

I have given you more than enough evidence to show that I am the owner of this game. What more can I possibly do - fly all the way over there and show
you the game in person???

I paid good money for this NEW game, and I want to use it online. I am not going to spend MORE money just to get something I should have in the first
place.

You go through all this "investigation" and "validation" to ensure that people are not using copies that don't belong to them, and yet the end result is that the honest people (me) get locked out of legitimate accounts, and the people stealing get away with it! Brilliant! I applaud you!

Now please, unlock my account so that I can register my own game.

Thankyou.

Regards,
*****

Originally Posted by THQ Support on 25th September 2009

Hello *****,
My name is Colin Thompson; I manage the Support team for THQ North America. One of my Customer Support specialists, Chris, forwarded me your correspondence regarding your copy of Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance.

I have examined all available information at this point, including our internal correspondence with Gas Powered Games. They have concluded that, based on the information you provided, your copy of the game was purchased used. The retailer you indicated, Game Trader, is known for selling used copies of PC games. EBGames also removes the discs from the packaging, and repackages them before sale - so it's possible that the key was compromised - IF the purchase took place there. I'm not saying "YOU" knowingly purchased (or were given as a gift by your brother) a used copy of the game; I'm merely indicating that the actual copy and key were used.

The bottom line is this. Your copy of the game, and relevant CD-key, appear in every sense to be used. Previously activated. Previously utilized. And as Chris indicated, a used copy of Supreme Commander and its expansion can only be utilized in single-player mode, not multiplayer.

Unfortunately, this means that your CD-keys cannot be cleared out or reset.

The best I can recommend is seeking an exchange from the place of purchase for a new copy. I realize, given the length of time since the purchase, this might not be feasible, but is the only realistic way to get you on the path to resolution. You have my apologies for any inconvenience.

Best regards,

Colin T
THQ Customer Support Supervisor

As you can see I didn't get very far, and it seems like they were just messing me around, wasting time until I either gave up or they found an excuse to deny my request. I'm very unimpressed with their customer support and it seems that paying 60AUD is not enough to warrant proper service in such a simple matter.

Post your thoughts if you like.

[Zealex]

Wow, this reminds me of Nexon's customer service. Just garbage!

[dai]

refer it to consumer protection

[floop12444]

I can't believe how bad they are at looking after their customers.
Really bad support. :(

[Lord Sirian]

Yeah, I just don't understand why they couldn't do something so simpe as unlock and account... It's not like it's a hard thing to do and it isn't like they can't afford to or anything.

[floop12444]

Also, i can't believe the fact that you sent them a jpeg of the cd key on the booklet and a jpeg of the box wasn't enough for them to unlock the account.

[Lord Sirian]

Yeah, what's even worse is that the box the game came in still had the price sticker on it saying: $59.99.

[wrench97]

Have you contacted EB? Just curious to their reaction.

[Lord Sirian]

I got FA from Gametraders, but SC I got from EB. I don't use EB any more cause they're too far away =P. But no I haven't contacted either, but I might have a talk to the guys in Gametraders about it. Not sure what they'll say though.