Why I hate Steam(or any other similar service)

[Lightwysh]

How is it screwing around to ask someone who doesn't know their account info and "lost" their email address for some proof of who they really are?

Sounds like you already hate Steam, whether they recover your account or not. There is so much assuming in this post it's outrageous. Why would they "refuse" to help you when you have multiple people in this thread telling you their customer service is great.

I love steam for the exact reason you hate it. I can't have some random person log onto my account and take my 150+ games.

I have yet to have any positive interaction with Steam support. If I had, then I wouldn't be concerned. I understand it was my fault for not changing the email. I don't understand why a service I never wanted or agreed too(Steam Guard), which is entirely optional if you can get into your account to disable it. Why not let me decide if I want that service instead of making me now have to go through hoops to fix a problem that wouldn't even be an issue if they had just given me access when I logged in in the first place?

[Nykko]

Don't listen to people who say it is your fault. It is DRM, and you were lucky that you even had some decent video game shop near. With mass-infection of DRM, lots of our local video gaming shops have to be closed, as people don't like to buy licenses.

You know what? Steam is dead to me too. It like doesn't even exist for me. There is nothing about being dramatic, it is about having self-respect and buying actual games and not some DRM-infected soft aka "licenses". And if official publishers still tend to sell "license" to me instead of games, I am seeking pirated versions of the games. i am not promoting piracy, I am promoting good future for gaming without DRM, where you don't have to install tons of crapware and have internet connection in order to play the games.

Know what? What ever happened to that "Return Game" system? Was that ever added?...

[mickybrighteyes]

I can understand the frustration. Its why I opted for a physical authenticator. Usually the chat service is pretty good. If you need to send a photo ID, just take a pic with your phone, email it to yourself and upload it to the chat box. Like 10 minutes max maybe to get ALL my accounts combined, and I didnt have to have access to my old email address. Blizzards IM support has helped me on more than one occasion and has always been 10/10.

Hell even with the recent bug causing people who rushed the 6.0 intro quests to not get loot. I put in a GM ticket, even though there was no official plan or fix in place, they told me to go to WOWhead, find the items I wanted, I linked the names and had my items in like 2 minutes. This was after 2 days wait, but due to 6.0 dropping on Tuesday and I put in my ticket on weds, I was not upset at the wait. It was logical.

My dealings with blizz customer service were 1 hour or more waits before hand... now it'd be the equivalent of an in game ticket IRL... and my in game tickets got so rediculous way back when that I'd forget about them and see them after weekly resets.

[Nykko]

You realize you are generalizing at the end there right? I rarely have any issues with steam. The only criticism I have against them is aside from Early Access stuff and no refunds. They are a big force in Gaming. Weather one likes it or not.

They where examples, largely. =\

My last bit there, I'll agree that was fairly targeted, but I've come across very FEW people who are in the middle with Steam. It's pretty deep with either the "It's Amazing" or "It's Worse Than Origin" influences.

[Waaldo]

I don't think that is the problem he's having with it; I'm pretty sure what he was going at, was that there isn't a back-up, or extra-system in place to account for the situation of;

A: I HAVE my Steam Account.
B: I do NOT have my Steam Password.
C: I do NOT have my Email with this Steam Account.

It's not that hard of a fix.
With Blizzard in the same situation, I can just call them, and verify my Name, Living Address, Photo ID / Phone Number, and/or Authenticator Number.
SWTOR, Rift, GW2, SL, Aion, ARR, WildStar also have similar systems in place.

Even EA's Battlefield / BattleLog has a system in place for this situation.

You say that like Steam doesn't have anything in place to help recover accounts......But they do.

[Nykko]

My dealings with blizz customer service were 1 hour or more waits before hand... now it'd be the equivalent of an in game ticket IRL... and my in game tickets got so rediculous way back when that I'd forget about them and see them after weekly resets.

I cannot stand Blizzard's new Ticket System... I can't give the details I want to get a GM, or submit a bug, so I've resulted to dealing, and bumping bugs and issues to the forums, or calling in (Depending if it's a Game issue, or Account issue.).

For a long time, I've been able to by-pass the Ticket System for WoW and Diablo by just logging into the website and creating a Battle.Net ticket. (My Anti-Virus goes bat-shit when ever I try to load the Bug Report window in WoW and Starcraft o_o;

[Aeluron Lightsong]

They where examples, largely. =\

My last bit there, I'll agree that was fairly targeted, but I've come across very FEW people who are in the middle with Steam. It's pretty deep with either the "It's Amazing" or "It's Worse Than Origin" influences.

Well the whole *Love gaben* IMO is a bit overdone. I understand it was probably good when Steam got super popular but now it's like "Ok fun's over." However Origin....gives refunds which is odd yet many people hate it more then Steam.

/shrug I have little issue with Origin(Except not installing correctly the first few times).

[Lightwysh]

They where examples, largely. =\

My last bit there, I'll agree that was fairly targeted, but I've come across very FEW people who are in the middle with Steam. It's pretty deep with either the "It's Amazing" or "It's Worse Than Origin" influences.

I was pretty moot on Steam, nothing ever impressed me about the service. Sure I could find old games that I cant get physical copies anymore, that was about the extent of it. That was he only purpose of steam for me. That and games that forced steam interaction.

[Nykko]

You say that like Steam doesn't have anything in place to help recover accounts......But they do.

IF you have your old Email.

[kail]

While leniency and service would definitely help your cause, this is hardly Steam's fault. Keep information updated, especially for an account that has 20-30 games.

Imagine if they gave account information to anyone who complains they lost a password and can't prove their identity. Having just the email address or name is not enough in today's security requirements.

- - - Updated - - -

Well the whole *Love gaben* IMO is a bit overdone. I understand it was probably good when Steam got super popular but now it's like "Ok fun's over." However Origin....gives refunds which is odd yet many people hate it more then Steam.

/shrug I have little issue with Origin(Except not installing correctly the first few times).

Not everything is as bad as the internet claims it to be. Origin as a software and service is decent. Steam just has the much higher library and other practicalities built in such as player reviews, enhanced browsing, Big Picture, and built in community tabs for nearly every game.

Oh that and sales...can't forget about them sales

[mickybrighteyes]

I cannot stand Blizzard's new Ticket System... I can't give the details I want to get a GM, or submit a bug, so I've resulted to dealing, and bumping bugs and issues to the forums, or calling in (Depending if it's a Game issue, or Account issue.).

For a long time, I've been able to by-pass the Ticket System for WoW and Diablo by just logging into the website and creating a Battle.Net ticket. (My Anti-Virus goes bat-shit when ever I try to load the Bug Report window in WoW and Starcraft o_o;

i can't even log in to use the forums... it's a simple thing... well WAS a siomple thing. Kind of lost the data for my old authenticator. So it's a mandatory call in problem for that reason alone.

[thewallofsleep]

The lesson to be learned from this story? Don't buy Goat Simulator, it is terrible.

No but seriously, open a customer service claim with Steam and eventually you should be able to sort it out. Their service is awful though. They take forever to respond. On top of that, their initial response is usually general and unhelpful. I enjoy using Steam, but their CS is absolutely atrocious.

[Lightwysh]

The lesson to be learned from this story? Don't buy Goat Simulator, it is terrible.

No but seriously, open a customer service claim with Steam and eventually you should be able to sort it out. Their service is awful though. They take forever to respond. On top of that, their initial response is usually general and unhelpful. I enjoy using Steam, but their CS is absolutely atrocious.

But... but goats...

Bolded is my main concern... I'd hate to part ways with all my old games because of crap service.

[Nykko]

I was pretty moot on Steam, nothing ever impressed me about the service. Sure I could find old games that I cant get physical copies anymore, that was about the extent of it. That was he only purpose of steam for me. That and games that forced steam interaction.

I loathe it for the most part, personally, since I've first started to use it back in... Oh, when was it... 2008?... But I'm forced to use it in many ways now just to get access to how I want to play my games with the most 'support' when something does explode, or not working correctly. Some things with it make sense, and are even reasonable, but the Account&Billing support, and retrieval, is just... Terrible.

- - - Updated - - -

i can't even log in to use the forums... it's a simple thing... well WAS a siomple thing. Kind of lost the data for my old authenticator. So it's a mandatory call in problem for that reason alone.

See, there are further problems with account retrieval, but Blizzard does have extended protocols to account for that, and deal with it.

[stross01]

I feel like if you complain that things are too secure when you get locked out, you'll also bitch if things aren't secure enough when you get keylogged.

[thewallofsleep]

But... but goats...

Bolded is my main concern... I'd hate to part ways with all my old games because of crap service.

I will never waste a breath blaming the consumer when I could blame the retailer, but in this case, the email address really should have been changed when it no longer became valid. The fact that it wasn't shows that the Steam account wasn't tremendously important/valuable. If that were the case, the contact details and security credentials would have been kept up to date.

Don't mistake that statement for acceptance of Steam's terrible service though.

[Demontjuh]

A: I HAVE my Steam Account.
B: I do NOT have my Steam Password.
C: I do NOT have my Email with this Steam Account.

thats just as much as any hacker has.

[Lightwysh]

I will never waste a breath blaming the consumer when I could blame the retailer, but in this case, the email address really should have been changed when it no longer became valid. The fact that it wasn't shows that the Steam account wasn't tremendously important/valuable. If that were the case, the contact details and security credentials would have been kept up to date.

Don't mistake that statement for acceptance of Steam's terrible service though.

I'm not denying any liability. I should have switched it, but with an interstate move, selling a house, etc etc. It just wasn't top priority. Most of my services have been great about getting it changed after the fact, Steam has been the only one to give me any sort of hassle.

[Endus]

CC numbers change, Ive had 3 new CC numbers due to the Target, Home Depot and one other major retail breach.

You don't need an active card. You need to confirm the card number that was used to make a purchase.

And if you don't have those records, then we're back to "you can't prove your own identity".

I've been sitting here 6 hours now, with no other response but "we received your ticket".

6 hours is not exactly a long period. There is zero reason to expect instantaneous response, particularly when you lack the identifying information necessary to expedite the process.

Yes my situation sucks, but with game companies going to these digital distribution/access hubs. People are getting screwed out of what used to be a process of reinstalling and entering the physical cd key. By forcing people to use these services, if people get into a bad situation, its either pray to deity or re-buy everything.

I have a physical copy of Battlefield 2142 that I can't play, because I've lost the CD-key. No chance of recovering it, period, because it was on a physical card in the box, and I've lost that card.

The online systems are better than the systems that we had prior. Where if you lost your physical copy or the CD-key, you lost the game, period. Here, all you needed to do was ensure you would continue to have access to the e-mail you had registered to the account. An e-mail you could have easily changed, when you changed your e-mail. The entire mess is down to you failing to update your contact information, and lacking the documentation to prove you are who you say you are.

[Lightwysh]

You don't need an active card. You need to confirm the card number that was used to make a purchase.

And if you don't have those records, then we're back to "you can't prove your own identity".



6 hours is not exactly a long period. There is zero reason to expect instantaneous response, particularly when you lack the identifying information necessary to expedite the process.



I have a physical copy of Battlefield 2142 that I can't play, because I've lost the CD-key. No chance of recovering it, period, because it was on a physical card in the box, and I've lost that card.

The online systems are better than the systems that we had prior. Where if you lost your physical copy or the CD-key, you lost the game, period. Here, all you needed to do was ensure you would continue to have access to the e-mail you had registered to the account. An e-mail you could have easily changed, when you changed your e-mail. The entire mess is down to you failing to update your contact information, and lacking the documentation to prove you are who you say you are.

Do you keep or destroy cards when you get a replacement?

6 hours is longer than should be expected. Most services especially ones with live chat, are pretty quick. Steam does not offer live chat.

Loosing 1 game due to a lost key is no where near loosing 20+ games due to poor processes to access an account.

AGAIN, its more the forced Steam Guard that caused this problem. Had that optional service not been forced onto my account, I would have been able to access my account and make the changes I needed.

When I finally get a response, Ill do what I can to correct the issue, my only hope is to try and find my old Day of Defeat key. That was the only game I can think of I would possible still have the key for. I can send them my ID if needed. But again see the bolded parts for the primary issues with this system.