The Fallout fan made to destroy his records for a refund
UPDATE: "It is not the kind of service we want folks to experience."
UPDATE 4.00pm: "We are following up with ThinkGeek as it is not the kind of service we want folks to experience from our store," a Bethesda spokesperson told Eurogamer, referencing the company which runs the Bethesda official store.
ORIGINAL STORY 10.15am: The customer support team behind Bethesda's official store has made a Fallout fan smash their $125 limited edition vinyl soundtrack in order to gain a refund.
Paul Watson contacted the company after finding the first disc in his four-disc Fallout 3 soundtrack had arrived warped. (Full disclosure - Paul works over the other end of our office doing commercial things. Lovely guy.)
Watson provided photographic evidence and asked for a refund - which the provided. But on checking his account, it turned out he had only refunded $25 - the price of the one warped disc.
"Hello Paul," a "special tactics and reconnaissance" agent (aka customer support rep) wrote.
"You only showed that one of the records was damaged so we refunded you for that damaged record. If the other records are similarly affected, please provide photos. However if they are not affected and you still would like a full refund for the product, please follow the instructions below for this limited edition item.
- Destroy the other records
- Provide photos of the damaged records
"Once I get those photos I will happily refund you for your order. Thank you and have a wonderful day!"
Unable to get a replacement first disc, there was only one course of action left.
Destroying goods to prove a purchaser is not simply trying to scam the seller is not unheard of when it comes companies granting refunds - but the destruction of a limited edition set of vinyl here seems somewhat unnecessary.
Regardless, Watson has now been told he qualifies for all of his money back.