Uneven Compensation
EA has apparently offered some gamers compensation in the form of coupons to regain their lost XP packs, however, it appears that this is being done sporadically. Another gamer has threatened legal action which prompted EA to simply re-add them to his account.
The question remains: If they can re-add them to one account, shouldn’t they be able to make sure they are properly added to all accounts?
This is not a new problem, it has been ongoing since March or April, and still EA has not fixed the problem. Unfortunately, their tech support is not the quickest, nor the most informed. One transcript of a recent EA tech support Tier 2 chat had the tech support person saying, " It does seem that there are some problems with the Xbox Marketplace as of very recently. They are working on fixing it, and as far as I know the problem just sprouted up today." Yet there are reports of the problem as far back as April, so how could he have never heard of it until late June? Do they not track incoming calls and problems?
The tech support person continued on to say exactly what I was saying, "That’s what I was referring to regarding the Marketplace. There’s been some issues with the way the EA and Xbox servers are communicating, so certain DLC and purchases aren’t showing correctly."
Lackadaisical Response
However, if they haven’t remedied the problem after several months, they are either not working on it (i.e. ignoring it), or are completely clueless as to what the problem is and are sitting in an office somewhere scratching their heads with one hand and their backside with the other.
The fact that EA did not return a response to our request is not all that surprising. They have done the same to many gamers, so why would they answer the question from media? The fact that Xbox did not immediately return a comment is perplexing and either shows some level of guilt in the matter or a lack of concern, either way, it just doesn’t seem right.
Between the beginning of my research on this and the publishing there have also been some 
reports pointing to the same problem on the Playstation Network and new reports of the same problems on Xbox 360. That certainly seems to lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of EA at this point.
The right to redress
To receive a fair settlement of just claims, including compensation for misrepresentation, shoddy goods or unsatisfactory services.
I thought that, since this isn’t the first time these sort of problems have popped up in gaming, it would be nice for gamers to have some list of resources available to them where they can report their dealings with companies and make complaints with government and regulatory agencies. So below you will find a list by country.
As a consumer in most countries you are afforded a certain amount of rights. When companies do not respond properly or at all in regards to problems with their products, your greatest weapon is information and getting it into the right hands. Here are a list of some hands to put that information into. Many will not investigate singular reports of incidents, so many of you must report the unfair practices in order for action to be taken. The alternative is to file a class action lawsuit to seek reparations. However, that is a long process and will require some manner of legal representation.
CA
Consumers’ Association of Canada
US
Federal Trade Commission Consumer Protection
Consumer Watchdog
Better Business Bureau
UK
Trading Standards
Consumer Direct - Alternatively, 08454 04 05 06 If you need to make a complaint about goods or services you’ve bought, contact the government funded consumer advice service Consumer Direct.
AUS
ACCC - Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
International
Consumers International
Also, feel free to email Gamers Daily News at newsfile@gamersdailynews.com to bring these sorts of problems to light so that we can investigate them and shed some light on them when possible.
