A Notice To Players!

Before I begin, this same article has also been posted on Facebook by myself.
I am also posting it here since there are many gamers here who (if they play the game or otherwise) may be unaware of the issue given by the game developers to any "Members/donators" concerning their "perks".

Here however I will also be providing Screenshots of the game/game website as proof.
Now without further ado, the article:

Spoiler: Game/Website Screenshots

Exhibit 1, The game's purchase page. This is the only info given regarding Memberships.


Exhibit 2, The website purchase page.


Exhibit 3, The Toothless description. (No Disclaimer)


Exhibit 4, Alpha Toothless description. (No Disclaimer)

I ask any readers to please share this as much as possible, the objective of this is for as many people as possible to be made aware of a company who is using Unfair Practices to sell Game Memberships.

The game in question is called School Of Dragons: How To Train Your Dragon, the company who runs the game is “Jumpstart”, and the game is playable at this time through Steam, IOS, Google Play, Facebook and the creators own PC client.


What is SoD?
For anyone who hasn’t played the game, SoD is a cross-compatible 3D MMO where you raise and train dragons from the world of How To Train Your Dragon, there are quests to complete with your dragons, you can level them up and fly on them, etc.
The game is Free to Play but has In-game/In-app purchases for Gems/Memberships.
This game is also categorized as a kids game


My Experience.
The following is all information from my own personal experience, if anyone else has had a similar experience with Jumpstart I encourage you to please take the time in reporting them to the right companies/agencies.
Below I will provide the links to the reporting applications for the said companies, along with any extra information that may be required.

For myself this all started on June 1.
I had been playing the game on Steam since December 2015 and with all the new promotions I had finally decided to get a Membership myself.

Since I played the game a fair amount I got a 6 Month Membership,
that way I could get the Trainable Toothless dragon that comes with 3+ Month Memberships and his Alpha form which comes with the 6-12 Month Memberships.

About 2 weeks past, I was reading comments on the SoD forums.
I came across a comment from a random user saying the Toothless expires, after some research I discovered that it was true!
I found a thread by one of the Admins from October/17/2014 saying that as of then anyone who bought a Membership with Toothless before October/16/2014 got to keep him while anyone who got a Membership after would need to keep paying to use him.

As one can imagine I was quite upset, I had read through everything on the game site’s Membership purchase page and anything given In-game before hand, yet the information saying the Toothless expires was not listed in any way. (The Toothless is the reason I got the membership)

I emailed Jumpstarts support, saying that I was not made aware of the dragon expiring at the time of purchase and I would like it fixed.
I received a reply back 2 days later from Jumpstart saying the dragon would still expire and they “don’t do refunds”.

I then started researching into my rights, as I had suspected this was a rights violation.
The rights of an online buyer are rather straightforward, it states that the seller must provide the buyer with ALL the information at the time of purchase in a form that is easily understood by the average consumer.
This means that since there was no disclaimer by Jumpstart saying the Toothless expires they had not provided ALL the information.

I emailed them back this information, again requesting they fix the issue by either making the dragon no longer expire or refunding me.
I waited over a week and a half with no response.

I emailed them a second time, stating that I would be reporting them to the Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network as well as Steam/Apple/Google for the violation if I didn’t get results.

I then received an answer on July 6 saying once again it would still expire and if I was requesting a refund I would have to contact Steam as the purchase was made through them.

I contacted Steam Support and told them everything that had occurred up to that point, even providing any emails between myself and Jumpstart, along with screenshots of the In-game purchase page and website purchase page.

Steam responded to my issue within 2 days, they said that Steam was never given the ability by Jumpstart to do refunds for In-game purchases in SoD.
After relaying this to Jumpstart in another email I waited until July 25 with no response.
I sent a final email saying I was now reporting them with a copy of my former email in it. Jumpstart responded on the 27th, once again pining my refund to Steam.

As such I have reported Jumpstart to Apple, Google, and Steam at this point.
I am still trying to get my refund, however I don’t want to see other players mislead like I was.
The more people who know about this the better, Jumpstart need to be made aware that this is not okay!
Especially since this is a kids game, a younger player wouldn’t understand if after a few months suddenly their favorite useable character that their parents paid for is just blocked off from them with no warning until mom or dad can up another payment.
That wouldn’t be fair for them, nor would they know what to do about the issue.

Thank you for your time and consideration.



How to report to Apple:
Fill out the application below with as much detail as possible or call in to Apple Support.

Application:
http://www.apple.com/feedback/itunesapp.html

Support Number:
United States - 1-800-275-2273


How to report to Google:
Fill out the application below,
NOTE: The application will need the link to the games listing on the Google Play Store, will also be provided here.

Application Info for reporting using different systems: (PC or Mobile)
https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2853570?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Android
Application: (PC)
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/contact/takedown
Required link for the report:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.KnowledgeAdventure.SchoolOfDragons&hl=en

If you made the purchase through Google Play and are requesting a refund:
https://support.google.com/googleplay/?hl=en&rd=1#contact=1&topic=3364260

NOTE: Once reported you may get an email from a developer of Google, There should be several questions they ask concerning the report.
If you are only reporting Jumpstart then question 1 & 4 will be the only two that are required, however if you are also requesting a refund question 3 will also apply.
The answer to question 1 is the Play Store link which is provided above.
The answer to question 4 from the “Content Policies” should be
”Monetization and Ads” or in more detail:


Monetization and Ads

”Developers must not mislead users about the apps they are selling nor about any in-app services, goods, content, or functionality offered for purchase. If your product description on Google Play refers to in-app features that may require a specific or additional charge, your description must clearly notify users that payment is required to access those features.”




How to report to Steam:
Create a Support account if you don’t yet have one and create a Support Ticket with the necessary details.

Steam Support:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_cat.php?id=60

 

They sound like SODs.





I'll be here all week.

 

I really hope you'll get a refund.
FUCK YOU JUMPSTART, FUCK YOU.

 

So do I, actually I got an email back from them just yesterday evening saying to try reversing the payment with my bank card provider.
Anyone who gets game content through Steam has to use Steam currency which is bought with normal currency, meaning now they are telling me to rip off Steam for the currency!
Now I'm gonna be reporting them to the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services for Ontario, since the Ministry can legally go after Jumpstart for the refund because I reside in Ontario.

All that aside, these kind of people make me sick! Purposely trying to rip off children!
I appreciate the support, the more people that know the better..

 

My only possible comment to this is that this is just Sickening. Profiting by fooling children. Illegally. I wonder if there is a punishment beyond refunds, and at this point I hope so.

 

It is, this part I personally like the most.
If the business is found guilty, the business can be fined up to $250,000 AND the business owner could be fined $50,000 plus serve up to 2 years in prison.

 

Let's see how this unfolds then *Sits in a swirly chair facing away from a desk toward a window like one of those typical anime guys*.

 

Yes, and get out the popcorn cuz its gonna be good

 

Thank you everyone so far for the support!
Unfortunately I have now had to contact some of the said authorities concerning my own case...
I am waiting for what they can say on the matter,
In the meantime I am trying to get the word out about this company as much as possible so other people can avoid an issue like this.

 

dat clickbait doe
pls change to "notice to school of dragons players" pl0x

In all seriousness, I can't believe this people would do this! This is why I never get memberships until I know exactly what they do. I've only ever gotten 2: A one-month Club Penguin membership, and a year-long ROBLOX TBC... That one was really fun.

I hope your report goes well and you get a refund. Although, knowing how the world works, it's possible that you'll get arrested or something.

#arrestFringe

 

Actually the title is relevant because awareness needs to be raised about this company, regardless of if the reader plays/played the game or not.
And no, the only ones who have broken a law would be this company, so I don't see how I would be held at fault for anything...

But yes its quite disturbing that a "kid-friendly company" would be doing this kind of thing...

 

I was talking about the fact that with a title like that, it's likely that SoD players would completely look over it.

 

You make a good point there, but at the same time if they play Wynn then they could be just as likely to view this.

 

True. Still, I would change it. It's a bit misleading and clickbait-y. Your choice though.

Good luck again on your refund!

 

The How To Train Your Dragon movie makes me cringe, the books were so much more interesting.

 

Thanks! I may need it...

Really? I've never read the books but I hear its quite different between the 2.

 

I know a really easy way to prevent getting fucked over by pay to win games, don't play them.

 

toothless in the books is some crappy weak species but ended up actually achieving a decent bit