Not me - but someone at Matrix Forums (Warspite1) has a problem where he's been locked out of his Steam account because of a potential hijacking.
He's apparently tried contacting Steam but that was more than a week ago.
So - just thought I'd spread the word, see if it's happened to anyone else and how they got it resolved - not only to help him but others (in case it happens to us)...anyone have this happen to them and if so - how did it get resolved?
All the lock outs I've ever read about have either been restored or there was a very good reason for it been done - game swapping in the wrong regions where the prices differ been the most common - in all the cases tho steam have been on the ball with the comms - I'm not sure what potential hijacking means either - someone else is in the account?
never had any problems or heard of it in person from friends near or far
...would be interesting to know what generic customer action he had done to trigger their security-procedures.
Did he had locked-in from a different region/city of his country or abroad while on travel ....or got his Steam games installed en masse on a new rig? Changed his account details? ...
One week responce time from support to unlock his account is very bad >:(
Don't know - don't post over there - became a lurker sometime ago and mainly just to keep abreast of new games.
As for Steam being on the ball - I've only ever had one instance of having to contact them, and their response was piss poor tbh.
It's as well their client is so "convenient" - because I certainly don't use them for their customer facing regime.
It makes me a little worried though as I dive down into the world of Steam - more and more games are bought on there (or have to link to a Steam account)...they need to sort their customer side out me thinks. The few posts I've seen relating to Steam customer service have been, in the vast majority of cases, negative - and my own experience did nothing to challenge that feeling.
I had my Steam account locked out for a few days, without any explanation from Steam. Basically the whole stock of my Steam games were unavailable, and I didn't know why.
I pursued my issue with Steam Support, but it took a few days of back and forth to get them to open the account again. It wasn't an account compromise neither, it was a transaction with Paypal that had gone awry. Paypal's end was all hunky dory, but the connection with Steam must've gone bad during the processing, and subsequently they locked the Steam account down!
I was grateful to get back, without having anyone filching through my account details, but it did highlight a massive downside to throwing a lot of investment into a single online game distributor that relies on an online connection to check authorisation. They can do what they want at their end, and shut you out, without a single notification.
Remember, I lost my ability to play the games, without any word of warning from Steam, and I had to actively pursue getting the account unlocked, or it would still be that way to this day no doubt. And it was a fault of their payment system that caused the shutdown!! Bit silly.
Since then, I think running games offline is easier than it used to be.
You need a Steam support account, separate to your actual Steam account, and then they spend the time trying to make sure you are who you are.
But then again, I've had other online distribution channels go completely tits up, like Direct2Drive and Stardock's Implulse. I think the moral of the story is, don't plough too much investment into them, or if you do, make sure your account is as secure as it can be, and hound their support relentlessly if needs be.
Quote from: spelk on September 09, 2013, 05:37:36 AM
I had my Steam account locked out for a few days, without any explanation from Steam. Basically the whole stock of my Steam games were unavailable, and I didn't know why.
I pursued my issue with Steam Support, but it took a few days of back and forth to get them to open the account again. It wasn't an account compromise neither, it was a transaction with Paypal that had gone awry. Paypal's end was all hunky dory, but the connection with Steam must've gone bad during the processing, and subsequently they locked the Steam account down!
I was grateful to get back, without having anyone filching through my account details, but it did highlight a massive downside to throwing a lot of investment into a single online game distributor that relies on an online connection to check authorisation. They can do what they want at their end, and shut you out, without a single notification.
Remember, I lost my ability to play the games, without any word of warning from Steam, and I had to actively pursue getting the account unlocked, or it would still be that way to this day no doubt. And it was a fault of their payment system that caused the shutdown!! Bit silly.
Since then, I think running games offline is easier than it used to be.
You need a Steam support account, separate to your actual Steam account, and then they spend the time trying to make sure you are who you are.
But then again, I've had other online distribution channels go completely tits up, like Direct2Drive and Stardock's Implulse. I think the moral of the story is, don't plough too much investment into them, or if you do, make sure your account is as secure as it can be, and hound their support relentlessly if needs be.
This is terrible!
Doubly so since Steam's customer service is shit. I'm surprised you even got them to do something within a week or two.
While I had heard they will shut it down for things such as using cheats in multiplayer, I didn't realize they just do that by default if you happen to plug in an activation code for something outside your designated region. I've actually received a couple games from the UK, ordering from Amazon, without originally realizing they were British versions. To think they would cut my whole library off because of that, or a screwy Paypal transaction that didn't finish properly, is downright alarming.
I've gone through the bullshit that is submitting a Steam issue via creating the separate CS login and all that. It was automated responses that had little to do with the reported issue for two weeks. ::)
^ It does seem a bit concerning - and draconian!
If Steam was around 70 years ago, Britain and the US would be fighting them! :D
A case of "too big for their boots" maybe?
Anyway - I've got my fingers and toes crossed nothing bad happens to my account - because the general feeling is - you're screwed...at least for a few weeks!
Now I'm getting worried about some of the keys that were given away in our Grogheads Game Donation Thread. What if Steam gets a hair up it's sigmoid about keys given away across the pond or between hemispheres?
At least Gamersgate has a gifting option for games you already have (but have not cashed in).
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 09, 2013, 02:20:29 AM
Don't know - don't post over there - became a lurker sometime ago and mainly just to keep abreast of new games.
As for Steam being on the ball - I've only ever had one instance of having to contact them, and their response was piss poor tbh.
It's as well their client is so "convenient" - because I certainly don't use them for their customer facing regime.
It makes me a little worried though as I dive down into the world of Steam - more and more games are bought on there (or have to link to a Steam account)...they need to sort their customer side out me thinks. The few posts I've seen relating to Steam customer service have been, in the vast majority of cases, negative - and my own experience did nothing to challenge that feeling.
+1
Quote from: spelk on September 09, 2013, 05:37:36 AM
I had my Steam account locked out for a few days, without any explanation from Steam. Basically the whole stock of my Steam games were unavailable, and I didn't know why.
I pursued my issue with Steam Support, but it took a few days of back and forth to get them to open the account again. It wasn't an account compromise neither, it was a transaction with Paypal that had gone awry. Paypal's end was all hunky dory, but the connection with Steam must've gone bad during the processing, and subsequently they locked the Steam account down!
I was grateful to get back, without having anyone filching through my account details, but it did highlight a massive downside to throwing a lot of investment into a single online game distributor that relies on an online connection to check authorisation. They can do what they want at their end, and shut you out, without a single notification.
Remember, I lost my ability to play the games, without any word of warning from Steam, and I had to actively pursue getting the account unlocked, or it would still be that way to this day no doubt. And it was a fault of their payment system that caused the shutdown!! Bit silly.
Since then, I think running games offline is easier than it used to be.
You need a Steam support account, separate to your actual Steam account, and then they spend the time trying to make sure you are who you are.
But then again, I've had other online distribution channels go completely tits up, like Direct2Drive and Stardock's Implulse. I think the moral of the story is, don't plough too much investment into them, or if you do, make sure your account is as secure as it can be, and hound their support relentlessly if needs be.
I had a problem with my Steam account a while back. Their support was IMHO, hopeless. The matter was resolved by my contacting SEGA, and putting my case. They bypassed what appeared to me as Steam's intransigent do nothing policy, and resolved matters for me. Steam is OK in many ways, but IMO they do not seem to want to help genuine customers if it requires more than a minimum of effort.
Quote from: Boggit on September 09, 2013, 10:18:53 PM
I had a problem with my Steam account a while back. Their support was IMHO, hopeless. The matter was resolved by my contacting SEGA, and putting my case. They bypassed what appeared to me as Steam's intransigent do nothing policy, and resolved matters for me. Steam is OK in many ways, but IMO they do not seem to want to help genuine customers if it requires more than a minimum of effort.
Amazing.
It's a pretty sad state when you must contact a publisher and get them to step on a retailer to get their customer service's ass in gear.
I really hope Steam improves their CS, but they don't seem to be suffering from their "do nothing" policy much since they're the big storefront on the block, and publishers are regularly moving to
require it. ::)
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 09, 2013, 01:50:49 AM
All the lock outs I've ever read about have either been restored or there was a very good reason for it been done - game swapping in the wrong regions where the prices differ been the most common - in all the cases tho steam have been on the ball with the comms - I'm not sure what potential hijacking means either - someone else is in the account?
ive installed steam on two different computers and have logged in from different IP's. steam always wants me to verify that it is my account if I do this. they send a code to your email and you have to verify it. perhaps this fella didn't verify his account and it got locked?
Quote from: CptHowdy on September 10, 2013, 01:00:54 AM
Quote from: undercovergeek on September 09, 2013, 01:50:49 AM
All the lock outs I've ever read about have either been restored or there was a very good reason for it been done - game swapping in the wrong regions where the prices differ been the most common - in all the cases tho steam have been on the ball with the comms - I'm not sure what potential hijacking means either - someone else is in the account?
ive installed steam on two different computers and have logged in from different IP's. steam always wants me to verify that it is my account if I do this. they send a code to your email and you have to verify it. perhaps this fella didn't verify his account and it got locked?
I turned that bullshit off as soon as they implemented it. Luckily it actually
stays off, unlike some of the other buggy options in their client. It also cuts me out of some of their extras, like that "playing card collection" crap which I don't really care about anyway (even though some people have said they were able to sell theirs :o ).
After I turned it off, the damn thing pestered me about turning it back on a few times. Kinda like the webmail hosts constantly bugging your for your cell phone number as "account protection" or YouTube always harassing me to use my real name. F'ers, all. Thankfully the Steam client stopped pushing.
Quote from: Staggerwing on September 09, 2013, 06:57:06 PM
Now I'm getting worried about some of the keys that were given away in our Grogheads Game Donation Thread. What if Steam gets a hair up it's sigmoid about keys given away across the pond or between hemispheres?
0.o I didn't think of that. My keys were all from humble bundle's or bundle stars so they should be fine for others to use. But keys from other sites from differing regions could be a problem.
Well - lets not panic eh?
I only mentioned it because ONE person I "know" out of hundreds online has suffered it.
Sometimes I can't help myself...I am quick to panic. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k2YEc6dozA
Quote from: JudgeDredd on September 10, 2013, 08:45:05 AM
Well - lets not panic eh?
I only mentioned it because ONE person I "know" out of hundreds online has suffered it.
Technically it would be TWO people, including the person who posted here about having theirs completely locked out for a time too.
We all know that Steam has some problems, but PayPal is also somewhat flawed.
Some years ago, I tried buying computer parts from an online retailer using my PayPal account. The retail site wanted my credit card number anyway. I cancelled the purchase, and then called PayPal for an explanation. Their response was, " Give them your credit card number." This was back when they were advertising themselves as a way to shop without revealing one's credit card number. So I asked to speak with a supervisor, he said the same thing. I went through five more supervisors with the same result, With the last guy, I pointed out that my account had 5 times the money I needed for the purchase, so why wasn't PayPal reassuring the seller that the transaction was safe? I challenged him on the point that this situation was exactly what PayPal claimed to be in business to do, prevent the need to give out my credit card number. His response was to admit that yes, Paypal was failing to behave as advertised, but he couldn't override PayPal's policy on this issue, I would have to give the merchant my card number if I wanted to make that purchase.
Obviously, I immediately cancelled my account. I must admit that at least all the people I talked to were friendly and trying to help. Their customer service seems to be good, but I suspect that the company has no clue as to their supposed mission.
I'm not sure Steam and PayPal are a good combo to deal with. Just my 2 cents.
Deep-down, we all know the dangers of Steam...and yet most of us (including myself) continue to "drink the Kool Aid"
I think we are all in for a ride with the inevitable decline in the PC as a gaming platform.... Eventually Steam shifts focus to other platforms (IOS / Droid) and starts to slowly turn down the juice for its PC customers.
What's in my Steam account's future? Making me pay a subscription to access my account or "support" is a likely scenario.
Quote from: ArizonaTank on September 11, 2013, 04:56:47 AM
Deep-down, we all know the dangers of Steam...and yet most of us (including myself) continue to "drink the Kool Aid"
I think we are all in for a ride with the inevitable decline in the PC as a gaming platform.... Eventually Steam shifts focus to other platforms (IOS / Droid) and starts to slowly turn down the juice for its PC customers.
The "PC is DOOMED!" argument is as old as PC gaming, and it holds no more truth now than it ever did. In fact, it's been booming so much that even us addicts can't keep up with the huge amount of stuff coming out. It's never been better.
I see a handful of people regularly mention it on wargamer forums and it's just not true. Sure, some developers are beginning to split their development time off into doing little tablet programs, but we've gained far more new ones than we've lost.
If all company's customer service was as good as Amazon.com, I don't think I'd worry about Steam. At this point, I trust Amazon more than some of my extended family members.
I've never had to deal with them, but I've often read that Steam's customer service is slow and generally mute. Whereas Amazon.com is quick to do whatever it takes to keep customers happy.
Amazon is the second greatest website on the web.
^ I can rest now - I have a quote in someone's sig! ;D
Quote from: Gusington on September 11, 2013, 08:16:27 AM
Amazon is the second greatest website on the web.
It would be tops if it was easier to find stuff on it. The search and categories are a mess.