G2A, the online key reseller, is no real stranger to controversy. First, it was the issues they had when developers pointed out that the site was selling keys obtained via stolen credit cards.
Then they had an issue with the absolute insanity that was their G2A Shield scheme. The basics of that issue boiled down to a monthly charge to protect customers from the possibility of keys not working, all while claiming there was zero reason the keys may not work. To put some tasty sprinkles on top, the steps you had to go through to deactivate G2A Shield were somewhat drawn out.
The company finally got that sorted, allowing you to deactivate the service with the click of a button, but not before making themselves look pretty bad.
The most recent issue is that the company now wants to charge you for not logging in. In a somewhat ridiculous move, people who use G2A Pay and do not log into the site often enough will be charged for account upkeep and maintenance.
The issue was brought to Reddit by a concerned customer who had received an email with the above message in it. A G2A rep joined the discussion, posting the following.
“If User does not log in through the Website to User’s account [sic] for over 180 (one hundred eighty) days, the Company is entitled to charge the User’s G2A Wallet inactivity fee in amount of EUR 1 (one) per each month, or less, if there are no sufficient funds on the User’s G2A Wallet to charge entire inactivity fee. The Company is also entitled to terminate User’s G2A Wallet if there are no sufficient funds on it which allow charging the inactivity fee. Charged inactivity fee is not returnable. The User is to be informed about terminating his account.”
It shouldn’t be all that shocking that people are just not buying what they website is selling on this one, and G2A once again find themselves at the pointy end of the internet.
“We don’t require these users to buy anything, just log in at least once every six months, just so that we know they are still with us. As a financial institution, we are also monitored, supervised, and audited and have to back up and explain all our accounts and the funds stored on these accounts. Once an account may be considered ‘abandoned,’ we take certain steps to make sure we are in line with all regulations, jurisdictions, and laws.”
My take is that this is somewhat ridiculous, and by somewhat, I mean completely. It remains to be seen if this action, and subsequent backlash, have any knock-on effect for G2A, but at the moment it feels like most of the people they annoy during these controversial moments don’t use the service to begin with.
