Kakao is putting its foot down when it comes to Black Desert players’ chargebacks — that is, attempting to reverse payment for a product using the credit card company as the mechanism. The studio has sent a letter to everyone who’s initiated a chargeback that explains the consequences of doing so. Legitimate chargebacks, it writes, are those levied when purchased goods are never received or a credit card is stolen. Illegitimate chargebacks, on the other hand, amount to demanding your money back after “using a service for several months and deciding you don’t like it anymore.”
“It is understandable why someone would wish to get their money back, however, chargebacks should always be done with caution. A chargeback will not only cause you to lose access to the game, but it can also prevent you from purchasing it in the future. More importantly, we will investigate each chargeback, individually. If the chargeback is proven to be illegitimate, this could go farther than just the denial of your refund. Your Credit Score could be impacted. […] Requesting chargebacks should be done after cautious investigation from your part to know all of the possible consequences. Where a finalized chargeback would lead to the withdrawing of your game access, a cancelled chargeback will have no lasting effect on your account.”
The company says it will allow players “time to consider [their] decision, and fully assess the impact these changes will have on [their] enjoyment” of the game: “We will not take action on your account until the 22nd August, after which time, any account with outstanding chargebacks will be closed.”
In recent weeks, Black Desert has weathered multiple business model controversies that have seemingly prompted a segment of players to encourage each other to issue chargebacks, some of them purportedly in line with EU consumer protection laws. Kakao told Massively OP over the weekend that it was removing calls for fraudulent chargebacks from its forums.
