US regulators have started to notify more than 37 million people that they may be eligible for a refund as part of Epic Game’s legal settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
In December 2022, Epic was fined $520 million by the FTC, which was broken into two lump sums — $275 million for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Act (COPPA), and $245 million for misleading users into making “unintentional purchases” on virtual currencies and in-game items.
The latter sum will compensate customers affected by unwanted in-game purchases. As per the FTC, users can apply for refunds if they were:
- Charged in-game currency for unwanted items between January 2017 and September 2022
- Their child made charges to a credit card without parental knowledge or consent between January 2017 to November 2018
- Locked out of their Epic Account between January 2017 and September 2022 after making a complaint to their credit card company about wrongful charges
Users are directed to a specialised page on the FTC’s website to apply for a refund, which requires a claim number or their Epic Account ID to begin the process. The deadline for applications is January 17, 2024.
The FTC clarified that after a claim is made, Fortnite accounts will not be affected and items purchased will not be lost.
Once a claim has been approved, the “payment amount will depend on several factors, including how many people file a claim.”
Following the settlement, Epic stated that it would be “moving beyond long-standing industry practices.”
“We accepted this agreement because we want Epic to be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players,” the company said. “Over the past few years, we’ve been making changes to ensure our ecosystem meets the expectations of our players and regulators, which we hope will be a helpful guide for others in the industry.”
