A Refund Request for an Online Game Item Right After Purchase 게시글 상세보기 - 등록일, 조회수, 첨부파일, 상세내용, 이전글, 다음글 제공
A Refund Request for an Online Game Item Right After Purchase
Date
2021-08-13
Hit
1605
ㅇ On June 25, 2020, the Applicant accidentally purchased Respondent 2's mobile game item (hereinafter referred to as the 'Product in this Case') from Respondent 1's App Store and paid 119,000 won for it with a check card.
ㅇ The Applicant immediately requested a refund to Respondent 1's customer center, but the refund was refused by Respondent 1 who instructed the Applicant to contact Respondent 2, the product developer.
ㅇ The Applicant sent an email requesting a refund in English to the Chinese headquarters of Respondent 2, but received a reply that the refund was not possible due to policy.
ㅇ The Applicant also sent a request e-mail to Respondent 2 in Korean, and Respondent 2 responded to the inquiry to the Applicant on June 29, 2020, but the Applicant did not receive Respondent 2's email.
A. According to the Petitioner
ㅇ After inquiring about the refund to Respondent 2, the Petitioner was asked to send additional information to Respondent 2 and complied with the request only to be told to take legal action. The Petitioner claims that he has not received any extra email containing additional inquiries in Korean about his refund inquiry.
ㅇ The Petitioner is requesting a full refund of his payment on the grounds that it is unreasonable that the refund was refused when a refund request was made immediately after the payment was made by mistake.
ㅇ The Petitioner is arguing that the item received as a payment event on July 3, 2020 was not used, and was automatically received in the form of a message sent to his account as the event was being concluded.
B. According to the Respondent
ㅇ Respondent 1
- Respondent 1 responded that it was difficult to provide a refund, although an exceptional refund review was conducted according to the contents of the complaint, adding that the refund request should be sent to Respondent 2 because the developer was the seller of the specific app and had responsibility and authority to sanction refunds.
ㅇ Respondent 2
- Respondent 2 is arguing that the Petitioner made two refund requests in English and Korean on June 25, 2020; that Respondent 2 replied in an answer to the English inquiry that a refund was impossible; that Respondent 2 provided relevant information and asked for a reply about the Korean inquiry made by the Petitioner on June 29, 2021; and that Respondent 2 did not receive a reply from the Petitioner and so closed the case altogether. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that some of the items received by the Petitioner as a payment event were used on July 3, making the refund impossible.
For a fair resolution of the above case, the following judgment is made after considering the relevant laws, the interests of the parties, and all other circumstances.
ㅇ Regarding the cancellation of an order for the product purchase contract in this case
- According to Article 27(1) and (2) of the ‘Content Industry Promotion Act,’ the ‘Act on the Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, Etc.’ (hereinafter referred to as the 'Electronic Commerce Act') Articles 17 and 18 shall apply mutatis mutandis regarding the cancellation of the purchase contract and the cancellation of the order. According to the provisions of Article 17(1) and (2)5 of the ‘Electronic Commerce Act,’ a consumer who has concluded a digital content purchase contract with a mail-order distributor can cancel the order within 7 days from the date of receiving the digital content. However, if the provision of digital contents has been started, the order cannot be cancelled against the will of the mail-order distributor, provided that even in such a case, the cancellation of an order is not limited unless measures are taken pursuant to Paragraph 6 of the same Article. It is an indisputable fact between the Petitioner and the Respondents that the Petitioner notified Respondent 1 and 2 of the cancellation of the order within 7 days from the date of receipt of the goods. Their positions differ, however, as to whether the provision of the goods in this case is commenced or not. Respondent 2 claims that the Petitioner used some of the items provided through the payment event of the product in this case at around 8:23 am on July 3, 2020, whereas the Petitioner claims that it has not been used and that the item was automatically credited to the Petitioner after the event ended. It is appropriate to think that the Petitioner's order cancellation under the contract is not limited given the fact that even if the item was used, the item was provided through an event rather than the product purchased by the Petitioner, and that the Petitioner has not used the product yet.
ㅇ Regarding the refund amount by Respondent 2 following the cancellation of order for the contract in this case
- According to Article 18(3) of the ‘Electronic Commerce Act,’ a mail order distributor shall refund the price for goods, etc. already paid within 3 business days from the date the consumer cancels the order; It is adequate for Respondent 2 to refund 119,000 won for the purchase amount of the product in this case to the Petitioner, and to recover the product and the gift item from the payment event following the Petitioner’s purchase of the product.
ㅇ Regarding Respondent 1’s responsibilities
- Respondent 1 is the party to which the Petitioner entered into a purchase contract for the product in this case; It is confirmed that the purchase price of the product in this case was paid to Respondent 1. According to Article 18(11) of the ‘Electronic Commerce Act,’ Respondent 1 is obliged to return the payment jointly with Respondent 2 within the scope of the payment; It is adequate for Respondent 1 and Respondent 2 to jointly refund 119,000 won to the Petitioner.
1. Respondent 2 shall collect all the items and payment event gifts that the Petitioner received following the game item purchase contract executed on June 25, 2020.
2. The respondents shall jointly pay 119,000 won to the Petitioner within three business days of the date the items mentioned in paragraph 1 are recovered.
3. If the respondents delay the payment of paragraph 2, the amount of the unpaid money shall be paid together with delay compensation at the rate of 15% per annum starting from the day when three business days described in paragraph 2 have passed until the day when the full payment is made.
