As reported by Courthouse News, a federal class action lawsuit has been filed against publisher Square Enix. The plaintiff, Esther Leong of San Francisco, alleges that the company "lied about or concealed its monthly fees, penalties for late payments, interest, restrictions, and other things that should have been fully disclosed at points of purchase" with regards to the MMO Final Fantasy XI.
Ultimately, the suit claims that Square Enix deceived 100,000 customers by not being upfront about fees and penalties related to the game. Apparently people were still being charged for the game even when their accounts had already been suspended.
The class, represented by Ronald Makarem and Michael Kim, is seeking damages of more than $5 million due to "unfair business practices, false advertising, and unjust enrichment."
While we can't speak to every allegation in the suit, we're not sure how Square Enix would be concealing its monthly fees. The game's official website clearly states $12.95 a month for a subscription and an additional $1.00 a month for content ID. We'll be curious to see how this legal battle ends.
2 Comments
June 25, 2009
Does Square Enix really continue charging people after suspending their accounts? That can't be legal.
June 25, 2009
I wonder if all the people who have gotten the banhammer from Xbox live have ever had this problem.