If you purchased items on Fortnite between January 2017 and September 2022, you may be eligible for a share of the $245 million FTC deal.
If you are one of the Fortnite players who has been tricked by the in-game purchase process at Epic Games, you must file your complaint now, before the deadline. The Federal Trade Commission has begun sending payments to eligible applicants in the $245 million deal for the use of illegal tactics that have increased in-game sales.
Fortnite players accused of unwanted purchases between January 2017 and September 2022 have one month to participate in the deal by filing a complaint by January 10, 2025.
In the agreement, the FTC concluded that Epic Games used design tricks known as “dark patterns” to make in-game sales. ” Fortnite’s counter-intuitive, inconsistent and confusing button configuration has led players to incur unwanted charges based on the press of a single button,” the agency said in its March 2023 announcement.
The FTC now states that 629,344 payments were made to players who made those in-game purchases and filed a valid claim by October 8. The average payment is about $114 per customer.
A CNET staff member received his PayPal deposit (for $95.98) on Monday afternoon from a Fortnite complaint, a pleasant surprise since he had forgotten about the deal.
Epic’s Fortnite is very popular, especially among teens; in a gaming event last year, 44.7 million players participated in one day. But the free-to-play game is based on players buying Battle Pass and other items with V-Bucks, the game currency.
Like other platform games that have a large audience of young people, such as Roblox, Fortnite has evolved in the way of making its game safe for young people and to ensure that payments are not generated without the player’s permission.
Who can file a complaint about Fortnite?
The Fortnite agreement applies to anyone who has been charged game currency for items they did not want to buy between January 2017 and September 2022; if a child has made credit card charges without a parent’s knowledge between January 2017 and November 2018; or if an account was blocked after a charge was disputed between January 2017 and September 2022.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old; minors may ask a parent or guardian to fill out the form on their behalf.
How can I file a complaint about Fortnite?
The FTC’s Fortnite complaint window is still open for those who have not yet applied. The window closes on January 10, 2025 , the deadline to submit an application for this agreement.
When you visit the FTC’s Epic Games/Fortnite pages to file a complaint, you will be asked if you received an email notification from the FTC with a complaint number. If you have a complaint number, select Yes, click Next, then provide your complaint number and solve a CAPTCHA test to submit the complaint.
If you haven’t received a notification or can’t find your request number, you can submit a Fortnite request using your Epic account ID. If you’re not sure about your Epic account ID, follow these steps from the Epic Games support page.
When and how will I receive my money from the FTC?
Eligible applications submitted by 8 October 2024 have already started to receive payments from the FTC, as announced on 9 December. The FTC has not yet indicated when payments will be made for claims submitted after 8 October, but only said it is “examining claims submitted after that date and will provide more information shortly”.
During the application process on the FTC website, you can specify whether you want to be paid by cheque or via PayPal. Cheques must be cashed within 90 days and PayPal payments must be accepted within 30 days. For questions about your payment, you can call a support hotline at 1-800-915-0880 or send an email to admin@fortniterefund.com.
Will filing a complaint against Epic Games affect my Fortnite account?
According to the FTC, filing a complaint will not have any impact on a player’s Fortnite account status. For more information, see the FTC’s FAQs on Fortinire refunds.
