UK Government to Protect Gamers, Consumer Law Investigation Launched

The UK government is not happy with the auto-renewal methods of Nintendo Switch, PS and Xbox and today they launched a consumer law investigation.

The UK government will check PS, Xbox and Switch auto-renewal system, refund policies, as well as:

• Are the contract terms unfair? – do the companies’ terms give them wide discretion to change the quality of the deal, for example, by reducing the number of games included or increasing the price?
• How easy it is to cancel or obtain a refund? – are there any factors that make it difficult for people to cancel their contract or get their money back?
• How fair is the auto-renewal process? – are customers clearly told that their membership will be rolled over, are they regularly reminded that they are on a roll-over contract before further payments are taken, and is auto-renewal set as the default option?

It seems like they are not pleased with the recent changes and the increased prices for some services and they want the players to share their experience via email, so they can investigate more.