Nintendo is not required to provide refund in EU eShop pre-orders according to German court rules

Nintendo will not require a refund for eShop bookings in Europe.

German courts support Nintendo Consumer lawsuits filed in Germany and Norway in 2018.

Driven by the Norwegian Consumer Commission's 2018 complaints against Nintendo and other companies over the failure to provide refunds for digital pre-orders, the German Consumer Protection Agency has turned Nintendo into rejecting digital purchases Refunds for pre-orders have been filed in Germany. EShop in Europe.

The goal is to set a precedent and prevent more companies from adopting the same policies. Unfortunately, a German court has now ruled that Nintendo does not need to provide a refund because the customer agreed to waive this right before completing the order.

Pressfire (Norwegian) reports that the Frankfurt District Court has dismissed the case and ordered German consumer groups to pay the costs. However, the German Consumer Protection Agency has appealed.

Nintendo argues that if "beginning with the consumer's prior explicit consent and acknowledging that he has lost his right to withdraw, then Article 16 of EU Consumer Law Directive 2011/83 (PDF) grants digital businesses the right to non-refundable. . "

And, since pre-ordering on eShop, pre-loading of the game has started immediately, so even if the game itself is temporarily unplayable, Nintendo has completed the end of the transaction.

Pressfire noted that the appeal process can take up to a year, so please don't hold your breath.