A class action lawsuit has been waged against Scopely Inc. by users claiming that the online video game company decreased the value of virtual goods purchased on the video game Star Trek Fleet Command (STFC).
Plaintiff Vernon Ackies says that he purchased virtual goods on the Star Trek video game and found out that Scopely decreased the value and the effectiveness of the goods after he bought them.
“Simply stated, Scopely took advantage of, and defrauded, its players through numerous unconscionable commercial practices and fraudulent acts to extract as much money as possible from them,” the Star Trek video game class action lawsuit notes.
The plaintiff states that Star Trek Fleet Command is a multiplayer online game, or “MMO,” which allows players to participate at the same time over the internet. STFC is free to play, but players can buy virtual goods with real money to enhance their abilities compared to other players on the game.
The Star Trek Fleet Command class action states that, for as high as $99.99 players can purchase “resources,” “materials,” “character cards,” “faction credits,” and “ship blueprints.” In addition, the plaintiff notes that game players can purchase “packs,” like “Master Station Upgrade Pack” and “Ultra Ship Power Pack,” which encompass tokens which are used to upgrade a player’s character, space station or space ship.
“Making upgrades to a player’s space station and space ship through the purchase of virtual goods is an important function in STFC. Without making these upgrades, which cost real money, competitive players are unable to advance far in STFC and are easily defeated by other players who have made such purchases and upgrades,” the Scopely class action lawsuit states.
In addition, the plaintiff claims that the defendant represents the importance of upgrading a player’s space station and space ship.
The Scopely class action lawsuit alleges that STFC misrepresents to players the cost of Star Trek Fleet Command’s virtual goods. The plaintiff claims that STFC subtracted more in-game currencies from a player’s balance than the stated cost prior to purchase.
The plaintiff also claims that players pay for virtual goods that had stated benefits and capabilities at the time of the purchase, but that the players did not get those benefits and capabilities that they paid for.
The Star Trek Fleet Command class action lawsuit also claims that in February 2019, after complaints from STFC players, Scopely released an “update” to the game, which was supposed to fix parts of the software that was causing issues.
The plaintiff claims that these updates made changes to the “rules” of STFC, which had an effect on the “in-game economy and cost structure.”
“The February 2019 update, as well as a series of subsequent updates, substantially changed the rules of STFC and the in-game economy, effectively devaluing all prior purchases made by paying players,” the Scopely class action lawsuit alleges.
The plaintiff also alleges that Scopely makes it hard for Star Trek Fleet Command players to file complaints and refuses to issue refunds to players who have lost purchased virtual goods bought with real-world money.
“Refunds are not issued even if the virtual good was lost through no fault of the player…or if a virtual good does not operate as represented,” the Scopely class action lawsuit states.
The plaintiff has filed this action under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, conversion, unjust enrichment, and legal fraud.
Did you purchase virtual goods while playing Star Trek Fleet Command? Leave a message in the comments section below.
The plaintiff is represented by Bob Kasolas and Mark E. Critchley of Brach Eichler LLC.
The Scopely Star Trek Fleet Command In Game Purchase Class Action Lawsuit is Ackies v. Scopely, Inc. Case No. 2:19-cv-19247, in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING
Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association
LEGAL INFORMATION IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
Top Class Actions Legal Statement
©2008 – 2024 Top Class Actions® LLC
Various Trademarks held by their respective owners
This website is not intended for viewing or usage by European Union citizens.
513 thoughts onStar Trek Fleet Command Players Lose Virtual Goods, Class Action Says
I recently found out that I’ve been paying £99.99 for packs when others are paying £91.99. When I asked why that was I was told it was a tax issue due to the country you reside in or ApplePay’s fault. The two people that pay £91.99 are both in the same country as me and both use ApplePay so that’s an outright lie. I have asked for a complaints form and they keep ignoring that request. I still haven’t had a satisfactory answer and I’ve also paid huge sums of money for this game. I used to love it but this has ruined my enjoyment and I won’t be spending a single penny more
I quit today… I have spent umpteen thousands on this game, only to find out that once you are in, you are stuck… now… virtual “swatting” has started. I am in Server 35. The largest alliance gets together and “reports” a player. If Scopely’s auto-system hits 20-30 people registering a “complaint” in a short period of time, it auto-bans a player for 8-hours… meanwhile my shield drops and (when I can get back on in 8-hours), they will have already raided my base and stolen all my rss (that I spent real money on)… I have over 1.2B par steel, 900M tritanium and 154M dilithium… this was 99% from non-raiding or player transfer (when they quit).
I am done. Time for Scopely to pay fairly. FYI: my brother is on a newer server (never bothered to join mine), and his packs give out SIGNIFICANTLY less. I suspect Scopely is hampering faster progression…
Also on founders server – this happened to me and I mentioned it to Scopely in several emails. Some others were successful in receiving compensation but I was not among these select few.
Spending thousands and having the goods removed or replaced with items of significantly lesser value. Will definitely keep a keen eye on this space. Very fraudulent behavior.
I’m on the founders server, so been in game before Scopely took over.
That’s not the only thing they’ve done wrong.
Right from the get go, they lied and deceived, they’ve let players using hacks stay in game and resources lost in a station raid due to their login server failure were not reimbursed.
All they care about is how much money they can rake in in the shortest time possible.
STFC is similar to other f2p games in that in order to progress faster they offer in app purchases to help you advance. Sadly, the resources gained through the use of real money is not protected properly. While they do offer a means of protecting the storage spaces (at a cost), if a person misses the renewing time period for said means, then those paid resources can be stolen by other players. I can’t tell you how much I’ve lost in real money due to missed timers.
Due to the amount of resources needed to advance, it can take a while to build up. And the odds of missing a timer increases proportionally. The game is off balance and favors the early players who invested thousands of dollars. Something needs to be done to protect real money purchases.
I just started playing this game 2 months ago [ about ]. Thanks Covid. The problem with games like this is you don’t [ no, you CAN’T ] know how much investment you will need. You don’t have access to the info you need to understand the progression. Hint, it i’s a dramatic curve. They start you off real fast. Buy the Jelly and you can destroy everyone your level, Buy the Northstar and you can destroy everyone your level etc etc., $100 Elite packs for Every single event. Upgrade your station, Upgrade your station! It’s a joke. That being said I am lvl 20 and I have spent 25$ [ Northstar, prime damage ] and am not planning to spend much more.I am enjoying the game. Let’s see how far I get as an ‘almost’ free to play player. Players in my Alliance have spent hundreds and are about 100-500K stronger than me.
If I add up the items in the store right now it’s $895. Like anyone would buy anywhere near that, but that in itself, is insane. I played Diablo, Witcher and Dragon Age for years and spent $60 on each. The only answer is STOP PAYING THEM [ exuberant amounts…. I am not against a 5er now and again ].
Not to mention this game causes anxiety. Constantly worrying if you will be attacked by a higher level player. My screen time is up 70%. As a level 20 player, my base can legitimately be 100% destroyed with one shot by a level 24. This is true even if I have 100% of the defenses available for my level. How on earth does that make any sense. Oh I know – they want you to buy the shield packs….. Nice game balance guys. Real fair. Wish I never started this nightmare…..
That’s bad but what’s worse is once you hit the early 30s you can be attacked and raided by a player who is ten or more ops level higher than you are.
I’m not sure of the exact details but I know I am a ops level 32 and I have been raided and attacked by ops levels in the mid 40s since I was ops 28. Scopley only cares about one thing…… MONEY MONEY MONEY and the whales who pay thousands for packs are the only players they care about and they receive better responses to their tickets and complaints. If you haven’t spent thousands don’t expect any real answers to your tickets and complaints. I have played this game for almost 3 years now haven’t spent a dime and every time I send a ticket I get a generic response and no real solution to my issues.
I have spent thousands on game over the course of a few months and quit the game for these very reasons
I have spent a fair bit on this game and its all for nought. if you want to progress then you need to spend yet the game is advertised as a F2P game. It isn’t.
They keep putting new content out so you need to spend to keep up. They release material that is set up behind a paywall. The D’Vor for instance. Yet they still fail to solve the bugs that have been inherent in this game since day one.
i would quit if it was not for the money i have already put into it. i live in the hope that they will fix the bugs but I feel this is in vain
Yeah its sad that it continues to be this way, I didn’t realize how bad it was until now.
Yeah there’s no way to play this game anymore on a lot of servers cause you end up playing against people whom are either a: extremely wealthy or b: in astonishing amounts of debt. The game in a whole is a great game, except it is a total money grabbing scam. That’s why they are called $copely….