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.
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513 thoughts onStar Trek Fleet Command Players Lose Virtual Goods, Class Action Says
Both my husband and I were hacked from our Google PlayStore account using our credit card! They spent it all on the Scopely:STFC game throughout the year! The amount is over $ 5000-7000. They don’t help you out giving more details of purchases!! It is being investigated by the bank! No sympathy what’s so ever from this game company!! No refunds of what was stolen from us!!
To be fair, the correct process for credit card fraud is to contact your bank and let the bank work with the vender(s). If they took your credit card on a Best Buy shopping spree do you really think Best Buy would give you a refund just because you showed up with some circled charges on your statement claiming it wasn’t you?
Where do i sign up everything ive read is true i admit i am still buying to actually play this game at my lvl its a necessity at this point to continue playing
The fact that you are still paying implies that you are willing to pay the current processes. Like it or not, the seller sets the price for a product. The consumer chooses to buy it or not. You can’t sue a company just because you think their prices are too high, or you don’t get enough value out of their offerings.
I can understand arguing that if you bought something for $99 that gave you a given power level, and then a few months later the power level of those items is significantly diluted. If you are spending $99/month (for example) and are not happy with what you are getting but keep paying it, then you have no standings. Walk away and stop paying.
I have also purchased goods on this game and was gypped! I have been raided with no notifications and my base attacked by ships way higher then me but I can’t even hit players that are at level 25 and this was when I was at level 28 or 29 but a level 40 can it me with no problems! Then we have to spend hundreds of dollars for so few materials or the materials go up so high after I’ve bought a pack when it wasn’t that way before! I have also talked to scopely on the contact us page saying there is nothing they can do but they created the game! I would love to take part in this lawsuit! No one should have to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars on a game with no real advancement.
I want to join this class action suit as well. Twice now, I have told that I have violated the TOS and when I asked to dispute this I have been ignored. The Customer Service has always been lacking and unresponsive. I admit that I have spent more money than I care to admit and I agree with everything that has already been stated. The value of virtual goods constantly changes, the game frequently lags and crashes, and notifications don’t go out like they should. I have literally been on phone while my station in game was getting drained and not a single notification was sent out, and yes I have all notifications turned on. I opened a ticket with customer disservice and was told there was nothing they can do.
I also agree that there is undue pressure to purchase goods in order to keep up with higher level players, who may or may not be working with/for Scopley, who terrorize smaller players. There used to be a range of similar levels you could interact with (attack/defend) but higher level players (those who spend more money) have larger ranges than everyone else. Scopley has created a system that encourages bullying of weaker players by stronger ones or more accurately maybe players who spend money versus those that don’t.
Scopley sends out surveys regularly and with most major updates state that they “listened to feedback” but continue to not address well known reported problems (such as the mentioned lag and frequent crashes). For example, last year they introduced territory defenses, there is so much lag in the game that its difficult to do anything, yet somehow highest level ships don’t seem to have any problems, Scopley’s response to this issue is that they didn’t expect so many people to participate in the events even though they set them up and it has been an issue from the beginning. There still is no solution to this problem. Because it gets players frustrated and may encourage them to spend more in the attempt to catch up to higher level players.
I currently have an open ticket with Customer Service as I can’t access my account and I have not got a response, even an acknowledgement of my report, for over 24 hours. I want to join this lawsuit.
I purchased a pack that included certain ship blueprints that I needed. However after the purchase I realized that Scopley reduced the number of blueprints I had already accumulated to march the amount that I purchased. So there was effectively no gain. They were correct that I got what I purchased, but they took part if my inventory at the same time. That’s theft.
They decrease the value of the amount spend the higher level you get today l heard it only costs 25,000 more to get some lv 50,60 in one week ??? Really that seems cheap compared to the hundreds of thousands they charge for 40,50
i was scammed by scoplay too. they let me run up my fleet worth $1000’s of dollars then said i continuously violated their TOS and cancelled my account. I reported them to BBB and their response was basically too bad for you and we are not giving you your money back. i relorted them to my back and did a charge back but only received about 100.00 back. i want to be part of a class action lawsuit.
Sign me up. They allow their “wallet warriors”, who as been said either dump fortunes into this game or are getting a ton of freebies to bully everyone else in the game with no repercussion, thus forcing everyone else to do the financially impossible task of trying to keep up.
I have spent over 10,000 dollars on this game and I still cannot advance in the game one package at the level that I’m at won’t even give you enough resources to upgrade anything.
Every time that I have a issue with the game I open the ticket and all they do is tell me tough luck basically and close the ticket.
I have asked for a numerous refunds and they say you use the resources so we’re not refunding you the money and they closed the ticket.
I would also like to sign up with this as well please reach out to me.
They also have many bugs and glitches in the game and they steal yet to refuse to fix them they also keep promising new things and they never deliver them.
I purchased hundreds of dollars of packs from them only to be prevented from using them because I did not want to follow the rules of engagement which are created by players for players and not part of the software or Terms of Service for the game. When I asked for a refund, Scopely flat-out refused my request, leaving me high and dry. They also sell packs where the contents, individually valued, are worth substantially less than the listed price due to their being included in smaller, less expensive packs, the sum of which still adds up to lessa than the purchase price. It is theft obscured by targeted and predatory marketing practices pure and simple. Finally, the game is not rated for 17 and above on the Google Play store meaning that minors are being robbed this way, not understanding how they are being cheated. Disgusting!