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
I’ve spent HUNDREDS on this game, and it took me a long time to figure out the economy and play structure was a scam to harvest money from people. I was livid, I did my best to reclaim cash from Apple but it was hardly a portion of what I spent. Sign me up for this! I can pull every Apple receipt for this game as proof. They should be run out of business, and the owner of Star Treks’ rights need to seize control of the brand back ASAP.
Everything I read here is spot on. Much like Jonathan I spent $99 and Klingon credits to buy my D3 and within a week you could buy the entire ship for$99. Their customer service is the crappiest I’ve ever had to deal with. They refuse to issue apologies or refunds and always blame the user.
I purchased a 50 bps for Mayflower from faction store, then I purchased Mayflower pack that gave me an additional 50 bps for $99.99. After completing this purchase, the same pack became available with 100 bps needed for construction.
As An Alliance Admiral I can tell you you have to eventually spend some amount to continue. Many bugs are well known in the game. Yes I have spent more than enough.
Please add me
I have screen shots of their admittance that their game is flawed and they can’t figure out why. They did another update/maintenance yesterday that took all their servers down for many hours, Who knows what they have changed now
I have to echo Nathan Schreck’s comment. Scopley has a well earned reputation of blowing players legitimate complaints off completely. They act almost wantonly.
When their “maintenance” occurred I had my base shielded just before the downtime. When I checked this morning the game was still down. When I checked again 10 minutes later, I found my base had been raided, completely cleaned out and yet, I should’ve had 2.5 hours of shield time remaining. My response from Scopely was almost exactly the same that Nathan received.
I know that the developers also play the game and I would have to say that it looks like they are complicit in this theft of resources. Anyone who’s just a regular player know how to attack a base through shields?? But I bet a developer who knows the “hacks” certainly does.
No wonder they like to give off the response “well, that’s just part of the game.” No, it’s not developers and “support staff”. It’s called theft & conversion & illegal under laws in every state!
please add me, thank you.
Byl bych rád kdyby jsme se mohl připojit k žalobě na firmu která mě obrala o finance i za produkty které jsem si vůbec nepořídil. A že vůbec nemělo žádný význam ty peníze do hry dávat protože to vývojáři v průběhu hry několikrát změnili a tím zase zařídili nemožnost postupů a neustálého nuceni dokupovat. Stím že nakonec stejně jsem zjistil že se strhlo třeba o jeden nebo dva balíčky navic.
I would be happy if we could join in a lawsuit against a company that took my money for products I didn’t buy at all. And that it made no sense at all to put the money into the game because the developers changed it several times during the game, and in turn made it impossible for the procedures and constantly forced to buy. In the end, I found out that one or two extra packages had been torn down.
I would like to added to this as well. One of the other biggest issues is when they do their whole “maintenance” and things take longer than expected(like what happened today). We have no way of getting into the game and applying new “shields” to our base to protect the resources that alot of us have paid for. When we log off for the night like myself for example I put an shield on just long enough over night so i can apply a new one in the morning. When brought up they just wave it off that its part of the game and if they can’t “refund” the resources because that would be creating new stuff into the game and upset the balance of the game.
Add me I have spent a ton