It was reported not too long ago that Bethesda was being investigated by Migliaccio & Rathod LLP regarding their refusal to allow gamers to get refunds for digital purchases of Fallout 76. In some regions this is illegal. Well, to make matters worse for Bethesda, they have recently been pulled into a potential bait and switch scandal for falsely advertising a canvas duffel bag that was supposed to come with the Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition, which Bethesda later replaced with a nylon duffel bag without informing those who purchased the special edition of the game.
Over on the Migliaccio & Rathod LLP website there’s an update from the firm indicating that they’re evaluating the situation in addition to looking into the current refund scandal, writing…
“We have received feedback from multiple owners of Fallout 76 who purchased the Power Armor Edition, a $200 collector’s edition of the game that was advertised to include a canvas bag. Upon delivery, purchasers found the bag to be made of nylon, contrary to Bethesda’s representation of the material and contrary to purchaser’s expectation of the product. Fans who reached out to Bethesda received an explanation saying: “Due to the availability of materials, we had to switch to a nylon carrying case in the Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition.” There are multiple Reddit threads detailing fans’ dissatisfaction with the set, and the Amazon page for the product still lists the included bag as made out of canvas. This is a classic bait-and-switch.”
This issue was covered in depth with examples of the nylon bag replacing the previously advertised canvas bag that was supposed to be included in the package by YouTuber LegacyKillaHD.
In an even more egregious display of double standards, while Bethesda claimed that the canvas bags in the promotional images were part of a prototype that they didn’t have the materials for to include in the $200 Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition, images surfaced of YouTube influencers opening up their package of the Power Armor Edition revealing that it did indeed contain the original advertised canvas bag instead of the nylon bag that customers received.
Bethesda’s dodgy dealings.@SidAlpha @OneAngryGamerHD @mombot @PhoxelHQ @Grummz @AntisocialJW2 @Brad_Glasgow @brandonorselli @nichegamer @GamesNosh @appabend @WeaponizedRage pic.twitter.com/Y6yxEXfY5q
— Suitably Bored (@BoredSuitably) November 30, 2018
So does this mean that Bethesda only sent the canvas bag to important YouTubers but gave paying customers a cheaper bag as compensation?
The company responded by offering customers 500 Atoms worth of in-game currency within Fallout 76, which is the equivalent of $4.99.
Retailers have still been advertising that the $200 special edition comes with a canvas duffel bag, but Bethesda sneakily and hurriedly replaced the text on their own web shop and cropped the picture on the site so that it doesn’t show the description of the duffel bag in the image.
The second image that shows the full duffel bag has been zoomed out to the point where you can’t read the description for it. However, if you check the web cache for the store it shows that Bethesda changed the description on the web page shortly after the issue went viral on social media.
Instead of dealing with Bethesda’s customer support, some gamers are filing complaints with the Federal Trade Commission.
Other gamers are contacting M&R and completing the questionnaire for the firm to evaluate the case. If you purchased the Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition and you still have the receipt, you can fill out the questionnaire over on the website.
(Thanks for the news tip Bobby Albert)
