Merchant rip-off?

Twice now I've paid the merchant in the saucer and received no gravitrons in exchange. Tried sending a message to support, but apparently "support is unavailable at this time". Any ideas what the problem is?

Exactly same happened to me. 2 gravitron room key chests did not appear. Also tried to buy food chest and that didn't materialise either, never had any problems with purchases before the last release this week. Anyone else having problems? Have registered issue with support yesterday but no reply as yet.

Happened to me tonight! Purchased a chest of containers for Room 51, received nothing.
Entered a help ticket....I'll know something by Christmas no doubt. Rip off!!!

Do not use merchant until they fix the problem.

6/30/13: Adding new info, they keep asking me for information, like my game user code, and purchase receipts from Apple, which they want in a format I cannot provide (screenshot) as I do not have a Mac. I sent them a copy of my email purchase receipt from Apple, and I'm betting they won't accept it. They are so irritating. Still don't have my room keys.
Wasted a golden poppy not being able to explore 3 of my high level rooms. About to dump this game and get a life.

I reported it to Apple and to mm via a different problem choice.

Here is the response I received from GI, after telling them 3 times, very clearly, that I cannot send my purchase receipts in PDF format, and to please stop asking me to do that.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Veronika, Jun 30 17:17 (MSK):
So we could proceed I need your purchase receipts in PDF/JPG/PNG format sent in attachment.
Please, follow the link to read how you can find your purchase receipts: http://helpdesk.game-insight.com/entries/22933732-how-can-i-find-my-purchase-receipts-in-itunes

Sincerely,
Veronika Meteleva
Your Support Team
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And they have not addressed the fact that the snatchin merchant is not delivering what I paid for. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS for me? I can't get thru to them. It's like talking to a wall. Help.  

I sent the requested info and got my chests. Haven't tried to purchase anything else

I bought keys for the mars room from the merchant last night....worked fine, got my keys.  So hopefully it is fixed now

It would be nice if it were fixed.  But since there hasn't been an update, I'm afraid to try it. GI still has not paid me back, nor sent me a message that it is fixed.  I think their customer service is absolutely incorrigible. And I reported them to Apple.  Apple said if they get frequent complaints they would definitely talk to the developer. So here's hoping that others are as determined as I am. 

I'll keep u all posted though. 

Here is their latest response:

[b style="text-align: left; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"]Veronika, [url=x-apple-data-detectors://1]Jul 02 13:22[/url] (MSK):[/b]

Thank you for your information and support provided!
I have transferred your details for a careful investigation in order to help you as soon as we can and to provide you with the best support you deserve. Please, note that your request processing may take up some time, so our specialists shall get back to you with the solution in the shortest time possible.
In the meantime should you have any other questions, please, let me know. I am always there to assist you!

Right after I posted their response above, they credited me the goods. I had responded to them that I didn't think a careful investigation was needed, and that I wanted my stuff, and I wanted it now, and I actually got a result. Could have knocked me down with a feather. GI actually came thru. Yes, they could tell I was angry, but that never seemed to matter before. 


If they rip you off, STAY ON THEM, only way they'll be held accountable.

Poppy wrote:Right after I posted their response above, they credited me the goods. I had responded to them that I didn't think a careful investigation was needed, and that I wanted my stuff, and I wanted it now, and I actually got a result. Could have knocked me down with a feather. GI actually came thru. Yes, they could tell I was angry, but that never seemed to matter before. 


If they rip you off, STAY ON THEM, only way they'll be held accountable.

Easiest way to avoid this is to not purchase anything from them  

What do you do if you need keys to enter a room, corals, containers, seeds, etc. if you do not buy from them.? Kinda hard to level up if you quit exploring rooms, especially the higher exp rooms. Suggestions?

Poppy wrote:What do you do if you need keys to enter a room, corals, containers, seeds, etc.  if you do not buy from them.?  Kinda hard to level up if you quit exploring rooms, especially the higher exp rooms.  Suggestions?  

Everyone is different, but you can banish various floaters to get room keys and charge some collections to get them. And also charge the mystical caskets and get room keys that way. I wait till I have 27 so I get the normal, silver and gold caskets together. I'm at level 277 and I've never spent a single penny.

Poppy,

I guess that this 'Bugs' section is not really about strategy, but since you asked...

One can level without spending money. Lots of people find that the game (with the entertainment it provides) is worth paying real money in order to play and/or make quick progress. More power to them! It does not have to be that way though. There are also many players who will not use real money. It can be done but it does require patience.

You can play the free rooms like the African Room and rack up decent xp, along with charging the Heart of Africa collections that are accumulated. The more rooms you play though, the more chests you get. Since the chests started dropping, I have not found myself short of entry keys or non-military weapons. It doesn't matter what rooms you play, you will get a chest if you're running a turtle.  

And you should always use a turtle when playing rooms (unless you're looking for butterflies) and monster hunting. You will get plenty of weapons dropping from rooms to charge Van Helsing's Arsenal (131) ad infinitum. You will also get plenty of dubloons, pearl shells, marine maps, etc. to get keys from creatures too. Personally, I'm an avid monster hunter and think it's a great way to gain xp.

I just remember everyone rushing and scrambling to get shells for the island, or selenoid for Selene. I took the slow-but-steady route and still managed to become 100% expert in them. Six months later the rooms are still here and long ago became old hat. Looking back, I'm glad I didn't pay money to get into them.

That being said, I admit that I've only found enough Martian shards so far to get me to Detective level. I'm hoping GI will add Martian shards to the entry keys that drop from the chests. If they do, I will have more than enough without ever buying them. I can wait.

I hope this off-topic info can be helpful to you or anyone else that might be interested.

BTW, I am a 400+ level player.

I'm glad GI came through for you too.

helian wrote:Poppy,

I guess that this 'Bugs' section is not really about strategy, but since you asked...

One can level without spending money. Lots of people find that the game (with the entertainment it provides) is worth paying real money in order to play and/or make quick progress. More power to them! It does not have to be that way though. There are also many players who will not use real money. It can be done but it does require patience.

You can play the free rooms like the African Room and rack up decent xp, along with charging the Heart of Africa collections that are accumulated. The more rooms you play though, the more chests you get. Since the chests started dropping, I have not found myself short of entry keys or non-military weapons. It doesn't matter what rooms you play, you will get a chest if you're running a turtle.  

And you should always use a turtle when playing rooms (unless you're looking for butterflies) and monster hunting. You will get plenty of weapons dropping from rooms to charge Van Helsing's Arsenal (131) ad infinitum. You will also get plenty of dubloons, pearl shells, marine maps, etc. to get keys from creatures too. Personally, I'm an avid monster hunter and think it's a great way to gain xp.

I just remember everyone rushing and scrambling to get shells for the island, or selenoid for Selene. I took the slow-but-steady route and still managed to become 100% expert in them. Six months later the rooms are still here and long ago became old hat. Looking back, I'm glad I didn't pay money to get into them.

That being said, I admit that I've only found enough Martian shards so far to get me to Detective level. I'm hoping GI will add Martian shards to the entry keys that drop from the chests. If they do, I will have more than enough without ever buying them. I can wait.

I hope this off-topic info can be helpful to you or anyone else that might be interested.

BTW, I am a 400+ level player.

I'm glad GI came through for you too.

An excellent piece of work, will echo exploring the African room with a turtle, it's all I normally do when I haven't got quests to work on.

Great advice. Now I know how the smart and patient players play. I have spent way too much on this game. Thanks for enlightening me. Now if I can only become more patient...

Dazza JP wrote:

Poppy wrote:What do you do if you need keys to enter a room, corals, containers, seeds, etc.  if you do not buy from them.?  Kinda hard to level up if you quit exploring rooms, especially the higher exp rooms.  Suggestions?  

Everyone is different, but you can banish various floaters to get room keys and charge some collections to get them. And also charge the mystical caskets and get room keys that way. I wait till I have 27 so I get the normal, silver and gold caskets together. I'm at level 277 and I've never spent a single penny.

U wait until u have 27 keys, so you can do the normal, silver and gold caskets before they expire?
And congrats on lvl 277 and never spending a penny. Amazing.

Also, keep an eye on your achievements (tab on the right hand side). Quite a few of them give detectives chests as the 5th award which give x500 shells, corals, seeds, containers etc.

Poppy wrote:

Dazza JP wrote:

Poppy wrote:What do you do if you need keys to enter a room, corals, containers, seeds, etc.  if you do not buy from them.?  Kinda hard to level up if you quit exploring rooms, especially the higher exp rooms.  Suggestions?  

Everyone is different, but you can banish various floaters to get room keys and charge some collections to get them. And also charge the mystical caskets and get room keys that way. I wait till I have 27 so I get the normal, silver and gold caskets together. I'm at level 277 and I've never spent a single penny.

U wait until u have 27 keys, so you can do the normal, silver and gold caskets before they expire?    
And congrats on lvl 277 and never spending a penny. Amazing.

Poppy,

When you search the rooms, if you use a turtle you will get a casket and a casket key nearly every search, as you know when you get 4 keys you can open the mystical casket, then it gives you 6 hours to open the silver one for 8 keys and then after that 9 hours to open the gold one for 15 keys. I usually wait till I have 27 keys so I can do all three in a row. They all give room keys as a reward, 30 keys for the basic one, 70 keys for the silver and 120 keys for the gold. I've just got 30 zodiac shatters, 70 icy roses and 120 corals, all from just exploring 27 rooms and getting the usual gifts and banishing items for the floaters as well.

Samlakat wrote:Twice now I've paid the merchant in the saucer and received no gravitrons in exchange. Tried sending a message to support, but apparently "support is unavailable at this time". Any ideas what the problem is?

I have also been ripped off many times by the merchant lately.   Last weekend 5 times in two days.  Like an idiot I kept trying and 1 went through each day.   However I just got a reciept from apple with 7 charges when I only actually got two chests to go through.

I have been noticing lately that when I use the merchant I seem to be getting many more charges than I remember actually purchasing so I decided to keep a good record.  

I wish I had started keeping better track weeks ago.  Who knows how many times they have ripped me off.

I went into my itunes to report a problem and its telling me that if I request a refund I wont be able to get any more updates from my game.   Am I reading this wrong?  (see below) Should I not go through Apple for my money back?   Ive never had good results from GI when reporting a problem.


Cheers, Lucy


Here is the response I get from Apple when trying to report a problem.   I would have to fill this out for each of the faulty purchases.

Room Keys
Jun 29, 2013 In-App Purchase $0.99
To submit feedback or get technical support, go to the app site.
This purchase is also eligible for a refund. If you request a refund for this purchase, you will not be able to receive any future software updates after the refund is issued.

Cancel
 
Request Refund

App Site

ycul wrote:

Samlakat wrote:Twice now I've paid the merchant in the saucer and received no gravitrons in exchange. Tried sending a message to support, but apparently "support is unavailable at this time". Any ideas what the problem is?

I have also been ripped off many times by the merchant lately.   Last weekend 5 times in two days.  Like an idiot I kept trying and 1 went through each day.   However I just got a reciept from apple with 7 charges when I only actually got two chests to go through.

I have been noticing lately that when I use the merchant I seem to be getting many more charges than I remember actually purchasing so I decided to keep a good record.  

I wish I had started keeping better track weeks ago.  Who knows how many times they have ripped me off.

I went into my itunes to report a problem and its telling me that if I request a refund I wont be able to get any more updates from my game.   Am I reading this wrong?  (see below) Should I not go through Apple for my money back?   Ive never had good results from GI when reporting a problem.


Cheers, Lucy


Here is the response I get from Apple when trying to report a problem.   I would have to fill this out for each of the faulty purchases.

Room Keys
Jun 29, 2013 In-App Purchase $0.99
To submit feedback or get technical support, go to the app site.
This purchase is also eligible for a refund. If you request a refund for this purchase, you will not be able to receive any future software updates after the refund is issued.

Cancel
 
Request Refund

App Site

The understanding I have heard on this before is that in an agreement between GI and Apple that anyone who gets a refund their account could be banned from playing. Many have had their account locked due to a refund issue. They eventually got it unlocked but it was a hassle. Since there is no tangible property exchanged GI reserves the right to place a hold on anyones game who seeks a refund. Then it is up to the player and GI to sort it out with proof coming from the player.

I think it sucks, but honestly, did you expect anything other than that from GI?

Mike

PS. Good to see again, Ycul

Thanks Mike for the info. Guess I'll just send a ticket to GI. I don't play very much but certainly don't want to be locked out.

Nice to see you again too.