"So frustrating to deal with this company. Unless you have a problem that an automated response can solve, you are out of luck. Take your business elsewhere if you want any sort of support."

"I really like Steam and their system for games, but oh my God on the customer service. They didnt read my initial question properly about a game that runs too FAST on current hardware (i.e. it was a 90's game) and they said 'next time check the hardware requirements'. I then tried to tell them again for them to check the game to maybe patch it so it will play on current hardware but they avoided the question... so i mentioned it again (amongst other points) and they completely avoided them all. THEY ARE LIKE POLITITIONS!.. and this all infuriated me to the point of writing this review. Very disappointed in them, shame."

"What a rip, I paid $18 for an untested pre release of what sounded too good to be true. It won't load on my machine, They claim that somewhere in the contract it states no refunds on pre release."

"Don't trust Steam sale offers

Steam seem to be pretty inept when it comes to demand. Over Christmas 2013 they offered huge discounts and some games for free, yet when you tried to claim the offers, the store was unable to cope with demand. Many people who purchased discounted games were unable to download them, others couldn't even purchase them due to store problems. The best bit of all? Unless you installed and played the game before the sale ended, the sale price didn't apply.

So, despite trying for 3 hours to install Left 4 Dead 2 for free, then sending a plea for help to steam support during the sale period, I'm told I have to pay for the game because I didn't purchase it during the sale period. That was such an infuriating response, it's like a shop advertising massive discounts then locking the door so no one can get in. This is indicative of the very low value Steam place on customer service.

Was this an underhand and deliberate policy at Steam to drum up demand for games that they cannot supply at the price they promise. If it is not, it is worrying that an online company cannot anticipate high online demand during a sale. Even now their forums are full of current players unable to find an online server due to the increase in players. Are steam really this inept? It tells me that no steam sale can be trusted, and that steam cannot be trusted."

"I am extremely unsatisfied by Steam/Valve service. I had a few issues with games and (i) Steam does not offer any support on the games they sell, (ii) when contacted (they only allow email) they take days to respond and they send you a one-line response saying that you should troubleshoot your game;, (iii) when told that a game does not work, they do not offer any solutions and never offer any refund. If you insist, they resend you an email they already sent you previously and/or ask you to copy all the emails that you already sent them which they always delete from the thread when they respond to you. I now use alternatives to steam that one can easily google that offer lower prices and much, much better customer service."

"I have used Steam for a very long time. I am one of the few who has a 4 digit Steam_ID as a public user. I have near 800 games on my account. I have zero VAC bans on my account. My account has never been hijacked/stolen. I have bought games at full prices and discounted prices. There are no refunds on games with the exception of a pre-order before the release date OR a misleading released game like Infestation: Survivor Stories. I did get a refund for Infestation but never bought it again due to their serious aimbotting problem. I have anti-virus installed on my PC too. Steam is designed for people who have average computer knowledge.

A few of the reviewers before me, lack computer knowledge meaning they don't have any anti-virus installed on their computer, so therefore, they blame STEAM for having their credit card and account information stolen by a keystroke logger by visiting some random website on the internet. As for the person who bought a game for his MAC, STEAM shows games for both Windows and Mac, it was his fault for not reading the game requirements and his fault again for not researching about it. 99% of mainstream computer games are made on Windows first then on a MAC later (up to game developers if they want to make it available for MAC computers too.

Despite what all the negative reviews, I would highly recommend Steam. I don't recommend buying retail box games at discounted prices especially for games that came out 2+ years ago because the serial key may have expired.

Tips for new or current STEAM users:
- Install anti-virus and start becoming computer knowledgeable.
- Do your research on the games you want to purchase to see if its worth buying because there are many games on Steam that have a dead online multiplayer like Homefront, Blacklight, and many others due to zero or none active anti-cheat protection.
- Some games just don't work on 64-bit Operating Systems and/or multi-core CPU's (older games).
- Don't rush to buy games especially during holiday season when they offer massive discounts and bundle multiple games together. - DO NOT ASSUME ALL GAMES WILL WORK ON YOUR MAC COMPUTER EVEN IF YOU PAID $2,500 FOR A MACBOOK PRO because your laptop hardware is outdated and no longer meets the minimum requirements of the game.
- The best place to do research on Steam games is on Steam forums (external version & internal version built into the application), you just go to the game you're thinking of buying and create a thread on whatever your question is. I have seen threads on: "Does this game work on a MAC?" People respond with "no, but you can install bootcamp and play it with Windows on your MAC" or "Yes...". "Is this game worth getting at $5?" People respond with "yes or no with their reasons"."

"Stay away from steampowered products for the following reason:

I installed Steam for Mac and registered as a user. I searched for "AVGN adventures" in the store of the Steam application. The application offered the game and I paid it through iDeal.

However, after paying I wanted to install the AVGN game, but the game is not for Mac although I can buy it through the Steam on Mac application.

Note that the system requirements were not given when the search was performed, or that the application warned me that the game is not suitable for Mac.

I contacted support but they will not refund the money.

In addition, since I paid with iDeal under Dutch Law I am entitled to revert the deal within 7 days of the purchase.

Support is completely ignoring the law it should respect.

Stay away from steampowered products.

Rob"

"As a platform for games it is great, downloads are fast, support for mods is everywhere, customer service is fair but it does up prices just if you live in a differnet country such as Australia personal recommend that you keys for elsewhere and active them on steam"

"IF YOU READ THE FIRST COMPLAINT WITH THE LADY WITH THE 12 YR OLD SON AND A BILLING ISSUE IT IS ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE THE SITUATION i HAVE HAD WITH THESE NUMBSKULLS AT STEAM ONLY OURS INVOLVED A LARGE DEAL OF FRAUD THROUGH SOMEONE HACKING MY SON'S ACCOUNT. IT IS JUST LIKE ANYONE WHO HAS HAD PROBLEMS WITH THEM SAYS THERE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NON-EXISTENT. I AM CURRENTLY WORKING WITH MY DISCOVER CARD TO REFUND THE FRAUD AND THE MERCHANDISE NOT REC'D SINCE STUPID STEAM JUST LOCKED MY SON OUT INSTEAD OF RESEARCHING THE FRAUD OR ALLOWING THE GAMES WE TOLD THEM WERE LEGIT SO NOW HE/WE HAVE NOTHING TO SHOW FOR THE $400+ CHARGES---MOSTLY FRAUD FROM SOMEONE LOADING UP A GOOGLE WALLET 10-20 TIMES PER DAY AT $5/SHOT. I HOPE THE OWNERS/CREATORS OF STEAM/VALVE WHATEVER ROT IN HELL AND THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NEVER HAD CAUSE TO HAVE TO USE THEIR LACK OF CUSTOMER SERVICE STOP GIVING THESE YAHOOS ANY RATINGS AS YOU HAVE NO CLUE UNTIL YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH THEM OVER MONEY."

"My 12yrold son loves to play a few Steam video games with his friends. A few months ago there was a billing issue and I sent them an email (via my son´s account; the only way to contact Steam is to create a "ticket" and write them about one´s problem). They didn´t reply so I told my bank that I had questions regarding their charges. My bank tried to contact them - unsuccessfully - and when the bank received no answer, it cancelled the charges (I wasn´t aware of that until later). That woke Steam up and they cancelled my son´s account so he can no longer play the games with his buddies. I have tried many times to resolve this billing issue but receive no response. A googling of "contact Steam" reveals hundreds of online comments about their atrocious "customer service" which obviously is an oxymoronic term for this billion$ company.
I couldn´t care less about this if it weren´t for my kid, who is really bummed that he is excluded from his buddy game network. I find it infuriating when businesses show their customers such contempt and disregard, especially when kids are on the receiving end. Obviously Steam is run by exploitative jerks.
PS "Rate Steam Customer Service" - sorry, they don´t have any."

"Steam is what steam is.
My experiences with steam have been generally positive. I have access to games (and the keys) that I would otherwise have lost.
OTOH steam isn't perfect... and good luck connecting on launch day for a popular game or update.

If you keep in mind what the product is and what it is NOT it's decent though not perfect."

"Purchased a game via digital download and it didn't work. I formatted my computer and reinstalled everything thing from scratch, rebooting after each part of the installation, and it still didn't work. I posted to the Steam Forums, nothing. I asked Steam for support, nothing. I have emailed the game developer asking for assistance. Steam says that they will not give me my money back. Also, worth mentioning that they take a few days to respond, and can only be contacted via email."

"I purchased a double game pack from steam and downloaded the entire thing. I played the first game and once the second game was ready I played it also. I crashed my computer loading the first chapter. I tried all of their fixes but flashing my bios, which I'm not doing to play a game.

This has taken me all day, at this point, I no longer want the games I want my money back. I've wasted enough of my time. I try to submit a support ticket. Not an easy task. You can't do this from your Srteam Community account, no you have to go through and give them your info all over again. Then you have to answer an email verification notice, and on and on. Then you finally get to the reason for the whole BS and the form won't submit.

There is no email support outside of this form.

There is no phone support.

There is no where to ask for a refund.

There is no way to contact the company with out tracking it down in Washington state.

Their Phone Number is ***-***-**** ext 225 (or that was the extension when I called) No one answers the phone without an extension.

I have been in the internet business since 1998, this is absolutely the worst run company I have ever seen. No support at all.

I'm still trying to get my money back. "

"I recently purchased Civilization 5 from Wal-Mart knowing that I needed a Steam account. I already had one and some games on it that I have been playing. I started the download process and soon I got a fatal error from Steam saying that they can't open a .dll from their company they created. I have searched the net and found multiple "solutions", but none worked. I searched their website, but no solutions. I have sent multiple emails asking for help, but evidently they don't provide customer support. I can't even run Steam. I see where they are quick to blame Microsoft for the reason their software doesn't work, but no solution as to how to make it work. Essentially, I have multiple games I can't play and Steam doesn't give a crap about it."

"Their customer support is next to non-existent.

I ordered gifts for my friend, and she was never able to download the games. The customer support representative pasted and sent her a simple trouble-shooting routine that contained nothing different than what she had already tried from their FAQ.

On top of this, there's no way to contact a live human being at the company when you call. The voice prompts just lead you in circles. You're better off calling and dialing extensions."