First of all, full disclaimer: I am the user who used to be known as POTATO_IN_MY_A* previously on Reddit. I like this site and hope to have a much better time here, as well as avoiding all the noise my attention-whoreish former username used to have.
My question is as stated in the title. If a user has bought Reddit Gold, and has been shadow-banned, can he/she legitimately file a complaint through Paypal against Reddit for a refund of the money they paid?
I have a couple of reasons for asking this. The first is that the Admins have banned my IP, which means that anyone in my IP range who creates a Reddit account is automatically shadow-banned. Of course, I know I am shadow-banned as it is the first thing I check when making an alt and I can very easily get around it. Other people may not and since I access Reddit through a university, they may create an account on a banned IP range, buy Reddit Gold and not receive the full 'experience' they are expecting because their comments aren't showing up and their PM's are not being received. Is this grounds to launch a dispute through Paypal, since Admins often ignore PM's?
Secondly, if a user is shadow-banned, can they claim a refund on the amount they paid? They bought Reddit Gold on the basis to have a better experience, but that has been taken away from them, often without them knowing. The seller is denying the user the benefits that were promised, even more so if their account is deleted.
And thirdly, is it even ethical to allow a shadow-banned user the possibility of buying Reddit Gold? Some of you may be unaware, but being shadow-banned allows the user to still buy Reddit Gold for themselves. Isn't this, to a certain extent, theft?
Finally... if their were a few complaints to Paypal, and disputes, about Reddit and Reddit Gold, what would be the impact? Could Paypal freeze Reddit's Paypal account while launching an investigation?
My own intentions are to complain to Paypal about Reddit Gold because I personally do not think it is fair at all to shadow-ban users while still accepting their money, and see what they have to say in response. I was wondering what other peoples thoughts may be.
There's an adage: "if you loan someone money and never see them again, it was probably worth it." It's not just a clever observation about materialistic users. It's a way of saying that some transitions in life have defined costs, and those costs may sting at the moment but they are ultimately worthwhile and even necessary. In other words just let it go man. You had some good times with reddit, but it's time to move on.
>what could you possibly hope to achieve by doing this? Nothing. Except to create more drama... which seemed to be POTATO_IN_MY_ANUS's only goal while they were on Reddit.
Although a complaint could likely be filed about gold purchased after an shadow-ban, most likely a refund wouldn't be rewarded. Often sites will claim that the premium features were purchased for an account and it is up to the account holder to not behave in a way that would result in a banning. In short, it may be worth issuing a complaint, but it likely wouldn't result in much, unless the user could claim that gold was purchased without knowledge of a ban already in effect and a refund was refused after the transaction took place.