european-union consumer-protection
Pok&#233;mon Home and EU distance selling regulations
<p>I accidentally signed up for Pokémon Home, a subscription service allowing Pokémon to be stored in the cloud, using an incorrect Nintendo account. This essentially renders the service useless to me at this time.</p>

<p>The FAQ for Pokémon Home states: "Unfortunately, we are unable to offer refunds for a Pokémon HOME subscription for any reason."  <a href="https://support.pokemon.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039431391-Can-I-get-a-refund-for-my-purchase-in-Pok%C3%A9mon-HOME-" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Pokémon Home FAQ</a></p>

<p>Q1: <strong>Is this against EU distance selling regulations? Can I still claim a refund?</strong> </p>

<p>From the guidance on <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/distance-selling-regulations#cancelling-a-service-contract" rel="nofollow noreferrer">witch.co.uk</a>, an exclusion to the regulations is applied for "contracts for services where you agreed to the service starting before the seven working days has expired - as long as the seller has provided all the information detailed above." I'm not sure what information they refer to, does this invalidate my case for a refund?</p>

<p>I have lodged a question with Pokémon Home support, requesting a refund based on the distance selling regulations, but after 36 hours I haven't received a reply yet. </p>

<p>Q2: <strong>If I request a refund within seven days, but the seller does not respond, what are my rights?</strong></p>

<p>Thanks for your help.</p>

<p>This is indeed against EU distance selling regulations. As a digital service, this is not subject to any of the named exceptions. You have the right to cancel the service, even without stating a reason.</p>

<p>There is indeed an exception for contracts that have started <strong>at your explicit request</strong>. The "explicit" is important. This cannot be an implied request or a FAQ entry. Typically a service provider will have you tick an explicit box stating that you want the service commences immediately, and that you understand that you waive your right to cancel the service.</p>

<p>The Distance Selling Regulations require that the seller provides a lot of information up front, such as their business identity, contact details, Terms of Service, etcetera. It's likely that Nintendo's lawyers ticked all the boxes here.</p>

<p>You've waited 36 hours, but legally Nintendo has 30 days. After that the easiest way would be to get a credit card chargeback, but if you paid by other means you'll need to pursue legal action.</p>

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<p><strong>N.B.</strong> You've quoted a British site but tagged it as European-Union. The general EU rule is 14 days for you to cancel, not 7. But that doesn't matter since you've made the request in time.</p>
