Wild Tangent Games: Yay on the Game Console, Boo on customer service

When I got my HP Pavilion DV7 last February, it came with this weird game console thing that I avoided like the plague for weeks. I assumed it was some stupid ad or something. But one day I decided to check it out and, after setting a restore point, I tried it out. And I loved it!

The Wild Tangent Game Console seems to come preinstalled on HPs, since I bought two in 2009, my DV7 and a Mini for my daughter, and both came with it. It gives you access to the ginormous catalog of WT (Wild Tangent) games, and you get two untimed trials of any game for suffering through a little ad shorter than the one shoved down our throats before many tv and cable network website's videos.

I loved the hidden object and puzzle games. I would literally just lose myself in a game late at night and feel the tension slip away. With a glass of wine, it was absolutely heavenly. I never had to give any payment information to use the game console, and if I hadn't upgraded to Windows 7, I would most likely be happily exploring the new games as I did and never spending a penny.

But then the Windows 7 Release Client came out, and I resisted for a few weeks or months, but eventually caved and installed the Win7 RC. It wiped out my WT Game Console, along with all my other applications and settings, so I found the WT website and downloaded the console myself. Again, I enjoyed free games frequently, and I was very pleased with the service.

Until the Win7 RC expired and I had to reinstall Vista, and then upgrade to a final retail version of Win7. Ever since then, I can't get any games to open. I reinstalled the Game Console, and it will download and install whatever game I choose, but it will not start. The error page just says there was an error and the game did not start.

So, I thought maybe it was a Game Console issue, and since I had enjoyed the games for free for so long, I decided I would just sign up for the two month Wild Coin Club membership. It's normally $9.99/month for 50 coins/month, but I had a promo code that gave me my first month, March, for $5. But when I tried to use the Wild Coins, the same thing happened.

Since I couldn't use any of the coins I paid for, I canceled my membership in April. I was charged for the second month of my commitment and I thought that was that. Until in May, I was charged *again* for a monthly membership. Before it had even cleared my bank I had contacted customer service. They next few days brought back and forth about how I did not cancel until the same day I made the complaint, and therefore, would not receive a refund. When I insisted I DID cancel, I was pretty much told I did not, (Ma'am, you're lying!), and/or that I misunderstood the terms of the membership, (Ma'am, you're stupid!).

I was getting madder and madder with each email, thinking, "Really? Ten bucks is worth the risking my patronage? Wow." And then I realized that I could check my browser history. and I did, and there you have it, plain as day.....I was all over those cancel pages. Just like I said.



I was also by this time bitching on Twitter about the whole mess, and I Twitpic'd my screenshot, as well. I was shocked to get yet another email from customer service saying if I had canceled, I'd have received an email, and if I could produce that email, I would get my refund. Well if I had received an email, don't you think I'd have said so? If I was supposed to get an email, and I didn't, and yet the cancel pages are in my history, it would stand to reason that perhaps that was where whatever glitch caused the problem had occurred.

Immediately after, I received another email saying that after reviewing my account, they were willing to grant a one-time, courtesy reversal of the charges.

So, in the end, I am not having to pay for the third month, and I still have the 100 Wild Coins. However, it was a hassle to get refunded, which was disappointing and made me feel unvalued as a customer for several days, and, most important to me, I *still* can't get the games to play on my HP DV7 since upgrading to Win7.

So, my advice is that the free Game Console is *well* worth the download. Apparently many other users with Win7 have been using their Game Consoles, so it appears that my situation is somewhat unique to my system; you shouldn't have any problems. You get two free untimed trials at any game listed in their Game Console-and there are games for every type of gamer, from the casual puzzle gamer like me to the RPG player. I often beat the entire game in one play, since it isn't timed, so most of the games you wouldn't have to buy or use Wild Coins to complete if you can play until complete, with periods of non-activity lasting no more than 20 minutes. You can take bathroom or smoke or go get the baby and then put the baby back down later breaks, as long as you do something in the game before 20 minutes is up. If you do take longer than 20 minutes to return to your game, one of your plays will be considered used, and you can continue your game at any time by activating your final free play.

If you want more than two plays at a game, you'll have to get Wild Coins or buy the game outright. The Wild Coin memberships all provide 50 Wild Coins a month plus occasional bonus Wild Coins and the best deals on game play for different price points, depending on the commitment you make. For a two month commitment, it's $9.99/month; for a six month commitment, it's $7.99/month; and for a twelve month commitment, it's $6.99/month. If membership isn't your thing, you can buy 400 Wild Coins for $69.99 with no rebill.

My billing experience was fine until I canceled, so if you do sign up for a membership, and you cancel, be SURE you get an email confirmation. If you don't, do it again. If it happens again, contact customer service, and don't wait until the last moment before your commitment is up, in case it takes a few days to get the issue sorted. If you cancel before the commitment is up and the month to month rollover period begins, you will be charged for the balance of your commitment upon canceling. Which really means that it doesn't make any sense to cancel before your commitment is up, right?

Customer service wasn't up to par, in my experience. I shouldn't have had to argue so many times and tattletale on Twitter to get satisfaction. I have to say that my customer service experience is the bigger factor in my personal decision to not join the Wild Club again in the future than the actual glitch causing a billing problem in the first place. Machines are not infallible, and when a company chooses to treat it's customers as if they are, you will have unfairly treated customers at one point or another. I happen to be one of them, and while my experience is likely far in the minority, I do have a voice, and treating me as if my patronage and my influence are less valuable than the $9.99 that was mis-billed does not bode well for other customers.