Refund Denied Due to Wrong Playtime Count (DLC issue)

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一个汪蛋- 30 Jun @ 10:58pm

I purchased The Sims 4 High School Years DLC on June 24, 2025 at 4:07 AM and requested a refund at 8:02 AM on the same day — within 4 hours of purchase. I have email proof.

However, my refund was denied because the system counted my total Sims 4 playtime (36+ hours), instead of the DLC time (about 2 hours). After refund request, the DLC was disabled, and I only continued playing the base game and other DLCs.

The DLC also had a major bug: the football event wouldn’t load at all — completely unplayable.

I tried explaining this multiple times, but I only get auto-replies saying "you played more than 2 hours". Can someone from Steam Support please take a look manually?

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Showing 1-9 of 9 comments

Haruspex 30 Jun @ 11:20pm

Send a manual ticket. Instead of the usual way, click "I have a question", and explain the situation.

Wolfpig 30 Jun @ 11:22pm

Originally posted by 一个汪蛋-:
). After refund request, the DLC was disabled, and I only continued playing the base game and other DLCs.

The system can not distinguish between time with and without dlc.

And im quite sure that you get a message when refunding stuff which states that if you start a game after processing a refund that the system will assume that you changed your mind and will cancle the refund process.

peppermint hollows 30 Jun @ 11:27pm

Originally posted by Wolfpig:
Originally posted by 一个汪蛋-:
). After refund request, the DLC was disabled, and I only continued playing the base game and other DLCs.

The system can not distinguish between time with and without dlc.

And im quite sure that you get a message when refunding stuff which states that if you start a game after processing a refund that the system will assume that you changed your mind and will cancle the refund process.

It can't distinguish, but AFAIK you are supposed to be able to refund DLC. With DLC the stipulation is similar to a game in that you can't play more than 2 hours of the base game after purchasing the DLC or you're no longer eligible for a refund.

That said, OP said "about 2 hours" so it makes me wonder if they were actually paying enough attention to their playtime and actually played under 2 hours before attempting to refund.

Anonymous Helper 30 Jun @ 11:38pm

Originally posted by peppermint hollows:
However, my refund was denied because the system counted my total Sims 4 playtime (36+ hours), instead of the DLC time (about 2 hours). After refund request, the DLC was disabled, and I only continued playing the base game and other DLCs.

You should not have continued playing as Steam counts the game executable running as playtime for the DLC whether you have disabled the DLC or not. The way Steam counts playtime for a DLC is how long the game's executable has been running from the moment the DLC was purchased. If you are fefunding a DLC, you can not play the game until Valve has approved the refund and send the money your way.

Oh and the automated system can not handle DLC refund requests as it only looks at game's playtime and will refuse refund based on main game playtime. You need to submit a manual ticked anyway.

Last edited by Anonymous Helper; 30 Jun @ 11:41pm

Crazy Tiger 30 Jun @ 11:47pm

Originally posted by 一个汪蛋-:
I purchased The Sims 4 High School Years DLC on June 24, 2025 at 4:07 AM and requested a refund at 8:02 AM on the same day — within 4 hours of purchase. I have email proof.

However, my refund was denied because the system counted my total Sims 4 playtime (36+ hours), instead of the DLC time (about 2 hours). After refund request, the DLC was disabled, and I only continued playing the base game and other DLCs.

The DLC also had a major bug: the football event wouldn’t load at all — completely unplayable.

I tried explaining this multiple times, but I only get auto-replies saying "you played more than 2 hours". Can someone from Steam Support please take a look manually?

You should read the refund policy. DLC can be refunded as long as the BASE game hasn't been played for more than 2 hours since purchase of the DLC.

Since you continued to play on, you yourself went over the 2 hour limit. Disabling the DLC is meaningless in that.

You can try a manual ticket, but the onus here is definitely on you in this, OP.

Originally posted by peppermint hollows:
That said, OP said "about 2 hours" so it makes me wonder if they were actually paying enough attention to their playtime and actually played under 2 hours before attempting to refund.

No, OP says they disabled the DLC and cintinued playing. So the "about 2 hours" is just with the DLC enabled, gthey racked up more time after that. And yes, THAT playtime counts as well.

Last edited by Crazy Tiger; 30 Jun @ 11:49pm

peppermint hollows 30 Jun @ 11:53pm

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:
No, OP says they disabled the DLC and cintinued playing. So the "about 2 hours" is just with the DLC enabled, gthey racked up more time after that. And yes, THAT playtime counts as well.

Ah, yeah I either misread that part or missed it. But yeah, continuing to play will make you ineligible, whether or not you actually have the DLC enabled it just counts from the playtime on the game itself after purchase.

Last edited by peppermint hollows; 30 Jun @ 11:53pm

一个汪蛋- 1 Jul @ 1:13am

Thanks for your responses.
However I'm not disabled the DLC by myself. After I submit the application, my sims4 removed this dlc from the add-ons by itself, and my save files shows "you need this dlc to continue the game".
This is why I keep playing for quiet long time. I think it's safety due to the automatic removing.

一个汪蛋- 1 Jul @ 1:20am

The DLC disappeared from my EA whenever I apply for the refund... But they still calculated the playing time, I don't think it's fair...

Crazy Tiger 1 Jul @ 1:33am

Originally posted by 一个汪蛋-:
Thanks for your responses.
However I'm not disabled the DLC by myself. After I submit the application, my sims4 removed this dlc from the add-ons by itself, and my save files shows "you need this dlc to continue the game".
This is why I keep playing for quiet long time. I think it's safety due to the automatic removing.

Originally posted by 一个汪蛋-:
The DLC disappeared from my EA whenever I apply for the refund... But they still calculated the playing time, I don't think it's fair...

That doesn't add up. It only gets removed if the refund gets approved, not when submitted.

That said, you continuing to play on is a *you* decision, which influences the refund request. I don't think it's fair that you try to disregard your own consciously made decisions.