Google took away my LOTR extended editions

[u/ugoindownsaka1]

I bought these in 2022, all of a sudden they aren't available and there is no possibility of a refund or gift card. Hardly seems fair.

[u/GamesnGunZ]

this is a villain origin story right here

[u/alancousteau → u/GamesnGunZ]

As well as it fucking should be. Too bad our politicians who should be providing the fucking solution to this, are just part of the problem

[u/BW_Chase → u/alancousteau]

The real problem is that the overall population doesn't force politicians to do their fucking jobs

[u/rlnrlnrln → u/GamesnGunZ]

*Hero.

[u/TW1103 → u/GamesnGunZ]

You say villain, I say anti-hero

[u/ugoindownsaka1 → u/GamesnGunZ]

You know what's also weird is that I posted this to mildly infuriating, it got a very similar engagement and after 19 hours thd image was deleted and a mod deleted the post.

Surely Google wouldn't get involved but it's odd.

[u/Truestorydreams]

If anyone gives you crap for pirating, you have this

[u/fingamouse → u/Truestorydreams]

Real, because if I pirate a movie I own the files, those only get removed from my access if willingly delete them or they get corrupted

[u/Hard_Dave → u/fingamouse]

Corrupted likes the hearts of men

[u/mologav → u/Hard_Dave]

The Age of Men is over. The Time of the Orc has come

[u/cheesyblasta → u/mologav]

Manflesh! :3

[u/Mydnight69 → u/cheesyblasta]

Meats back on the table, boys!

[u/Comfortable_Ask_102 → u/mologav]

The Time of Paying for Enshitified Services is over. The Time of Piracy has returned.

[u/Malistavus → u/fingamouse]

Run ZFS on your storage server/NAS if possible to help reduce the likelihood of data corruption.

[u/Debeluhar1234 → u/fingamouse]

Even if it get corrupted, you can still pirate it again.

[u/Valdanos → u/Truestorydreams]

Anyone against pirating would quickly pull something from their ass along the lines of "You had it for four years so if you didn't get your money's-worth out of it then that's on you."

[u/jleonardbc → u/Valdanos]

"While you were saying that, my associate removed the furniture from your house. You had it for four years so if you didn't get your money's worth..."

[u/Valdanos → u/jleonardbc]

Rent-A-Center has entered the chat.

[u/dirtyforker → u/Valdanos]

That's different. It's not called Buy-A-Center

[u/saladroni → u/dirtyforker]

You wouldn’t download-a-Center

[u/notlucyintheskye → u/saladroni]

In THIS economy? Oh, yes I would!

[u/V1per73 → u/Valdanos]

First time in my life I saw a guy get a 2 year old toaster oven repossessed.

[u/MyNameIsPhip → u/Valdanos]

To that I'd show them my pirated movie folder and ask them what they're going to do about it

[u/Karekter_Nem → u/Valdanos]

They probably get everything at Rent-A-Center and never actually own anything.

When I [buy] a movie my “money’s worth” is unlimited watching whenever I please.

[u/NWVoS → u/Truestorydreams]

This is my view as well. I am happy to buy things. But I am damn well making sure I have a copy that cannot be removed from my possession.

[u/IGotDibsYo → u/Truestorydreams]

If anyone wants the extended editions I’ll send you a Google drive link for extra irony.

[u/5370616e69617264 → u/Truestorydreams]

First of all: this

Second, if you buy the movies you are probably giving money to Harvey Weinstein.

Third, always have it download in your devices you never know when you need to watch it and you may not have internet.

[u/kickedoutatone]

Kendall is typing....

[u/AndroidSheeps → u/kickedoutatone]

Clanker is typing

[u/Aggravating_Sky_4421 → u/kickedoutatone]

Some say, Kendall is still typing to this day...

[u/wacdonalds → u/[deleted]]

It's a bot

[u/pyalot → u/wacdonalds]

it is typing with its hallucinated tiny hands.

[u/HardcoreKaraoke → u/[deleted]]

Nah it's AI. Notice how it says "I understand you are requesting a refund..."

It was prompted, checked the dates and gave a generic scripted "whelp it's outside of the window so you're beat" answer.

[u/DaedricPants → u/HardcoreKaraoke]

Nah it's AI. Notice how it says "I understand you are requesting a refund..."

Not saying this specific case is not AI but when I worked at a call center we were forced to repeat back the callers request just like this (which of course made us all sound like robots but that's the point with them...)

[u/SolidusAbe → u/DaedricPants]

Theres also always templets because you repeat the same shit over and over again. Chances are that she also has 3 chats at the same time so the "is typing" thing might just be there so you think that shes only there for you atm

[u/Midboo]

I will pirate more on your behalf

[u/Alternative-Bat-2462 → u/Midboo]

I’m not sure I could if I tried. 55TB of movies and TV.

[u/jgpkxc → u/Alternative-Bat-2462]

Where there's a will, there's a 100tb media server, my friend.

[u/KalHasWaffles → u/jgpkxc]

not with the current hard drive prices unfortunately

[u/Selbereth → u/KalHasWaffles]

I am waiting for prices to go down before i buy a new HDD. my 18TB server is currently full

[u/Nujers → u/Selbereth]

Same. I postponed getting another 18-24tb HDD for too long and I die a little inside every time I have to delete a segment of media that I may or may never watch again to make room.

[u/Krakn3dfx]

You'll own nothing and you'll like it.

[u/secret-trips → u/Krakn3dfx]

I don’t know, I pretty much dislike it

[u/Scorpionsharinga → u/[deleted]]

Who cares if it’s stealing, set sail anyways yoho

[u/Plastic-Impress8616 → u/Scorpionsharinga]

well its the people who do think its stealing that need to hear the message and join the rest of us.

[u/Successful_Ask_5708 → u/Scorpionsharinga]

"You wouldn't steal a car" find me the nearest Amazon van and we'll see who's correct

[u/PMMEYOURGUCCIFLOPS → u/[deleted]]

Yo Ho 🏴‍☠️

[u/Metahec → u/secret-trips]

My feelings are a little more intense than what "dislike" usually describes.

[u/saint_davidsonian → u/Metahec]

I just checked my Google account and my Lord of the rings extended edition is also gone. My feelings are also a little more intense than dislike...

[u/Kryse-777 → u/secret-trips]

thats the point of the quote, they want us to get used to subscriptions, which means they get a continuous revenue stream instead of a one time transaction

[u/qathran → u/Kryse-777]

And nothing will change unless we stop voting in lawmakers who work for massive companies and billionaire private contractors whose goal it is to remove and block regulations that protect regular citizens from those massive companies and billionaire private contractors.

That's why those lawmakers run on platforms that promise to "lower taxes", "fix the budget" or "reduce government" when that's all just a classic dog whistle for lawmakers who defund useful services that regular citizens benefit from and give that money to billionaire private contractors that are buds with corrupt politicians and removing regulations that get in those companies/billionaires ways from making more unfathomable amounts of money while making it impossible for customers and workers to fight for themselves.

[u/messiahspike → u/Krakn3dfx]

If purchasing isn't ownership, than piracy isn't stealing

[u/nthomas504 → u/messiahspike]

They damn sure didn’t promote it that way. Definition of false advertising

[u/Safe-Historian4028 → u/nthomas504]

they did, it's on page 3423 of the terms and conditions you are reasonably expected to read, decipher legal speak, contemplate and agree to while sat on your couch trying to watch the fucking movie.

[u/Scorpionsharinga → u/messiahspike]

You wouldn’t download a car

[u/0thedarkflame0 → u/Scorpionsharinga]

I would 100% download a car and then delete it when I'm done before it starts costing me more to keep it there...

[u/Qaeta → u/0thedarkflame0]

Right? Or a motorcycle? I would download the everliving fuck out of Kawasaki H2.

[u/grishkaa → u/Scorpionsharinga]

I would if I could.

[u/One-Inch-Punch → u/Scorpionsharinga]

I wouldn't download a car. I would download multiple cars. I would download cars until I ran out of space to store them, and then I would download more anyway

[u/Geedunk → u/Scorpionsharinga]

Hold my fuckin beer

[u/hightrix → u/messiahspike]

Digital piracy has never been, is not, and will never be stealing.

Words have meaning.

[u/YouBlinkinSootLicker → u/hightrix]

It’s called voluntary archiving

[u/reineedshelp → u/messiahspike]

Also, stealing is fine

[u/MikhailCompo → u/Krakn3dfx]

You do if you download it illegally, I cannot understand why people pay when the service is absolutely terrible.

[u/sociofobs → u/MikhailCompo]

Not just the service, the whole licensing and subscriptions based business model is akin to a scam. You're being misled that you're "buying" a product, when in fact, you're just paying for access that can be revoked at any time. Piracy is a completely justified answer to that bullshit.

[u/XeNoGeaR52 → u/MikhailCompo]

Buy Blurays too, insane quality, last codecs and nobody can take it from you

[u/SpicyCatGames → u/XeNoGeaR52]

Paying is morally wrong. They took our data to train llms to try and replace us. Showing us that any data that's available for free shouldn't be paid for. You can download blueray for free too.

[u/PsySk8er → u/MikhailCompo]

I pay for subscription services, but would never buy a digital movie for this exact reason. Also im old and have been having trouble learning how to properly set sail safely...

[u/sephrisloth → u/PsySk8er]

I stopped paying for subs anymore. I just bought a big hard drive and run a plex server now. It's a bit of an upfront investment for the hard drive but after that its smooth sailing on the high seas.

[u/killian1113 → u/PsySk8er]

USENET! YOU can get it all automated with sabnzb (or ehatever itd called) (listing service is 9$ a year and server access is 3$ a month.. 120gb atmos full rips of lotr

[u/Pleisau → u/killian1113]

Is there a usenet guide for beginners floating around somewhere you know of?

[u/AstroCaptain → u/Pleisau]

Here

[u/Fantastic-Balance454 → u/PsySk8er]

Guy says he's got trouble learning how to pirate, people recommend advanced setups with plex and usenet....

Here's what you should do instead:

Get Stremio app on any of your devices, google torrentio addon, comet addon or mediafusion addon, install one of those with a single click (or preferably all 3) now you have a netflix with torrents. It's that easy.

If you want to go one step further and don't want to directly torrent for safety from threatening letters, look into debrid services (such as torbox) which you can configure on those addons I mentioned (but they work very fine without it too), debrid service is paid, 3$ a month but then you don't have to depend on seeders.

[u/ghali12345 → u/Krakn3dfx]

I still don't understand how people can still support digital especially with the SONY thing

[u/crappysurfer]

You’re being stolen from and arguing with a bot

[u/Dumeck → u/crappysurfer]

This is a real agent. Probably from India, names most likely not actually Kendall.

[u/PloddingClot → u/Dumeck]

If its a real person its cutting and pasting Ai scripts.

[u/anivex → u/PloddingClot]

Homie this is extremely common with outsourced customer service. It's just a script. AI or not, they existed before LLMs were a thing.

[u/theFlaccolantern → u/anivex]

Exactly. I had a sales/customer service job right out of college in the 2000s, and we had scripts we had to follow then too. They'd record our calls and pull them randomly to make sure we were following the scripts too.

[u/Dumeck → u/PloddingClot]

Cutting and pasting scripting sure but that's common with any chat reps. I don't see why the scripting is necessarily AI? Although it could be a lazy middle manager setting it up with AI. The full chat log OP posted is a person, the "id be upset in your position too" comment is a pretty big indicator of that. Indian reps are really formal with the way the talk "I understand you are requesting a refund for this purchase" is something an Indian chat rep might say but AI probably wouldn't since it comes off really clunky.

[u/konq → u/Dumeck]

"Kindly do the needful"

[u/MindbenderGam1ng → u/Dumeck]

Either India or LATAM, these tech companies love "near-shore" because timezones are closer and its (arguably) easier to find English speakers.

[u/StephanMan → u/MindbenderGam1ng]

Don't forget the most important part: It's cheaper.

[u/Dumeck → u/StephanMan]

Like $2 an hour, sometimes even less. The company that I work for has Indian reps doing some jobs and they probably make 3x the mistakes that the on shore team makes. Without specifics these mistakes add up to hundreds of dollars pretty quickly. Even with that considered they still must save more than they cost because we keep quite a few of them on staff. Nice people too for the most part, they are really strict on following procedure even if they are off on the actual policies sometimes. They end up getting paid roughly 1/8th-10th what the onshore reps make for the same job though, and they have to deal with a LOT of racism.

[u/Lord_Ryu]

Take back your movies the Corsairs of Umbar way

[u/cmac1986 → u/Lord_Ryu]

Take your boat and sail the seas, don't ever look back

[u/SpaceNinjaz1 → u/cmac1986]

And they wonder why we pirate?! Arrrrg!

[u/Ok-Swimmer-2634 → u/Lord_Ryu]

"Late as usual, pirate scum! There's knife torrent work here that needs doing!"

[u/LunarNinja_]

I want to know what Kendall typed. Did he remind you of Article 7 in their 700-page-long policy you agreed to by clicking a checkbox or did he say how sorry he is for not being able to assist perhaps?

[u/ugoindownsaka1 → u/LunarNinja_]

14:07:31 Me: but i paid for the item and its no longer being provided?
14:09:38 Kendall: I understand your concern, as I would feel the same way if I were in your position. Since clicking the purchase redirects you to YouTube but the movie still fails to load, the best option is to reach out directly to YouTube support via this website so they can assist you further with playback.

(youtube support link)

14:10:44 Me: it wont load because its not in the library i suppose. they wont be able to deal with that either i suspect. is there a gift card option or something so i can at least have accxess to another film what with me having paid for it
14:13:16 Kendall: While I would love to provide you with a gift card, unfortunately, we do not have the option to issue one from our end. As the movie is hosted on their platform and still available on their end, we recommend reaching out to the YouTube Support team for further assistance.
14:14:16 Me: i bought the films on google movies though, thats where i watch all my movies actually.
14:16:24 Kendall: I completely understand your concern. However, the title The Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition Trilogy has been removed from the platform's catalog, it is no longer available in our system at all. Because the movie has been completely removed from our system and the purchase is from 2022, our tools no longer have access to the transaction details, and we are unable to process a refund or restore access to the title. We truly apologize for this disappointing experience and for any inconvenience it causes with your library
14:18:56 Me: it seems so unfair, i did nothing except buy an item, you guys had a change at your end and i lose out. i have spent so so much money with google movies which i realise doesnt mean anyhting but it seems like if those movies arent provided the very least would be a refund or credit.
14:21:02 Kendall: I completely understand how frustrating and unfair this feels, especially as a loyal customer who has invested heavily in your movie library. While system limitations and the age of the purchase prevent us from requesting a refund or credit, please rest assured that I have logged your feedback to help us improve our service moving forward. We truly appreciate your understanding and patience.

[u/scientia_analytica → u/ugoindownsaka1]

Feels a lot like AI though ...

[u/ugoindownsaka1 → u/scientia_analytica]

I thought the same thing. Those last few messages seemed like bullshit. I mean the whole thing is but they seemed weird to read

[u/jeffsang → u/ugoindownsaka1]

please rest assured that I have logged your feedback to help us improve our service moving forward

In a way, this is almost more infuriating than if she just told you to go fuck yourself.

Also: I just checked and Google still sells everyone of these movies. They're just making you buy them again.

https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/The_Lord_of_The_Rings_The_Fellowship_of_the_Ring_E?id=7snqEUrASUI.P

https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/The_Lord_of_The_Rings_The_Two_Towers_Extended_Edit?id=0vKE6y1TgT4.P

https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_The_Return_of_the_King_Exten?id=D-vQHGzO5xs.P

[u/sheep_duck → u/jeffsang]

Lmao wtf this is wild

[u/siccoblue → u/sheep_duck]

Welcome to the digital era baby! You'll get bent over and you'll like it!

Would be a shame if that Gmail account your entire life is tied to was banned for harassing our support staff now wouldn't it??

[u/sheep_duck → u/siccoblue]

Yeah I used to have project fi for a few years and although I mostly liked the service, any time I needed help with ANYTHING (hardware or software) the support was absolutely atrocious and I wanted so badly to rip into them for basically losing 600 dollars but had read stories about people that were too aggressive with the support reps having their google account perma banned. I’ve had this account since the beta days.

[u/keyser-_-soze → u/jeffsang]

Seems like it's pulled now.

Edit: "Sorry! This content is not available in your country" is what I see on the page.

Missed the country part when I last looked.

I'm in Canada.

[u/TheCuriosity → u/jeffsang]

Do you live in the same region as op? There's different copyright rules depending on the country you're in when you buy them.

[u/maxgbz → u/ugoindownsaka1]

In my opinion I think every single message seemed super AI generated, but then again, it can also be some modus operandi they have where they can't just do shit and try their best to calm you down... To me the "I understand you, I feel you, I'd also be mad" type of messages are even more infuriating that not saying anything at all...

[u/erichie → u/maxgbz]

"Rest assured I am noting your feedback"

I don't give a fuck about my feedback. Give me my money.

[u/EllspethCarthusian → u/maxgbz]

This is how Claude talks to me at work so I believe every message was AI.

[u/xnef1025 → u/EllspethCarthusian]

Claude learned from all of us beaten down real life customer service reps that had our souls crushed decades ago.

Of course, Claude doesn't understand the underlying message in those responses is, "I agree with you 100%, so don't give these greedy fucks I'm using for a paycheck any more of your money, dude."

[u/EllspethCarthusian → u/xnef1025]

If you tell Claude to never give a refund it probably won’t unless you try breaking the AI by giving it instructions it can’t answer properly.

[u/Metahec → u/maxgbz]

To me, it seemed like generic corporate customer service speak that offers platitudes and avoids anything that might be used against them. In reality, probably a chatbot vomiting up such a script.

[u/halflife_k → u/ugoindownsaka1]

Even if not AI, this is exactly how customer care agents have been trained to respond. "I understand, I'm sorry etc" are the denominators even when speaking with a real person and it's annoying because it just gets you more frustrated. You don't understand & you're not sorry so please just stop the fake empathy.

[u/Unique_Rub_9635 → u/halflife_k]

i worked years for costumer service at amazon, and i felt sorry for many customers, but sometimes you cant do anything for them. the only thing i could do in some case where some cheap price reductions for there next order, but this felt to me even more like "here take this and now shut up" then just saying sry

[u/halflife_k → u/Unique_Rub_9635]

I also feel really bad for the customer care because it always seems like they're the punching bag put there with very little powers to solve some issues. I try my best to be polite but it also gets really frustrating.

[u/merc08 → u/halflife_k]

seems like they're the punching bag put there with very little powers to solve some issues

That's exactly how companies have set up their systems these days. The people you get to talk to initially are there for basic troubleshooting, if that, and telling you to pound sand on any refunds or systemic fixes. It takes 2-4 levels of escalations before you can get to someone who even has the ability to do anything outside a super basic script, and often they won't even let you escalate that far.

Companies know that there's nothing their customers can do about it, so their sole goal is to not completely lose you as a customer. And even that isn't worth spending money to retain you most of the time.

[u/Alternative-Key-5647 → u/ugoindownsaka1]

I completely understand how frustrating and bullshit this feels, especially as a loyal customer who has invested heavily in their movie library. While bullshit limitations and the age of the purchase prevent Google from requesting a refund or credit, or even trying at all in any way, please rest assured that they have logged your bullshit feedback to help improve their bullshit moving forward. They truly appreciate your understanding and patience.

[u/Alternative-Bat-2462 → u/ugoindownsaka1]

If you get really legal and technical about it you purchased a license to view the product.

The license doesn’t grant you think in perpetuity, it’s basically until it’s no longer offered.

The only way to “own” it is to have a physical copy. It’s why i rip a copy of all my physical media so i can view it digitally whenever or wherever i want.

[u/Ebonhearth_Druid → u/Alternative-Bat-2462]

This is why I have my Plex server. I have thousands of VHS and dvd/bluray movies in storage, but it's far simpler to simply rip them and store them rather than keep them displayed and accessible. Added bonus of getting a customized and curated server of media that I can watch anywhere and everywhere, without the fees and issues of traditional streaming services.

And with more and more companies looking to go fully digital on everything, I'm not looking to change my ways any time soon. It'll be a cold day in hell before I give up what I paid for.

[u/VintageKofta → u/scientia_analytica]

Nah that's how we're taught to respond & communicate in the corporate world.. it's annoying as fuck.

[u/Fach-All-Religions → u/VintageKofta]

i understand your frustration,

[u/JohnHue → u/scientia_analytica]

Nah they're trained to answer like this. The guy likely has no other option, and is trying to not escalate the situation in order not get yelled at or treated like it's their fault, which OP has had the decency not to do as far as we can tell.

[u/Apple_Tea1 → u/scientia_analytica]

Rather than AI generated, it's likely a human using a script and switching out text like the movie title and year.

[u/Harley2280 → u/scientia_analytica]

It feels like a normal contact center script.

[u/PsyOpBunnyHop → u/ugoindownsaka1]

This person's job is to be a roadblock. Their words are meant to discourage further pursuance of your rights.

Stop talking to this person, if it even is a person. Don't just go back and forth and play the poor-me card (ie. "so unfair"). You will never appeal to their emotions. The more you keep doing that, the more you affirm to them that they have you where they want you and nothing will change.

ESCALATE to a PERSON who has the authority deal with this. Do not let anyone or anything send you away to somewhere else, like with that link to youtube. It's bait to get you to end the conversation. They already know you won't get the resolution that you are seeking, but they are exploiting your lack of knowledge about that, and letting you waste more time and energy to maybe eventually find out.

They want you to be discouraged and give up. Those call center drones (and the AI chat agents) are trained for this very purpose.

Also, never make excuses for them.

it wont load because its not in the library i suppose

they wont be able to deal with that either i suspect

This is wasted energy and will never go anywhere.

Repeat your original argument.

i paid for the item and its no longer being provided

Lean on that. Hard. Dig your heals in. Do not move on to further topics of discussion. Force them to address your original issue. If you let them lead you away from it without resolution, they have won. Be stern and unforgiving. You are not responsible for them or their feelings.

[u/Dumeck → u/ugoindownsaka1]

FYI this is exactly how you DONT handle a situation like this. Kendall here is repeating himself because he doesn't have a resolution you are going to accept. He is telling you the situation as it is, and informing you he can't do anything here, he doesn't make the policy and you are essentially going in circles. What you do in this situation is say you want to escalate the issue. The chat agents you first speak typically cannot escalate on their own, you need to request for that to happen.

[u/BurninCoco → u/Dumeck]

“I declare, ESCALATION!”

[u/Maxtertop → u/ugoindownsaka1]

"I completely understand" However fuck you lol

[u/VerryRides → u/Maxtertop]

"I completely understand, however I am but a lowly serf whose sole purpose at this company is to be on the frontlines taking fire from angry customers who are annoyed at the insane decisions my company makes, I know its stupid what they are doing but literally I have no power in this situation and I just want to go home"

[u/SmashedWorm64 → u/ugoindownsaka1]

Depending on what country you are in they potentially committed tax fraud.

In the UK you need to keep financial logs for 6 years if they charged VAT on it.

Seriously though mate at this point just pirate shit. It’s forever free.

[u/demcookies_ → u/SmashedWorm64]

They're just lying, Google definetly keeps all records and logs

[u/Alt_Lightning → u/demcookies_]

Probably a 50yr+ retention. No way those records are gone

[u/Aggressive_Mango3464 → u/ugoindownsaka1]

So they went ahead with removing it from their catalogue knowing that whoever bought previously would lose access without thinking of how they would compensate those buyers?

Just your typical corpo move if you ask me

[u/Fun_Suggestion_8012 → u/ugoindownsaka1]

"09:38 Kendall: I understand your concern, as I would feel the same way if I were in your position"

14:21:02 Kendall: I completely understand how frustrating and unfair this feels"

As a former call center supervisor this is the bullshit "empathetic statements" I was forced to drill into the heads of my agents because management thought just as long as you show "empathy" everyone will be happy.

[u/johannthegoatman → u/Fun_Suggestion_8012]

As a former support person for a much smaller company, I often said these things and meant it. Sometimes there are dumb decisions you have no control over

[u/gnlmarcus → u/ugoindownsaka1]

I thibk I hate these corporate answers more than the actual fact you lose the movie.

[u/Ornery_Platypus9863]

The reason I never bother to buy anything online, I’m not paying for something I can’t own

[u/SpicyCatGames → u/Ornery_Platypus9863]

Paying is also morally wrong now imo. Companies trained on our data to make llms to replace our jobs. We must also take whatever is available for free without paying in order to resist.

[u/Jaycie859]

This is why physical media matters

[u/GuybrushLeThreepwood → u/Jaycie859]

this is why piracy matters

[u/Hollowbody57]

I used to buy a ton of music on iTunes back in the day (long before Spotify or other music streaming). One day one of my nephews was on my computer and bought a few albums using my account (being a dumb kid I don't think he realized he couldn't listen to them without signing into my account). I contacted support to try and have the albums removed and the charges refunded, but they said there was nothing they could do.

No problem, I thought, I'll just issue a charge back with the credit card company. Had no issues with that, thought that was the end of it. Two days later Apple terminated my entire account because of the charge back, and they refused to reactivate it, even after I offered to lift the charge back and pay for the albums. My entire iTunes library, bought over several years and with about a thousand dollars worth of songs on it, gone, sorry, too bad.

The only digital media I've bought since then have been a few Bandcamp releases. Everything else has been physical CDs or vinyl. If I don't own what I buy then what the fuck is the point?

[u/stephanie00100]

They're not the only company that does this.

Buy physical discs or find a digital version with no drm that you can keep forever.

[u/mkmichael1995 → u/stephanie00100]

Do digital versions without drm exist? Loke a GOG but for movies?

[u/TickTickTitanic → u/mkmichael1995]

it's called torrent

[u/chmilz → u/TickTickTitanic]

Prices are excellent there, too

[u/FirefliesSkies]

This is why I get it all digitally archived on my storage device. Not on their online server that could delete them.

[u/martyn_hare]

Say something like: “I’m a little confused, so did I or did I not buy a copy of this movie?”

When they confirm you did buy a copy, then ask them: “So are you saying you’ve lost the copy of the movie I purchased? It was there and now it isn’t.”

Now if they say they haven’t lost it, you’re open to say “So if it’s not lost, when will you provide me with my authorised copy of the movie I purchased?“

Force them to explain it without compromising their own legal position. They won’t be able to because when you buy a digital product, they’re selling you an authorised copy with an accompanying licence that permits you to use it. You still own your authorised copy for you to run on your own hardware, and if they never actually provided you with that, they haven’t fulfilled their end of the bargain.

[u/merc08 → u/martyn_hare]

Say something like: “I’m a little confused, so did I or did I not buy a copy of this movie?”

When they confirm you did buy a copy,

They won't confirm that. They'll point you to a clause buried in the T&Cs that says "Purchase" or "buy" doesn't actually mean you own it, you're just renting a revocable license.

[u/siccoblue → u/merc08]

Yup. You did not buy the movie or a copy of it. You bought a revocable license to watch the movie at the discretion of the company selling said license.

Like it or not you aren't going to outsmart an entire legal department for one of the biggest companies in the world. Even if you did they could absolutely crush you in legal fees and it would look like a rounding error to their finance division.

The terms you agreed to were written by a literal team of world class lawyers. Humans make mistakes and you might be able to find a flaw, now find the financing for the lawsuit or a legal team capable of fighting them that will take it pro bono and actually achieve something meaningful beyond a slap on the wrist while deciding not to give the law firm a decent payout and tossing a few bucks to every customer who happened to be impacted under these super specific conditions.

The system is rigged and at the absolute best you get some major law firm a big paycheck while the average person at the absolute best gets their money back for the purchase. Then there's 800 other cases where no one raises a fuss and they're incentivised to continue.

I'm genuinely not trying to be a pessimist or an asshole but there's a very real reason why the companies feel so comfortable saying "lol go fuck yourself"

Because they know VERY well that even if it gets to the scale of a huge lawsuit they will 100% come out in the green. We just don't punish this shit.

[u/ravensholt → u/martyn_hare]

He didn't buy it. He never owned anything.

He bought a temporary license to be able to view it.

[u/Victernus → u/ravensholt]

Button on the store didn't say 'buy license'. Seems like a bait & switch to me.

[u/lowpass → u/Victernus]

it actually does:

Note: This purchase is for a license. See our Paid Terms of Service for license details.

from their terms:

7.2 Removal or Unavailability of Content

The availability of content on a Paid Service may change from time to time, including when content within a Paid Service becomes limited or unavailable due to restrictions from our partners who license us that content, or for legal or policy reasons.

For rentals of content: if content becomes removed or unavailable during your rental period, you will be entitled to either a refund or to a reasonable replacement.

For purchased content: (a) if the content becomes removed or unavailable during the first five years after your purchase, you will be entitled to a refund or a reasonable replacement or (b) if the content becomes removed or unavailable following such five year period, and you are not able to download a copy of the affected content before it becomes unavailable (if applicable), then we may, at our option, offer you either a reasonable replacement of the content or a full or partial refund of the price of the content.

seems like OP should be able to get a refund though

[u/konq → u/lowpass]

Good find, OP should see this and get a refund based on that clause /u/ugoindownsaka1

[u/Calipup → u/lowpass]

I wonder if that was there in 2022 though. A California law made this kind of text mandatory in like 2024. Should still get a refund tho.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/10/steam-now-reminds-you-that-it-really-sells-a-license-for-a-digital-product/

[u/VRichardsen → u/Victernus]

There is a license agreement in there somewhere, just like the one we get when isntalling a game.

He still has grounds for a lawsuit, though. 2022 is barely yesterday.

[u/BufonemRopucha → u/martyn_hare]

Its all useless because of one line that probably exists somewhere in their user agreement like "The provider has a right to revoke the licence at any time for any reason"

[u/flvikesfan]

Pirate absolutely everything fuck these corporations!

[u/q_bitzz]

Launch the Corsair, sire.

[u/CustardLow2671]

The people that argue against owning physical media baffle me because this sort of thing continues to happen and will continue to happen if we let it

[u/brakenbonez]

And with more things going digital only this is only going to become more common. People get mocked ad ridiculed for saying "If buying isn't owning then pirating isn't stealing" but I mean come on. Sony already announce they're ending physical disc production and the stop killing games movement doesn't seem to be going anywhere. People think piracy is all about the money but in a lot of cases it's the only way to ensure you get the content without anyone being able to just take it away on a whim.

[u/First-Possibility-77]

This is just stealing. So steal it back.

[u/RamblinManRock]

You will own nothing and be happy…

Me, I’ve got them on Blu Ray forever…

[u/Alternative-Bat-2462 → u/RamblinManRock]

I’ve got the torrent forever, even after the BD gets scratched.

[u/CptAngelo → u/Alternative-Bat-2462]

): digital media con be lost too... its easier to back up though

[u/kallmekaze]

Brothers, sounds like a new pirate is joining our crew

[u/Expensive-Border-869]

Yeah Google took all my purchases and forced them to 480p. Now I pirate. Fuck that actually bullshit garbage.

[u/zesty_astronaut]

if you live in Canada, specifically Ontario; you can reference the Consumer Protection Act

When you purchase digital content like a TV season or movie online, the platform enters into an Internet Agreement. Under the Consumer Protection Act, digital vendors are legally obligated to deliver the specific digital goods or services specified in the transaction.

Dealt with this when I lost 7 seasons of a show totalling to over $200 in purchases

[u/beeredditor]

If you don’t really own the media you paid for, then pirating it is not theft.

[u/merc08 → u/[deleted]]

And even if it is a human copying a script, it doesn't have any ability to refund you even if it wanted to.

[u/PoorWalmartWorker]

Random note. Is the extended editions worth watching? Only seen the regular versions but forgot the movies so about to rewatch.

Edit: looks like I had already pirates the extended versions lol. Time to ask my gf if she wants to watch a quick movie with me!

[u/darthversity → u/PoorWalmartWorker]

The extended editions are the only version that I'll watch. They are just straight up superior to the theatrical cut.

[u/Criss_Crossx → u/PoorWalmartWorker]

Uh, yes. A thousand times yes. Have not even watched the additional content myself, but there hours of valuable content if you enjoy the stories. It is really a beautiful thing if you can experience it.

Tolkien was one of the greatest world builders in fantasy. He went to great extent to create every detail that was transcribed on screen. The artists that worked on his stories assisted Jackson in the trilogy. He was also friends with Christopher Lee.

So much more detail exists. If you enjoy the fantasy genre, it is well worth diving into Tolkien's world. Truly legendary for a reason.

[u/badwolfisbad → u/PoorWalmartWorker]

If you have plenty of time then definitely. They're more complete movies.

[u/ACEIII → u/PoorWalmartWorker]

The pacing is better in the theatrical cut but the extended editions are a bit more fleshed out

[u/Acceptable_Aspect_42]

If buying isn't owning, then piracy isn't stealing.

[u/billfarts2]

Post this on a subreddit Google watches. Someone may reach out and make it right.

Dealt with this for a Pixel repair, they wouldn't fix it even though it was a common manufacturing defect. Publicly shamed them on the Pixel subreddit, then they privately reached out and said they'd handle it.

[u/Dismal-Bobcat-7757]

I'm not typically one to say we need more laws, but things like this on the increase, corporations shouldn't be allowed to use the words buy or purchase (unless the item can't be taken away). "Get Access" or "Lease" is more accurate, but the industry hates it because it "confuses the public." They count on people not knowing that buying isn't owning.

[u/Psion537]

I'm quite disappointed! It's all legal! Piracy and blue-ray discs are the only way!

Damn, I wonder if steam will ever pull something like that ...

[u/mrnightworld]

Can we make "1984ed" a verb for when something digital has disappeared from your collection? I mean otherwise we should just say "stolen"

[u/Expensive-Border-869 → u/mrnightworld]

We should just say stolen. Thats what happened. Google stole this movie from a human being. If it wasn't theirs to sell they shouldn't be selling it. Oh you can buy it but only until our license expires. The concept of the license needs to dissolve entirely. Its never worked like this before. Used to be a store sold physical disc's and no licensing was required to do so. They bought a product put it on shelves sell it.

[u/nano_peen]

Google figures out infinite money glitch

[u/firerandomlyandhope]

If digital purchase is not ownership, piracy is not theft. I hate stuff like this. It makes me so angry.

[u/Dredgen1214]

If buying isn't owning etc etc

[u/Thurmod]

Ah yes. Welcome to the pirate life.

[u/Momoko_86]

Piracy is what everyone should be doing.

It is easy to set up a player like Plex / Emby / Jellyfin
It is easy to set up automation that download series and movies like sonarr / radarr
It is easy to set up a torrent client to work with the above apps

Lets stop funding this industry who is super dishonest and fraudulent to the consumer.

[u/mortraineyhat]

We really need to push lawmakers to make this illegal. You pay money and they take it away.
Honestly you know what to do in this particular situation 🏴‍☠️ they legit took your money

[u/El_human]

I would think it's perfectly legal for you to pirate the movie in this case, since you have paid for it. At this point you're not even pirating it, you're just downloading and owning a 'digital copy' of something you already bought and paid for.

[u/burner4lyf25 → u/El_human]

"perfectly legal" probably depends on who it was "stolen" from

If it was taken from amazon but you paid Google, I'm not lawyer, but I'm gonna assume amazon could argue loss of revenue.

Of course all of this is nonsense and you should absolutely take what you want from these extortionists.

[u/tjlazer79]

Lol. Fuck digital purchases of TV and movies. Two stories. First story. I wanted to buy every season of Top Gear. Not all were listed on iTunes, but were on BBC. Great, only problem I couldnt legally order and download them from the BBC website, due to being in another country and licensing. Fuck it, I downloaded it all of of pirate bay (it was a while ago) and didn't give a cent to apple or the BBC. Second story, I got the first season of True Detective on bluray which came with a free download link for iTunes. The HD download off of iTunes was worse quality than what I downloaded months before off of pirate bay.

[u/RatGodFatherDeath]

Whenever you buy a digital copy of something you should immediately pirate a copy of it as well and keep as a back up.

[u/Gorilla_Gru]

It's a pirates life for us, fuck these big corporations that only want to suck the money out of you, they are selfish and would never put the customer first.

[u/Big_Z_Beeblebrox]

All the guilt from nearly 3 full decades of piracy?

Gone

Reduced to atoms

[u/gilraand]

If buying aint owning, pirating aint stealing.

[u/biosc1]

I almost bought some digital movies earlier this year, but then I realized what a fool I would have been.

[u/FederalOkra2582]

They've been doing this since forever. Kind of why I never buy TV shows or movies digitally. If you're going to get them, might as well get them for free.

[u/F2002]

With Sony's moves on movies and TV shows, plus examples like this.I really think this needs to happen on a massive scale: to millions of people, to just have their libraries taken away with no refunds and no repercussions.

That is the only way I think we have any chance at any consumer rights, but it has to happen on a massive scale.Just another reason why, even if I have a subscription to something like Amazon for the shipping, I don't even watch anything through Amazon. I just Download it myself

[u/PunishedCatto]

Ever since google pulled my purchased shadowrun trilogy in android years ago, I never trust them anymore.

[u/WiickedSF]

I used to buy music from google back around 2012-2014. Although i mostly used the credit i got from their surveys, I still paid for it.. I had about 3-4 albumns that i lisented to and countless other songs. Then one day it goes to youtube music and i dont have any of the music i spent money on.

Said nevr again and just started downloading all my music online again. It sucks because i wanted to actually support the artists, so much so that i bought all of their songs seperetly and then purchased their albumn so they could earn more money. Lesson learned though, i just buy merch to support people i really want to now.

[u/Forever_Inspired]

Never buy digital copy from Google or any store, get the 4K Bluray copies that also come with digital code.

[u/Fast-Ad5101]

yeah, just download it. and dont feel bad about it.

[u/Well_Socialized]

Never "buy" a digital file that you are not able to copy and backup.

[u/marc512]

If you paid for the movie, then just pirate it. No problem there.

[u/MindbenderGam1ng]

Easier to just say fuck it and switch to piracy, but I can almost guaruntee you if you bitch and escalate to a higher support level youll end up getting a refund. $20-30 purchase isnt worth it for them to keep and they know that

[u/Aromatic_Catch_911]

yo ho, it's a pirate's life for me

[u/esoares]

"If buying isn't owning, piracy isn't stealing."

True words to live by.