Sure, here’s the rewritten article in the style you requested:
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Okay, so here’s the deal – the FTC is at it again with Fortnite refunds. Crazy, right? Epic Games, you know, the Fortnite folks, had some kind of funky $245 million settlement back in 2022 because, apparently, they pulled a sneaky one on us! Like, they were using these “deceptive practices” (fancy words, I know) that made people buy stuff they didn’t even want. How rude.
Anyway, the first round of these refunds happened in December 2024. They sent out 629,344 payments! That’s a whole lotta gamers – like, wow. I guess the average payout was $114. I mean, not too shabby, right? Although some might say it barely covers V-Bucks…
So, when the FTC first broke this news, they kinda threw Epic under the bus for having the most confusing buttons ever. Seriously, ever tried buying something with your elbow by mistake? Apparently, people did! Maybe it was on purpose? Or maybe they just like to live on the edge with their user interfaces. Who knows!
Oh, and side note: Did you ever notice how the tires in the game sound? Kind of like wet cardboard when driving on ice – if that makes any sense. But I digress.
Back to the saga. June 25 and June 26 roll around, and the FTC’s all like, “Surprise! Here’s another $126 million for ya, Fortnite fam.” Add it all up, and that’s $198 million sent out so far. I suppose there’s still some cash left – about $47 million – for claims. But you gotta be fast! It’s open till July 9, so hustle over to ftc.gov/fortnite if you want in on it.
Almost forgot – if you’re getting this refund via PayPal, you only have 30 days to accept it. And don’t let those checks expire – 90 days tops to cash. Okay, just gotta say it: All this mixes into a pretty wild story about accidental-purchase-apocalypse. Oh, and there was this COPPA thing, where Epic was, let’s say, not exactly playing by the rules with kids’ data. Oops.
Fast forward, they’re changing things now. Like needing real-deal consent before charging you. Hopefully, this means no more getting locked out of accounts when you dispute those charges. I mean, seriously, how many times does this need to happen before they fix it all?
So that’s the chaos in Epic-land. Welcome to yet another chapter of “Why Epic Can’t Catch a Break.” Wonder what’s next on the list of episodes in their reality show. Stay tuned, I guess!
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There it is. A bit of a ride, huh?
