[Please note that this thread is from 2014 and was recently bumped by a user with a similar issue.]


Account unbanned and situation RESOLVED!

I got a PM from someone at Sony telling me they connected with CS and my account was unbanned. Apparently it was related to PayPal after all and they are working now to ensure this doesn't happen to others. I'd still recommend avoiding PayPal, though. I've checked my account to make sure and everything is working. So glad I didn't have to call and fight with Consumer Services to get this resolved, or worse.

Big thank you to Neuromancer, Bamelin, and Mr. S. at Sony (I don't know if he wants me to name his GAF account or not). Also to Jason Schreier and Arthur for the Consumer Services number that I didn't need to call and to everyone else who gave advice in this thread.


Original Post:

So today I tried to log into PSN and found out that my account was banned. I called PlayStation support and even spoke with the supervisor and the only thing they could tell me was that it was a Violation of Terms of Service and my account was permanently banned and cannot be retrieved. They couldn't put me in contact with anyone else to resolve the issue and they can't transfer my purchases to a new account or refund me for my purchases, so I'm basically SOL. I've gone over the list of reasons why an account would be suspended/banned and there is nothing that I did wrong. I 100% believe this to be an error on their part.

I had over 50 PS3 games, 12 Vita games, 12 PSP games, 15 PS1 games, 5 PS2 games, and 1 PS4 game invested into my PSN account; not to mention numerous DLC and PS+ games. I had a PS+ subscription good through November 2015. Probably thousands of dollars invested into my account. EDIT: I finished going through all my email records from Sony and I have 101 purchases totaling $1,467.01 and I know I'm missing some things (deleted emails), so it's probably well over $1,500.

I just recently upgraded my PS3 hard drive to 1TB and the only thing I've been doing over the last couple weeks with my PS3 is that I've been redownloading most of my collection from PSN. I always have problems with the backup utility failing when I have too many files. So I've left my PS3 on at home and have been letting it redownload my games. Aside from that, I've only played a little bit of Ni No Kuni, some GTAV Online last weekend for the 4th of July weekend event, and most recently an old demo that I found in my Transaction History for TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled. I haven't used my Vita anytime recently other than to install a game, and my PS4 is boxed up at my mother's house.

This is actually my 2nd ban. My account was previously banned a few weeks ago during a PSN sale when I tried to purchase the Mass Effect trilogy and DLC. The PSN checkout doesn't always work for me and gives me random errors, so sometimes I have to buy a PSN card/code. I used the PayPal option to buy $50 in funds, but PayPal thought it was an unusual purchase from me, suspected it was fraud, and reversed the charge. I was unable to contact anyone at PayPal to resolve the issue and stop them from reversing the charge (their support center consists of automatic messages that looks for key words and just quotes the FAQ page). PlayStation customer support had me purchase another $50 card (which I got off amazon this time) and they applied the code to my account balance and unbanned my account. So I don't know if this is related and maybe they didn't inform someone of something that led to my account getting re-banned or what.

To add further details about my situation, I am a US citizen currently living abroad in South Korea. I return to the US in mid-October. So having a Korean IP address might have contributed to PayPal suspecting my account was compromised. I don't know if this would have led to PlayStation doing an investigation of their own since I am downloading many games through my awesome Korean internet and not my slow ass VPN connection (for when I need to use a US IP address, like for Netflix or Amazon Instant Video).

Also, I should note that my account was suspiciously signed-out the moment I played the TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled demo and clicked the "Unlock Full Game" option which takes you to the PS Store. I got a message about a maintenance, so I thought that was why I couldn't log in. Apparently, the game isn't available for purchase anymore and I've read something online that apparently downloading demos in other regions can result in a suspension. So I don't know if this could be some kind of mix up on their part. I asked the customer service rep about it and he said that shouldn't have caused a problem.

I don't think I was hacked, but maybe it's possible... My PS3 has been on for the last couple weeks and I think I was disconnected from PSN maybe twice now. I didn't see any notifications about being signed in from another location, but then if that message disappears over time, it could have happened while I was at work and I missed it. I only use the same password with Steam, which I just changed to be on the safe side. Regardless, if someone got on my account and did something ban-worthy, Sony really shouldn't be permanently banning accounts on a whim like that.

So GAF, does anyone have any experience with recovering permanently banned PSN accounts? Is there someone else I can contact? The supervisor couldn't give me anyone else to contact, not even the accounting department that suspended my account. Do I need to take legal action against them for damages? My aunt is a lawyer, but she specializes in Guardianship Law.

I'd appreciate any help and advice.

TLDR: Account banned for violation of TOS when I didn't do anything abnormal. I lost maybe hundreds of purchases from the PS Store. Customer service can't or won't do anything about it.


FAQ:

Call them again!
Now that I have their number, I will call Consumer Services on Monday (Tuesday morning for me) when they are open. This is the Accounting department that the Customer Service Supervisor wouldn't give me a number to.

Try tweeting @yosp and @amboyes.
I've tweeted both. No responses yet. Might be a long shot that they even read my tweets.

File a complaint with the BBB.
I will look into this if I don't get things resolved after talking with Consumer Services.

Did you share your account?
No.

Do you use custom firmware?
No.

Maybe the OP was downloading games illegally like in that Xbox ban thread?
Nope. I think if I was doing that, I would not have spent $1500-$2000 worth of purchases from the PSN legally.

PayPal reversed a charge without informing the account holder?
I did receive an email that there was a fraudulent charge on my account and that they were reversing it. The problem is that I was having problems with PayPal's verification process to regain access to my account. I have a magicJack phone and they insisted my phone number was a cell phone and wouldn't allow me to use the automatic call option to receive a verification code. My phone was a former cell phone that I now use with my magicJack service. I can't receive any texts on it. I made several emails to PayPal's email support, but couldn't get anything other than automated messages quoting the FAQ page. I eventually got it to work some ass-backwards way after hitting the back button on my browser or something. By the time I recovered my account, PayPal had already reversed the charge.

Why would PayPal flag your charge as fraudulent?
I've made purchases before while in South Korea using PayPal and have had no issues prior. It's possible the biggest red flag for them was that I purchased a digital currency for gaming. Think of all the scams involving FIFA and gold for MMO games over the years. I'm not sure if my VPN was on or off when I made that purchase, but if my IP was shown as being from South Korea, that could have been another red flag, or a combination of the two.

Did you pay Sony back the charge that PayPal reversed?
Yes. I gave Sony another $50 PSN code (from amazon). Sony applied the $50 to my account and unbanned me. Then I got banned AGAIN a few weeks later without being given a reason.

Digital future scares me.

You gotta get on the horn with these people again~!

Have you tried calling them?

"I used the PayPal option to buy a $50 card, but PayPal thought it was an unusual purchase from me, suspected it was fraud, and reversed the charge."


Yeah, that would do it.

Veezy said:

Have you tried calling them?

Click to expand...

Of course.

Call them back, ask for more information as to why it was banned and what exactly in the TOS you violated. If they can not help, get their boss on the line and if he can not help, get his boss!

You have to realize that most of the low level people you speak to are reading from a manual... You call with a problem, they flip to that page, they look up your account, see its banned and it has a blurb about why... You need to keep pressing them for answers, keep asking for higher ups until you get the answer you want.

Veezy said:

Have you tried calling them?

Click to expand...

Read Thread Title: Check

Read past First Sentence of OP: ummmm...

This is actually kind of a big reason not to go digital. When you are banned for no legitimate reason, there goes potentially thousands of dollars worth of games.

They should at least allow you to use and maintain your digital purchases. Man, I don't know WHAT I'd do if that happened to me. Hundreds and hundreds of games gone. I feel for you, man. Hope this issue get resolved for you.

Most likely related to the Paypal chargebacks.

Keep at Sony, let them know you won't take no for an answer.

Wario64 said:

"I used the PayPal option to buy a $50 card, but PayPal thought it was an unusual purchase from me, suspected it was fraud, and reversed the charge."


Yeah, that would do it.

Click to expand...

Happens with Steam too, doesn't it? Call them, tell them "get my ***damn money" and reinstate my account".

That really sucks :\

Veezy said:

Have you tried calling them?

Click to expand...

Have you tried reading the OP before you post?

Keep bugging them. Hopefully they'll get tired of you and cave.

Most likely the PayPal thing. I'd get on them on that. Not your fault, if it was that.

Sony really needs to let you have access to your library if you get banned. It's kind of ridiculous and should be illegal.

Sounds like you know why you were banned, you listed 3 reasons. The worst would be the chargeback on the PayPal purchase.

If the person on the phone won't tell you the part of the ToS you violated that caused this to happen, it's time to raise your voice to adequate levels and request to talk to someone who knows more than they do.

Works for me every time.

aparisi2274 said:

Call them back, ask for more information as to why it was banned and what exactly in the TOS you violated. If they can not help, get their boss on the line and if he can not help, get his boss!

Click to expand...

I talked to a guy named Mario (the irony), then had him get his supervisor and talked to him for a while and tried to get him to get me contact information for anyone else higher up. He said he was the highest you could reach by phone and couldn't provide any other contact information (not phone or email) to anyone else higher up.

Tevious said:

Of course.

Click to expand...

Did you tell them you were considering the virtues of the Xbox One, Microsoft's all-in-one entertainment system?

I think you just need to speak with another customer service agent who can actually figure out what's going on. You can't just lose your PSN account if you did nothing wrong and I have would say it's horrible customer service from the people who couldn't help you. At the very least they could have created a ticket and told you they were looking into it.

Good luck, but I would expect they will hopefully be able to resolve things for you. Even if you somehow went against their Terms of Service I would think someone can set things straight even if it's something ridiculous like we'll reinstate you, but in the future you can only use your USA account when you are actually in the USA.

There should be some regulations that make companies give you a clear explanation in case of a ban. Feels shady they're not telling what specific rule was broken.

Call again. And get the supervisors supervisor. Go all the way up until you get your account unbanned.

Tevious said:

I talked to a guy named Mario (the irony), then had him get his supervisor and talked to him for a while and tried to get him to get me contact information for anyone else higher up. He said he was the highest you could reach by phone and couldn't provide any other contact information (not phone or email) to anyone else higher up.

Click to expand...

@Amboyes, @yosp

Well

I know I'm never using the Paypal option, at least.

Piston Hyundai said:

Did you tell them you were considering the virtues of the Xbox One, Microsoft's all-in-one entertainment system?

Click to expand...

I would never do that... still bitter at them for Ensemble Studios, actually. I am already on PC and I even got a Wii U for free in the Burger King Contest a while back.

Talking to Sony customer service, depending on the country, is like talking to a brick wall.

If I were you the first recourse would be the consumer advocate organisation/BBB or whatever. And research how far back your bank can reverse charges for. If Sony have banned you from accessing paid for content, you should see how much of it you can charge back for (after all other avenues have been explored).

Dont let them get away with this theft.

Tevious said:

I talked to a guy named Mario (the irony), then had him get his supervisor and talked to him for a while and tried to get him to get me contact information for anyone else higher up. He said he was the highest you could reach by phone and couldn't provide any other contact information (not phone or email) to anyone else higher up.

Click to expand...

What branch of Sony are you calling?
US, Asian?

Parapraxis said:

What branch of Sony are you calling?
US, Asian?

Click to expand...

US, I called using my MagicJack number which is a US number.

Never (let a) charge back (happen). Steam also bans your account when a charge back happens, happened to a close friend of mine. He lost a couple of hundred games but after a long arduous process with Valve support that consists of a pakistan-based customer service that communicate in broken english, he got it back.

It sucks that dealing with PayPal and charging back leads to an insta-ban on pretty much any service. I hope you can reverse the ban.

Keep pushing for an answer.
Ask them if it's the PayPal chargeback.
Contact BBB if you are from US.

Man, this is exactly why the concept of an all digital future scares the shit out of me.

Keep on the horn and don't let up. You bought them, you own them.

Pro tip: The "highest person" you can talk by phone is total bullshit. Any person who has worked tele-CS for a company can tell you this. At the time they start pulling that, threaten that they are infringing your goodwill, that you will not ever do business with them again, and tell them that you'll let others know of your horrible business. At the very-last scenario, tell them that you'd report his name as to not being helpful and uncooperative with your issue.

They should, at the very least, give you a back-door number or schedule a time in which you can speak with the higher-ups/someone who is in charge of that.

I look like a right idiot. Was on a phone when I read it and didn't ask in enough detail.

I mean, did you specifically speak with US Sony customer service? Did they give any indication of what specific reason it could be you were blocked? Did you try going through technical support as opposed to billing support or vice versa?

This really doesn't make any sense to have happened. There must be some sort of reason.

213372bu said:

Pro tip: The "highest person" you can talk by phone is total bullshit. Any person who has worked tele-CS for a company can tell you this. At the time they start pulling that, threaten that they are infringing your goodwill, that you will not ever do business with them again, and tell them that you'll let others know of your horrible business. At the very-last scenario, tell them that you'd report his name as to not being helpful and uncooperative with your issue.

They should, at the very least, give you a back-door number or schedule a time in which you can speak with the higher-ups/someone who is in charge of that.

Click to expand...

This.

There is generally a person in charge, but you're not gonna get transferred straight to them. You've gotta be persistent. At the very least there has to be a reason for this happening.

Tevious said:

I would never do that... still bitter at them for Ensemble Studios, actually. I am already on PC and I even got a Wii U for free in the Burger King Contest a while back.

Click to expand...

Doesn't matter if you would or not, that's what you tell Sony.

Piston Hyundai said:

Doesn't matter if you would or not, that's what you tell Sony.

Click to expand...

Haha come on this isn't like threatening Comcast or something.

Raise a big stink on Twitter. Companies will bend over backwards to fix your problem even if they screwed you over in private. It's like magic.

thats fucked. you should be able to access your content even after your banned, just not allowed to purchase new stuff. One of the many reasons I refuse to go full digital.

do.
not.
stop.
calling.

This is why I never, ever use Paypal.

This is total bullshit on Sony's part and is likely illegal. You need to bug the shit out of them. Write emails, write by regular mail, and call them on a daily basis.

We should do a fundraiser on neogaf for you so you can hire an attorney and sue their asses.

Didn't buy enough vita games

Wait getting banned from PSN removes access to all of your digital games, how is that a thing LOL. What a terrible service.

The supervisor repeatedly told me that they don't have any other information as to why my account was banned other than Violation of the TOS. They told me accounting only sends them this information and that's all the information they have to provide. Customer Service is a dead end.

Sorry to hear that OP. Only thing I can suggest is keep calling and e-mailing customer support. Just try to stay level headed and if that doesn't work start then start getting a little hostile.

Edit: Definitely start ranting on twitter (as someone above suggested) and be sure to include @playstation, @playstationsupport, and whatever other "@ playstation handles they have" there are in every message.

Happened to me on Xbox a few years back. Never going full digital.

Whoa, I didn't know charge backs were possible with these account services.
I thought everything is automatically verified with preauthorization and pending, then fully charge either within the same minute, or next day.

Edit: Oh...Paypal. Banks and Paypal hate each other so much that either the fraud department from your bank or Paypal will charge back stuff to protect you because the bank/Paypal can't trust you, or even themselves.

Tevious said:

The supervisor repeatedly told me that they don't have any other information as to why my account was banned other than Violation of the TOS. They told me accounting only sends them this information and that's all the information they have to provide. Customer Service is a dead end.

Click to expand...

Talk to Shu about it on Twitter @Yosp. He's a helpful dude, although I don't know how much he can do.

If you didnt get an email explaining why you got banned I believe you can request the email get resent, based on what I've read. They cant tell you over the phone why you were banned but they should be able to do that.

Edit: They normally send one out to you

Just call them, repeatedly, until they fix it. If this thread becomes a huge thing and some game journalists start writing stories about situations like this using your case as the example ("The Perils of the Digital Future") Sony will be forced to fix it.

Instro said:

Wait getting banned from PSN removes access to all of your digital games, how is that a thing LOL. What a terrible service.

Click to expand...

It prevents me from playing PS+ games and I can't log in to download any games/DLC that I've purchased. I can play any games I've bought offline that are already installed. Maybe online with another account on the same PS3. I haven't tried this yet, but it would only be a temporary solution. If my PS3 breaks or hard drive fails, those games are gone forever.