• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Sony seems to be blocking off IDs from accessing support

Matt

Member
Even if futile a case can be made about it and give it a more public eye to hopefully make Sony change their downright shitty policy.
Not really. Their policies are clearly legal, and even if a lawyer would take up such a case it would just be dismissed when it first went in front of a judge. There would be no chance for any meaningful public attention to be paid.

Frankly if someone was serious about changing this policy though legal means, it would make more sense to lobby a state to pass legislation on the matter. That would be the start of a very long road, but if you were at all successful at the outset you might start to get some public attention.
 

Zalusithix

Member
Their refund policy is more worrying to me for VR. Games in VR can make a player physically sick depending on how the game is designed and the user's tolerance level. Unless Sony plans on making demos mandatory for all VR titles, this will be less than ideal to say the least. "I'm sorry you can't play the game without puking your guts out. Unfortunately you've already used your one token of good will. Have a nice day, and we look forward to your continued patronage."
 

Avatar1

Member
They tell you up front no refunds on pre-orders I'm not sure what's baffling. Now if that's right or wrong that's a different discussion.
Yup it seems like regarding refunds on preorders the only thing baffling is the OPs inability to read.

Do I like the policy? Hell no but I don't see how you can miss it.
 
Thanks for the title change ThoseDeafMutes.

I feel this is a bigger story now assuming it's true and I can't see another reason considering you can get to chat by putting in another ID.


The refund policy can still be discussed but jesus christ, this deserves attention.

Yup it seems like regarding refunds on preorders the only thing baffling is the OPs inability to read.

Do I like the policy? Hell no but I don't see how you can miss it.

I'm going through Google and searching 'Sony preorder policy'

I immediately get taken to the preorder policies of every other country besides the US, which has a policy of "you can get a refund on a preorder whenever you fucking want'

Then I go to the US Playstation site to search for their policy and I can't find it easily. When I finally did all they have on preorders for refunds/cancellations is "Please go to one of our links at the bottom to discuss your preorder cancellation". It doesn't state "there's no preorder cancellation unless required by law"

Yes it's my issue I didn't read it on the actual preorder section in PSN. I'll admit that.

but let's not pretend it's clearly displayed everywhere and easily accessible.
 
Sony customer support always acts like I'm trying to steal from them. I think my one-time gesture of goodwill was a cancellation of NFL Sunday Ticket a few years ago when it was Sony exclusive for PS3. And it just didn't work. At all. I don't like how they act like they did me a favor by refunding/canceling it when I spent the first half trying in vain to fix it (it was their servers not keeping up), and had to scramble to find a way to catch the end of my game.
 

GametimeUK

Member
It isnt really that simple because what "working smoothly" is can be very subjective when it comes to software. Canceling pre-orders is more straight forward and should be allowed, i agree with that.



In that case, its clear that its a human error at the customer service. If he/she really was offered advice to do a chargeback, thats silly.

With a digital title giving an hour window to see how the game runs on the consumers end is entirely fair. It's not like it is breaking the seal of a brand new game. "Running smoothly" may be subjective, but there's no defending Battlefield 4's launch or Halo Master Chief Collections multiplayer, so I will use those as examples instead if it makes you feel better. They were actually broken.

Regarding the gent who was asked to do the chargeback. Sony accidently charged him twice for 1 year of psn. He shouldn't have had to go through the bank in the first place he should have got the refund over the phone. Where else can you ask to purchase 1 thing and they give you 2 and charge you twice the amount and you end up being in the wrong? How does that even work?
 

lmbotiva

Junior Member
Hope Sony faces lawsuits for this.
hoping for a corporation to face lawsuits is dumb, it is very clear on the rules when you buy digital games, no refunds, if you're going to buy something and then start bitching because you didn't like it and weren't able to get a refund than the only person to blame is you, read the fine print, if you're not okay with it than buy physical copies, they can do what they want, is it okay? no, but no one is forcing people to use their service
 
LOL wtf.
For the players, huh?

oNaZCHN.jpg


Unfortunately sony has no incentive to change their policies right now.
 

entremet

Member
If Sony ever pulled that crap on me--blocking me from chat for good faith questions about a CS issue--I will be done with them for good.

PC+Nintendo would be more than enough for me.

That's ridiculous.
 

Rellik

Member
https://www.playstation.com/en-in/g...ons/pre-orders/how-do-i-cancel-a-pre-order-0/

Reading this page gives the impression that Sony actually does (or at least pretends to) give refunds.

That's not the US page. Sony's policy changes depending on country and their laws. Like I said before, here in the UK they don't take the money and let you cancel because of the law here. If you have no law for that in the US then there is nothing stopping Sony in your country.
 
hoping for a corporation to face lawsuits is dumb, it is very clear on the rules when you buy digital games, no refunds, if you're going to buy something and then start bitching because you didn't like it and weren't able to get a refund than the only person to blame is you, read the fine print, if you're not okay with it than buy physical copies, they can do what they want, is it okay? no, but no one is forcing people to use their service
How is blocking paying customers seeking support a valid response to that? What the hell

This isn't a thread bitching about their refund policy
 
hoping for a corporation to face lawsuits is dumb, it is very clear on the rules when you buy digital games, no refunds, if you're going to buy something and then start bitching because you didn't like it and weren't able to get a refund than the only person to blame is you, read the fine print, if you're not okay with it than buy physical copies, they can do what they want, is it okay? no, but no one is forcing people to use their service

Why do you need to apologize for their anti-consumer policy? People might simply like digital goods over physical goods and own a PS4 as their primary console. Now all of a sudden they need to get physical copies because their policy is there and 'fuck you whatever it's legal'

You can still hope for change for the policy. even if technically legal. Waving it off as you should have read the policy doesn't address the issue that it exists to begin with.

How is blocking paying customers seeking support a valid response to that? What the hell

This isn't a thread bitching about their refund policy

To be fair I got a title change, I was originally baffled by their refund policy but I got my just dues and admitted it was my mistake. I asked for it to be changed when I realized that me not being able to access chat wasn't just an error but I was actively blocked alongside others in the thread. The bottom of the OP still has the original OP text.
 

lmbotiva

Junior Member
Why do you need to apologize for their anti-consumer policy? People might simply like digital goods over physical goods and own a PS4 as their primary console. Now all of a sudden they need to get physical copies because their policy is there and 'fuck you whatever it's legal'

You can still hope for change for the policy. even if technically legal. Waving it off as you should have read the policy doesn't address the issue that it exists to begin with.



To be fair I got a title change, I was originally baffled by their refund policy but I got my just dues and admitted it was my mistake. I asked for it to be changed when I realized that me not being able to access chat wasn't just an error but I was actively blocked alongside others in the thread. The bottom of the OP still has the original OP text.
apologize? lol , im simply stating the facts, if you like digital goods as you called them than you should be aware of the consequences if such "good" is defective, it is that simple, you cant just go ahead and buy a digital game and than blame the distributor because this and that, all stores have rules, you either like them and use the service or you don't and simply move on
 

Warablo

Member
I believe Xbox allows for the cancel of pre-orders up to 3 days before release now. I am hoping we get refunds eventually for both consoles.
 

leroidys

Member
Forget lawsuits, how about journalists reporting this?
Yes, this needs to happen. Games journalists did their jobs by writing about the Xbox ones terrible, anti consumer strategy when it was first announced, wish they e do their jobs writing about how terrible and anti consumer Sony's digital policies are.
 
apologize? lol , im simply stating the facts, if you like digital goods as you called them than you should be aware of the consequences if such "good" is defective, it is that simple, you cant just go ahead and buy a digital game and than blame the distributor because this and that, all stores have rules, you either like them and use the service or you don't and simply move on

ok, the refund situation is over

they're blocking him from accessing their support entirely for an unrelated issue


how is that okay?
 

Justinh

Member
I believe Xbox allows for the cancel of pre-orders up to 3 days before release now. I am hoping we get refunds eventually for both consoles.

I recently got a refund for Gears of War 4 digital preorder so I could "upgrade" to the Ultimate Edition because I wanted to play it over the weekend.

I didn't get a chat log but I remember them saying that "because it's just a preorder, we could cancel it no problem."

I wonder if they were so helpful because they knew I was just about to buy the game again, though...


If this is true and they actually are actively blocking customers from being able to use chat, then that's really, really shitty.

I guess at least calling is still an option, though.
 
I believe Xbox allows for the cancel of pre-orders up to 3 days before release now. I am hoping we get refunds eventually for both consoles.

Looks like Microsoft is doing everything to correct mistakes.

If it wasn't that their titles are now available on PC for the next gen I'd ditch Sony and go back to exclusively Microsoft. But no need to buy a new bonezone with titles on PC
 
I saw my account was banned so I started a chat support with my alt. The agent told me at first he was going to escalate it, then said it was impossible for them to block me, then said it must be my fault and ended the chat. I wouldn't be surprised if that account just got blocked too.
 

SmokedMeat

Gamer™
I'm floored at how poor their customer service is. Between the constant hacks and lousy customer service I don't think I'd be in a hurry to buy their products.
 

Big Chungus

Member
I saw my account was banned so I started a chat support with my alt. The agent told me at first he was going to escalate it, then said it was impossible for them to block me, then said it must be my fault and ended the chat. I wouldn't be surprised if that account just got blocked too.

do you have the chat transcript?
 

Rooster

Member
When did the pre order refund policy change?

I used to be able to go through my transaction history on the PS4 and cancel them, just checked and that option isn't available anymore.
 
I saw my account was banned so I started a chat support with my alt. The agent told me at first he was going to escalate it, then said it was impossible for them to block me, then said it must be my fault and ended the chat. I wouldn't be surprised if that account just got blocked too.

LMAO

"That can't be right. Here let me g- OH MY GOD I'M LOSING CONNECTION KRRRHHT BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ SHHHHHHHHHHHHK'

*ends chat*

*bans your other account*

I have to laugh to fuck the pain away.
 
I believe Xbox allows for the cancel of pre-orders up to 3 days before release now. I am hoping we get refunds eventually for both consoles.

I have managed to cancel my gears 4 preorder in favor to upgrade to the ultimate edition on the 7th when it launched. Funny thing is, they accepted my refund even before I had the chance to explain I wanted to upgrade my copy, and in the same call I also got a refund for that n64 emulator that got removed, no questions asked.

The call went for no longer than 5 minutes including the time it took me to access my email to tell them the security code.

My brother this week also send his controller for repair (out of warranty) and they said that since the controller was in good shape other than a mal functioning button they would repair the controller for free (For accessories out of warranty they usually either charge you for the repair, or let you buy one at a cheaper than retail price), so I have to say my experience with Xbox support has been f*cking amazing.
 

SURGEdude

Member
I don't mean to turn the discussion away from this important issue, but it's really clear stuff like this needs to be solved before we enter an all digital age on consoles. The way it stands I'd walk away from non-steam gaming if the other entities went all in.
 
Holy shit, that's fucking awful if true. Are you kidding me? They're actively blocking people from chat support for having requested a refund? Hopefully this is picked up by big sites so we can get to the bottom of it.
 

Meffer

Member
I got a refund for No Man's Sky too. I presume this means I'm blocked by support too? What if I have a legit issue like compromised account like what happened to me a few months ago? Does that mean they won't help? What the fuck, this is serious!
 

Logash

Member
I saw my account was banned so I started a chat support with my alt. The agent told me at first he was going to escalate it, then said it was impossible for them to block me, then said it must be my fault and ended the chat. I wouldn't be surprised if that account just got blocked too.
Wait, he literally said it was your fault and ended the chat?
 
do you have the chat transcript?


Rafael: I am telling you we have not. We cannot block a consumer from accessing chat support for asking for a refund.
Rafael: We don't even have that much empowerment.
Me: Then why can't I, and many others, access chat support from my other account?
Rafael: I was just checking your account, the reason you cannot currently access chat is because you have contacted 5 times in a matter of minutes, which is considered spam.
Rafael: You should be unlocked within 24-48 hours.
Me: No I have not
Me: I tried once
Rafael: We for some reason have 5 open chat requests from your account which generated the lock.
Rafael: This is not a permanent lock so don't worry about that.
Me: Now you're just straight up lying
Rafael: Whut?
Me: I have not tried 5 times
Me: It was blocked the first time I tried
Rafael: I am very sorry, I honestly would not be able to tell how we got 5 chat requests from your account then but that is pretty much the reason that you are getting an error at this time. The people you have been advised from that they've been "banned" from accessing the chat too might have just requested several chats, 5 is the maximum amount of chats you can request in one day. I apologize , but I am afraid I really don't have much more information to provide you. Please allow 24 hours to pass and we'll be happy to help you with the refund you were trying to request for.
Rafael: Have a good night.

They didn't block the other account yet so I tried 10 consecutive chat requests and they all went through and it's still working. Rafael bullshitting me. My other account was blocked the first time I tried.
 
I got a refund for No Man's Sky too. I presume this means I'm blocked by support too? What if I have a legit issue like compromised account like what happened to me a few months ago? Does that they won't help? What the fuck, this is serious!

we're not sure yet but give it a try. So far it's 100% with people who got refunds here.

Go to their live support chat information page
https://scea.secure.force.com/PreCh...ssion_id=073ae268-81f1-4d06-8ffa-30784b87431a

input your information including your ID.

Are you going to chat? Then they didn't ban you.

Are you going to a blue screen saying chat is unavailable?

Try putting in a random made up ID, or a real one if you know another. Is it taking you to the chat screen? Your ID is then being actively blocked.

The only time I had ever contacted their support site before this was for No Man's Sky.
 
This is why I prefer to buy retail over digital as I still have the option to resell or trade in the physical copy.

With Digital however you're pretty much giving up that right at a higher price point.

This. The only time that I buy games digitally on PS4, is if there's no other option.

Other than that, PC always for digital, not consoles.
 

13ruce

Banned
Completely ridiculous are they crazy? Blocking people from support because of a gesture of goodwill, lol more like a one time refund and f yourself.

Hopefully some game news outlets wil report about it, this is a real scummy move by Sony.
Guess arrogant Sony really is back.
 

Meffer

Member
we're not sure yet but give it a try. So far it's 100% with people who got refunds here.

Go to their live support chat information page
https://scea.secure.force.com/PreCh...ssion_id=073ae268-81f1-4d06-8ffa-30784b87431a

input your information including your ID.

Are you going to chat? Then they didn't ban you.

Are you going to a blue screen saying chat is unavailable?

Try putting in a random made up ID, or a real one if you know another. Is it taking you to the chat screen? Your ID is then being actively blocked.

The only time I had ever contacted their support site before this was for No Man's Sky.

Just a white screen with this in red.

Our average wait time is up to 10 minutes. Please stand by.
 
Top Bottom