PSN Account banned/suspended; no explanation given.

Matt Young

Matt Young

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I am fucking pissed. I tried to sign on today only to find that my PSN account has been banned or suspended. They won't say which, and I received no e-mail. The only thing on the list I read that could have resulted in such action is "Reversed Charges", but that was me disputing a charge. Why the fuck would my account be banned/suspended?

That's a PSN Plus account too, by the way. Yet they give me no info on what happened. None. If I lose my entire friends and trophies lists, I'm going to give up on Sony for good.

EDIT: Still no word from Sony. The message it gives me is, "You cannot use PlayStation Network with this account. (8002A23)". Trying to sign in via the site gives me the message, "This account has been banned or suspended. Please try a different account." with no explanation.

I created a second profile/PSN account and sent a friend request to my regular account. On the second account, I see that the PSN Plus icon is still next to my user name, but nothing else about my profile is different.
 
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Definitely give Sony a call. Im sure they can look into your account and see why you got banned. You can probably dispute it over the phone.
 
It turns out, according to Sony's site, it is a suspension and not a ban. It says they'll e-mail me in regards to how long, but nothing yet. Not sure when the suspension took effect, since I hadn't been on the PlayStation since Friday.

http://us.playstation.com/support/answer/index.htm?a_id=939

That's where the above information came from. I'm tempted to call, but I hate dealing with their customer service. I already had to have my Slim fixed/replaced twice within the first few months of owning it.

I don't gameshare. The only thing listed on there is reversal of charges, but why would that get me suspended? I reported unauthorized charges on my account a couple months ago almost.
 
What do you mean you disputed charges?
EDIT:
You mean there were unauthorized charges on your PSN account so you reported them to your credit card company?
Did you report them to Sony as well?
 
if the disputed charge is associated with PSN purchases, that's the reason why you got suspended. ive read this on another forum where someone reported unauthorized charges and got suspended for it because of the chargeback
 
[quote name='deadpool253']Thats what you get bro for gamesharing and changing your state code to not pay taxes.[/QUOTE]

You're an idiot. I've never gameshared, and I don't need to change my state. I live in California.

Yes, I reported unauthorized charges. The thing is, why would they suspend the account now, rather than when the incident occurred? Wouldn't it ahve made more sense to lock down the account at that time to avoid any future problems? Why ban/suspend *me*, now, with no idea of how long this will last? I didn't do anything wrong.
 
I've had to dispute a charge once before (TRU charged me shipping on something they canceled) and it took a few months for the credit card company to investigate, determine I shouldn't have been charged, and refund my money. In the interim, they had that amount kinda "on hold" where I didn't have to pay it and wasn't charged interest or something (it's been a few years so I don't recall exactly).
Your credit card company probably just recently took back the money.
 
The bank (it's a debit/credit card) said they have not yet resolved anything and that nothing has changed on their end. I spent a long time on the phone with Sony customer service until I finally got a hold of some woman who claimed she could help me.

After giving her all my information, she said that all it said was that I was "banned for debt". She claimed she didn't know anymore and couldn't tell me anymore, but to call back tomorrow and the department that could tell me would be open. They supposedly closed 10 minutes prior (at 5:14?).

This is fucking ridiculous, and she even used the word "banned" despite the Sony site saying the error code I got represented a suspension and not a ban. If I lose all my stuff on there, after all the crap I went through with them before, I'm getting rid of the system. Of course, I'd still take an enormous loss doing that.

fuck Sony... their customer service is by far amongst the worst I have ever experienced.
 
call up , keep calling and complain like a crazy bastard. ask to speak to managers whatever it takes and sooner or later shit will get sorted out. i had to do that with ninendo once over a ds and youd be surprised how effective it works. id also let them know this situation is causing you to look into buying an xbox.
 
Believe me, if I didn't have an Xbox already (not that they know I do) I'd have made the switch. Mirosoft's customer service has been great, and I've only had to send in my Xbox for repairs twice in 4 years. Sony's customer service is horrible, and I had to send in my PS3 twice in the first few months of owning it.
 
[quote name='TooMuchCoolness']I think they suspeneded your account because Sony thinks someone else is using your account without your permission.[/QUOTE]

Clearly it's this....

Also: Clearly Sony hates you, with your system failing so much and all this other shit happening to you. I've had my system for over two years and it's as good as new. knock on wood
 
I wasn't saying Sony hates me, but I have had a horrible time dealing with SCEA's customer service. My comment above wasn't about which system was better, for the record, but rather that I've had a lot more problems with Sony. I just want to be able to play my damn games. All I was doing was going to redeem my code for Scott Pilgrim on the PSN before playing Madden. :whistle2:\

That still doesn't explain why they would do the suspension now, if they thought someone else was using my account. The bank says they have had no correspondence with Sony since the initial dispute of charges a couple months ago, and that no resolution has been made.
 
Hope it works out for you Matt Young. Your situation is one of the main reasons why I never use credit/debit cards when it comes to consoles. Going to Kroger or Walmart in the middle of the night for a game card is worth piece of mind.

Once you get it resolved, I'd get a new credit/debit card just to be on the safe side.
 
How do you have unauthorized charges if you've never game shared or shared your account with anyone else is what doesn't make any sense?
 
[quote name='blissskr']How do you have unauthorized charges if you've never game shared or shared your account with anyone else is what doesn't make any sense?[/QUOTE]

More than likely from a Hacker.
 
[quote name='Space Cowboy YGI']More than likely from a Hacker.[/QUOTE]
I'd say doing something stupid resulting in loss of account security would be statistically more likely to occur than to have your account randomly hacked into.
 
[quote name='blissskr']I'd say doing something stupid resulting in loss of account security would be statistically more likely to occur than to have your account randomly hacked into.[/QUOTE]

But he stated he hasn't done anything (gamershared, etc.) wrong. Unless his password was something easy (like his name or "1234") it's safe to assume he was hacked.

IMO, I feel it was random and probably happens quite a bit on the PSN (and Matt just being a CAG is the reason we're now hearing about it). I know for a fact it's a huge problem on XBL.
 
I found this list of "banning explanations" on their website which isn't very explanatory at all but falls under why you got suspended/banned. It's not much beyond what you were already told over the phone:

http://us.playstation.com/support/answer/index.htm?a_id=1260

Reversal of charges
A console or account may be banned due to having a credit card charge reversed or "charge back" resulting in debt. A charge back can include credit card theft, identity theft, or non-approved use.
Click to expand...

I'd definitely keep pushing on Sony about it and hope things work out for you.
 
[quote name='Matt Young']Mirosoft's customer service has been great, and I've only had to send in my Xbox for repairs twice in 4 years.[/QUOTE]

You say that like it's a good thing.
 
[quote name='blissskr']I'd say doing something stupid resulting in loss of account security would be statistically more likely to occur than to have your account randomly hacked into.[/QUOTE]

This.

There is no way you have unauthorized charges unless you gameshared or you bought something and wanted your money back even though they don't give refunds.

The chances of an account actually being hacked is little to none. Not only would they have to know the e-mail you used to sign up to PSN but also the password. Give me a break.
 
[quote name='Chuplayer']You say that like it's a good thing.[/QUOTE]

It's not, but it's a hell of a lot better than having to send my PS3 in twice in the first few months of owning it. That, and the real point was that their customer service was very easy to deal with, while Sony's has been the opposite.

[quote name='gettinmoney662']This.

There is no way you have unauthorized charges unless you gameshared or you bought something and wanted your money back even though they don't give refunds.

The chances of an account actually being hacked is little to none. Not only would they have to know the e-mail you used to sign up to PSN but also the password. Give me a break.[/QUOTE]

Obviously, you're wrong. I never have gameshared, and I've only bought 2 downloadable games. I certainly never asked for my money back on anything I paid for.

The fact is that Sony wouldn't say what the charges were for, and they gave 2 different stories- 1 to me and one to my bank. Yet they have taken action here, not notified me about it, and the bank says nothing has been settled.

Also, I never said my account was "hacked". And you know that the scenario you presented- someone knowing the e-mail and password for the account- is not at all "hacking", right?

There are thousands of people who could have gotten my e-mail address from a few different sites. As for my password, it's a randomly generated sequence with a combination of numbers and both lower case and capital letters. Not sure how someone got that.

The point is, it happened, and I'm being punished. I'm not even being punished for someone else's actions, if the above poster is right. if that's what happened, I'm being punished because I disputed the charges and Sony had to refund them. And they still haven't e-mailed me or told me much over the phone.
 
Seems these days companies get a bit too butthurt over a simple business transaction. I work in a credit card dispute/fraud dept at a bank and know my rights as a cardholder. I once disputed a transaction to a local guitar shop and received a call from the manager who proceeded to yell at me over the phone.

You have every right to dispute a transaction as a card holder. Can I, however inquire as to the nature of the transaction and the amount of that transaction? Most banks these days will just internally charge off any dispute/fraud claim under $25. If it's a string of fraudulent trans, then it will be considered one case.

Last I checked the op was a cag and as such I would not be so eager to accuse a fellow cag of stupidity, fraud, or theft.
 
It was a $50 charge for the PSN store. That's all they would tell me, and as I said before, nothing else has been revealed- not to me, anyway. The person from Sony who I first spoke to when this happened said something about how he thought it sounded like someone purchased something or other for Call of Duty. I don't know of anything downloadable for COD that costs $50. Then again, Sony also told me they had no way of knowing what it was for, and then turned around and told the bank that they couldn't look it up because they were "in the process of updating their system". So much bullshit to deal with...
 
[quote name='Matt Young']It was a $50 charge for the PSN store. That's all they would tell me, and as I said before, nothing else has been revealed- not to me, anyway. The person from Sony who I first spoke to when this happened said something about how he thought it sounded like someone purchased something or other for Call of Duty. I don't know of anything downloadable for COD that costs $50. Then again, Sony also told me they had no way of knowing what it was for, and then turned around and told the bank that they couldn't look it up because they were "in the process of updating their system". So much bullshit to deal with...[/QUOTE]
was that 50 bucks from subscribing to psn+?
 
Well your purchase history would have been visible underneath your account as the purchase had to have been made from your psn account or it wouldn't be the one banned. So you could have looked up exactly what the charge was for before you were banned; either way Sony's not going to reverse the ban I would think as this situation is detailed in the terms of service which by using psn you agreed too whether or not you read that portion.
 
Nope. The PS+ subscription was a transaction I made knowingly and willingly. But other than that, Joe Danger, and Final Fantasy VII, I have not downloaded anything from the PSN that costs money- just the free stuff offered through PS+. In fact, at the time of the disputed charges, I wasn't even at my house.

EDIT: (A) The error code says it's a suspension. The woman on the phone used the word "ban". I'm not sure which it is, but it shouldn't be either one.

(B) One of the first things they told me to do was check my download history. There was no record on my system of the transaction.

(C) I've read and re-read the TOS. The fact of the matter is that this is not any fault of mine. Either someone else accessed my account, or Sony themselves screwed up. Going by how terrible their customer service is, and the fact that they can't even send me an e-mail telling me why I was banned/suspended, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Sony fucked up.
 
I still have one of my gamesharing account banned and Sony will refuse to do anything about it. I've been calling them every week the past 4 months. The other 6 or 7 I have work just fine.

And to all the haters, gamesharing is not against the ToS. I've reported them to the BBB.
 
[quote name='Matt Young']It was a $50 charge for the PSN store. That's all they would tell me, and as I said before, nothing else has been revealed- not to me, anyway. The person from Sony who I first spoke to when this happened said something about how he thought it sounded like someone purchased something or other for Call of Duty. I don't know of anything downloadable for COD that costs $50. Then again, Sony also told me they had no way of knowing what it was for, and then turned around and told the bank that they couldn't look it up because they were "in the process of updating their system". So much bullshit to deal with...[/QUOTE]

That's pretty vague from Sony. But when you filed the dispute with your bank what did the statement show as far as description and amount? Sony may be lumping multiple transactions together.

My suggestion would be to contact your bank and obtain transaction Id codes and reference id numbers for any and all psn transactions. With this descriptive information, the billing department at sony has the ability to determine the amount of the transaction and exactly what was purchased. Your bank may have different terminology based on the type of card, but whoever you talk to should know what that means.

Also if you were the victim of theft tell Sony this. But also let me say this. You will get nowhere fast if you are rude or mean to the person on the other end of the line. In matters like this, patience and manners get results.
 
This seems pretty weird... Sony rarely bans people AFAIK. I'm guessing your account was hacked in some way or another and they're trying to figure out what's going on.

Next time you call, ask to talk to a supervisor. They might be a bit more helpful.
 
[quote name='btw1217']There's something missing from this story, but I'm not sure what.[/QUOTE]

I get that feeling too, but probably because we're only getting tidbits of what has happened instead of all at once.
 
[quote name='Matt Young']It's not, but it's a hell of a lot better than having to send my PS3 in twice in the first few months of owning it. That, and the real point was that their customer service was very easy to deal with, while Sony's has been the opposite.[/QUOTE]

It's been the other way around for me. MS CS reps are the worst. I had to call them and cancel a Live sub once since I made the mistake of using a credit card. After arguing with the guy for 20 minutes about why I wanted to cancel, he says my sub was terminated and that I was all set. Next month rolls around, guess what...I get charged for another 12 months.

Had to call them once again just to get another run around. At first they didnt want to refund the entire 12 months since I called them like a day or two after it billed me again. I had to resort to threats of suing them because they made an unauthorized charge before they finally caved and gave me my money back.

Every time I've had to deal with someone from MS on the phone it's been a horrendous experience. Sony on the other hand has been very nice and accommodating.

I hope this issue gets resolved for you though.
 
[quote name='btw1217']There's something missing from this story, but I'm not sure what.[/QUOTE]
I agree I've called Sony for all sorts of shit and they've even gone as far as telling me when a dlc code was used when I sold one to someone and they stated it was already used. Sony had no problem telling me the date and time of redeem but wouldn't give any personal info which is understandable but they did all they could to help me out with as much info as possible. I find it hard to believe they'd have a $50 charge and not be able to explain what it is just by thinking about it it sounds like a $50 wallet funding.
 
[quote name='Matt Young']Believe me, if I didn't have an Xbox already (not that they know I do) I'd have made the switch. Mirosoft's customer service has been great, and I've only had to send in my Xbox for repairs twice in 4 years. Sony's customer service is horrible, and I had to send in my PS3 twice in the first few months of owning it.[/QUOTE]

Twice in 4 years that isn't bad at all. I've had 6 of them die on me within that time. I've never had any major issues with the PS3 and I've had it over 3 years. Sony products have always been good to me. That sucks about your account. I would have been pissed too.
 
Okay, read through the thread, a lot of hates for Sony there :)

Here's a question most people overlooked:

Does anyone else in your house/apartment have access to your PS3? Do you have auto connect option on? Do you save your password?

If yes to all of those questions, check with them first and see if they logged into your account and bought something. I know people with babies pushed buttons and bought things by accident (you can't undo those :lol:). I also know some older kids buy games w/o parents permission (happened to one of my friend, the kids bought Ninja Turtle :lol:).

In your case, you have your attached card on hold/dispute, so any transaction that need funds will trigger suspension. The lady on the phone said banned, I know that pissed you off, but she probably didn't know better or simply said the wrong word.

I know MS banned people, like the kid showing his private. I'm pretty sure you didn't do that on PSN :lol:
 
I'm guessing his computer was compromised. He probably logged onto a Sony website, or used the email/pass elsewhere and was keylogged or something.
 
[quote name='georox']I'm guessing his computer was compromised. He probably logged onto a Sony website, or used the email/pass elsewhere and was keylogged or something.[/QUOTE]

What he said... That was what I was thinking...
 
If anybody bought anything through his account, it would be visible in the download list. You can't delete things off that list. I highly doubt Sony is randomly charging customers $50 without reason.
 
[quote name='gettinmoney662']If anybody bought anything through his account, it would be visible in the download list. You can't delete things off that list. I highly doubt Sony is randomly charging customers $50 without reason.[/QUOTE]

That is correct... You can go into an account that's backed by credit card and transfer funds to another account. When you do that, the transaction is not listed in the download history.

One of my friend do this very often, he created an account for his nephew and he deposit funds in the kid's account occasionally (like his b'day or Christmas), so the kid can buy whatever he wants (there are restrictions to what the kid can buy, depending on the rating and such). My friend actually complained that the rating system is too awkward, it's locking out a lot of games he think his nephew should be able to play.

Anyway, that's another guess... If I pick up a gold mine (like Matt Young's PSN account :lol:), I probably transfer max of $150 to a new sharing account :lol:
 
[quote name='Serpentor']That is correct... You can go into an account that's backed by credit card and transfer funds to another account. When you do that, the transaction is not listed in the download history.

One of my friend do this very often, he created an account for his nephew and he deposit funds in the kid's account occasionally (like his b'day or Christmas), so the kid can buy whatever he wants (there are restrictions to what the kid can buy, depending on the rating and such). My friend actually complained that the rating system is too awkward, it's locking out a lot of games he think his nephew should be able to play.

Anyway, that's another guess... If I pick up a gold mine (like Matt Young's PSN account :lol:), I probably transfer max of $150 to a new sharing account :lol:[/QUOTE]

Oh wow, I didn't know you could transfer funds. Maybe I should start "gamesharing." However, that should be pretty easy to trace on Sony's end.
 
[quote name='coleipoo']I still have one of my gamesharing account banned and Sony will refuse to do anything about it. I've been calling them every week the past 4 months. The other 6 or 7 I have work just fine.

And to all the haters, gamesharing is not against the ToS. I've reported them to the BBB.[/QUOTE]

I don't know about the TOS specifically, but this is from the "Why was my account banned" page

"Share / Hijack Account

Sharing personal PSN account information in order to obtain access to another persons PSN account. Changing another persons email address, and/or password without their permission in order to gain and control access to an account. Offender attempted to use or take content they did not pay for."

I haven't read the TOS completely myself, but this page certainly implies that the sharing of PSN account info to use another's account is against the TOS. Gamesharing specifically isn't mentioned, but obviously this must take place in order for it to occur.

Sorry for getting offtopic.
 
@Matt Young - did you get the ban/suspension lifted? You were showing up as on when I was on last night, so either you got it resolved or there is something completely bizarre/shady going on w/your account.
 
FYI. When you charge back Sony bans/suspends the account until they get their money. I've seen numerous people on the Sony forums report this. It is possible that a mistake was found during an investigation and cleared the ban/suspension. But they typically take the "no refunds" approach to the PSN.
 
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