Paypal Issue Leaves "Thousands" of PlayStation Network Users Banned

Published: June 30, 2017 9:27 PM /

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PlayStation

Yesterday, news broke that "thousands" of PSN accounts, mostly/all UK accounts that had recently bought items off the PSN using Paypal, had been subject to a ban due to a reported error on PayPal's end, triggering mass chargebacks (Thanks, Kotaku). The cause for the as-of-now random chargebacks is currently unknown.

For those unaware, Sony policy means that any account which has a user issuing a chargeback will automatically be banned until players can "pay back" the money equivalent to the chargeback. Since these PayPal chargebacks are random and weren't done at the user's discretion, these affected PSN accounts will be suspended until all affected parties can reach a conclusion to the issue. According to GameSpot, those users afflicted with a ban should be expecting an email from Sony shortly. An exact number count for the users affected isn't yet known, and neither Sony nor PayPal have yet to release a public statement about the current situation.

Exactly who is to blame for the matter is still unknown (both Sony and Paypal are pointing the finger at the other), and while there are reports of some users being unbanned, others are also still finding themselves banned.

TechRaptor will keep an eye on the situation, and report back once we have learned more.

 


Quick Take

Although this seems to be a problem stemming from PayPal's end, the current situation definitely looks bad for both companies involved. Sony's automatic response to chargebacks is fairly standard and apparently is less draconian than Microsoft's (though I've been fortunate enough to not have to deal with either companies policies), though regardless whenever individuals get banned due to no fault of their own it doesn't look good. Ironically, PlayStation EU just recently had a promotion where linking your PayPal to your PSN would grant you 5 euros for your PSN wallet - including the UK in the offer. Probably the worst possible timing for the promotion, too - as this undoubtedly led to a larger pool of users being affected. Hopefully, every user that was banned gets out of this situation unscathed!

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James Galizio TechRaptor
| Former Staff Writer

Former Staff Writer for TechRaptor, technology and games in particular have been my passion my whole life, and to contribute to the industry has been my… More about James