Console Ban 3-9-11 (Mod Warning Post #755)

tallaghtoutlaws

Spoke to a friend of mine who works on the Xbox side of things in the US for Microsoft and he said to google your Live Id to see if any forum posts or youtube vids pop up with similar ids that show hacking/modding/cheating with their console or games.

After he said this to me I googled it and a fair few people got banned for this for innocently reposting vids of online gaming showing people cheating or modding their xbox.

As for not giving you a reason he said push it and dont let it go. As mad as this sounds he did say cause a fuss in the media if Microsoft dont budge as they dont like being in the media for the wrong reasons. Even if they are correct in banning you it will look bad on them not giving you an actual reason.

Meesared

darklighter wrote: »

Feel sorry for you man. I would be tearing my hair out if this happened to me.

You plainly arent going to get an answer from MS which leaves you with 2 options: 1) Buy a new console [around 185 bucks in gamestop & harvey norman at the moment] 2) Go the legal route and talk to a solicitor about whether you have some comeback under consumer law or data protection.

Personally if i was 100% sure I or someone else had done nothing wrong, i'd seek legal advice because I hate big business not providing decent customer service. (Although it would probably be cheaper to fork out for a new console unless you know a solicitor).

To be honest, I dont get the attitude people have of let all the fuss calm down and see if MS put out a press release etc. The OP has been without the service he has paid for, for nearly a week and is adamant he has done nothing wrong. Why shouldnt he seek recourse ASAP?

The OP can use the service, he can move the account to his second Xbox.

KerranJast

Meesared wrote: »

The OP can use the service, he can move the account to his second Xbox.

If he didn't have a second Xbox he would be without the service. If he's done nothing wrong then he should have some recourse.

I get MS don't want to specifically say the problem in case it helps hackers/modders verify a new method of attack.

They could at least give him a general reason though i.e. account hacking, illegal hardware changes etc.

NORTH1

Meesared wrote: »

Sorry but i can assure you it doesnt

You said yourself you have a second console, put the account on that, use what ever time you have left and turn off the auto renewal, problem solved.

Not likely, what happens if MS decided to ban it with out a reason?

My problem is very clearly not solved.

And cancelling an account according to MS web site is through customer services.

But MS haven't told me they don't want me on their network they just want me to buy a new console.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

Meesared

NORTH1 wrote: »

Not likely, what happens if MS decided to ban it with out a reason?

My problem is very clearly not solved.

And cancelling an account according to MS web site is through customer services.

But MS haven't told me they don't want me on their network they just want me to buy a new console.

Your point is?

You can just call them up and cancel...

Im failing to see where the problem is.

Trust me they don't care very much if you get another console or not, or cancel your account or not.

Meesared

Theres no recourse for a console ban at all, Console bans are investigated into very thoroughly, they know something has happened that shouldn't have. The Xbox PET (Policy Enforcement Team) are very good at their jobs and don't make mistakes. If a console ban happens, it is because of serious evidence.

allanb49

Meesared wrote: »

Theres no recourse for a console ban at all, Console bans are investigated into very thoroughly, they know something has happened that shouldn't have. The Xbox PET (Policy Enforcement Team) are very good at their jobs and don't make mistakes. If a console ban happens, it is because of serious evidence.

To say that is very narrow minded, They are only human,
Humans make mistakes all the time, as does monitoring software,

There's a 99% chance they don't make a mistake but that 1% margin of error is still there.

NORTH1

Meesared wrote: »

Your point is?

You can just call them up and cancel...

Im failing to see where the problem is.

Trust me they don't care very much if you get another console or not, or cancel your account or not.

if you have followed the other thread you would see.

I am looking for justice and if Irish consumer law is able to cover this.

last year it was reported online that ms banned over 500 thousand consoles.

That is over 100 million euros worth of consoles.

Not a bad bit of turn over in one fowl swoop.

Meesared

As I said they only ban consoles with serious evidence, you can take anything else you want from that.

Meesared

NORTH1 wrote: »

if you have followed the other thread you would see.

I am looking for justice and if Irish consumer law is able to cover this.

last year it was reported online that ms banned over 500 thousand consoles.

That is over 100 million euros worth of consoles.

Not a bad bit of turn over in one fowl swoop.

You do realise that Microsoft make little to no money on consoles?

pH

allanb49 wrote: »

To say that is very narrow minded, They are only human,
Humans make mistakes all the time, as does monitoring software,

There's a 99% chance they don't make a mistake but that 1% margin of error is still there.

Can you find any remotely credible evidence on the net of an incorrect console ban? Not just some random person claiming it, but a credible person claiming it with some corroborating evidence from third parties that their claim on face value stands up.

I see no suggestion that the error rate is anything like 1%, given the millions of console bans, even if you could find 10 credible incorrect bans it would be 0.001%, and I can't find one let alone 10.

darklighter

pH wrote: »

Can you find any remotely credible evidence on the net of an incorrect console ban? Not just some random person claiming it, but a credible person claiming it with some corroborating evidence from third parties that their claim on face value stands up.

I see no suggestion that the error rate is anything like 1%, given the millions of console bans, even if you could find 10 credible incorrect bans it would be 0.001%, and I can't find one let alone 10.

Personally, I place no stock in 99.99% of stuff I read on the 'net'. And I cant imagine MS owning up to having made a mistake.

What would you do in the OP's situation? (Remember you are SURE you have done nothing wrong) Would you just accept MS's decision without explanation???

NORTH1

Meesared wrote: »

You do realise that Microsoft make little to no money on consoles?

No I was not aware of this I would have thought MS where in business to make money.

But that could explain why they banned the console and not the account.

The console is a one off payment and the account is a regular income of money.

Meesared

NORTH1 wrote: »

No I was not aware of this I would have thought MS where in business to make money.

But that could explain why they banned the console and not the account.

The console is a one off payment and the account is a regular income of money.

Stop looking for conspiracies where there is none, you can cancel your account any time you like, anyway the majority of money xbox makes is from Games and Content

NORTH1

darklighter wrote: »

Personally, I place no stock in 99.99% of stuff I read on the 'net'. And I cant imagine MS owning up to having made a mistake.

What would you do in the OP's situation? (Remember you are SURE you have done nothing wrong) Would you just accept MS's decision without explanation???

You also have to take into account MS attitude of not release any info plus the fact that most o these units are owned by kids who are not sure if they did something wrong or not.

I'm a mature man (don't let my wife see this) and I havent a clue what's after happening!

But all it will take is MS to make a mistake with the wrong person to bring this out into the open.

Meesared

I know its a crap thing to happen, but taking MS to court over this is ridicilous, you have to admit that. Fair enough he is entitled to find out why he was banned, but as far as im concerned, this isnt a mistake, something has happened without the OP realising. And the ban is warranted.

Meesared

NORTH1 wrote: »

You also have to take into account MS attitude of not release any info plus the fact that most o these units are owned by kids who are not sure if they did something wrong or not.

I'm a mature man (don't let my wife see this) and I havent a clue what's after happening!

But all it will take is MS to make a mistake with the wrong person to bring this out into the open.

Its not a conspiracy whether you want to see that or not. And kids not knowing whether theyre doing something wrong? Give me a break, they know exactly when they have done something wrong, thus when this sort fo stuff happens they lie to cover it up/

stephendevlin

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Microsoft-Xbox-Consoles-Fix-Banned,news-5111.html

NORTH1

Meesared wrote: »

Stop looking for conspiracies where there is none, you can cancel your account any time you like, anyway the majority of money xbox makes is from Games and Content

You protest too much.

I'm only point out facts

1. console blocked no more income unless I buy a new one.
2. Account still active regular income.

Also you raise another interesting point I have invested in games and content connected to my account a sizeable amount.

your telling me to close down my account and make that investment useless?


Any help on this consumer law/rights?

thanks

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

foggy_lad

NORTH1 wrote: »

That is over 100 million euros worth of consoles.

Not a bad bit of turn over in one fowl swoop.

sounds like a bit of a scam imo, much like Sony telling people they had to pay €60+ for replacement PS2s a few years ago because of issues with the fans even though it was covered by consumers statutory rights.

RangeR

NORTH1 wrote: »

Any help on this consumer law/rights?

As I said earlier, find out from Microsoft CC what the complaints process is and follow it.

If that fails, go legal through Small Claims Court.

NORTH1

stephendevlin wrote: »

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Microsoft-Xbox-Consoles-Fix-Banned,news-5111.html

You got me going there for a second, but that'd nearly two years old.

Meesared

Anything you have bought will still be usable offline.

I'm just pointing out the holes in your situation, you can tackle me all you want, I'm just giving what MS is going to give you.

And the account is still active because you havent cancelled it.

jor el

I don't know what you would claim in the small claims court. The console has nothing wrong with it, so you can't claim for that. You can cancel your account and therefore pay MS no more money. Your account has not been blocked or restricted in any way, so you can't claim for that.

You cannot take a small claims case to have your Xbox unbanned from the Xbox Live network. It's Microsoft's network, and they don't have to let you on it if they don't want to, whatever the reason. There is nothing here for the court to look at.

darklighter

Meesared wrote: »

I know its a crap thing to happen, but taking MS to court over this is ridicilous, you have to admit that. Fair enough he is entitled to find out why he was banned, but as far as im concerned, this isnt a mistake, something has happened without the OP realising. And the ban is warranted.

I think something has happened without him realising too but put yourself in his shoes: he doesnt think anything has happened. As such, how is he going too find out why he is banned as MS wont tell him? In my experience, big companies dont like dealing with legal correspondance unless its absolutely necessary, so if he wants the information, thats the only way he's going to get it.

Personally, i'd go the legal route as I know 3 solicitors who would look after it for me. Otherwise I'd shell out on a new box.

Meesared wrote: »

Its not a conspiracy whether you want to see that or not. And kids not knowing whether theyre doing something wrong? Give me a break, they know exactly when they have done something wrong, thus when this sort fo stuff happens they lie to cover it up/

Dead right on the kids, my now 16 year old cousin is lethal for messing with computers, got his gamertag banned for modding halo 2 maps back in the day by following instructions on the net.

Meesared

Dont get me wrong I know its a crap situation, but what Im talking about is the OP talking about going to the small claims court, The OP could certainly get a solicitor to send a letter to MS, to ask for reasons, but Small Claims Court? Thats silly.

Riesen_Meal

While I don't profess to be any form of an expert on the subject, I heard certain iso's of marketplace content can be burnt to dvd and somehow used as in game content WITHOUT the need of a flashed/jtagged xbox, I don't know much about it but I'm sure some other poster's may know more, my cousin mentioned it to me ages ago, said he got all of the arkham asylum content free doing it that way, and if its theft of marketplace content I would say MS have cottoned on, he should expect a ban any day now! Maybe your son tried this?

NORTH1

jor el wrote: »

I don't know what you would claim in the small claims court. The console has nothing wrong with it, so you can't claim for that. You can cancel your account and therefore pay MS no more money. Your account has not been blocked or restricted in any way, so you can't claim for that.

You cannot take a small claims case to have your Xbox unbanned from the Xbox Live network. It's Microsoft's network, and they don't have to let you on it if they don't want to, whatever the reason. There is nothing here for the court to look at.

excellent points and this would be my response.

1. A console has a certain value. If I wanted to sell on my console even though it's working, MS actions have depreciated the value by their actions as most users use it for it's online play.

2. I have been accused of breaking their terms and conditions without recourse. this is the message that popped up when I try to use the console when I want to use it.

3. Mention this problem in the customer support or forum you are labelled a cheat or thief.

4. Seven years of a good name with the network ruined in one fowl swoop.

5. I'm not interest excepting that I have done something wrong by buying a new console to get back on their network.