Account Permanently Banned- Payment Fraud??

#1 - Oct. 29, 2012, 12:16 a.m.

Okay, firstly on Saturday morning I woke up and started up Guild Wars 2. But as soon as I tried to log in, it stated that my “Account has been suspended for an account issue”.
So the next thing I did was to contact customer support asking what this issue was and how I could resolve it. I waited, and waited. Until I got a response saying that my account was PERMANENTLY BANNED for a fraudulent payment. I have no idea why I am being banned for a fraudulent payment as I have been playing GW2 for some weeks now without any problem. The email also stated that I purchased a fraudulent serial. (no idea what that means) I also wish to point out that i bought my digital copy from buy.guildwars2.com/en/.
So I got myself a hard copy version of the game and tried to enter the serial. Alas I got an error saying “Serial code Overlap”. I later found out that you can’t add another serial code if it’s not upgrading your Guild Wars 2 account. So I left it at that.

I bought my digital copy of GW2 from the official Guild Wars 2 site. Now I am being banned for a fradulent purchase of a GW2 serial?? I don’t get this.
Now, just to make sure, I bought myself a hard copy of GW2 from a recognised store (JB-HI-FI) so I know 100% that the serial code is authentic.

I’m wondering will my account still be permanently banned for no reason. Or will I be able to get it back. I have even bought a second authentic copy of the game just to make sure.

I am wishing to get back into GW2 ASAP with my original account, since i have a lot of responsibilities in-game.

account name: absolutemagnitude.6348

reference codes:

121029-000763

121026-003094

edit: even though it says when I try to log in “Account has been SUSPENDED for an account issue” the email I received from the customer support stated that my account and the serial code associated with it has been " permanently closed."

Gaile Gray

#5 - Oct. 29, 2012, 5:01 p.m.

tolunart.2095:
Kotik.7836:
On a side note, it seems people get banned for a fraudulent payment even months after the game purchase itself. It is highly suspicious as to why now and not earlier? why you are not warned for a fraudulent key when you try to create a new account?

It probably happens something like:

Shady ebay seller gets hold of stolen cc#, buys game code.

Sells game code to victim.

Next month, owner of stolen cc sees charges on his statement, reports card stolen.

CC company processes report, eventually notifies Arenanet.

Arenanet bans account bought with stolen card.

Victim wonders why he can’t log on.

The process can take several weeks to play out.

This is a pretty accurate outline of how some of these cases play out.

Gaile Gray

#6 - Oct. 29, 2012, 5:12 p.m.

absolutemagnitude.6348:
account name: absolutemagnitude.6348

reference codes:
121029-000763
121026-003094
(added: 121029-000704)

It appears to me that someone (perhaps a family member) did a charge-back related to your game account, and, by necessity, the account was then terminated. I am not sure that you will be allowed to put a new code on an account associated with a charge-back. I suggest that you close our two of your tickets and focus your discussion on one. I have noted in the tickets that each of the three is related to one another.

Gaile Gray

#18 - Oct. 30, 2012, 4:56 p.m.

Each case like this is reviewed individually to ascertain whether it will be possible to reactivate the account with a new, legitimate serial code.

I am sure you will get a response soon. Thank you for your patience.

Gaile Gray

#20 - Oct. 30, 2012, 5:05 p.m.

Adanteh.8971:
Thanks a lot for the response Gaile. One last question then. In the ticket follow-up question you used several different ways to discuss the Fraudulent key problem.

I myself got the following response: Fraudulent code. Please contact your seller to get a refund so you can purchase a legitimate copy. *
however the following is also used: *Account closed for payment fraud; awaiting review
and then this one also: Account closed for payment fraud; will not be reinstated.

To me it seems like the last response means you won’t be able to reactivate your account at all with a new serial, so there is no need to follow up on the ticket (I’m guessing it might be responded with a final answer and closed then). When you have the other two messages should we follow up on our old ticket or make a new one to ask if we can reactivate the account with a new serial.

Your instincts are exactly correct. I created the “final answer” sort of line item to let people know that there was no point in continuing to appeal — the issue truly was closed.

The other two definitely may be pursued with the existing support ticket. In other words, if something is “under review” or if the code was found to be fraudulent and you’re wondering if you can purchase a new, legitimate code and continue using the account, you should talk to a support agent about it. (I would recommend against creating a new ticket, but if you feel you may need to do so, please include the 12-digit incident number from any previously ticket(s) in the new one.)