PlayStation Network Now Competing With Comcast For ‘Worst Customer Service Ever’?


Sony’s PlayStation Network doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to protecting its users’ security. According to the New York Times, the latest hack went down in December 2014, and it was hardly the first.

Even so, a recent case grabbing headlines from the front page of reddit couldn’t possibly be related to network insecurities if “Malcolm,” the customer service rep, is to be believed.

Apparently, a reddit user became the victim of a hacker, who ran up $600 in charges, deactivated his PlayStation 4, then set up his own PS4 at another location.

When the reddit user, who identifies himself as “kadjar,” opened a chat session, it became frustratingly clear that the PlayStation Network wasn’t going to help.

The redditor shared an image of the chat transcript, where he was questioned about how he could have possibly been hacked.

“I do not know how,” he said. “Didn’t SOE (Sony Online Entertainment) have a significant data breach some months back?”

“No there was no data breach at all,” Malcolm said, apparently unaware of the Internet.

From there, taking a page right out of Comcast’s customer service manual, Malcolm informs the redditor that he has two options: get a $150 refund on the $600 of fraudulent charges, thus eating $450 and having the account placed on hold for six months while Sony investigates; or dispute the charges with his bank and have his account banned for life.

That would activate those nightmare scenarios that you read about in news stories from time to time where your content that you bought isn’t actually yours. The redditor would lose all games associated with the account, but as Malcolm tells him, “you only have the Last of Us and some of our free games, so it’s not a big deal.”

Malcolm also doesn’t seem to believe the redditor when he insists that the PS4 that was activated after his was deactivated belonged to the hacker.

“Would it be possible for you to deactivate whatever console is currently attached to my account?” the redditor asks.

“Just 1 PS4 at the moment, possibly yours,” he responds.

The ordeal made the front page of reddit on Wednesday night, amassing over 1,800 comments and 5,200 upvotes.

The redditor asked commenters to tweet the thread to @AskPlaystation since he couldn’t get anywhere with customer service.

Since the redditor came forward, there have been other cases where the PlayStation Network has held a user’s account hostage. One particularly infuriating one involved a gamer, who had spent hundreds of dollars on games, only to be given the shoulder by “Ruth,” another customer service rep.

“… all you need to do is create a new account,” she states on the chat. “You’ll be able to use the console.”

“I have spent hundreds of dollars… and have had the account since 2010,” the user says.

“I’m sorry you’re experiencing this. Is there anything else I can assist you with today?” Ruth responds.

User: “I have done nothing wrong… I want to use my account… This is insane.”

Ruth: “Unfortunately it appears I am not able to assist you with your request today. I will be disconnecting this chat session. Thanks for contacting PlayStation.”

How about it, gamers? Have you had a similar experience with the Sony PlayStation Network? Sound off in the comments section.

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