According to a report from Kotaku UK, PayPal just did thousands of chargebacks on Sony Entertainment Network transactions in the UK. As a result, people’s PSN accounts have been put into debt and the system is automatically banning/suspending users until the balance is out of the negative.
Several users on NeoGAF are already reporting that they’ve been banned, and one shared the email from PayPal notifying them of the chargeback:
Your Payment was Returned
Dear [user],
This email is to let you know that Sony Interactive Entertainment Network Europe Limited returned your payment of 6.49 GBP. This means that the transaction is not complete and the funds have not been transferred to the recipient.
There are many reasons why your recipient may have chosen not to accept your payment. For example, if you paid with a credit card, they may have been declined the payment because their account can only accept funds from PayPal balances or bank accounts.
Your funds will be returned to their original source. We encourage you to contact the recipient directly to find out what type of PayPal payment would be acceptable.
If you received an email similar to the one above, you are affected by the chargeback.
Kotaku’s report, which comes from an internal source, didn’t have any idea on why the chargeback happened.
It looks like Sony is currently talking with PayPal about the issue and we’ll let you know if they offer a statement.
On Twitter, Ask PlayStation UK said in response to a user, “We can’t discuss bans or suspensions on Twitter. Please contact our support team.” If you’re trying to phone them right now and can’t reach anyone, it’s because “our helpline is currently closed. Please dial 0203 538 2665 tomorrow from 10:30 AM BST for assistance.”
