An Example of Sony PlayStation Store Customer Service

Posted by on Jan 14, 2018 in Gaming, Technology

So this happened today. I don’t blame the customer service reps, who were professional. I blame the product managers, system architects, business analysts, and lawyers behind the PlayStation Store itself. Inexcusable. They are asking for a class action lawsuit.

Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:38:35 PM): Hello, My name is Mario A how may I assist you today?
Me (1/14/2018, 12:39:19 PM): HI, just went to add money to my account. Seemed to work. Then ended up being double charged. Need a refund for one of the charges.
Me (1/14/2018, 12:40:01 PM): Transaction in question is: 65243411469
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:41:14 PM): Hello Brad! I am so sorry to know that you are having that problem but no worries let me go ahead and request a refund for you.
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:44:45 PM): In the meantime we are updating your contact information, could you please provide me with any cellphone or home number that you have?
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:45:15 PM): Are you still there?
Me (1/14/2018, 12:45:25 PM): [phone removed]
Me (1/14/2018, 12:45:31 PM): best number
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:46:37 PM): Thank you just a moment please.
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:47:28 PM): Thank you so much for waiting, after reviewing your account details and history, I was able to find that the content in question has been already used and once used, we are unable to process a refund.
Me (1/14/2018, 12:48:13 PM): there were two purchases. second one was unwanted. don’t think ti’s been used
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:48:28 PM): In this case, believe me that we understand you need a refund; but unfortunately, a refund for this content cannot be processed. We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause.
Me (1/14/2018, 12:49:02 PM): so this purchase was for in-game VC
Me (1/14/2018, 12:49:48 PM): first purchase was wanted. second one was not requested or wanted
Me (1/14/2018, 12:49:59 PM): hasn’t been used
Me (1/14/2018, 12:50:19 PM): the mechanism didn’t work properly and charged us twice
Me (1/14/2018, 12:50:31 PM): one of those charges can be refunded
Me (1/14/2018, 12:50:41 PM): as there are 75,000 VC unused and unwanted
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:51:00 PM): Yes sir I understand, however I was not able to process a refund for that purchase since the system did not allow me to do that since it’s showing that the content was already used.
Me (1/14/2018, 12:51:20 PM): both?
Me (1/14/2018, 12:51:28 PM): doesn’t make sense
Me (1/14/2018, 12:52:24 PM): this is an error on the part of the store. very straightforward
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:53:35 PM): I am so sorry for any inconveniences this may cause, I wish I could help you better. I was researching in my system what other options we have to try to help you, but I was unable to do more. Because of the restrictions outlined in the PlayStation Terms of Service, all purchases made on the PS store are final. My most sincere apologies for this.
Me (1/14/2018, 12:53:45 PM): I pre-funded the purchase with a $25 wallet addition. I bought one unit of VC. It double-purchased, and by itself added extra wallet funds to make up the difference
Me (1/14/2018, 12:54:44 PM): I appreciate there may be nothing you can do on your end. I need to speak to a supervisor there.
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:55:08 PM): No worries just a moment while I transfer you.
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:57:56 PM): Try to keep the interaction active in the way you will not be disconnected due to inactivity my supervisor is about to take the chat.
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:58:04 PM): Thank you so much for you patient.
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:58:13 PM): patience I am sorry.
Me (1/14/2018, 12:58:23 PM): thanks
Mario A (1/14/2018, 12:59:37 PM): You are very welcome Brad.
Me (1/14/2018, 1:01:13 PM): keeping session active
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:01:57 PM): Hello, My name is Saul how may I assist you today?
Me (1/14/2018, 1:02:10 PM): Hy Saul. =)
Me (1/14/2018, 1:02:27 PM): Had an incident in the PS Store (see above). I will recount…
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:02:34 PM): Hello Brad , I am the supervisor in charge. I’ll be more than happy to work with you and review the situation you are experiencing. Would you be so kind to allow me a moment while I review the conversation you just had with one of my agents? Just make sure to reply back every 2 minutes to confirm our session is still active.
Me (1/14/2018, 1:02:52 PM): I added funds to the wallet in advance for a purchase we were making.
Me (1/14/2018, 1:03:10 PM): ok, no sweat
Me (1/14/2018, 1:04:11 PM): additional: first transaction was 65242925032. If the second, unwanted one can’t be refunded perhaps this one can
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:04:19 PM): By checking your case details I can see you that you have multiple charges for the same content and would like to get a refund for it, am I right?
Me (1/14/2018, 1:04:29 PM): correct
Me (1/14/2018, 1:05:08 PM): sorry, that purchase should have been 65243411407
Me (1/14/2018, 1:05:36 PM): 65243411407 was desired purchase, 65243411469 was undesired
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:06:37 PM): I am sorry to know that you are going through this situation. We understand this is important for you; therefore, we’d like to try and assist you as much as possible.
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:08:24 PM): Brad, based on the details provided and the information at hand, we can come to the conclusion that a refund for this transaction will not be possible. Rest assure that there will be other instances in which we will be able to help. Sadly, all possible answers and options have already been reviewed to deliver this outcome.
Me (1/14/2018, 1:08:48 PM): Saul, how is that possible?
Me (1/14/2018, 1:09:25 PM): I mean, from a systems architecture side, this is an opening for huge risk
Me (1/14/2018, 1:09:39 PM): the store is open to class actions over this kind of thing
Me (1/14/2018, 1:09:57 PM): how many folks do you suppose this happens to?
Me (1/14/2018, 1:10:26 PM): How about this…
Me (1/14/2018, 1:10:44 PM): I get that a refund is mechanically undoable for system reasons
Me (1/14/2018, 1:10:58 PM): How about a credit equal to the amount?
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:11:07 PM): I definitely understand your situation and I know how frustrating this can be, unfortunately let me explain to you that due to the restrictions outlined in the PlayStation Terms of Service; a refund exception cannot be made for this transaction and it seems that all of the points have been added to the game in your account, due to that we will not be able to make an exception.
Me (1/14/2018, 1:11:54 PM): We didn’t want those extra points. Didn’t ask for them. Not sure how they came to be.
Me (1/14/2018, 1:12:10 PM): This is really beyond the beyond.
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:13:01 PM): We definitely understand you, I really would love to give you a coupon for PSN credit, it sounds like a great idea to be honest with you, at this time I will be taking your feedback and saving it for review. Sadly by now, we do not have this feature available, I extend you my apologies but I would not be able to fulfill this request by now.
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:13:36 PM): This has happened because every time consumable content is purchased, once it is charged, the system added it back to the in-game account, in this case in your 2K account.
Me (1/14/2018, 1:14:35 PM): I take it that if I had set my account to NOT automatically fund for subscriptions and other automated tasks that this wouldn’t have happened
Me (1/14/2018, 1:14:51 PM): or, would have happened, but would have been denied
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:16:01 PM): Brad, the automatic renewal feature is only for subscriptions. If you receive any error during your purchase, please avoid completing further attempts, as this may be when the multiple charges occur; before do so, please check your transaction history to verify if the previous attempt went through.
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:16:31 PM): We also recommend you to make sure to check your inbox for any email confirmation, so that you can be sure whether your purchase is completed or not.
Me (1/14/2018, 1:17:00 PM): not practical to do that; computer is not in same room as console. hmm
Me (1/14/2018, 1:17:11 PM): had no reason to think anything was wrong
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:17:18 PM): I truly understand your situation, but due to the restrictions outlined in the PlayStation Terms of Service, we won’t be able to fulfill your refund request as all sales are final upon completion.
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:17:37 PM): I really wish I could help you with your request today, however a refund is not eligible due to the reasons we addressed above. We really apologize for all inconveniences this caused you.
Besides this, Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
Me (1/14/2018, 1:19:07 PM): It’s probably worth mentioning that this negatively affects by view of Sony, the store, and the digital purchasing process at Sony. This is not the way merchants should work. I expected better.
Me (1/14/2018, 1:19:23 PM): I realize it’s not your personal responsibility. =)
Me (1/14/2018, 1:19:37 PM): Please advocate internally for better accountability.
Me (1/14/2018, 1:20:06 PM): That’s all. 😉
Saul (1/14/2018, 1:20:27 PM): We hope you understand that we have policies to follow and we will not be able to override them. Unfortunately we will not be able to issue a refund on the purchase in question. Thank you for chatting with us today! We hope you have a great day!