Compromised account [Moderator response requested]

As the title of this post suggests, my account was compromised. I'm not really sure what the purpose is beyond venting about SE's incompetent customer service and task force and providing others with compromised accounts some info, but I feel it needs to be said. Sort of a long story, but I'll try to be as brief as possible. TL;DR at the bottom.

Back in early 2009 I had to take a break from FFXI. I was going to school and working full-time so I just didn't have the time to devote to the endgame linkshell I was a part of. Sadly, I had to hang up my petasos for a while until I could get IRL under control. I had been keeping up with XI on and off since then so I decided to come back. I'm still quite busy, but with all of the changes to endgame events it seemed much more manageable than staying up all hours camping land kings.

I attempted to login, but my login info was not accepted so I called SE to find out how to reactivate my account. It had been a while since I logged in, but I know people who had been away longer. Anyway, I provided all the usual info(POL ID, name, DOB, address ect.) and the agent told me that he could not verify my account. He then asked me(in an accusatory way I might add) if I had ever let anyone use my account or if I had any viruses. At this point I knew my account info had been compromised. I was asked to hold and when the agent came back he explained that the account had been banned. When I asked the agent what I could do he started the process task force investigation, asked me a bunch of questions and emailed me the notary form to fill out. He was unable to provide a reason as to why the account was banned, but I didn't really care at the time.

I filled out the form, sent it back and waited patiently. No, I'm lying. I was pretty annoyed at the situation. Theft of my account and knowing that my personal information was floating around didn't sit well with me so I decided to do some investigation of my own. I was anxious to don my petasos and once again, but I would have to settle for my Kojak fedora :cool:

I was happy to find that ffxiah stored info from older servers that were merged. A few months after I left whoever had stolen my account went on a shopping spree :mad: I called back to report this info thinking they could note my account, but they of course couldn't verify me yet since they hadn't received my notary form and all of the info that could be changed was different.

It is worth noting that this time when they attempted to verify me this time they requested character names. Apparently the thief jumped servers because the agent told me that one of the character names was incorrect. I really can't verify this since they won't release info, but I know damn well what the names of my characters were. This is important because anyone who would have used the account had to register a credit card to it...

So eventually I get an email. "We appreciate your patience while we continue to investigate your compromised account claim. Due to the information you have provided us, we are able to verify that you are the original registrant of the account in question. Currently, the account in question is set to a ?Banned? status and will remain thay way based on the last login information you provided to us."

On the notary form there is space for you to fill out the last time you logged into the account. There was activity on the account several months past the time I provided which would have been active with the thief's (or possibly a stolen) credit card. In my time in XI I never so much as had a GM called on me, much less been jailed or banned temporarily. I know the account was not banned when I left and because it was activated later, it is obvious that the disciplinary action came after the account was stolen.

I called them back to ask for clarification on what exactly "based on the login information you provided us" had to do with the ban being lifted. I explained that my my cc info was not registered to the account and it was banned while in the possession of the thief. The agent lied to me and said that my account had been erased and that it wasn't recoverable. Bullshit. SE keeps backups of server information in case anything goes wrong. They may have incompetent customer service, but they have to be smart enough to backup their servers regularly and store them.

I knew he was full of it so I ended the call and called back. The next guy said that due to the type of ban, there was nothing they could do. Again, I questioned him as to why I should have to suffer because someone else did something to the account. The response was "I don't have that information. Due to company policy I am unable to provide any details about the account." Company policy...?

So we established that the account was compromised. We also established that it was not in my possession when it was banned. I filled out the necessary paperwork to establish that I am the original registrant of the account and they still refuse to provide me with details about my account. Restating the obvious, but the day a cc with a name other than mine was registered to the account is the day the account was stolen. Due to the activity on FFXIAH I know it was activated by another cc before it was banned.

If it is indeed true that once a certain type of ban is placed on the account that it cannot be restored, why even bother having me send notary forms? Why after verifying me as the original owner will they still not provide account details? Why am I being lied to? None of the agents I spoke with gave a damn and they all acted as if I was a nuisance.

I apologize for the long-winded post, but after so many fond memories of the FF series, making friends and the ups and downs of adventuring in Vanadiel... I just feel like I've been kicked in the throat. It would be nice to have an explanation as to why they cannot restore the account other than 'sum haxxor gotted u ban'd sux2bu'.

Despite the poor customer service I would still like to rejoin my fellow adventurers in Vanadiel to continue my adventures. If there is a moderator reading this post I would appreciate some form of communication about this incident. It would be great to have an email or phone number to someone who actually cares about customer service and understands the importance of privacy and personal information. Maybe even someone who is willing to take a better look at the evidence and make a more informed decision about my account status. Preferably someone who can give me a better response than "Due to company policy..." without at least an explanation of what that policy is.



TL;DR
My account was compromised. SE task force investigation showed that the account was banned and I can prove this took place after it was stolen, yet they say they cannot clear the ban and they will provide no reason even though they have verified me as the original registrant. I was lied to, hung up on several times and got no sympathy for my account being stolen or my personal information and privacy being violated. As a valued customer for almost 6 years, is it too much to ask for a valid explanation as to why they will not restore my account when they know I did nothing to deserve disciplinary action :confused:

Greetings, jeru!
Thank you for taking the time to post your concerns about your experiences with trying to regain access to your account. Unfortunately, since this situation does not involve any technical trouble, I had to lock the thread. I highly recommend trying to contact the SQUARE ENIX Support Center once again through http://support.na.square-enix.com/co...php?id=20&la=1 for further assistance. You may also submit your comments regarding your experiences with this recovery process through https://support.na.square-enix.com/f...la=1&p=0&fo=41 . I understand how stressful this situation has been for you, so I hope everything is resolved for you soon. Take care, and good luck!