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I'm going to be completely honest - and I don't think anything I'm going to post breaks PA forum rules (if it does, I apologize). I bought points for my 360 from a site that was offering them "wholesale" - which apparently meant stolen. I was stupid, I saw a deal, the site was a huge site, seemed legit and said it was perfectly safe. I fell for it, and tonight my console got the ban hammer all because I wanted to save money on games/songs.
As a 35 year old gamer, I don't play like I used to - frankly I only keep Gold at all for Netflix. My initial (angry) response was to think about trading in my games for a PS3 just so I could Netflix without Live subscription fees. My next response (once I simmered down a bit) was to post on the Xbox forums banning section begging for forgiveness. I said realized I screwed up, but I'm a model gamer (one of those plus sized models) and thought maybe I could appeal to them. I haven't heard back - but was wondering A.) Do I have a shot in hell at reinstatement and B.) if I don't are there any places online to recycle my old 360 that pay anything? I don't want to trade at Gamestop because even if they took it I definitely don't want some kid buying my console only to find it can't connect.
Anyone deal with a 360 ban when they were actually in the wrong and knew it/admitted it? It seems super extreme to ban without warning but I get it. Please don't flame my stupidity - I've already cursed myself out quite a bit.

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After all, it's pretty shitty that your account was banned because you bought a code from a shady site.
XBL GamerTag: Comrade Nexus
Is the site still around? If not, maybe by bringing attention to it, and letting then know may help.
I understand the logic behind the ban, but hate that they sometimes don't look at circumstance. They shouldn't ban a user who didn't realize they were doing wrong, they should be going after the site.
tails Gets trolled
tails Gets trolled
Rare way- Poilice notifies MS about a stolen XBOX with the hardware serial. This does not happen often.
Extremely insanely common way- Hacked 360 fails a Live check is banned forever. You will never get this unbanned. You see these on ebay and craigslist all the time, and in Gamestop's used pile.
it can happen for a variety of reasons.
It's awful that these systems are just remotely bricked regardless of circumstance and then microsoft turns a blind eye.
Screw it and keep the thing. Or just outright trade it in to GameStop and claim ignorance, I'm sure they get thousands of these banned consoles and it's their problem to deal with reselling it, not yours.
Really awkward that they did your console but not your account... Is that a response to the fifa thing? They think he is doing laundering?
This is terrible all around. Something like this shouldn't happen. Then it becomes another persons problem and the slope gets slippery.
On the downside. Not a lot of folks with ask you for your PSN.
Even if you take a Gold account at full retail price (which you should virtually never have to pay), it ends up being $5 a month.
What kind of games are you buying.
FF7 was 4.99 I think? Maybe? It's been a while since I was on PSN.
I'm not going to get into Xbox vs PS3. That's like a debate about religion or politics. I was just pointing out that if he is fed up with such harsh policies he can receive the service he wanted for free on another system and use money that would have gone toward limited streaming + gameplay to permanently purchase some older video games.
Again not an Xbox vs PS3 statement. Just mentioning pros and cons of both consoles. I could be way off about the PSN price but the fact is if you purchase a gold account (i have no idea what that entails) on the 360 you will be at a monetary disadvantage from the PS3 perspective.
of course this is assuming that games cost the same amount on each platform.
It's just a weird exaggerated statement to make
I think my son would love the various HD compilations of PS2 games as well. Free Netflix and a Blu Ray for the basement are definite pluses when I realize how I've shifted heavily over to handheld gaming lately anyway.
I dunno if it's just my perception or not, but it seems like the 360 hasn't had much going on in terms of exclusivity lately, except I guess for Kinect stuff which doesn't interest me in the slightest.
but really, if you have a kinect selling the system with it and the games on ebay should be easy. you probably have to mention that it is banned, and maybe offer it for a slightly reduced price. check ebay and see what other banned consoles are selling for.
I didn't realize it was exaggerated. My ignorance may have made me come off as insincere. Apologies for that.
tails Gets trolled
Basically the 360 to me now is treated like a car repair, there's no question it's getting fixed/replaced since I have so much invested in the damn thing with XBLA and DLC and accessories. I'd say the same about the PS3 if I had that kind of time/money invested into it but I don't (so far).
And I wasn't trying to be a dick about the "trade it to GameStop thing" but I'm just trying to provide some silver lining here for you. I'm saying as big a retailer they are they HAVE to have a contingency plan in place for this kind of shit. You don't have to tell them anything, I traded in a console that was only playing games half the time, not my fault but it worked when I took it in and they tested it so whatever. I'm pretty sure they just ship ALL those traded-in consoles back to a depot somewhere to have them processed. I really doubt they'd flip the thing within hours of you trading it in to some 8 year old who saved up 3 months of paper route money to get a 360 and even so they have a return policy so it literally is not on you since you got boned in this whole ordeal anyways.
Remember that it's the dodgy points seller who has been the source of your screwing over here, not Microsoft.
To be honest you've probably already screwed over your chances of an unban by admitting you know that your discount points may have come from a dodgy source. Your best approach would have been a polite inquiry as to the reason for the ban and then feign complete surprise.
WiiU: JamWarrior
WiiU: JamWarrior
If it doesn't work out for you, you could at least buy a basic (no HDD, no Kinect) console and reassign the DLC content via the online tool. The consoles go on sale all the time, because they know new users will have to buy all the accessories at some point. You can recoup some of the cost by selling the banned console. Keep an eye on cheapassgamer's deals forum.
I had major issues with MS a few months ago when they tried to renew my account on my old credit card which already left a bad taste in my mouth, this sort of cements it. The PS3 seems like a nice change of pace.