The Sony/Playstation support is terrible. My PS5 horror story - maybe help a duder out.

Hello everyone, I hope this is the right place to post this.

TL;DR: Playstation won't get repaired (broken disc drive) since the faceplates got slightly damaged from the return process (see pictures below). Bad support keeps driving me nuts afterwards. Feel free to help out, if you want.

I have a really stupid problem with the Playstation support, which I'll now tell you in all it's fun details. I've also tweeted this story to the Playstation-Twitter-Account and thought maybe you want to help a fellow duder out, by liking and retweeting said tweet (I hate that this is what I have to resort too, but here we are). It would mean a lot to me, thank you, but if you can't/won't do that, I'll simply thank you for you time and patience in reading this story.

My twitter handle is "Sessh0" Twitter Link (first three in German, the other three in English).

I really just want this nonsense to stop, the entire situation is giving me serious anxiety attacks...

Okay, now to the "good" part:

End of November: I'd gotten lucky and managed to overpay a bit at a retailer (who offered the Playstation at a higher price) for my PS4. I was really happy, since I was generally having a hard time (which right now everyone does, I guess) and thought: great, things are starting to look up. I was wrong.

Beginning of March: The Playstation started to sound a bit weird when entering a disc in the drive.

March, 10th: The Playstation first didn't want to take a disc anymore, which got fixed by a restart. Now, though, it wouldn't eject the disc anymore

1st call to PS-Support: Please try to manually eject the disc by taking of the faceplates and turning a screw on the disc drive, also please reset the system software. If that doesn't help, please send the Playstation in for repairs.

As you can guess, the manual eject and system reset did nothing so I had to send the console in. From taking of the faceplate, one of the plates now felt a bit loose and didn't perfectly stick to the console anymore (already a great thing).

I've done everything as specified on their support website: DON'T use the original packaging; wrap it in bubble wrap multiple times; use a heavy carton; fill the rest with packaging material, so the console doesn't move.

March, 23rd: I get an email from the support telling me that my warranty is voided since the Playstation is damaged. Please note the pictures here. One of the curved face plates, now seems to be slightly more curved (probably because of the bubble wrap). The other (or same one) seems to have gotten some dirt or scratches on it somehow (probably rough handling by the postal service).

2nd call to PS-Support: I talk for 30-40 minutes with someone who basically tells me: bad luck, since it's damaged we won't do a thing. You can pay us 270€ to still fix the thing or send it back. I argue that this makes no sense, since the drive is broken, not the faceplates and this his obviously nothing to do with each other. I get told "Well, when the plates are broken, you could have spilled water on the Playstation and that might have broken the drive". Right, that sounds likely. In the end the support person finally agrees to try to do another appeal with their "external" repair service, but she doesn't think it will do anything, since they aren't even part of Sony. What this has to do with anything at all, I really don't know.

Still March, 23rd: Pretty depressed and unhappy, I decide to see if the post office can be held liable for the damage, since in Germany every sent package is automatically insured for 500€. They tell me I need proof, that they are at fault and I need to send in the packaging or at least pictures of the packaging to decide if anything might be wrong.

3rd call to PS-Support: I ask if they are taking pictures of the packaging when it arrives, which gets confirmed. I then ask to please send me those pictures, so I can also start the process of trying to hold the postal service liable. Support person also tells me that a supervisor will call me that same day to further discuss the issue.

March, 24th: The call form the supervisor never came, instead I get an email stating "What do you want, you already have the pictures of your broken console?"

4th call to PS-Support: I tell them that I needed different pictures, and that by now I'm really not enjoying their support, so ask, again, for a callback from a supervisor. Support person tells me I'll get a call today, until 6 p.m. No one ever calls me.

5th call to PS-Support (6:30 p.m.): I call back to ask why nobody called me, once again. This support person now tells me, that they never guarantee when someone will call at all. I tell them, that that's not what the other people told me, but okay, fine. I'm not happy, but fine. Support person then says: "I'll try to talk with someone, please hold the line." After about 6 or 7 minutes, the line simply cuts.

6th call to PS-Support: I get through, but the person immediately disconnects the phone. Maybe the same person from call 5?

7th, and so far final, call to PS-Support: I tell the same damn story for the 7th time. Support person says "Okay, yes, someone will call you, at some point, since we can't ever really tell when a supervisor will have time at all." I tell them: "Okay, fine, I get it, but can I at least tell you when I'll be available for a call-back, since I'm having a job besides talking to the Sony support." Person says: "Well, you can, but the supervisor will just call whenever, and when he does, you had better pick up, otherwise we won't call again." I say "Okay, that's great. It's not like I'm the wronged party, but sure, please do, thank you."

Thing is though, by this point I've had enough. Their service seems to be the literal worst! So now I'm trying to escalate things on social media, even though I hate to do this, but then again, maybe this will actually work. Which is were GB comes in (I'll also post this to every other damn gaming site - internationally and locally) to hopefully get some traction on those tweets.

So once again, please like and retweet if you can. If not, thanks for reading this entire thing - even just writing it down has had a cathartic, healing effect to calm me down a little. Anxiety sucks.

Stay safe out there, everyone. Thank you.

Man, fuck all of that. Good luck, duder.

I had to deal with Sony for a smaller problem and yes, I can confirm that they are the worst.

Condolences man, hope it gets sorted eventually. This is in it's truest form, a nightmare story.

This is Sony Europe so it is a different organization than Sony US, but I've had bad experiences with Sony support here too. The worst was one time when they double charged me for a game I bought online. I called support and they told me to dispute the extra charge with my credit card. I did, and then they banned my account, which meant I couldn't access any of my digital games or anything.

This was for doing something that they themselves told me to do!

Eventually I managed to get unbanned by buying a PSN card off Amazon and using that to pay them the cost of the credit card dispute (which again was a double charge) and then they did eventually reverse the extra charge on the card so it all more or less worked out in the end, and I hope your issue will too, but It was definitely an ordeal.

Good luck with your issue.

Thanks for reading this messy thing, duders, and for the well wishes.

I always knew corporations sucked, but I still don't understand the reasoning behind stuff like this. All they are doing is driving people to the competition, who already have a very strong offering right now. And thisfor a repair that, I would assume, would basically cost them nothing.

I'm getting so upset just reading about this duder. Sorry you're jumping through all these hoops. The fact that a damaged faceplate voids your warranty, when the faceplates stick out an extra couple inches and do very little to protect the console, is maddening.

Does this mean they still have you ps5? Do they plan on sending it back just as is? With the game disc still just stuck in it?

@noboners: Yeah, thanks, it's almost like the "fancy" design was a mistake after all. Especially since I had to remove the plates myself, which led to one of them becoming loose and was what probably caused the scratches in transit.

And, yes, I can either pay them 270€ (about 300$) for them to fix the issue or they'll send it back as is - with the disc still stuck inside (and unreadable btw).

@sessh: At least you'd have a PS5 digital edition that you might be able to get fixed locally at some point.

I'm still hopeful they'll see reason and actually fix it under warranty, but only time will tell on that. Are there European consumer protection laws that can help here? The EU is generally better about that stuff than the US.

I think most people agree that the design of the PS5 is pretty impractical. It needs that stupid stand just to be horizontal for gosh sakes! It just sucks that Sony is making a big deal about the stupid plates when they serve no practical purpose and are easy to damage. It's one thing to emphasize form over substance but another to insist that any aesthetic damage means that the user must have damaged the machine without any evidence.

I hope you can get you problem dealt with, but sadly, Playstation support is notoriously bad. Good luck finding anyone to talk to, since they force you to go through their online troubleshooting client, which is not very helpful. And then when you do finally get through, the person follow a very carefully written script in dealing with you like a telemarketer. I had an issue where I ordered a product off of their website, but they shipped me the wrong thing. I was trying my best to get into contact with them to cancel the order, but once the process goes to "ready for shipping" which happens almost immediately, you can't cancel the order. Luckily, when it did show up, I was able to put a return sticker on it and ship it back with no hassle, and I got my money back immediately after I let it be known I was returning it by using the process on their website.

Simply put, they have everything laid out in print about what you can and can't do in terms of returns, refunds, warranty, etc. And if your situation doesn't meet their requirement, you're usually out of luck. They don't factor in freak situations like you're going through, sadly. But keep trying. I have read stories where some get lucky and can actually contact someone who is usually more understanding than the bold print on their website.

At the risk of this not existing: if there is at all a right to working electronic goods for a set period within Austria, find out if there is a consumer rights ombudsman or similar you can contact for small claims. Forward them your communication with Sony, with notes and dates, and see if they can help get you a refund for the console and game lost to the console.

I apologize if that isn't possible, but a cursory search for Austrian consumer rights in English (my German is very rusty hence why I presume it was an incomplete search) wasn't bringing anything up. But as always, individuals can be ignored, formal bodies are less likely to be passed off or ignored.

I hope you find a resolution as it's frankly unacceptable from Sony.

@bigsocrates: Wow I had a similar problem where my PSN got hijacked and someone started charging games to my Paypal. In a panic I of course disputed the charges on Paypal. Then a couple days later my account was banned. I called support and they said it was because I disputed the charges through Paypal instead of Sony support. I spent multiple days talking to different people, one who said they fixed it and should have access in 24 hours. I dunno if they lied or something happened but no dice. In the end it was like your experience where I was forced to buy PSN cards and pay those charges to get my account back. Worth it in the end but wow I lost all respect for PS customer service. I've never had anything but good encounters with Xbox and Nintendo. Sony may be #1 but they are dead last in that department.

Fuck Sony. It's such a unique feeling of being alone and hopeless without recourse when dealing with the underpaid disassociated call center operators of these massive corporations.

It sucks, but putting them on blast on social media is probably your best bet. It might even be worth emailing into the bombcast and explaining that because the faceplates of your PS5 were slightly damaged Sony is refusing to repair the actual hardware - I bet they can make some hay out of that shit, because one could argue the stupid fucking faceplate design is conducive to superficial damage.

Get on reddit and post the same story you're posting here. Do the same on twitter. All you need is for one customer support rep to realise that the cost of a new PS5 is less than the potential damage you could do to their brand by loudly letting everyone know how shitty their customer service is.

I mean ideally they'd realise they need better customer service but who the fuck are we kidding.

This really sounds like a nightmare and I hope that you can somehow get the matter sorted. Luckily I've not had to approach Sony's customer support but have heard similar frustrating stories about them from other people.

I'd recommend contacting the European Customer Center or your local equivalent. Large companies usually don't want to get a bad reputation with the ECC so Sony might be more lenient once they hear you've contacted the authorities. Here's the link to the German ECC site.

I agree with both sweep and isomeri. I'm sure like most people you want this situation handled without any friction, but you sometimes have to make noise to be heard and get any sort of justice done. Go a step further and see if you can contact the local media on top of using social media and reveal how Sony won't honor a simple warranty and replace or fix your console. This might put spotlight on the horrible costumer service they have been getting away with for years now. It likely won't change their shady practice overall, but it should get your situation settled, assuming the media agrees to run your story.

For what it's worth, i hope for the best. You got me paranoid about my PS5 now. What a completely unfair shit show.

I actually had a similar situation with Virgin Broadband in London, where I was endlessly calling up their customer support because I was paying for 50mbps and getting an average of less than 5 down. After hours spread across multiple weeks of calling, being on hold, being cut off randomly, and dealing with customer service "technicians" who sound incredibly similar to that of Sony (usually an Indian dude who I can barely hear reading from a checklist, telling me to turn my computer off and on again), I found an obscure forum post from years before where someone claimed to have had their case resolved quickly and cleanly after they had made a report through the ISPA (Internet service providers association) - I'd never heard of them, but I figured it couldn't hurt, so I filled out their report form and sent it off into the void. The next day I had a direct call from the head of Virgin customer care in the UK who gave me her personal extension number, and the mobile number of a technician (In the UK, not in India!) who was being assigned to fix my internet speeds and who I was told I could call at any time. I had 50mbps down by the end of the week. I don't know who the ISPA are but they lit a fucking fire.

So yes, I agree with isomeri - there may be some kind of equivalent association or watchdog service who will fight on your behalf and/or hold Sony to account. Definitely worth looking into.

Yeah, unfortunately customer support by major corporations being utterly terrible is nothing new, you can really tell that they want absolutely nothing to do with their customers after the sale has been completed and would prefer people just suck up the damages instead of asking for help.

I also recommend contacting the authorities, it worked for me with Lufthansa Airlines. A few years ago I was flying home for Christmas, my flight got delayed by a day, which meant that in the EU I was eligible for compensation. So I filed the forms on Lufthansa's website, got a robotic confirmation that they received my claim but otherwise heard nothing from them for a month. I understand they might have been busy so I sent another message simply asking them if they had received my claim and if they could provide a timeline for the process, no answer. Sent several increasingly annoyed messages over the next two months, again with absolutely no answer - in 3 months I had not heard a thing from them since sending the claim. So I checked the name of the whatever aviation watchdog handles these claims, and sent them one more message saying that I have already filed a complaint with the watchdog. Lo and behold, just 2 days later I get my first correspondence from Lufthansa where they apologize profusely for the delay and tell me that my compensation claim was being paid out.

Again, thanks for all the well-wishes and general tips, everyone.

@bigsocrates: Sure, but that would still totally suck and also would leave my AC: Valhalla disc trapped and unreadable for who knows how long.

Yeah, I've now gotten in contact with the respective EU services, and we'll see what will happen now.

Also, yes, the horizontal stand is complete nonsense, not that you could ever actually fit that thing anywhere when it actually is horizontal.

@av_gamer: That also sound like a really dumb situation. I just don't understand why the can't be more flexible in their work flows. Sure, it's a giant corporation and all, but that shit just creates extra work for their customers and themselves. It just makes no sense to me whatsoever.

@osail: Thanks so much for even trying to help google for the correct consumer rights group. I've already gotten in contact with the correct group this morning and I'll now see what will happen.

@spacemanspiff00: Man, that's also a real shitshow. Glad it kinda worked out for you in the end, though, or did you never get the extra charge back?

@sweep: I did email the bombcast, since even if it doesn't help out, I just think it's another story where the guys can have an interesting discussion about it. Unfortunately Brad didn't chose the mail, so now I've sent it to the beastcast, let's see if it gets read there.

I've also tried to post the same thing on reddit, since that's the place you always hear about "causing a social media uproar", unfortunately the mods there simply removed my post without any comment whatsoever. So no luck there.

And, yeah, not gonna happen.

@isomeri: Thank you for looking that up/posting it. That's actually the organization I ended up contacting this morning. Hopefully they can help out.

@av_gamer: Yeah, in general I'm quite averse to cause friction or try to get anything done via really dumb means like social media complaints, but here we are. Local media would be my next step, if Twitter and the EU customer rights organisation doesn't help. At this point I kinda feel, that the effort sonn won't be worth the money (even though its a fucking lot of money), but honestly it's now more of matter of principle for me.

@apewins: Happy that your situation got worked out in your favour eventually, but it's really depressing to hear more and more of these dumb stories. It's real fucked up how badly a customer can get treated without any real reason for it.

Sony's customer support is why I really hemmed and hawed about going with a Series X this gen. I ultimately went with the PS5 since I want to carry my PS4 games over, but I pray that it works flawlessly throughout the gen, because I *reaaaally* don't want to deal with their CS and its "only help the customer if there's no possible way to blame them for the problem" stance.

@sessh: It kinda worked out. I was able to negotiate all my funds back on to my PSN account so not a total loss, just tied to Playstation. I'm not sure if I could have convinced them to refund it but at that point I was done sitting on the phone with them. I just wanted the headache to be over lol.

@sessh: Did you try to get Patrick’s attention? He’s usually on this “Wow Sony that’s fucked up” beat.

@efesell:I actually hadn't thought of him yet, but I might just write him also, thanks.

The word you're looking for at the end is cathartic. Catatonic would leave you unable to even write this :)

@cornbredx: Ah shit, I thought it was wrong, but was too lazy to actually look it up. :D

What weasels! Done and done.

honestly at the first sign of trouble you need to go up the chain as far as possible. all corporations are shit at this and they /only/ respond when you air it to the board and their investor groups.

I have retweeted and liked.
As a fellow European, I have faith that once you get one of the regulatory bodies involved, your ps5 will be fixed. The repair centre need to supply the pictures of the box. How do we know the PS5 wasn't damaged at the repair site? It is a pity you do not have evidence of the PS5 condition before you shipped it (Do you?). They say they have images of the box when it is delivered. They need to provide these. That would be my angle. The dirt on the faceplate is not something that would happen at home.
You should chase Sony, but also the delivery service (which I know you have mentioned you are trying too). If the repair centre are telling the truth. It is the delivery service who should provide compensation for the damage.

I have an update on this whole thing: the situation got resolved in my favour.

I'd gotten a call early last week from a PS support supervisor who mentioned "we've seen you've also gone and mentioned the situation on twitter already" in the second sentence (first sentence was making sure he called the correct person) and no mention of the regulatory bodies I'd also gotten in contact with. He said the case would get reevaluated, but I'd have to wait another one to two weeks for an answer about what exactly is going to happen.

Today, without any further notice (via phone/email or whatever) on what would happen, I've received a package containing a PS5 and a note simply stating the the defective console has gotten replaced with a new one. Sadly my AC: Valhalla disc is missing (and isn't mentioned anywhere), so I'll have to contact support again, but hey, the big problem at least got resolved already.

Since the twitter thing got mentioned, I can only assume that actually was the reason they did anything (like actually looking at what's even broken) - which is crazy to me, but here we are. Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone here again for the kind words and for liking and retweeting.

@sessh:

congrats on getting your issue (partially) handled. Sucks that you had to go through so much for something that should have been fixed from the get to.

Viel spaß mit dein neue machiene.

This supervisor is salty as fuck about having to actually care about this issue all of a sudden.

I'm not even sure if there are "supervisors". I was having issues even buying things digitally through the PS Store a few years ago, constantly getting my account locked because it wouldn't accept my credit card on file. After a few go arounds of "just buy some gift cards off Amazon" from PS Support I finally got an alleged higher up who only offered a $10 credit to alleviate my problem.

My guy, how could I even use this credit, if I can't even use the store?! I'm convinced they just sic AI on us to make us go away. The icing on this cake was that my PS Plus subscription auto-renewed no problem like a week later.

Congrats on conquering the beast, duder, as best as it can be conquered.

Glad to see that you got your console fixed and returned. The Assassin Creed game might be a refund issue, which could open another can of worms. The good news is you can use your returned console and proof of game purchase as leverage if you decide to go for that refund.

@sessh: It keeps being incredibly frustrating that the only way the consumer can wrangle the service they are completely entitled to is through stirring up a shitstorm on social media. Glad it got resolved at least but Sony tech support can't give you back the wasted time and nerves spent on something that should have been a basic support ticket and not a nightmare journey to get your $500 piece of brand new hardware fixed.

I would take the ps5 and count yourself lucky.

I'll send you money for AC valhalla just so you don't need to deal with PS Support anymore!!! :P