Just got a permanent auction house ban - Was #77 on binder leaderboard

Mythomaniac said:

I'm 100% with you on this one.

When I got banned, I had a little over a million coins and my team was no nothing special.

I believe that my bank was for one of two reasons.

1. BUYING up all the underpriced late night cards EA was releasing into the market.

I don't know if you remember, but last year, when they released the Stocking Stuffers Token sets, you would go into the AH and see a bunch of identical cards, same player, same price and posted at the same time.

One night I decided I was going to complete the set, but I was having trouble finding the cards so I decided to build them.  

I was refreshing the page, when suddenly a ton of cards at 33% the normal price started popping up, so I did what any man in my position would do and bought as many as I could afford.

Spent all my coins, built the cards completed the set then went to bed.

That's it, the whole story. 

Got home after work the next night, loaded up MUT and I was banned.

2. The same night, while I was completing the set, I was on Twitch trying to get drops for the Mutmas countdown promos they were doing last December and I got into it with some asswhole in the chat.

We ended up getting banned from the channel, even though everyone on the channel was defending me, letting the streamer know that the asswhole misunderstood what I was trying to say, but got banned from the channel either way.

This was an EA sponsored event, so I'm not 100% sure it had anything to do with my bank on MUT, but those were the only two things that I can think of that could have resulted in my ban.

Either I got banned for buying too many cards (not selling) or getting banned from an EA sponsored channel on Twitch.

jimshredder said:

I used this exact format and my appeal got denied - and they provided no evidence of my wrongdoing

Did you get your appeal overturned?

@bhixon 

I think you said your ban got overturned in 2 weeks after you mailed them a letter

Can you share the address where you send that letter

@peatrick 

Do you have the address where I should send a letter also

.

I dont care so much about getting my coins back at this time....I care more about wanting EA to stop banning people for no reason

Yes send it to here via certified mail. I used sendcertifiedmail.com so I didn’t have to go to the post office. 

Electronic Arts

Attn Legal Department

209 Redwood Shores Parkway

Redwood City, CA 94065

They signed for my letter 11/15 and took about 10 days to get unbanned after receipt of letter

A copy of what I sent is posted, but just use your own language

bhixon said:

Yes send it to here via certified mail. I used sendcertifiedmail.com so I didn’t have to go to the post office. 

Electronic Arts

Attn Legal Department

209 Redwood Shores Parkway

Redwood City, CA 94065

They signed for my letter 11/15 and took about 10 days to get unbanned after receipt of letter

A copy of what I sent is posted, but just use your own language

Thank you so much

Just sent the letter via sentcertifiedmail.com

Cost about $11 and should arrive in 3-5 days to EA Legal Department

Ill let you know how things go

Such BS they do what they do now.

bhixon said:

Yes send it to here via certified mail. I used sendcertifiedmail.com so I didn’t have to go to the post office. 

Electronic Arts

Attn Legal Department

209 Redwood Shores Parkway

Redwood City, CA 94065

They signed for my letter 11/15 and took about 10 days to get unbanned after receipt of letter

A copy of what I sent is posted, but just use your own language

Did you also get coins returned or just account unbanned?

jimshredder said:

Did you also get coins returned or just account unbanned?

Formal “Notice of Dispute”–style letter

Use if you are following EA’s arbitration clause process (U.S./Canada/Japan/other covered regions).

Subject: Notice of Dispute and Demand for Evidence – Account Ban (MUT 26 Auction House)

To: Electronic Arts Inc.
209 Redwood Shores Parkway
Redwood City, CA 94065
ATTENTION: Legal Department

Dear Sir or Madam,

I submit this letter as a formal Notice of Dispute regarding the restriction/ban placed on the Auction House feature of my EA account.

Account information

• Name: [FULL LEGAL NAME]
• EA Account Email / ID: [EMAIL / ID]
• Platform and Gamertag/PSN/ID: [DETAILS]
• Game: Madden NFL 26 Ultimate Team
• Date of Ban / Restriction: [DATE]

Nature of the dispute
EA has restricted my access to the MUT 26 Auction House and stated that this was due to an alleged violation of EA’s rules. I have not engaged in coin selling/buying, botting, or any other conduct that I understand to be prohibited. EA has not provided a specific explanation or evidence supporting the decision, despite my attempts to obtain clarification through standard support channels.

The lack of a clear explanation and evidence for a punitive action that impacts a paid online service is, in my view, arbitrary and inconsistent with fair‑dealing and consumer‑protection principles.

Requested information and relief
I request that EA:

1. Identify the precise provision(s) of the EA User Agreement and/or Madden NFL 26 rules that EA alleges I violated.
2. Provide a description of the specific in‑game actions or transactions relied on, including approximate dates/times and the general nature of those actions (e.g., identified “coin distribution” transactions, flagged trades, Auction House listings, or other events).
3. Either:
   • (a) Reinstate my Auction House access and remove any related flags if EA cannot substantiate a violation with reliable evidence; or
   • (b) Provide the above information so that I can meaningfully review and contest the decision.

Good‑faith resolution and consumer‑protection rights
I am seeking to resolve this matter informally and in good faith, consistent with the dispute‑resolution section of EA’s terms. At the same time, I reserve all rights under applicable consumer‑protection laws concerning unfair or deceptive practices, and any rights to challenge the enforcement of a ban where no adequate supporting evidence is presented.

Please respond in writing within [X] days of receipt of this letter. If we are unable to resolve this dispute informally, I am prepared to pursue the next steps described in EA’s dispute‑resolution/arbitration provisions.

Sincerely,

[FULL NAME]
[POSTAL ADDRESS]
[EMAIL / PHONE]

jimshredder said:

Did you also get coins returned or just account unbanned?

Consumer‑protection flavored complaint (for EA + regulator)

Use variants of this wording for a CFPB/FTC/state AG/regulator complaint and copy EA.

*** Complaints are usually filed online at reportfraud.ftc.gov ***

Subject: Unexplained Account Ban and Request for Evidence – Madden NFL 26 MUT Auction House

Dear [AGENCY / EA],

I am writing to report and seek redress for a restriction/ban on my EA account’s access to the Madden NFL 26 Ultimate Team Auction House imposed on or about [DATE]. I have spent approximately [AMOUNT] on in‑game content and rely on the Auction House as a core feature of that service.

EA has asserted that my account violated its rules but has refused to provide any specific explanation or evidence beyond generic references to “suspicious activity.” I have repeatedly requested:

• Identification of the exact rule(s) EA alleges I violated; and
• A basic description of the actions or transactions EA is relying upon.

To date, EA has not provided this information. As a result, a paid, value‑bearing digital service has been significantly restricted without a transparent or verifiable justification. In my view, this may constitute an unfair or deceptive practice under applicable consumer‑protection standards because:

• I cannot confirm that any violation actually occurred;
• I have no meaningful way to correct or avoid the alleged behavior in the future; and
• I have effectively lost access to value I purchased.

I respectfully request that EA be required to either:

1. Provide a clear explanation and supporting evidence for the ban; or
2. Remove the restriction and restore my access to the Auction House.

I further request that your office review whether EA’s current enforcement and transparency practices for account bans and feature restrictions comply with applicable consumer‑protection requirements.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
[FULL NAME]
[ACCOUNT DETAILS]

Good luck, we're all with you ✊

jimshredder said:

Did you also get coins returned or just account unbanned?

Well, the coin wipe happened after I was reinstated. I tried to appeal, got nowhere, and just gave up. I did pen a letter to Roger Goodell about my experience thus far.

bhixon said:

Well, the coin wipe happened after I was reinstated. I tried to appeal, got nowhere, and just gave up. I did pen a letter to Roger Goodell about my experience thus far.

So you got banned from the auction house - then reallowed access to the auction house- then got your coins taken away - all at different times

So EA said you committed (2) violations? and the 2nd violation led to a coin wipe?

jimshredder said:

So you got banned from the auction house - then reallowed access to the auction house- then got your coins taken away - all at different times

So EA said you committed (2) violations? and the 2nd violation led to a coin wipe?

That’s correct. 

I also set up a new account for my 10 year old son under a different email address. I had purchased packs, bought and sold for him to have all his favorites on his team. Told him I had a suprise for him on Xmas and tried to log in and saw that account was permanently banned from all EA games. He was in tears and boy was I pissed!!

jimshredder said:

I used this exact format and my appeal got denied - and they provided no evidence of my wrongdoing

Did you get your appeal overturned?

@bhixon 

I think you said your ban got overturned in 2 weeks after you mailed them a letter

Can you share the address where you send that letter

@peatrick 

Do you have the address where I should send a letter also

.

I dont care so much about getting my coins back at this time....I care more about wanting EA to stop banning people for no reason

Ha, good luck with that quest (to get specific info on how/why) we were banned.  I firmly believe that they are not only absolutely clueless, they quite frankly do not give one flying fuck about any of us.  Please check and confirm, as my information is potentially years old at this point, but i assume once you stand up a building that cost tens of millions of dollars, you probably don't bail out on that commercial real estate in short order.  So, my point here is that I remain cautiously optimistic this address (from 2023) will still remain accurate and relevant... but i can make absolutely zero promises.

You should regard basically anything and everything that comes out of my fat yap as highly suspect.  Don't trust, verify.  I'm a fat, lazy, pathetic fucker -- still haven't motivated to go get my library card to print out a stupid piece of paper.  EA making it more and more difficult to care each and every single year.  If they're about to break me, who is an obsessive-compulsive Madden Ultimate Team degenerate / full blown MUT-addict, well... the regular kids don't stand a chance in hell.  The address (and complete instructions) were posted at the top of my form letter, do you have the link?

Electronic Arts Inc
Attn: Legal Department
209 Redwood Shores Pkwy
Redwood City, CA 94065
United States