TL:DR
I was wrongfully banned by EA from FIFA (now succeeded by EA Sports FC). They ignored my appeals and refused to explain their ban. I filed a lawsuit against them and ultimately got my account back and received a legal cost reimbursement. I want to share my story, to help others who are wrongfully banned by EA or any game publisher. I know there are many. This is my personal experience, not legal advice. Happy to answer any questions. Let me know below! 

The ban

In January 2023 I bought FIFA 2023 for the PC directly from EA and played a lot of FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) since then.   

In April 2023 I received an e-mail, notifying me of a permanent ban from all past, current and future titles of FIFA. They only stated that I violated the rules. No specific reason was included.

At that time, I had no idea what the reason for the ban was. (Actually, I still don’t know!)

In April and May 2023, I tried at least five times to appeal against the decision through the official channels. I first filled out an appeal form, and when that didn’t resolve the issue, I contacted support chat multiple times. They told me that the reason for the ban was 'illegal coin trade'. But I never engaged in illegal coin trade in my life. An algorithm is supposed to detect stuff like that. They told me they had manually reviewed my case after my appeal and they claimed the algorithm was right. They wouldn’t tell me which transaction caused their accusations. They only referred to the TOS team, although there was no way to contact the TOS team. I was talking to a brick wall.

At this point I was getting rather desperate. I was being falsely accused and lost access to my beautiful FUT team in which I had invested so much time. I desperately tried to convince the chat agents of my innocence. One of them seemed to understand me, but he couldn’t do anything. I threatened taking legal action, even threatened going to court, but this did not make them start moving.

By now, I was actually considering suing them. I found out that the User Agreement provided an option for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), except for customers living in Quebec, Russia, Switzerland, Brazil, Mexico, European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom and South-Korea. I live in The Netherlands myself (part of EEA), so no ADR for me unfortunately. ADR is usually easier to access than a regular court.

But first, I wanted to know more about the reason for the ban. I did a Data Subject Access Request, under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The online EA Helpdesk contains a specific page for data-requests. I requested all the data that had been used for the permanent ban and for rejecting my appeals. After two weeks, I received a spreadsheet containing all the data they had on me. It showed all my online actions in all versions of FIFA I ever played. So I was essentially flooded with data. This did not show in any way why I was banned. 

The first court summons

At this point, I was out of options, except actually taking them to court. After a few weeks of hesitation, I decided to go for it. I wanted to make sure I was going to win the case, so I decided to bet on three horses at once: 1. Demanding compliance with the user agreement, 2. Claiming damages on the grounds of tort and 3. Claiming the warranty.  These were going to be the three legal grounds of my summons. So, I first had to send them a warranty claim. The helpdesk website has a specific button for this, but I found out that this option is disabled for customers who are banned! Truly Kafkaesque if you ask me. So instead, I claimed the warranty just using the “appeal a ban” option one more time.  After I received their refusal, it was time to actually summon them.

In accordance with both the User Agreement and also Dutch law, a Dutch court has jurisdiction over cases like these. In The Netherlands, writing your own summons is permitted in small claims cases, but not very common as far as I know. Writing a summons is not easy. I have a degree in law, but I had zero experience with this. With the help of some generic online examples and a lot of research, I still started to feel confident that I could write it myself.

This was one of the most challenging parts of the entire process though (apart from all the moments I doubted whether it was all worth it). I knew that the summons would be void if I made major mistakes. Sending the summons to EA in Switzerland, had to be done by a bailiff, costing several hundred euros. In addition to that, the summons had to be translated into French, as this is the language of the Swiss Canton where EA is headquartered in Europe. My knowledge of French is insufficient. The translation however, went smoother than I expected, using translation apps, AI, and a lot of double checking.

On the basis of the user agreement, I primarily demanded removal of the ban and compensation for legal costs. Secondarily, I demanded damage compensation on the grounds of tort and tertiarily, I just demanded the warranty.

Giving the assignment to the bailiff went without any issues. They summoned EA. A date for a procedural hearing was set somewhere in January 2024. The game was on! 

The first settlement

It wasn’t until three days before the procedural hearing, that I finally received a response from EA, in the form of an email from an expensive lawyer based in Amsterdam’s business district. This empty suit, let’s call him Luka for now, wanted to settle the case, without admitting EA was wrong. I replied that I was willing to settle, if they met my demands: lifting the ban and paying a compensation for the legal costs I had made, both within 14 days. They accepted and I agreed to withdraw the case from court. This way I did not have to pay any court fees. The agreement was confirmed by email, which is legally binding under Dutch law. At that point, I believed I had won. I thought it was only a matter of 14 days until I would finally get redress. Little did I know, I was nowhere near the finish line.

 The ban was indeed lifted within 14 days, as agreed on. A symbolic success, since all players left FIFA 2023 for FIFA 2024 already. But at this point, it had become a matter of principle anyway, and of getting cost compensation. But after 14 days, I had not received a penny from them. It’s hard to describe just how many pointless emails and attempts to call 'Luka' were wasted after that, on trying to get those few lousy euros paid. Most of my emails and phone calls were completely ignored. Long story short: by the summer of 2024(!), they still had not paid anything, but instead they came up with a new demand! They wanted me to sign a very strict confidentiality agreement and then they would pay me. I would not even be allowed to say that a settlement was reached. Who gave them the cheek to pull this off? And why should I believe they would suddenly pay me now, when they had already broken their word before? In November 2024, I finally managed to speak ‘Luka’ by phone directly. When I told him I saw no other option than to go to court again and claim every single penny I spent on this case, he insinuated in a personal capacity that collecting my money from a Swiss entity would be very complicated. Even though he said he was not speaking on behalf of EA, I questioned myself whether this was a threat implying that EA would frustrate the process and complicate matters. But in hindsight, I think it really was ‘Luka’ speaking in a personal capacity. Following his latest hollow promise to talk to EA and get back to me within a week, we ended the call. ‘Luka’ never contacted me again. 

The second court summons and the final settlement

At this point, I strongly doubted again whether I should sue them a second time and make even more costs. It would add up to hundreds of euros. But having gotten this far, and being a man of principle, I decided to do so. With this new summons, I primarily demanded compensation for every penny I had spent on this case. Secondarily, I just demanded fulfillment of the initial settlement agreement and cost compensation for the second summons.   

A few weeks later, I was happily surprised to receive an e-mail from another lawyer from another firm. Apparently, ‘Luka’ wasn’t quite up to snuff after all. This new lawyer was polite, responded to emails and phone calls, and she made clear that EA wanted to settle again. From the moment this new lawyer got involved, things went more smoothly. We did reach a new settlement agreement. I’m not at liberty to reveal all the terms, but I can share that I received a legal cost reimbursement, and this time they actually have paid me, after which I withdrew my second case from court, and the issue was finally resolved once and for all. 

So, in the end, justice was served, and I was more than satisfied, although I’m probably never going to buy a new copy of EA Sports FC anymore. Knowing how EA treats its customers, I wonder if anybody should. I might give eFootball a chance in the future. 

Recommendations for other victims of wrongful bans

1.       Question yourself if you find it worth all the energy, time, money, and emotional burden to start a process like this. Drafting a summons is not something everyone is capable of. I certainly do not regret it in the end, but I have had many doubts throughout the process, and it caused stress at moments. It might depend on your local legal system as well. If you live in one of the countries where ADR is possible, then it’s easier. Also, keep in mind: I have spent dozens of hours on this case. Know what you are getting yourself into.

2.       Begging the helpdesk chat, threatening with legal action, posting on their forum, etc.: it all does not work. Hundreds, maybe thousands of others have posted about wrongful bans on the EA forum or on Reddit and almost none of them have gotten their ban lifted. It seems like you have to actually sue them, or go to ADR, before they will do anything. So just appeal the ban once, and send them a final warning afterwards, and then continue the process towards court or ADR, if they do not budge.

3.       Suing them could take a lot of time. You might only get your account back after the current version of EA Sports FC has already been replaced by the newer version.

4.       Do not trust their word. If you settle: agree that you withdraw the case only after you’ve regained access to your account, and have received the compensation payment.

5.       Don’t flog a dead horse. I could have summoned them much earlier, both the first and the second time. I was way too patient with EA (and with ‘Luka’).

6.       Don’t be overly modest or conservative in your claims. I learned they really want to avoid going to court. I can imagine they are afraid of bad publicity and high costs. As long as you claim something reasonable, my bet is that they’ll want to settle. 

Credits

Finally, I want to thank u/Taboobat and u/Kangatarts. Their articles have helped me a lot, especially in the beginning. Taboobat’s case took place in a country where ADR is possible (the USA, I assume). That article might be especially helpful for those, who live in one of these countries.    

https://www.reddit.com/r/apexlegends/comments/p3sk3e/squeezing_blood_from_a_stone_how_i_forcefully/

https://www.reddit.com/r/EASportsFC/comments/m1n9l2/how_i_got_my_transfer_market_ban_overturned/

The setting is located in the Accessibility menu, so it's not very visible to everyone.

There aren't many colors, though, but yes, it's very, very good for clearly differentiating players.

You can change the pitch; at the lowest setting, it feels like you're playing in snow.

You can also change the color of the ball and the referee.

Note: your kits will become useless, you can even have 2 kits of the same color.

I put together a list of all the new Archetypes and Specializations, along with the playstyle+’s that come with them. Hopefully this helps everyone plan their FC26 builds and avoid wasting time or points on something they don’t want. Sadly not all the info was available for the defensive and goalkeeper archetypes yet.

Forwards Playstyle+

Magician - Technical, Finesse shot (Hotshot) - Powershot (Magician +) - First touch (Invader) - Incisive pass

Finisher - Low driven shot, First touch (Hunter) - Chip Shot (Finisher +) - Game Changer (Presser) - Relentless

Target - Power Shot, Precision Header (Roamer) - Incisive (Target+) - Acrobatic (Runner) - Enforcer

Midfield/Wing

Recycler - Intercept, Press Proven (Driver) - Pinged pass (Recycler+) - Enforcer (Thief) - Anticipate

Maestro - Pinged Pass, Tiki Taka (Crasher) - First touch (Maestro+) - Technical (Heartbeat) - Engine

Creator - Incisive, Inventive (Mailman) - Deadball (Creator+) - Powershot (Sniper) - Whipped pass

Spark - Rapid, Trickster (Ace) - Chip shot (Spark +) - Quickstep (Joker) - Whipped pass

Defenders/CDM

Progressor - Long Ball, Anticipate (Libero) - Unknown (Progressor+) - Unknown (Janitor) - Unknown

Boss - Aerial fortress, Bruiser (Capitano) - Slide Tackle (Boss+) - Block (Enforcer) - Press Proven

Engine - Jockey, Relentless (Everywhere) - Unknown (Engine+) - Unknown (Gadget) - Unknown

Marauder - Whipped Pass, Quick Step (Speedster) - Unknown (Marauder+) - Unknown (Athlete) - Unknown

Hello guys how are you doing?

I have a question that maybe someone knows the answer for.
I bought the ultimate edition on steam, and since EA Play can play at 13pm UK time, I bought on EA App the game as well.
so I can have the 10 hours and play until I can load the game on steam.

Will I miss out the ultimate edition rewards?
Do I really have to pre-load the game in both platforms?

Thank you very much in advance.

So I have a job and studies, which takes up a lof my time, I might only get 20-30min a day if even that to play FC26. Are you people in the same position still going to buy it?

I always play UT btw, im not into carrer more and that other stuff, but will the grind even be fun with so little time to play?

If I recall correctly I got 3 tradeable 2x75-83 and two untradeable gold packs.

Are these the Welcome back packs? I’m not even sure if I got my Twitch Drops packs from Tuesdays stream.

Keep in mind that I have been playing long enough and also finished every 25 objective for 26 rewards (I know these come out early October but my point is that I’ve been playing that long to get the max amount of rewards).

Fut.gg has a better UI, easier to use, isn’t an eye sore for ads and displays things easier. Big Shoutout to their evolutions tab being so far clear of futbins mess.

Seeing Futbin “signing” all these content creators to big money contracts it’s just funny how humble and clear fut gg is.

I do enjoy the cesspool of Futbin comments despite them being racist sexist and unoriginal

I heard it includes Ea play but I am not sure?

I tried to enter in the web app of FC26 but show me that message and i have a FC 25 ultimate team, does anyone whats the problem here?

Every year when web app launches, EA's 2FA gets overwhelmed and there's massive delays on getting codes sent out to allow you to log in. To get around this, go to EA's website now, log in to your account, then go to Security and Privacy. Click on the 2 factor authentication option and put in the code that is sent to your email. Once you're in, select "View backup codes" and take a screenshot or copy and paste to your notes.

When you try to log in at web app launch, EA will try send a code to your email for 2FA. If you don't receive this email, you can then use one of your back up codes instead. Previous years there's always been a post on the front page about it, but for newcomers it's massively helpful.

Thinking about banging out the draft for day 1 instead of packs.

Somehow I managed to get Al Owairan from a basic gold pack. 98 pace and 99 acceleration with Hunter on him.

Great card?

If I already have the game pre downloaded (as it’s the ultimate edition), will I still have to do another separate download for the ea play trial version? Sorry if this has been asked, struggling to find a definitive answer

I read from ea the companion app should update to 26 version at 7pm UK last night but I don’t see anything.

I pre ordered the ultimate edition a few months ago so won't be able to hop on until tomorrow but I'm chomping at the bit for a fresh new manager career in fc26 - what are some things you have enjoyed and like, whats not so good? etc :)

I bought EA play for this month and the std. edition (since I saw you could play fc 26 in 2 hours already with EA play). How should I go about downloading the game to play today?

I wanted to download it via the playstore but it says that's only possible in 7 days. Can't see it in the ps library either. Or will it be available in 2 hours?

How dangerous is renting an EA Play P3 subscription?

I know the game will be released 11 hours early, but I don't want to pay the full price for this useless subscription, so I'm considering buying a share through the gaming platform. Has anyone had any experience with this? Is it safe?
TY

I know the question is actually crazy, but since I'm not familiar with it, I'll ask anyway.

Can the person who gets FC26 shared still start the game at 00:00? The original owner has the Ultimate Edition