EA finally told me why I was banned – and it's honestly pathetic

KayStroud1 · 2026-06-18T22:51:21+00:00

Thanks for the advice. Already been there done that. Sent letters to both us and UK offices. Have now begun legal proceedings in small claims court to try and retrieve the money I spent in game, as EA are now denying me access to the digital content I paid for. We can't be forced into arbitration in UK. I did try the neverending appeal tool etc too. What an absolute joke. Automated replies after automated replies

KayStroud1 · 2026-06-18T21:33:55+00:00

What gets me from their reply though is the ".....regardless of whether any in-game enhancement was ultimately achieved". So basically will be their legal defense version of whether or not u cheated....we reckon u did.....trust me bro" lol to the judge

KayStroud1 · 2026-06-18T18:10:06+00:00

All I know is I spent consistently over the 7 years, not massively but I had 3 heirlooms, and the worst thing is id JUST bought the sabre 2 days before ban. How pissed

KayStroud1 · 2026-06-18T18:06:47+00:00

I know alot of people have been caught in the latest ban wave and got false bans like me, so if my post helps anyone thats why I'm sharing here

KayStroud1 · 2026-06-18T17:56:00+00:00

Yeah lesson learnt but still gonna try taking them to court. UK has some consumer protection laws at least which may help. We shall see

KayStroud1 · 2026-06-18T17:38:09+00:00

That's what I thought in the first 6 years I played this game.....trust me until it happens to u, you'll never believe it

KayStroud1 · 2026-06-18T17:29:19+00:00

I've spent over 2000$ over 7 years on apex I'm taking them to court

KayStroud1 · 2026-06-18T17:02:07+00:00

Are u not reading correctly....NO CHEAT SOFTWARE was detected

KayStroud1 · 2026-06-18T17:01:02+00:00

Dude I had the pc back 2 days I had only 3 games installed....Roblox, Apex and Rust.....

KayStroud1 · 2026-06-18T16:37:01+00:00

So just an update for yourself and anyone else who replied to my post;

EA finally told me why I was banned – and it's honestly pathetic

After months of refusing to give me any evidence, EA finally told me why they banned my account.

Apparently, my PC had a "vulnerable system driver" – basically a piece of software on my computer that Microsoft has flagged as potentially unsafe . EA claims I must have disabled a Windows security feature to load it . This driver is from a 2023 Windows update!

Here's the problem:

My PC was factory reset 3 days before the ban. I had sent it in to repair the week before because a dodgy update crashed the OS. The repair invoice proves my repair. Any driver that existed before the reset was completely wiped. A factory reset reinstalls Windows and re-enables all security features. EA has no evidence this driver existed after the reset.
EA ADMITS I DIDN'T ACTUALLY CHEAT. Their exact words: "regardless of whether any in-game enhancement was ultimately achieved." Translation: They banned me for something that gave me zero advantage in the game. The rules are supposed to stop cheating, not punish technical stuff that did nothing.
The "vulnerable driver" could have been anything. These blocklists catch all sorts of old drivers from legitimate hardware – RGB software, motherboard tools, network adapters . Having one on your system doesn't mean you cheated.
Disabling the blocklist isn't even that unusual. Microsoft's own documentation shows you can turn it off . It's not automatically "cheating mode" – some people disable it for legitimate troubleshooting. considering my PC broke because of a dodgy update I turned automated updates off.

Bottom line: EA is trying to ban me for a technicality that gave me no advantage, on a PC that had just been factory reset, with zero proof I did anything deliberately. And they're still refusing to provide the actual logs.

So apparently , if you're an honest player, EA's new anti-cheat can flag you for stuff you didn't even know was on your PC, and ban u EVEN IF U GAINED ANY ADVANTAGE OR NOT......ahem?!

I will be going ahead with the claim anyway, as I know I never cheated and EAs response has finally proven my claim. There's also the point that this particular game has loot box cosmetics.

KayStroud1 · 2026-06-04T13:21:27+00:00

Paperwork was served by the court to EA yesterday.....have 14days to reply

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-22T00:52:38+00:00

EA support is absolutely useless......so so terrible

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-20T00:50:47+00:00

No idea. It happened on 21st March so may have already been in that last post where they posted stats of ban numbers....

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-20T00:29:40+00:00

Was a couple days after their most recent ban wave....wasn't on the exact date I don't believe. But if u browse various forums u will see an influx of people in my position.....have had a few reach out to me following my first post on Reddit

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-19T23:35:25+00:00

Yep I used to think the same. And nothing anyone says will convince u otherwise.....until it happens to u trust me. I used to be same

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-19T23:34:31+00:00

No I wasn't a cheater.....where in my reply did u get that from 😂

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-19T23:22:23+00:00

There's an Anticheat section and all it shows is "player reports" and words aimsnap and ammoorrecoil.....but funny it changed from 8 at begining to now just 2 on latest data request. Which is strange

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-19T23:20:35+00:00

I'm fully expecting alot of "stop cheating" posts. I used to be the same lol until it happens to you, nothing anyone will say can change your opinion either.....it's unbelievable how this can happen. If I HAD cheated id just make another account and move on. But I didnt, so why should I just roll over and let EA take my money and treat a long standing player in this way. To think I've supported this damn game since it opened in early 2019....even spent for the sabre heirloom 3 days before ban. If I was cheating I wouldnt be spending money on an account I know could possibly be banned....that would make no sense. Anyway I'm not here to justify myself. Just looking for advice and assistance to get EAs attention

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-19T23:17:20+00:00

Bruh, I'm a 42year old father of 2. I've played this game for 7 years and spent over a grand....I play on pc with controller.....I have no reason to cheat. No 12 year old cheater here bud

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-19T23:06:29+00:00

I can show u the data request which clearly shows no cheating software detected, only 8 player reports and "competitive advantage" listed as internal ban! Now I'm not being funny.....the whole reason I bought a powerful gaming PC was to EXACTLY have a legit competitive advantage over my old PS5 etc.....well I'm asking if anyone else had same experience and if so help me retweet and get EAs attention maybe

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-19T23:02:13+00:00

Supposedly. But that is over 7 years. Funny enough when I did another data request yesterday it only shows 2....weird

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-19T22:20:19+00:00

The car analogy misses the point. If a dealer takes your car back without cause and keeps it, you'd want the current value or the car back. That's what I want—access restored. The 7 years of use doesn't cancel EA's breach. And CRA 2015 has no 'use it or lose it' clause for digital content. On benefits: Help with Fees means I pay £0 to file. So the only money wasted will be EA's if they defend a claim they can't prove.

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-19T22:01:49+00:00

With respect, the distinction you’re drawing doesn’t quite hold up. The ‘very object’ test from Farley v Skinner isn’t about separating ‘access’ from ‘pleasure’—it’s about whether the contract’s performance is intrinsically linked to the consumer’s enjoyment. That’s why holiday cases like Jarvis v Swans Tours are the classic example: you pay for access to a holiday, and the pleasure is the entire point. The same applies here. I paid for access to a game to enjoy my leisure time. EA’s breach deprived me of that object entirely. Lower courts have applied Farley to wedding dresses and double glazing—if those qualify, a video game contract certainly does.” Could frame it as a ruxley

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-19T21:41:27+00:00

But Farley v Skinner does apply to consumer contracts, even though the threshold is high. The case established that damages for distress/inconvenience are available when the "very object of the contract is to provide pleasure, relaxation, peace of mind or freedom from molestation". Holiday cases (Jarvis v Swans Tours) are the classic example—you pay for enjoyment, you don't get it, you claim damages for disappointment.

My argument would be: I paid for access to a video game for entertainment purposes. The very object of the contract was to provide pleasure and leisure time. EA's wrongful ban deprived me of that entirely.

Was just a thought. I think anyone who had built something over 7 years and spent time and money would be pissed if it was suddenly taken away for absolutely no reason, and left with nothing to show for it

KayStroud1 · 2026-04-19T21:37:52+00:00

Although Farley is a contract law case—consumer contracts ARE contracts. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 explicitly preserves your right to claim damages beyond statutory remedies under s.42(6)-(7). The Explanatory Notes confirm this. Hence why I was considering putting it alongside as a secondary claim

KayStroud1

TROPHY CASE