Bing cancelled my wife's Reward account

[DatManWolf]

Around the beginning of this month, both my wife's account and mine were acting funny. Funny like we needed to sign up for Bing rewards all over again. I emailed about both our accounts. The first letter I got back said that mine was fine, but there was a problem with my wife's and she needed to submit a separate ticket. I check the search count everyday for the rewards program, and if we are short, I throw in some random searches to get us done, which by their terms of service is not a violation.

So we submitted a separate ticket for this, and the first response we got back was this:
Hi,

This is Jacque of Bing Rewards Customer Support assisting you with Support Request <numbers> regarding your Rewards account.
After further review, we regret to inform you that your Rewards account has been closed because it does not conform to the Terms of Use governing the Rewards program which you accepted when joining.
Our research indicates that you or your Bing Rewards account has engaged in one or more violations of the Terms of Use, which may include, but is not limited to:
. Maintaining more than five user accounts per household;
. Opening more than one user account per individual;
. Residing outside of the 50 United States and District of Columbia;
. Not providing accurate account information, including your true first and last name, your complete and accurate mailing address, a working phone number and your email address;
. Using a service intended to obfuscate your true IP address or your location;
. Using a bot, cheat code, macro or other automated method to participate in Bing Rewards;
As a result, your Rewards accounts have been closed, any credits accumulated in your accounts have been voided, any pending prize orders have been cancelled, and you are disqualified from participating in Bing Rewards. If you feel we have come to this conclusion in error, please contact Customer Service.

Thank you for your continued support as we strive to provide you with the highest quality service.

Kindest regards,
Jacque

Now, let me state that we both have Lumia 920's, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and a Windows 7 laptop. We use the rewards program to get free money for apps and games on these devices. So we use Bing constantly at home and work. I had just traded in my points on my account that got me almost 50 bucks worth of microsoft money. I used this to get a free game on Xbox One. My wife had over 3k in points when they closed the account, roughtly 30 bucks.

I responded back with this:
This is absurd. I have not violated any of these rules. I have been a member for over a year and had almost over 3k in points that you just stole from me that I earned fairly. I did not violate any of the listed reasons you say would cause my account to be closed.

Bings next response, from someone new was this:

This is Alyssa from Bing Rewards Customer Support assisting you with Support Request <numbers> regarding your Rewards account.

We've looked into the circumstances that resulted in us closing your account within our rights under the program's terms of use. We made the decision to do so after careful consideration and upon further investigation stand by that decision.

Obviously this pissed me off, so I got irrational and aggressive in my next response. I get that it is over the top, I get that nothing I said would probably happen, but I wanted to get an explanation because all they said was I violated a term and F off basically. See my response below:

Hi Alyssa,

I find that you canceling my account is the most ridiculous thing you could do. My husband and I used Bing because we both have windows phones and an Xbox. This allowed us to use the points for apps and games for both our phones and Xbox.
You have not given me any reason besides "a decision was made based upon terms of use". What specific one did I violate? I use Bing at home and at work. I use it on my windows phone and we use it on our Xbox.
Seeing as you are going to stand by your ruling, we will no longer be using your services and will notify anyone we brought into using Bing to stop using your services as well. to use a reward program to entice people to start using your search engine and then to cancel it without giving a specific reason is just plain stupid.
Thanks for making this a stupid ordeal and essentially stealing $30 bucks we could have used towards apps and games for our MICROSOFT devices after we put in MONTHS of searches on your website. We will be going back to Google, going with Android phones in the future and getting a PS4, since screwing over loyal customers who use your products seems to be your "terms of use" policy.
Sincerely,
Ex-Microsoft Users

Yea I went there. LOL. I was furious, I get that it is a free service, and they are giving me free stuff for using their search engine, but to just cancel with no explanation was beyond aggravating for me. It got worse as a 3rd person sent this back:

Hello,
This is Dennis from Bing Rewards Customer Support. We sincerely appreciate your response regarding this matter. Please be informed that we cannot divulge the details of your violations due to security reasons. We acknowledged your claim that you never violated Bing Terms of Use. For your peace of mind, we will forward your account for further re-investigation.
We understand how you feel for the suspension of your account and we definitely respect your right for your account's re-evaluation. Please be reminded that there's no guarantee that it will be reinstated but we're all hoping for the best.
We will provide an update as soon as it becomes available. Your remarkable understanding is highly admired.
Warmest Regards,
Dennis
Bing Rewards Customer Support

Notice the sarcasm and overall snarky tone of this reply? Notice that the CANNOT divulge the details of the violations due to security reasons. Seriously? What security reasons could their possibly be to not tell me why I have a cancelled account? Kind of convenient if you ask me, because then they don't have to explain at all, they can just cancel at will for whatever the hell they make up. My response below:

Hello Dennis,

I appreciate your response regarding this matter. However, I don't understand what security reasons could be in place that would prevent you from informing me of what I supposedly did wrong. I understand your right to review and cancel my account based upon your Terms of Use, but to not be able to tell me what I did wrong seems a little convenient on your part. Logic would dictate that you could cancel anyone's account for no reason at all since you do not have to divulge the details of the violation.

I also enjoyed the not so subtle sarcasm at the end of your response (Your remarkable understanding is highly admired). It's nice to know that in the midst of an irritated customer, you can still throw a little joke my way. Now, I know it is hard to determine meaning behind e-mail, but given that my previous response was extreme in measure, your comment can be determined as nothing more than a jab in my direction. Kudos to you Dennis, I hope it gave you and your co-workers a chuckle.

I understand that this may not be a large deal in your eyes, and my previous response was over the top, but the fact remains that I am a customer of yours and of Microsoft's and I want an answer that keeps getting brushed off and has convenient restrictions for you to not give it to me. I wait with bated breath for your quick response. Your empathy and diligant work on my behalf is highly appreciated.

Yea, I tried to tone it down, while being just a big of an ******* as before. Because, seriously F Dennis.
20 days later, I had not received a response so I sent this:

Dear Microsoft/Bing Customer Support,

Seeing as it has been almost 20 days since your last reply, I can only assume that you have just decided to not help me any further.

I have been told my wife's account was deleted along with 3,000+ worth of points.

You listed "reasons" that may have caused the account to be closed, but none of them are valid in this case.

Upon asking for the specific reason why it was closed so that we could defend our standpoint, I have been informed that you reviewed the account but will not divulge the reason for the cancellation for "security reason". Which in all honesty, is a crap response.

We were informed by Dennis that it was being sent to someone for further review and have not been contacted since. I also do not appreciate Dennis trying to be sly with sarcasm in his response.

I want a supervisor or someone above your first line of customer service to contact me in regards to this issue immediately.

And Bing returns this, from the same person who initiated it all:

Hi,

This is Jacque form Bing Rewards Customer Support assisting you with Service Request <numbers>.

We can see that your account has been disabled. We understand that this account is important for you, we have coordinated with our Research Team, but we are sorry to inform that we are unable to reverse the suspension of your account and the reason is irrevocable.

Thank you for your continued support and have a nice day.

Kindest regards,

I responded to this by saying that Jacque was not a supervisor and I want a supervisor or manager to explain in detail why the account was cancelled.

You may say I am over reacting with this as it is a free service and it is theirs to do what they want. But, getting the run around and essentially being told "we don't have to give you a reason" is not good enough for me. It is an irritation when I am a Microsoft user and a Microsoft supporter to be treated in a fashion of we don't give a **** about you.

So I am done with Bing. I cashed out my other account with what little I had left and will no longer be using them. This was just a ridiculous experience to go through over a rewards program that is designed to make people use your service. For something that seems so trivial, they sure do a lot to make it difficult and have policies in place to not have to explain. So be weary, because you may violate some non existent term of use and be shut down as well. Cash out frequently and often if you want to keep using them. Just another sad example of Microsoft customer service.

 

[radmanvr]

Wow that sucks dude. My wife and I also use bing rewards not for long though maybe 2 weeks. I hope something like this doesn't happen.

The only thing I can think of is:
. Maintaining more than five user accounts per household;
Victim of Identity thrift

. Opening more than one user account per individual;
Maybe you are using different accounts, not with the intention of hoarding points. Like in my case I use to have a different live account and xbox live account but only used one account for bing rewards

. Residing outside of the 50 United States and District of Columbia;
The state you live in has withdrawn from the nation I'm jk but this one is self explanatory

. Not providing accurate account information, including your true first and last name, your complete and accurate mailing address, a working phone number and your email address;
Maybe you mistyped your phone number

. Using a service intended to obfuscate your true IP address or your location;
Maybe your changed your IP address not with intention to hoard points but for security reason. I know I change my IP adress on my router when I am getting a slow network because I think someone is trying to hack me

. Using a bot, cheat code, macro or other automated method to participate in Bing Rewards;
Maybe you do things in such a tight routine that it seems like bot behavior

 

[xandros9]

I had a similar run in earlier this year and will chime in later with my experience when I have time.

Do know practically all those responses are canned.

 

[berty6294]

I feel like I should be getting this message soon. I've had an automated Bing search macro running daily for over 6 months...

 

[DatManWolf]

Wow that sucks dude. My wife and I also use bing rewards not for long though maybe 2 weeks. I hope something like this doesn't happen.

The only thing I can think of is:
. Maintaining more than five user accounts per household;
Victim of Identity thrift

. Opening more than one user account per individual;
Maybe you are using different accounts, not with the intention of hoarding points. Like in my case I use to have a different live account and xbox live account but only used one account for bing rewards

. Residing outside of the 50 United States and District of Columbia;
The state you live in has withdrawn from the nation I'm jk but this one is self explanatory

. Not providing accurate account information, including your true first and last name, your complete and accurate mailing address, a working phone number and your email address;
Maybe you mistyped your phone number

. Using a service intended to obfuscate your true IP address or your location;
Maybe your changed your IP address not with intention to hoard points but for security reason. I know I change my IP adress on my router when I am getting a slow network because I think someone is trying to hack me

. Using a bot, cheat code, macro or other automated method to participate in Bing Rewards;
Maybe you do things in such a tight routine that it seems like bot behavior

Well we only had the two accounts So that gets rid of more than 5 accounts and more than 1 per individual.

Checked the info on the accounts, both were accurate.

Using a service to obfuscate your true IP isn't possible at home and unless my job is bouncing it's IP through a proxy I don't see this one being viable.

The last one may be the most likely as we do searches every day. If our count is low, I just throw in random things. So yea it may be a routine and seen as bot behavior. So I would give this being the most likely reason, but then why only her account? Why would mine still be ok if I do the exact same thing with mine?

Problem is, they won't tell me. Security reasons give them the blanket of coverage so they do not have to give me the reason. So a "too bad" is basically all I am getting from them.
You would think, wanting to keep people using Bing, they might toss you a warning or let you know they see something suspicious going on with your account, but instead they just cancel and give you the finger.

 

[DatManWolf]

I feel like I should be getting this message soon. I've had an automated Bing search macro running daily for over 6 months...

Well, even if you just bookmarked whatever # of searches you needed, is that really cheating? I mean, you are still doing the searches. Why can't you search for the same thing daily? Maybe you are fascinated with the numbers 1 - 30 and want to see what new stuff has gone on since yesterday. Seriously though, I have been doing the same routine for over a year with both our accounts, so if hers violated something like this, then mine should have as well. But since I can't get specifics, it's all just a Bing mystery.

 

[klkriz]

That's awful! I suppose the only way to get through is email, no number right? Ugh.

 

[DatManWolf]

That's awful! I suppose the only way to get through is email, no number right? Ugh.

Nope, no #. Since the first uphold of the cancellation, I have been blowing up their FB everyday. They finally responded to me today and said they would look into it. I imagine it will go to the same people as before.

 

[Reflexx]

Get on Twitter too. Anything that is public. And don't be a jerk on those public forums of course.

And even though you can't get a phone number specifically for this issue, go to the Microsoft support sure and call a related support number. Maybe something related to your LIVE account in general.

It's to ready for then to brush you off if it's by email. The people you're communicating with are likely overseas contractors that don't work for Microsoft and couldn't care less if they lose a customer.

Even if you get someone on the phone it may still be a contractor, but you'll have a better chance at getting management.

 

[DatManWolf]

Get on Twitter too. Anything that is public. And don't be a jerk on those public forums of course.

And even though you can't get a phone number specifically for this issue, go to the Microsoft support sure and call a related support number. Maybe something related to your LIVE account in general.

It's to ready for then to brush you off if it's by email. The people you're communicating with are likely overseas contractors that don't work for Microsoft and couldn't care less if they lose a customer.

Even if you get someone on the phone it may still be a contractor, but you'll have a better chance at getting management.

That will be my next step, although I doubt they will be able to help me much with my Bing account. Still, I will give it a go. Will keep you all posted as this continues to progress. So far no response to last e-mail and no response after giving whoever runs the Bing FB page the info they asked for.

 

[GB330033]

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not calling you a liar or anything, but I am skeptical. I really like Bing Rewards, and I don't want a hate train to start if you actually did break the Terms of Service.

Looking at your post history, I noticed this post, where you say "I have 3 accounts for everyone in my house..." which could imply that you have multiple accounts for multiple individuals. By the ToS, an account is only to be used by the individual that is registered for it. So even if you and your wife each have your own accounts, you'd be in violation of the ToS if you were to use her account (Ex: Do your daily searches on your account, then log out and back in as her and do her searches)

The post I linked certainly makes it sound like you had 3 accounts at some point, not just the two that you described in this post. So which is it? Two accounts, or three? And did you ever personally use more than one of them?

 

[DatManWolf]

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not calling you a liar or anything, but I am skeptical. I really like Bing Rewards, and I don't want a hate train to start if you actually did break the Terms of Service.

Looking at your post history, I noticed this post, where you say "I have 3 accounts for everyone in my house..." which could imply that you have multiple accounts for multiple individuals. By the ToS, an account is only to be used by the individual that is registered for it. So even if you and your wife each have your own accounts, you'd be in violation of the ToS if you were to use her account (Ex: Do your daily searches on your account, then log out and back in as her and do her searches)

The post I linked certainly makes it sound like you had 3 accounts at some point, not just the two that you described in this post. So which is it? Two accounts, or three? And did you ever personally use more than one of them?

My daughter has an account as well, but hers was not affected during this issue, nor does she use it that much. That would make 3 accounts for each individual in my house, which is not in violation of the ToS. During that time, we were all using them and thus gaining enough points for xbox purchases and wp apps. Since then my daughter lost interest in xbox, so her account is not being used and why I didn't bother mentioning it.

And of course I used more than one personally. If my wife uses the computer and is logged in under her name, and I do a search then it racks under her usage. Same for the xbox, the Live account is under my e-mail, thus anytime she uses the xbox bing she is under my account. If they did that much research into our usage to determine that is the reason it was cancelled, I would be highly surprised and my account would be cancelled as well. And to say that doesn't happen to anyone who has multiple users of the Bing Rewards is pretty far fetched. And yes, we would both check each others max searches to see if we had reached the limit and finish it for the day if we had not, which is fairly rare since Bing was our main search engine. Again, I would be extremely surprised that this was the reason and what they "researched" into the account since it would be fairly hard to prove.

Funny thing when you say "I am not calling you X" that is exactly what you are saying.

 

[GB330033]

No, I really was not calling you a liar, I was merely speculating at what might be the cause and asking about it. I honestly don't care if you're telling the truth or not.

I have to say though, technically what you did is in violation of the ToS. My wife and I both have accounts, but we keep them totally independent of each other. It's entirely likely that this is what got the account closed, because they have a pretty large amount of data they could use to match usage patterns and accounts. I'm sure it's not too hard for them to see that there are two accounts registered to the same address that always search from the same IP and are used on multiple devices.

It's all speculation at this point, unfortunately. I doubt you're going to get any kind of answer from them, since the ToS allows them to close accounts for pretty much any reason they see fit without telling you why.

It really sucks that this happened to you, but I don't think that it says anything about Bing Rewards or Microsoft as a whole. Don't start a lynch mob just because something bad happened to you.

 

[DatManWolf]

No, I really was not calling you a liar, I was merely speculating at what might be the cause and asking about it. I honestly don't care if you're telling the truth or not.

I have to say though, technically what you did is in violation of the ToS. My wife and I both have accounts, but we keep them totally independent of each other. It's entirely likely that this is what got the account closed, because they have a pretty large amount of data they could use to match usage patterns and accounts. I'm sure it's not too hard for them to see that there are two accounts registered to the same address that always search from the same IP and are used on multiple devices.

It's all speculation at this point, unfortunately. I doubt you're going to get any kind of answer from them, since the ToS allows them to close accounts for pretty much any reason they see fit without telling you why.

It really sucks that this happened to you, but I don't think that it says anything about Bing Rewards or Microsoft as a whole. Don't start a lynch mob just because something bad happened to you.

I am not starting a lynch mob. I am simply reporting what happened to us. I am not lynch mobbing Bing Rewards, I am more dissatisfied with their "customer service". I used Bing Rewards to get several apps for my phone and even got 2 "free" xbox games as well because I saved my points up.

So according to their ToS, should my wife be logged into the laptop, and I do a search then they have every right to cancel it? I now have to have a separate Live account in order to use Bing on my xbox? For the most part, our accounts are separate since 90% of our searches are done on our Windows Phones. And, like I stated before, if this is the true reason it was closed, why was mine spared? Shouldn't both have been shut down? I mean if we are going merely off IP, well all the devices in my home are going to be coming from the same IP and several devices and how would they truly know it was me and not her? What if I left my FB signed in and she searched under her name with my FB still active and connected to Bing. There are hundreds of ways to slice that and not have them able to prove who actually did it, because they would have to be able to prove who is at the keyboard.

It is all speculation at this point, and the main problem I have with the whole situation is they refuse to tell me the violation that occurred. If it had been "Hey you did this, that is a violation". Then maybe I could have looked at it and said Yes I did or no I didn't and go about figuring out if I can get it fixed. The fact that they have "security reasons" in place that keeps them from telling me what exactly was violated is the big problem. I have no defense against that. Someone could have been having a bad day and just started shutting down accounts for all I know, and 3k+ of points got tossed in the trash.

And I have no reason to lie about a service that I brought several people in on, and promoted to xbox live buddies and friends. I liked the rewards program, what I don't like is how this all went down and how the customer service has given canned responses and been less than helpful in giving me the reason behind the violation. I know it is highly unlikely that I will get her account or points back. I know any of my efforts are going to be futile at best. But what I can do is make people aware of what happened to me, and let them know. Hey don't stack your points, get'em out quick because they don't have to give you a reason for trashing your account.

 

[Reflexx]

No, I really was not calling you a liar, I was merely speculating at what might be the cause and asking about it. I honestly don't care if you're telling the truth or not.

I have to say though, technically what you did is in violation of the ToS. My wife and I both have accounts, but we keep them totally independent of each other. It's entirely likely that this is what got the account closed, because they have a pretty large amount of data they could use to match usage patterns and accounts. I'm sure it's not too hard for them to see that there are two accounts registered to the same address that always search from the same IP and are used on multiple devices.

It's all speculation at this point, unfortunately. I doubt you're going to get any kind of answer from them, since the ToS allows them to close accounts for pretty much any reason they see fit without telling you why.

It really sucks that this happened to you, but I don't think that it says anything about Bing Rewards or Microsoft as a whole. Don't start a lynch mob just because something bad happened to you.

I think it does say something about Bing rewards. It says that if you may not be aware of anything that you are doing that would violate the TOS, yet they still may cancel your account. There is no real remedy because you don't even know what you did wrong.

Frankly, it scares me. What if mine is canceled? How will I know why? What if they made a mistake? How can I even tell them they made a mistake if they won't tell me the reason they canceled the account?

 

[xandros9]

OK so I'll carve out the time to chronicle my experience. Worth noting I was in contact with Alyssa to I believe.

Also first I want to point this out:

Notice the sarcasm and overall snarky tone of this reply?

I'm not feeling it, it's a canned response meant to be polite and that's all. Not trying to outright defend Rewards, but detailing security could potentially mean someone figures out how to minimize risk/bypass it. Not gonna lie, I feel you may have been a bit too venomous with them. I know, I was miffed too, but screaming isn't really going to help sometimes. (cue r/talesfromtechsupport reference) I know its MS and and company trying to make money, but hey, these are just canned responses and people who aren't exactly bent on screwing the world. (yet.)

3/19 this year I redeemed points for a $3 Windows Store gift card, business as usual right?
Well it didn't go through.

Oops. There's an issue with your recent order.

We're sorry to let you know that due to an issue with your recent Bing Rewards order it has been canceled.

For further assistance, please contact us and include your confirmation number with your inquiry.

My points vanished, perhaps rivaling the cleanliness of an Ocean's heist. (exaggeration)
So I sent an email complaining through the online form and such.

Got an automated reply stating it will be reviewed shortly.

I got a reply the next day where the rep asked for more time to check out what happened. They said they are reviewing stuff and trying to figure things out.

I replied thanks, and to keep me posted, also noting I cannot recreate my account. (Still did not know it was banned)

And then this bomb drops like OP experienced.

Hello <xandros9>,

Good day to you! This is <guy name 1> of Bing Rewards Customer Support assisting you with Support Request <string o' numbers> regarding your Rewards account.

We understand your concern that you are unable to access your Bing Rewards account. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.

After further review, we regret to inform you that your Rewards account has been closed because it does not conform to the Terms of Use governing the Rewards program which you accepted when joining.

Our research indicates that you or your Bing Rewards account has engaged in one or more violations of the Terms of Use, which may include, but is not limited to:

. Maintaining more than five user accounts per household;
. Opening more than one user account per individual;
. Residing outside of the 50 United States and District of Columbia;
. Not providing accurate account information, including your true first and last name, your complete and accurate mailing address, a working phone number and your email address;
. Using a service intended to obfuscate your true IP address or your location;
. Using a bot, cheat code, macro or other automated method to participate in Bing Rewards;

As a result, your Rewards accounts have been closed, any credits accumulated in your accounts have been voided, any pending prize orders have been cancelled, and you are disqualified from participating in Bing Rewards. If you feel we have come to this conclusion in error, please contact Customer Service.

Thank you for your continued support as we strive to provide you with the highest quality service.

Kindest regards,

<guy name 1>

The Bing Rewards Team - Bing Rewards - Dashboard

I wasn't aware of any wrongdoing so I replied back... I didn't assume they were intentionally screwing me over just yet. (all of that is the truth)

Hello,

I don't think I understand entirely how that conclusion could have happened.

I am the only user of Bing in my household, let alone the Rewards program.

I've used only one account, linked to my Facebook and Microsoft accounts. (sometimes MS is signed out, but it doesn't seem to make a difference.)

I reside in Virginia, one of the 50 states, unless a catastrophic geographic or political event has recently happened that I don't know of.

I've confirmed my mailing address multiple times before when redeeming points and highly doubt anything is incorrect. I'm not secretly 7 years old either.

I have typed in every single search by hand.

Could you please elaborate as to why my account has been closed since none of those apply to the best of my knowledge. It states "not limited to" those terms, so what happened? I do believe this was entirely in error.

Very kind regards,
<xandros9>

they got back to me the next day.

Hi <xandros9>,

I hope you are doing well. This is <gal name 1> of Bing Rewards Customer Support regarding the issue with your Bing Rewards account.

I understand that you would like your Bing Rewards account to be reactivated. I know how important it is for you so let me forward your account to our research department once again to see if we can do something about it.

We will get back to you as soon as we have an update on this matter.

May you always have a blessed day!

Regards,

-<gal name 1>-
The Bing Rewards Team

I felt the constant changes of the person handling the emails felt kinda chaotic. But it didn't stop them from being polite or overly ineffective IMO so I don't mind. Seems odd, considering my current Dell support issue is being handled by solely one rep. (by phone, over multiple calls)

Hi <xandros9>,

My name is <gal name 2> from Bing Rewards Customer Support and I will be assisting you with Service Request <string o' numbers>.

Thank you for being patient. We understand that you did not violate any of our terms of use, however your Bing Rewards account was closed. We apologize for the inconvenience this caused you. After further review, we are happy to inform you that we have verified your account information and reactivated your <my email> account.

As a thank you for your patience and being a valued Bing Rewards member, we have deposited 50 bonus Bing Rewards credits into your Rewards account. Please log into your account and verify your credit balance.
Thank you for your continued support as we strive to provide you with the highest quality service.

Sincerely,
<gal name 2>
The Bing Rewards Team - Bing Rewards - Dashboard

Wow, 50 points is great right? But wait... my 460-something points were still gone at the time and I was back to square one. Wasn't too pleased but still happy it got back on track and that they were so kind as to drop in a bonus. Cynical me felt it was sketchy.

That's terrific news! I’ve logged in and things look to be in order. However, will you or I be able to recover my previous (substantial, at least by my standards) point balance and Gold status?

Thanks a lot!
<xandros9>

But wait! I spoke too soon, and my points were magically back without any fanfare just minutes later.

Hello again,
Looks like I’ll have to take that back, everything has been returned as it was.

Thanks, and the service much appreciated,
<xandros9>

Hello <xandros9>,

Good day to you! This is <guy name 2> of Bing Rewards Customer Support.

We just wanted to say you're welcome and thank you very much for your response. We're glad to hear that the issue has been resolved and we were able to provide you with the support you deserve and to have things run smoothly.

Should you need further assistance, please reply back to this email or file a new support case by going through the link below: https://support.discoverbing.com/

Thank you for your continued participation in Bing Rewards. Have a nice day!

Regards,

<guy name 2>
The Bing Rewards Team - Bing Rewards - Dashboard

So sorry to hear it didn't go so smoothly for OP. I've been wondering where these bans came from. Perhaps someone or something had an Oprah complex with the banhammer. Still don't know for sure what triggered it to fall on me.
Just my experience, sad to hear it wasn't always the same.

 

[DatManWolf]

OK so I'll carve out the time to chronicle my experience. Worth noting I was in contact with Alyssa to I believe.

Also first I want to point this out:

I'm not feeling it, it's a canned response meant to be polite and that's all. Not trying to outright defend Rewards, but detailing security could potentially mean someone figures out how to minimize risk/bypass it. Not gonna lie, I feel you may have been a bit too venomous with them. I know, I was miffed too, but screaming isn't really going to help sometimes. (cue r/talesfromtechsupport reference) I know its MS and and company trying to make money, but hey, these are just canned responses and people who aren't exactly bent on screwing the world. (yet.)

3/19 this year I redeemed points for a $3 Windows Store gift card, business as usual right?
Well it didn't go through.


My points vanished, perhaps rivaling the cleanliness of an Ocean's heist. (exaggeration)
So I sent an email complaining through the online form and such.

Got an automated reply stating it will be reviewed shortly.

I got a reply the next day where the rep asked for more time to check out what happened. They said they are reviewing stuff and trying to figure things out.

I replied thanks, and to keep me posted, also noting I cannot recreate my account. (Still did not know it was banned)

And then this bomb drops like OP experienced.


I wasn't aware of any wrongdoing so I replied back... I didn't assume they were intentionally screwing me over just yet. (all of that is the truth)


they got back to me the next day.


I felt the constant changes of the person handling the emails felt kinda chaotic. But it didn't stop them from being polite or overly ineffective IMO so I don't mind. Seems odd, considering my current Dell support issue is being handled by solely one rep. (by phone, over multiple calls)



Wow, 50 points is great right? But wait... my 460-something points were still gone at the time and I was back to square one. Wasn't too pleased but still happy it got back on track and that they were so kind as to drop in a bonus. Cynical me felt it was sketchy.



But wait! I spoke too soon, and my points were magically back without any fanfare just minutes later.





So sorry to hear it didn't go so smoothly for OP. I've been wondering where these bans came from. Perhaps someone or something had an Oprah complex with the banhammer. Still don't know for sure what triggered it to fall on me.
Just my experience, sad to hear it wasn't always the same.

Maybe I was too venomous in my 3rd response and being told the decision was upheld. I too work in a tech support field and know what it is like to be yelled at, but after 3 e-mails I expect some sort of explanation besides a wordy "because we said so". Also, Dennis response lacked all the tell tell signs of being a canned response. He didn't site the reference number, his language was over empathetic and he didn't have the customary signature at the bottom as all the others do. So to me, it felt more like a real response than all the others.

I also had the same issue at the very beginning that you had. That both my wife's and my account just disappeared. After getting a response they said mine was fine, and I try it and it was working again. But they both had the issue of it not letting us sign up. So sounds like it was close around the same time that yours happened, I guess we just got the short end of the stick.

Also for the security, I might have a legitimate reason why they are wrong, but I have no way to defend myself with no knowledge of what it is. I didn't ask them to detail their security, I asked what specific rule I violated. I don't see how telling me the rule violates security protocol. The account is cancelled with no budging on their end, why can't I know?

 

[DatManWolf]

I think it does say something about Bing rewards. It says that if you may not be aware of anything that you are doing that would violate the TOS, yet they still may cancel your account. There is no real remedy because you don't even know what you did wrong.

Frankly, it scares me. What if mine is canceled? How will I know why? What if they made a mistake? How can I even tell them they made a mistake if they won't tell me the reason they canceled the account?

Part of my main point. If they don't have to tell you then they can do it at any point with no recourse or argument. If I knew it could come down with the banhammer with no explanation, I would have had my wife cash out frequently instead of storing up points for a big pay out.

 

[TonyDedrick]

If I kept getting the run around like you were with no explanation, then I would have been as venomous as well.

 

[DatManWolf]

If I kept getting the run around like you were with no explanation, then I would have been as venomous as well.

Thanks.

This wasn't the first set. Technnically this started 6 emails in from my original when both our accounts just disappeared.