Xbox Live: Gamertag Takedown & Enforcement Problems

Hello r/xboxinsiders and a happy new year.

I was referred to this subreddit through the xbox section of answers.microsoft.com by an xbox ambassador after having quite a negative experience with the "enforcement team" as a result of a gamertag complaint against me, the procedures in place to contest or even communicate this situation and altogether the manner which this has been handled by xbox live.

My 13 year old Gold account which has had the same gamertag for its whole lifespan received a "gamertag takedown" for "profanity". The first indication of this to me was on 28/12/19 with my personal gamertag automatically and abruptly being randomly reassigned to an xbox live :adjective+noun+numbers: style with an automated email from the enforcement team notifying me of the action.



The only official way to contest or question this takedown in any way was to go through the Xbox Live enforcement system online where I was told that:

• I couldn't call xbox live customer services about the issue at all and was implied at with further punishment if I were to call with this problem
• To contest the complaint and have it reviewed at all I had fill a patronising & quite domineering questionnaire of around 14 yes/no prompts, which if I were to get any incorrect would have to be started again and if failed 3x would void my chance of filing any appeal(passed first time, no issue)
• My appeal was restricted to 500 characters
• If my appeal was to fail I would not be entitled to a free gamertag change of my choice due to this feature apparently being 'taken advantage of' by others - I've never previously changed my tag

Following my appeal the complaint was quickly upheld and I was brickwalled from calling customer service, stuck with a appalling gamertag with now my only option from Microsoft being pay money to alter it and shut up; which I find absolutely humiliating. As a long time subscriber who has put over a decade of my life into my account and spent heaps of money along the way doing so with no issues from anybody up til now I feel incredibly let down and disenchanted by xbox live service and particularly aggravated the compartmentalised & unaccountable Enforcement Team, which can't be reasoned with despite seemingly being a part of the paid for and subscribed to xbox live services.

Over the years of using my profile I've been very visible using my gamertag playing some of the most popular games at peak times in their lifecycles; from Halo 3 on release, Gears of War's on releases, Forza, 1vs100, to Crackdown and alot of Call of Duty. I've also had to call into customer services about my profile in regards to warranties for RRoD 360's, syncing under-lapping offline achievements and billing in regards to my profile - so it's always been visible and I'd never directly received a complaint about my gamertag from a standard member of xbox live to me nor an investigation from anyone official over all those years. So safe to assume it was deemed to be acceptable, benign and non-profane for a very long time, even through official xbox channels.

I dont know if it's appropriate to outright say what my gamertag was in here as it was removed from the official xbox live chat. But it was two words, one to describe an uncoordinated/clumsy person or a spasm and the the other a flightless avian sold in KFC. Spelt clearly with no 1337 frills, and with the words together but capitalised.

Admittedly now the word which certainly caused this issue has gathered more stigma over time, as far as I'm aware it's deemed to be non-offensive in the US but has probably picked up more controversy over that time in different parts of the world. It was never my intention to offend anyone with my gamertag, I originally just made it to be unique and reflective of my playstyle at times. If prompted respectfully and officially formally or informally about this issue I'd have accepted to changing the tag when free to do so(if I could think of one which isn't taken), and gone about playing with my friends & online in this understanding just fine. Now potentially another issue is if I were acquire a new gamertag with wording which is currently deemed inoffensive but in 10 years time could possibly be, I'd be dragged through this same horrible situation.

So far this ordeal has made me feel very disenchanted with xbox live and how paying longstanding subscribers are being dealt with in these situations. I've been forced to come to Reddit of all places looking for answers and resolutions with Microsoft & Xbox live, and it was obvious looking at the usage of my account that I haven't been out to offend or upset anyone.

Now something which I have worked on and enjoyed for a very long time has been defaced, my profile honestly doesn't feel like mine anymore and I am completely disappointed in the official handling of this. My initial thought has been to sell my console & games and never put another penny towards xbox or live services if I'm to be treated with disdain & disrespect while having been a loyal customer/subscriber whose been open to communication for over 13 years.



I don't know if anyone here would be accountable in this at all or will be able to help me, or if people have been through this problem. To me it feels so pathetic whining about this issue, if an appropriate xbox service was available I'd have better understanding and wouldn't be so frustrated. I suspect part of the reason in sending me here is to flame me and indirectly quash the issue but I'll anticipate your comments just fine.

Thank you for reading.

submitted by /u/Jaspa92
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