A chargeback mess similar in result to some of the FFXI billing problems we reported earlier also swept across the World of Warcraft customer base. Reported by Kotaku a couple days ago, many WoW players received an account ban after a "chargeback filed against the account's past payments." Normally, a credit card account holder can initiate a "chargeback" if they notice an illegal or fraudulent charge on their account. The credit card company will initiate a refund process that voids the previously-placed transaction, returning the money to the account holder.

But in this instance, players weren't the ones initiating the chargebacks. According to the story, the company PaymentOne was responsible for the chargebacks, which resulted in a tangled mess of banned accounts and confused subscribers. "A quick Google search shows this isn't the first time that allegations of fraud and unexpected charges have been leveled against the company," wrote Ars Technica, who originally reported the story prior to Kotaku. The article links this press release from 2007, detailing a partnership made between the billing company and Blizzard. Expect more updates on this story as it unfolds.