I was also banned several months ago, but I don’t think it happened because I created a CLAUDE.md file or anything like that. I have no idea why I was banned, since I only used Claude Code for typical CRUD projects - where AI really excels. Here’s my timeline:
1. Claude Code stopped working. 2. I received an email about the ban. 3. Fine, time to contact support. I've wrote to them. 4. I got an automated message saying they were reviewing my case. 5. I received a refund (I had a Pro plan) in the meantime. 6. After a few days I got this funny email:
Hi there,
We're reaching out to people who recently canceled their Claude Code subscription in order to understand why you decided to cancel.
We'd like to invite you to participate in an AI-moderated interview about your experience with Claude Code—including what improvements you'd like to see us make.
This approach uses an AI interviewer to ask you questions and respond to your answers, creating a conversational experience you can complete at your convenience.
Here's what you need to know:
The interview takes 15-20 minutes to complete This interview will be available until Monday October 13 at 9pm PT For completing the interview, you'll receive a $40 USD (or local equivalent) Amazon gift card within 3-5 business days Please complete only one interview per person As much as possible, help us know you're not a bot by showing your beautiful human face!
Your survey may terminate early if you record illegible video content (ex: overly loud environments, aren't well lighted, etc) Participate Now
This interview is administered by a third party, Listen Labs. By participating in the interview, you agree to Listen Labs' Privacy Policy. Anthropic may use your responses to improve our services and follow up.
Your honest feedback—whether your experience was positive, challenging, or mixed—is invaluable in helping us understand how to make Claude Code work better for developers like you.
Thank you for your time and insights!
–The Anthropic Team
7. Wait, you banned me and now you’re sending me this email? Seriously? Okay, I decided to participate in the survey. Unfortunately, when I selected the option that it was due to a bug or some issue, they ended the survey. No gift card.
8. A few days later, I received an email saying they couldn’t reinstate my account because I had violated their usage policy. How? No idea.
9. After a few more days, I got an email saying they had reinstated my account. They also mentioned they believed it was a bug.
It was crazy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯