When did Blizzard start forcing things onto their customers?

[Kaziarl]

Earlier today my account was suspended for supposedly spamming the ingame chat on WOW. Which is odd, considering I haven't been on all day. In any case it was to be suspended for 3 hours. Ok, whatever, I can deal with that. Well now to get back in to the game client, account management, forums, blizz store, etc, I need a "Blizzard Authentication Code" which I get from a key chain device purchased from Blizzard. Here's the part that sucks, I can't purchase the authentication code because I can't log in without it.

So now what the heck can I do? Wait for their customer service to get back to me, in the mean time the game time I paid for is wasting away? I mean, it's certainly not the end of the world, but it's also not how I would expect them to treat a paying customer.

 

[Kestra]

That sucks, it sounds like you were hacked.

 

[Kaziarl]

Which is fine that they had me change the password and whatnot. The part that frustrates me is the poor setup. I can't get back in without the authentication code, and I can't get the authentication code because I can't get back in.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

Just call them tomorrow and tell them to take off the authenticator.

 

[Kaziarl]

There's no phone number unfortunately. That was the first thing I checked.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

There's no phone number unfortunately. That was the first thing I checked.

Call billing. Are you in North America? If so..

1-800-592-5499 8-8 Pacific Time...

 

[Kaziarl]

Hadn't thought about looking up the billing number, just customer support. Thanks.

 

[Teelie]

You don't even have to buy an authenticator. They are free if you have certain mobile devices (ipod touch/phone style devices inparticular) but it definitely sounds like you got hacked. Very ironic they used the authenticator to lock you out when it's sole purpose is to prevent you from being hacked in the first place.

 

[Kaziarl]

Actually no, they aren't. I looked into that too, it's only for certain models (which I don't have) and they charge you for it. Granted, only 99 cents, but the price is irrelevant since I don't have the right kind of phone.

Anyway, I got ahold of billing, and the situation got fixed. It just seemed like more of a hassle then it needed to be. I mean, if the GM is available 24/7 like they claim to be, why can't there be a way to get ahold of them outside the game for issues exactly like this one?

 

[Teelie]

I'd always heard the authenticator was free but 99¢ is still pretty cheap but whatever.

GM's are as far as I know tied to specific realms or maybe just battlegroups though even if they weren't, they have literally hundreds of thousands of people to contend with so you'll have to wait in line to be handled. And they are only supposed to handle in-game issues like someone caught cheating/exploiting or doing something that affects game play. Your account information is not something they're high enough on the food chain to handle which is why they shuttle you off to billing to fix those account problems.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

I'd always heard the authenticator was free but 99¢ is still pretty cheap but whatever.

GM's are as far as I know tied to specific realms or maybe just battlegroups though even if they weren't, they have literally hundreds of thousands of people to contend with so you'll have to wait in line to be handled. And they are only supposed to handle in-game issues like someone caught cheating/exploiting or doing something that affects game play. Your account information is not something they're high enough on the food chain to handle which is why they shuttle you off to billing to fix those account problems.

GMs aren't tied to any realm or battlegrounds.

And yes. Let's see; patch, Winter Veil...plus others right now...plus holiday's make it very tough to be a GM right now I feel sorry for them.

 

[Teelie]

I wasn't sure if they were tied to a specific realm or battleground or not but as you rightly pointed out, they are even more busy than normal with all the new stuff to contend with.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

It's what I heard.

 

[Manticore]

Actually no, they aren't. I looked into that too, it's only for certain models (which I don't have) and they charge you for it. Granted, only 99 cents, but the price is irrelevant since I don't have the right kind of phone.

Anyway, I got ahold of billing, and the situation got fixed. It just seemed like more of a hassle then it needed to be. I mean, if the GM is available 24/7 like they claim to be, why can't there be a way to get ahold of them outside the game for issues exactly like this one?

Billing =/= GMs. GMs are available 24/7/365 (though there are less of them right now due to the holidays - even GMs like to see family. ), but Billing is available 12/7...not sure about 365 though.

 

[Geckothan]

Stop clicking on the "my teacher 24 years old she has o6 sex leg" links on the WoW forums!

 

[Kaziarl]

haha, if only it were that easy. I'm pretty careful about what goes on my computer, some friends even say I'm OCD about it. The only thing I can think of is that I was unlucky enough to have something get through before it was added to my AV programs database.