Paid Services - Delays & Concerns

Update - 9/6/2009

We are still receiving several reports that players are unable to access the transaction pages found below. Our technicians are currently reviewing this issue in hopes of making these pages available to all players.

Additionally, if you recently received an e-mail stating that your Character Transfer has been completed but you are not yet able to log into the character, please attempt to visit the Character Transfer transaction page (https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/character-transfer-status.html) and click the "Unlock" button. We are currently looking further into this issue in hopes of identifying a resolution for those of you still unable to access the aforementioned transaction page. If you are unable to see your character on any realm, please try creating a new character on the realm the character was transferred to.

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Good morning, everyone.

I sincerely apologize for any delay you have experienced as a result of the Faction Change, Character Transfer, Name Change or Character Re-Customization services. Due to the influx of players looking to take advantage of our paid services following the release of the Faction Change service, wait time for these services has steadily risen.

Our automated systems continue to process these transactions as quickly as possible; however, due to the sheer number of players utilizing the paid services, this process may take in upwards of several hours to complete. Should you wish to cancel your transaction so that you may access your characters immediately and take advantage of the paid service at a later date, please feel free to visit the transaction page appropriate for the service you are utilizing:

• Faction Change: https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/faction-change-transactions.html
  
• Character Transfer: https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/character-transfer-status.html
  
• Character Re-Customization: https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/character-customization-status.html
  
• Name Change: https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/character-namechange-status.html

Please note: Canceling and re-initiating a paid service may result in lengthier delays. Accordingly, we must ask that you refrain from resubmitting your request immediately after canceling your transaction.

If you are unable to access the above pages because you receive the error message, "the service you’re trying to access is too busy right now, please try again at a later time," please try using a different browser and clearing your browser's cache, cookies, and temporary Internet files. Several players have reported that this process has allowed them to view the appropriate webpages without issue.

Please keep all discussion of paid services isolated within this thread so that information can be easily found by those seeking it. All additionally created threads may be locked and/or deleted.

Moving forward, we will continue to monitor our paid services and do everything we can to quicken these process. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Thank you all for your continued patience.

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To easily navigate between blue posts in this thread, simply click the blue "BLIZZ" logo in the upper right-hand corner of each blue post.

I sincerely apologize if the aforementioned workaround was unsuccessful; however, my goal is to provide you with every possible solution that may assist you throughout this process. The appropriate parties have been notified that several players are unable to access the paid service pages as a result of this issue, and they are currently investigating this issue further. Should I come across any information or workaround which may help remedy this issue, I will be certain to let you all know as soon as possible. In the meantime, I still request that players seeing this message try the aforementioned troubleshooting steps.

I will continue to gather information that you all provide within this thread so that I may relay it to the appropriate parties. Accordingly, please continue to bring any remaining issues to my attention.

Thanks!

Q u o t e:
Aredek, will my druid Glitter transfer if I leave her in the que? My mom was only able to put the 25 dollars I earned in the bank just for this and I am afraid something will eat it up and end up not having the money for it when it's her turn =(

I don't mind waiting seeing as I have been playing on this druid in the mean time while my moms at work. I'm just worried =(

Each submitted transaction will be processed provided there are no unforeseen errors moving forward, Honeybear; however, it may take a some time for the process to be completed. In other words: Yes, your character will be transferred if you leave her in queue. :)

That said, you needn't worry about losing money as a result of a failed or canceled transfer. Should anything go awry, we will not collect the fee and your bank will return it to your account in accordance with their particular policies.

Q u o t e:

Thanks for the apology however for what reason can I not post on Teyo in this forum anymore? Because I simply reported that this solution of yours didnt work. Perhaps a simple acknowledgement of that would have sufficed.

Hm. I'm unable to identify any issues which would prevent you from posting on Teyo, Gaskell. If you were to have received a suspension, you would be unable to post on any character on the account in question.

Do you receive an error message when you attempt to create a post?

Regrettably, I am unable to determine anyone's place in queue or an estimated amount of time that you will be required to wait for your transaction to be completed, folks. Because these systems are entirely automated, the processes are being completed constantly as the system attempts to process the oldest transactions first.

We have received reports that newer transactions have been completed while others have been waiting for several hours; this information has been forwarded on to the appropriate parties for further review. Unfortunately, however, I do not yet have any additional information to provide in regards to this issue.

Q u o t e:
i paid the re-customization thingy about 16 hours ago...
Am I able to play on other characters on the same account same server?
Or do I need to stay off the entire account?

Please feel free to play any character that is not involved in a character transfer or faction change. :)

Q u o t e:


I dont remember the process since its been a year since I have transfered a character to another server. But I think I need to be able to access the transactions page to authorize the final payment and complete the transfer. Is this correct? If so my transfer may be complete already and I am unable to finalize it. What do you know about the status of the transactions site being down?

You no longer need to finalize a character transfer, Teyo; this process was changed several months ago.

I am still seeking additional information regarding the transactions pages.

Q u o t e:
My question is my toon is not LOCKED. I can log in on my toon that I am transferring. Is this a problem? When does a toon become locked from access after posting a paid transfer?

Thanks for the report. I'm currently awaiting additional information regarding this particular issue.

Q u o t e:
If the character is locked, does that mean the money has been paid and you just have to wait for the character to transfer, or does it always do that?

Money is not actually collected until the transaction has been completed altogether. Having your character locked during the transfer process is standard fare. You needn't worry. :)

Q u o t e:
If my card has been charged the $30.00 for the faction transfer but I see no change when I view my character list (button to customize), should I be concerned?

No.

When you attempt to make a purchase, we must first authorize that the card is legitimate and contains the necessary funds. Accordingly, your financial institution may temporarily freeze those funds in anticipation of an upcoming purchase. We will not collect on these held funds until the process has successfully completed. Should the process fail at any point, we will not claim the funds and they will be returned to you by your financial institution in accordance with their banking policies.

For more information, please review the following information provided by our Billing and Account Services Department:

Q u o t e:
Depending on your financial institution and the terms of your credit card, the authentication process may place a "funds held" for verification purposes. This is a temporary charge that will reverse itself automatically, generally within three to five business days. However, some financial institutions may hold the funds for up to 30 days, depending on their own policies. Please note that these charges are simply part of the verification system. Because of other circumstances beyond our control, these charges do not indicate whether a card will be accepted at the time of payment. In the event that the charges do not reverse in three to five business days (please allow for more time on holidays and weekends), please contact your bank and verify the charges in question. You may also want to inquire with your financial institution as to what their policy is on reversing "funds held" transactions.

If you received an error while attempting to use the Direct Online Upgrade feature via Account Management, and you see a pending transaction on your bank statement, please rest assured that Blizzard Entertainment will not collect the funds for all of those pending transactions if the upgrade was not successful on your initial attempt(s). If you require additional assistance with the Direct Online Upgrade service, please call the Billing and Account Services Department at your earliest convenience.

Still attempting to gather information regarding characters who are not locked, folks.

For the time being, please refrain from logging into these characters and try to remain as patient as possible. As one of your fellow players has noted, their character was not immediately locked, but as the transfer process went along their character was locked. It is entirely possible that what you have experienced is simply a side effect of the extended delays and that the process will be completed in due time.

Q u o t e:


Thats wonderful. And since the web site isnt working I cant do that. Yet Aredek tried to claim in this thread you didnt need to do any such thing.

It is no longer necessary to finalize the transaction, Teyo, but this seems to be an unrelated issue. I've notified the appropriate parties and am currently awaiting additional information regarding this issue.

Q u o t e:


Then why does everyone here say you need to finalize it by unlocking your character in the character transfer section of the account management web site?

This is not intended functionality, Teyo. We are currently looking into this in hopes of identifying the issue.

I can assure you all that if an ETA were available it would be the first piece of information I would provide you. I sincerely apologize, but I will be unable to estimate how long your paid service will take to complete.

Your ongoing patience is greatly appreciated.

Q u o t e:


Ok, this is understandable, But... can we get an explanation of exactly whats goin on?
Are your systems down? crash?

My toon is locked, as well as the sight being down to allow me to accept the transfer.

An explanation would be nice to have, just a little more in depth then just an appology. You dont have to appologize you specfically didnt do anything, just tell us whats up.

A large number of players are attempting to Change Factions/Realms/Names/Looks currently. As a result, wait times have been extended as our systems attempt to process each transaction. As an unfortunate side effect, the related web pages have also seen an increase in traffic resulting in a few accessibility issues that we are currently looking into.

Q u o t e:
UPDATE!

To those that have a locked character on your old realm and your character isn't showing up on your new realm -- try to make a level 1 so that your character list will get updated on the new realm. I did it, and my main is now showing on the new realm I transferred to.

Hope that helps some of you..

Thanks for the information, Nocturne.

Q u o t e:
My transfer said completed.

I have my toon still on Grizzly Hills and then I have the copy on my new server. I have 2 Identical toons. I got the email saying it was complete. Is it unsafe for me to log in my new toon? Any help please!

Please try to log into your character on the destination realm and let me know if you are able to access your character, Evelette.

Hey there, Rell.

Can you try creating a new character on Blood Furnace?

Let me know if you are able to see and access your character after doing so.

Q u o t e:
I did the character list update but it still says i have too wait till the thing is complete any ideas?

Are you able to access the transaction page, Xêon?

Q u o t e:


I did what was quoted above and my character showed up, but when I went to log in to the character it said "The character is unavailable until the current update process is complete." Just FYI for the GM trying to work the issue(s).

Thanks! Are you able to access the transactions page? :)

The following updates have been made to the first post in this thread:

Q u o t e:
We are still receiving several reports that players are unable to access the transaction pages found below. Our technicians are currently reviewing this issue in hopes of making these pages available to all players.

Additionally, if you recently received an e-mail stating that your Character Transfer has been completed but you are not yet able to log into the character, please attempt to visit the Character Transfer transaction page (https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/character-transfer-status.html) and click the "Unlock" button. We are currently looking further into this issue in hopes of identifying a resolution for those of you still unable to access the aforementioned transaction page.

Q u o t e:
So I was having issues with my transfer, couldn't access the webpage, finally logged on my bf's computer and unlocked the character. So now she's no longer on her old realm... but she's not on the new one either? >.< So where did my priest go?

Can you try creating a new character on the destination realm, Litebright?

Q u o t e:
Okay since Blizz is ignoring my post I'll post it here.

I wait 22 hours for my faction change to be deemed "Unsuccessful" with no reason why. I need some answers because right now I am HEATED! Also I can't log into the character now because it says "You cannot log in until the character update process you recently initiated is complete" but it says the Faction Change was unsuccessful.

Yes its a Re-Post but I want some answers

Regrettably, I lack the resources to identify why your transaction has failed, Kirance. I realize that this will not be a popular answer, but I encourage you to contact our Billing and Account Services Department during normal business hours so that they can investigate this issue on your behalf. They can be reached using one of the following numbers:

Billing and Account Services

Live Representatives Available Mon-Fri, 8am to 8pm PST
For phone assistance please call: 1 (800) 592-5499 || 1 (800) 59-BLIZZARD

• Players in Australia should call 1-800-041-378
  
• Players in Singapore should call 800-2549-9273
  
• Players in Chile should call 1230-020-5554
  
• Players in Mexico should call 001-888-578-7628
  
• Players in Argentina should call 0800-333-0778
  
• All other international players should call: (949) 955-0283

Roger that, Smarra. Thank you for the follow-up!

Q u o t e:
Hey Aredek

Heres another issue for you to report, I switched to my old realm where my toon was at and its still listed there, and listed on the realm I transfered it to.

Are you able to access either character, Smarra?

Q u o t e:
Here's my story -

09/05/09 - Approx. 5:00 PM EST - Initiated server transfer. Drak'tharon - Zuljin.

09/06/09 - 2:34 EST - New toon show's up with other letters and numbers after his name. Haven't tried to enter world with him..I know there is someone else with my name already on that server, so I will have to change my toon's name now??

Question is: Do I enter world with him, or do something else for changing his name?

Afraid to login just yet with him on the new server because don't wanna mess anything up.

Ideas?

Upon logging in you'll be given to opportunity to choose a new name, Zaralis. The letters and numbers you see are simply placeholders to ensure the character's name does not conflict with another characters. :)

I just wanted to let you know that my contacts have informed me that the paid service queues are steadily falling to much more manageable levels and a number of these transactions are being completed as we speak. Furthermore, they expect the web issues to be resolved as the queues continue to drop.

We will, of course, continue to keep a watchful eye on this issue and work towards resolving any remaining Paid Character Transfers issues.

Thanks again for displaying an immense amount of patience despite this obviously frustrating issue.

Q u o t e:
Any way to get past the server busy error yet? clearing cache and files didn't work

Not yet, Daep. This is the sort of information that I'll be sure to provide in the original post if it becomes available.

Q u o t e:
Is it okay if i play on my toon thats going to be xferd to another server since its unlocked?

Playing on a character you are attempting to transfer may result in extended delays, Ogopogoh; I would not suggest it.

If you have received notification that your Paid Character Transfer has been completed, but are unable to log into the character -and- are unable to access the status page (https://www.worldofwarcraft.com/account/character-transfer-status.html), please review the following thread and reply with the requested information:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=19717484527&sid=1

Thanks!