Wrongfully Banned: Abuse of the Economy

#0 - Oct. 15, 2009, 4:08 a.m.

I just received the following email:

Q u o t e:
***Notice of Account Closure***

Account Name: **********

Reason for Closure: Terms of Use Violation -- Exploitative Activity: Abuse of the Economy

This account was closed because one or more characters were identified exchanging, or contributing to the exchange of, in-game property (items or gold) for "real-world" currency. This exchange process negatively impacts the World of Warcraft game environment by detracting from the value of the in-game economy.

Even if this behavior is the result of a third party accessing the account instead of the registered user (for example, a friend, family member, or leveling service) then the account can still be held responsible for the penalty because of the impact it had on the game environment.

We've found the above behavior is many times directly related to groups responsible for compromising World of Warcraft accounts; we take these issues very seriously. To better understand our position against exploitative activity and the risks involved, please review this article: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/antigold.html

The exploitative activity that took place on this account violates the World of Warcraft Terms of Use. We ask you take a moment to review these terms at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html. Any recurring subscriptions on this account have been suspended to prevent further monetary charges.

For any disputes of this action, please visit the Exploitative Activity FAQ and Contact page here: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/exploitfaq

Regards,

Blizzard Entertainment
www.worldofwarcraft.com

After a few Google searches i came across a fair few posts where the same thing has happened, someone sold bulk items and got banned. They did have they're bans lifted though.

I'm a little unsure why i was banned though, i do buy and resell items a lot for profit, but that's not against any rules? I've never sold or bought gold, I'm very aware of the consequences for doing so, and it would be stupid to do so. Blizzard can even check all of my logs, i have never bought or sold gold. The only thing i sell is in-game items for in-game gold.

I noticed i was kicked from the server literally 2minutes after selling quite a few items in bulk to an individual I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it, but again i feel i am in my fair right to buy and resell in-game items.

Please review this, its very unnecessary for me to lose my game-time and miss raids because of a stupid mistake on blizzards behalf. I have replied to the account closure email, but we all know that blizzard takes 1425 years to reply, and when they do it's a generic macro like response.

EDIT: To those who said someone else who was on my account must have, NO. I use a blizzard Authenticator, no one other than myself uses this account, and i have no need to buy or sell gold. It's a mistake. I sell A LOT of items because buying and reselling is a good way to profit.

When they review and unlock me, which will happen because i have done none of the accused, will they give me credit for the game-time i have missed?

Vrakthris

#5 - Oct. 15, 2009, 4:20 a.m.

Q u o t e:
After a few Google searches i came across a fair few posts where the same thing has happened, someone sold bulk items and got banned. They did have they're bans lifted though.

The problem here is most people assume what the penalty was for. Because they happened to place some items on the auction house or send some gold to a guild mate just before the penalties were applied, they assume that they were actioned for doing that.

In many of those cases that is incorrect. What normally happens is the account itself has been compromised and while compromised the actions that were taken on the account resulted in the account being suspended or closed.

Q u o t e:

Please review this, its very unnecessary for me to lose my game-time and miss raids because of a stupid mistake on blizzards behalf. I have replied to the account closure email, but we all know that blizzard takes 1425 years to reply, and when they do it's a generic macro like response.

Although I understand your frustration, Why, but please try to avoid insulting us while asking for assistance.

If you provide me with the name and realm of one of the characters on the account in question I'll take a look. Though I will likely simply refer you back to Account Administration I'll give you what advice I can.

Vrakthris

#20 - Oct. 15, 2009, 5:01 a.m.

Q u o t e:
I know what the activity was, i sold a tone of items to 1 person literally 2minutes before i got kicked from the server =/

As I said before, Why, this is usually a false assumption. It is in this case.

I'm sorry, but from what I can see there is a good deal going on here that I am unable to provide additional information. You'll want to contact Account Administration to dispute this.

The most common reasons an account is suspended or closed in this manner would be found in the following guide.

How to Stay in the Game
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=21507

Vrakthris

#45 - Oct. 15, 2009, 5:55 a.m.

Q u o t e:
If you read what economy exploitation is. I've practically been accused of buying/selling gold or been involved in the assisting of buying and selling gold. Which i haven't so

Economy Exploitation does not always mean the buying and/or selling of gold. It can sometimes mean using an unfair or exploitative method to acquire gold and/or materials which would in turn affect the economy.

This seems to be the case here. In fact given the history of accounts that I show associated with you, you have come across this before.

One of the main reasons we do not provide detailed explanations of the actions that we take is usually the reason is known by the user. Although in some cases there may be several possible Terms of Use violations present on an account we may only detected one of them; by not providing details we prevent those who continue to try and exploit our policies any definitive information on which of their methods went undetected.

Whyumadlol, I show a minimum of 27 accounts associated with you. Only 4 of those are trial accounts. Of these accounts there are closed, locked and valid accounts. There are more closed accounts than Valid and more Valid accounts than Locked.

I'm sorry, Whyumadlol, but as much as I would love to, I am unable to provide further details.

Vrakthris

#48 - Oct. 15, 2009, 6:03 a.m.

Q u o t e:
Thanks for atleast giving me some information. I have played since January 05, but i didn't realised i'd aquired so many accounts. Do blizzard issue credit for lost time if a ban is overturned?

If a closure is verified as an error we are sometimes able to provide compensation for lost time.

Vrakthris

#50 - Oct. 15, 2009, 6:11 a.m.

Q u o t e:
What do you mean buy associated? Like if a friend logs in at my house, does that then become assosiated? because 27 is large ammount, and a few thousand dollers worth of keys =/

No, I mean associated with you, specifically.