I lost my authenticator =(

#0 - May 3, 2010, 5:19 p.m.

I wanted to feel safe and cozy at night, I did. I truly believed the advertisement of the authenticator...the warm glow...the "Buy me because it's the only way you'll feel safe again," whispers from it's tiny plastic shell...all of this, I bought into. Then it happened.

I had left it at work. I couldn't play my lovely SC2 beta or raid with my friends until I went and got it. So I immediately set off to do so. Made it in safely, placed the little bugger in my pocket, and left. I get home to find, it's gone. It's not in my pockets, it's not by my car, in my car, in the parking lot, in the hall, nowhere near my office, nowhere at all. I realize now it's gone. It vanished. It wanted an even greater level of security so it decided to become immaterial. This is bad, I have raids tonight, they're counting on me for Lich King! MY DKP WILL SUFFER GREATLY! So I call blizzard billing and services department. Too busy to take my call? So I call...and call...and call...and redial spam for hours...and nothing. SO Modern Warfare 2 it is. I sent an email and went and played that. Got automatic response, but no real response yet. I've called the phone number a lot, no reply.

I waited until before the phones were even switched on, spam dialed from "we're closed" to "we're busy" and still have nothing. I'm locked out of things I'm paying monthly fees for. Granted, it's my fault. I lost the little bugger. But the support is just not there for it. What's my option now? Faxing my drivers license (or death certficate...may have one of those before I receive support.) to blizzard and hoping I get something back soon.

I'm tired of this. This was the worst service I've ever received, and I have most of my phone/tv through ATT and it's affiliates. I deal with Dells at work and even they have, albeit hard to understand in indian english like moonspeak, given leaps and bouns better service.

Do not release new features unless you have the support to back them up. I'm now stuck, unable to use the service I pay for because nobody can find the 5 minutes it would take to answer my call and remove the authenticator.....or read my email...or soon probably, read my fax. Hire more support staff, please.

Malkorix

#36 - May 3, 2010, 7:35 p.m.

Q u o t e:

Lucky. I've spent no less than 3 hours of constantly redialing yesterday, at 10cst today, and during my lunch break.

Hey there Companda!

First, I want to address the wait time for contact with our Account Services departments. You've stated that the service doesn't exist, but I must firmly disagree! There are certainly measures in place to allow our players to appropriately deal with and manage their Authenticators, even if they may not be occurring at a speed that we'd all prefer. On that note, we realize that speed of service is an issue, and we are working to reduce the time it takes for our customers to into contact with us regarding all issues. The reality of the situation is that despite ongoing improvements on our part, there are a vast number of incoming requests which generates a queue. While we are indeed making the aforementioned improvements, we also understand that there's still a long way to go.

An Authenticator remains a very substantial additional layer of security for your account, and to disparage the device itself because it was lost, or because it is difficult to get one removed, is hardly fair. They remain highly effective, and when handled carefully, should not represent a substantial inconvenience.

Expressing concerns about the speed at which one can be removed in the event one is lost is another matter. It is fairly simple to take the precaution of writing down the Serial number attached to an Authenticator, and this is a step that we recommend. While it does still take time to contact our department in the wake of a loss, access to that serial number significantly speeds and eases the removal of the device.

Calling isn't the only fashion to handle this situation, and it sounds like you've already submitted the appropriate information to have your device removed via email, but just in case - this is the form that you'd need to fill out, and send to [email protected] to effect the removal of your authenticator in the event that something like this occurs:

Battle.net Terms of Use Form
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=26361

Finally, if you have any suggestions regarding how cases like this can be handled more efficiently in the future without reducing the security the devices offer, please feel free to contribute them constructively on our Suggestions forum. While we are unable to provide a response there, that forum is the best means to get your perspectives in front of those with the power to make changes to World of Warcraft, our policies and our procedures.

Malkorix

#40 - May 3, 2010, 8:37 p.m.

Q u o t e:
Again, thank you for your reply. I am satisfied with that response.

My pleasure! I hope we're able to help get this whole situation squared away, and also have you back in-game and enjoying World of Warcraft very soon.