Item restoration policy is messed up

Q u o t e:
I was in a losing EotS, and DE-ed an item towards the end of it- we were losing by over 1000 to a partial premade. The won while the loot window was open. I was unable to loot, and when I appeared in Shattrath I didn't have the item or the DE materials.

So, I opened a ticket. Here's where it got bad. After about 20 minutes of very frustrating circular conversation, this is what I got:

1- GM could see I DE-ed the item
2- GM could see I didn't get the mats
3- GM could fix the issue he saw, but only if I agreed to use one of a "limited number" of item restorations
4- GM would not tell me how many restorations I have left.

OK, so people can say "what were you doing DE-ing in a BG?"- fine. My bad. First time, last time.

Here's the thing, GM can clearly see the loss. I'm fine with going through the GM/ticket routine, even though that can take hours. Why not restore? He refused to say, but my guess is that they're trying to prevent people from DE-ing then DC-ing/porting when they don't like the DE-results? Fine- but he can clearly see that had never happened to me. I'm obviously not abusing the system if it had never happened before. Does it make sense to punish an honest mistake because there is a possible exploit?

Finally, it makes no sense that I'm being asked to weigh my known loss (a blue that DE-ed into a large prismatic) vs some unknown number of future unknown losses. GM says I'll "run out" someday, but by not telling me it appears to be just an attempted lever to discourage me from getting the problem fixed. I'm being asked to somehow figure out the number of future times some bug will happen to destroy some "better" item and guess if that will happen more times than the unknown "limited number" of restorations I get.

This is actually quite simple, Paksin. You wanted to debate the baseline rules surrounding item restoration - something a member of the Game Master staff is neither authorized, nor in a position to do.

Each account is only permitted a limited number of restorations, and before the Game Master was authorized to move forward with restoration at all, he required your permission to potentially use one of those limited restorations. For the reasons you mentioned above, you were reluctant to comply.

I'd like to take this opportunity to mention that this is a standard feature of most restorations that our department performs. The reason the Game Master did not provide your remaining number of restorations is because we are unable to reveal the number of restorations available. I can say that it is a relatively small number.

For a more detailed reference, our item restoration policy is listed here:

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=20457

And here are the standards that apply to any of these restorations:

Q u o t e:

If your particular case fits any of the above criteria, you may be eligible to receive assistance with the recovery of your lost goods. Due to many variables with investigating these claims, your reimbursement, if approved, may not be immediate. Keep in mind that a player and the account registered to him/her will be permitted a limited number of instances in which the GM staff will assist with property recovery. We do not wish to encourage career victims, nor will we penalize players who legitimately make the occasional slip-up. Reimbursement of any kind is NOT guaranteed. While we will make every effort to verify and restore your loss, the decision to reimburse your loss is entirely at Blizzard's discretion. If a player is repeatedly making poor decisions that result in lost property, we reserve the right to refuse further reimbursements.

I understand that you may have reservations about this policy, but it is what it is. If an item is important enough to justify the use of one of your restorations, then it is wise to make the decision to use one. If it is not, then it is best to move on and leave the situation behind.

While we do our utmost to lend a hand, the Game Master staff is not in a position to correct every issue that occurs. Some personal responsibility and alertness is expected of our players, despite our willingness to help in many circumstances.

In this case, the Game Master was more than willing to lend a hand, within the bounds of the policy that he is responsible to. Your decision, based on the limited nature of the restoration policy, was ultimately to opt not to restore the item.

If you'd like to see a change in the nature of the restoration policy, the only means to express that desire effectively is via a post on our Suggestion forums.

Q u o t e:
Finally, I think it is a customer service policy issue when (as I talk about in my second point here) that GMs are prevented from giving a player full information about where they stand. It puts the GM in a bad position. I'm sure it leads to many frustrating conversations.

You are correct, in that some petitioners are indeed frustrated with the lack of specificity involved with this policy. I understand why, and I do apologize for any frustration this conversation might have caused for you. I know that you only want to make educated decisions about your character's future.

We are vague on this point to a purpose though, and while I realize that this can be a difficult point to take on faith, we take this stance for many good reasons; the vast majority of which are positive for our players.