Blizzard - WoW Account Ownership Issue

#0 - July 30, 2008, 1:05 a.m.

Hi Blizzard,

Here's the scoop. When WoW came out I bought my friend WoW as a gift, knowing he wasn't old enough to have a Credit Card (At the time) I went ahead and set up the account for him when I gave it to him using my Credit Card.

Here it gets tricky:

My friend and I got in a kerfuffle a year ago, during that time his account was compromised. And of course since the account was in 'MY' name, there was absolutely nothing blizzard would do for him. Thus he bought a new account in his own name and started over.

That being said, we started talking again after a while. By then he had multiple high level characters on his own account. But I was able to recover his compromised account since it is in my name. So now he has a good abundance of high level characters.

Here's the issue:

Now, he would like to transfer some of his characters to his account (the one in his name). BUT the accounts are NOT the same name, thus he is unable to transfer his characters. Which also makes no sense because technically we could transfer HIS characters on to one of my two accounts and it will be considered 'legit'.

My Question:

Could you please have it be possible for me to;

A) Change the owner of the account to HIS name (no we're not getting married and no i don't plan on Dying in order for him to give you my death certificate)

or

B) Allow the character transfer to take place between those two accounts.

If this is not possible, without dying or getting married, what type of information could BOTH of us give you in order for this to happen. He plays on both accounts, what happens if i Move to Germany or something and never speak to him again, and he gets hacked yet again, you just say, "sucks to be him?".

It's unfair, and I would love an answer please.

Thanks,
Mike

Vrakthris

#4 - July 30, 2008, 1:14 a.m.

Q u o t e:
Which also makes no sense because technically we could transfer HIS characters on to one of my two accounts and it will be considered 'legit'.

The transfer may be permitted but it wouldn't be legit.

Your friend should have never been accessing the account that had your name on it in the first place.

Q u o t e:
A) Change the owner of the account to HIS name (no we're not getting married and no i don't plan on Dying in order for him to give you my death certificate)

Accounts are soulbound and only one adult and one minor child (that the registered adult is the parent or legal guardian of) may ever access the account. Your wife/husband, sister, cousin, neighbor, bestest friend in the whole world or stranger on the street may not access it.

Q u o t e:
B) Allow the character transfer to take place between those two accounts.

We do not permit the trade, gifting or sale of accounts or characters on accounts.

Q u o t e:

Ownership/Selling of the Account or Virtual Items.
Blizzard does not recognize the transfer of Accounts. You may not purchase, sell, gift or trade any Account, or offer to purchase, sell, gift or trade any Account, and any such attempt shall be null and void. Blizzard owns, has licensed, or otherwise has rights to all of the content that appears in the Program. You agree that you have no right or title in or to any such content, including the virtual goods or currency appearing or originating in the Game, or any other attributes associated with the Account or stored on the Service. Blizzard does not recognize any virtual property transfers executed outside of the Game or the purported sale, gift or trade in the "real world" of anything related to the Game. Accordingly, you may not sell items for "real" money or otherwise exchange items for value outside of the Game.

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html

Q u o t e:
If this is not possible, without dying or getting married, what type of information could BOTH of us give you in order for this to happen. He plays on both accounts, what happens if i Move to Germany or something and never speak to him again, and he gets hacked yet again, you just say, "sucks to be him?".

Regardless of where you are living he shouldn't be accessing that account. Doing so can result in the account being closed, permanently.

Vrakthris

#9 - July 30, 2008, 1:19 a.m.

Q u o t e:
It's a freaking video game for gosh sakes, must it be so strict?

I mean come on....

I find this quite unfair knowing that this was a GIFT to a friend.

Yes, Storanok, it must be this strict. I'm sorry but the "it's a video game" argument is and has always been completely irrelevant. It's not just a video game, it is also an account that you have to create and during that creation you must agree to abide by certain policies

You and your friend have violated those policies and that agreement.

Q u o t e:
EDIT: Xern, the guy on the phone told me to post on the forums.

The guy on the phone meant to post in the Suggestion Forums.

Vrakthris

#13 - July 30, 2008, 1:23 a.m.

Q u o t e:
So for 4 years hes been playing on an account that he should not have been playing on.... As well this being a gift out of the kindness of my heart, my friend would be penalized for my kindness.

I understand the "security" i do not understand the logic.

This has everything to do with security and the agreement you clicked "I accept" to.

Q u o t e:

You represent that you are an adult in your country of residence. You agree to these Terms of Use on behalf of yourself and, at your discretion, for one (1) minor child for whom you are a parent or guardian and whom you have authorized to use the account you create on the Service.

Q u o t e:

Your failure to supply accurate information to Blizzard when requested, or to update that information as it changes, shall constitute a material breach of this Agreement.

Q u o t e:

You may not share the Account or the Login Information with anyone other than as expressly set forth herein.

Q u o t e:
Who else could I talk to regarding this?
Should I call Blizzard and just keep working my way up?

I'm sorry, Storanok, but our policies apply to everyone equally. There is no manager that you can speak with that has authorization to grant something that is strictly forbidden by our Terms of Use.

Vrakthris

#21 - July 30, 2008, 2:42 a.m.

Q u o t e:
Just out of curiousity, EULA states under Section 3. Ownership (Sub Section B)

You may permanently transfer all of your rights and obligations under the License Agreement to another by physically transferring the original media (e.g., the CD-ROM or DVD you purchased), all original packaging, and all Manuals or other documentation distributed with the Game; provided, however, that you permanently delete all copies and installations of the Game in your possession or control, and that the recipient agrees to the terms of this License Agreement. The transferor (i.e., you), and not Blizzard, agrees to be solely responsible for any taxes, fees, charges, duties, withholdings, assessments, and the like, together with any interest, penalties, and additions imposed in connection with such transfer.

Wouldnt this apply to this situation, I am just wondering?

That's the CD's, Veldara, not the account. The account can not be transferred and once the authentication key has been used to create an account the disks will not help create one to use.

Vrakthris

#29 - July 30, 2008, 4:41 a.m.

Q u o t e:
k, so i dont stuff this up myself. i was thinking of doing the same thing for a friends kid, i think hes around 14-15 atm. how would i go about buying the game for him and paying for the game time?

i presume i can just buy the game itself from any store and then get his mother to create the account once it's installed, but how do i go about setting up payments? (my own account is currently via 6 month credit card payments) or would it be better to buy them game time cards instead for that part?

As you said, Popped, you can purchase the game (I recommend the Battlechest which contains both the original version and the expansion for a reduced price) and have his mother create the account in her name.

For payment you can either pick up some game cards and give them to him or her or you can sit down with the mother during account creation and add your information when she gets to that point. That way you aren't handing out your credit card information or accessing an account you shouldn't be. :)

Vrakthris

#31 - July 30, 2008, 5:09 a.m.

Q u o t e:

tvm, it's the payment method i was really worried about, game cards are ok as a fallback but was hoping that i could credit card it (wasnt sure this was possible) - good to know it is though, thanks.

Yep, you are golden, it doesn't matter who pays for the account as long as the person using it is registered to the account or is the child or ward of the adult registered to it.