Lost: EA Customers

[Zuckuss]

There are several of us out there! We were happy to play UO for 14 years and pay every single month.

Then this last month, you truncate our accounts, with gametime still paid for, you promise us that all four accounts that we paid for will all be up and running with gametimes codes applied for the inconvience this was. This was over a week ago.

You tell us that you are on top of it and then you move us up another tier to another person who has no clue what we spoke about to the person on the phone before. We are encouraged to communicate through email, in fact, once you reach a tier higher than tier one, you are FORCED to only communicate through email which apparently EA will take their sweet time to respond to. Every conversation is another hour or two spent explaining for a 2nd third 5th and 12th time.

The gametime promised to us is to just pacify us so that we will shut up so they can move onto the next phonecall, to repeat the cycle with someone else.

So with these four accounts what I have already paid for, they want me to "just resubscribe" and see what happens.

Would any of you pay double the monthly cost if EA had not done one thing that they said they would on their end? Promise you that all will be fixed, offer to compensate you then the second they hang up the phone, they forget about you.

I am not subscribing on any account until my accounts are reactivated with the lost gametime added back on as well as the gametime promised to me over the phone.

I feel that if I just went ahead and entered my billing info again, I would have no shot of recovering the time I have already paid for.

If they want to keep the large number of us who are ready to just say "to hell with it" they might want to start operating like a business and pretend that the customer matters.

This is not a rant. This is a direct message to EA.

 

[Theo_GL]

#1 Rule in business - Don't f with people's money

That goes for people's salaries as well as customers.

You better have a foolproof method for taking your customers money or drop everything to fix it. The fact that they are resorting to email to work with cusotmers that cannot pay you - is a complete corporate joke. Sell EA stock short.

 

[Zuckuss]

If I really wanted to be a pest, I would call my bank and dispute every charge from last month as service was not provided to me as advertised by the ToS and fine print.

I would not be in the wrong either.

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

If I really wanted to be a pest, I would call my bank and dispute every charge from last month as service was not provided to me as advertised by the ToS and fine print.

I would not be in the wrong either.

incorrect ... You already been scooped on that bit ...
... ya can stop right there then ...
The OLD TOS had "AS IS" & "AS AVAILABLE" re: what you got (and covered anyother "broadband type issues")
annnnnd The New Over-riding Bill Of Sale (tos fully "active" sept 25, 2011 <<< coincidentally ... huh?)
annnd See: Items 15 & 16

 

[Restroom Cowboy]

You should read a bit more Fayled. According to the New TOS posted on the 25th of August. According to the regulations plainly expressed, 30 days is of notice is required to the customer when changes are made to billing and payments. It is now the 20th of Sept with a notice date of August 25th; do the math for yourself.

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

You should read a bit more Fayled. According to the New TOS posted on the 25th of August. According to the regulations plainly expressed, 30 days is of notice is required to the customer when changes are made to billing and payments. It is now the 20th of Sept with a notice date of August 25th; do the math for yourself.

(tos fully "active" sept 25, 2011 <<< coincidentally ... huh?)

 

[Zosimus]

Actually it's the 24th of Sept since there were 31 days in August.

 

[Woodsman]

I would go pancake on the EA Origin forums, because actual Origin customer service reps read those forums, they have EA_ in their handles. Some of them can do quite a bit - add promos, codes, etc. to your accounts. The Origin support people that post in the forums claim to be forwarding specific posts to their support team that they can't handle themselves, same with the Facebook people. Just make sure that you have your info right on your Origin.com account because they will most likely attempt to contact you.

Bugs and Issues : EA Forums

Origin Web Store : EA Forums

EA Support can also be reached through their Facebook page

But I would go with Origin's Facebook page if you go that route.

Read through this thread first: Origin - Payment Authorisation Failed or jump to the end.

Are they different than the email support people you are stuck with? I don't know. I just know they actively patrol those forums and I've gotten responses through Facebook as well. I've gotten help for a payment issue through their forums quicker than anywhere else. Just be prepared to ignore the drama from BF3 and SWTOR pre-orders that are flipping out. Usually you won't see those threads or comments, they are either deleted/locked, or you'll see "comment hidden by moderator" or something like that.

If you find it bizarre to see EA/Origin support actively talking to people publicly and trying to help them, well me too. It's like a different company in those forums.

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

Actually it's the 24th of Sept since there were 31 days in August.

close ... but no actually factually ...
how many months have 28 days? (see close above)
IT IS "fully active" >now< for those that clicked thru it on resetting their account info
>For me< it "became" round august 9th or there abouts ... >when I was aware of IT< for the first time ... but >did not< /sign ... sign on ... agree to it ...
still
>I was aware of the change< and its laid out quite clear what my options were AND are in case of disagreement ...

read it for once

Of historic note: reading it during the next few days is a unique time ...
the "tos" is in an actual Schrodinger cat state ... also known as a probability fog.

>technically< The "Origin" tos doesn't supplant the original (current) tos ... until AFTER it is posted to see and read the changes AT THE KB location ..
KB current <<<< that is a self referential loop ... read the damn thing ... it refers to which address for posting?

THE ONE YOU ARE READING DUH !!!!!!


So the ORIGIN class tos ain't gonna be in effect HERE at the KB for thirty days plus
day one is POSTING day ... or the day after?
no matter

The (and i do mean THE ) The "Origin TOS" became effective upon click throughs on day one and 30 days after >its first public notice<
which was somewhere back in DEC ought ten IIRC ...

but since they don't have an index log of "change/dates" ALL you'll ever see (at most) IS "last updated :date:" @ the Origin tos self referential address OF: terms.ea.com


OLD tos refers to which site? terms.ea.com? NOPE old refers to: "www.uo.com" (the "Web Site")

So ... want to try again?

What is the CURRENT legal state of the ORIGIN TOS ... ?

 

[aarons6]

they gave me dead space 2 because they couldnt reactivate one of my accounts..

maybe this is the end of uo after all..

 

[Vyal]

Fayled Dhreams, are you living in another country? Please english....
Those posts are long and make no sense to read.

 

[Zosimus]

close ... but no actually factually ...
how many months have 28 days? (see close above)
IT IS "fully active" >now< for those that clicked thru it on resetting their account info
>For me< it "became" round august 9th or there abouts ... >when I was aware of IT< for the first time ... but >did not< /sign ... sign on ... agree to it ...
still
>I was aware of the change< and its laid out quite clear what my options were AND are in case of disagreement ...

read it for once

Of historic note: reading it during the next few days is a unique time ...
the "tos" is in an actual Schrodinger cat state ... also known as a probability fog.

>technically< The "Origin" tos doesn't supplant the original (current) tos ... until AFTER it is posted to see and read the changes AT THE KB location ..
KB current <<<< that is a self referential loop ... read the damn thing ... it refers to which address for posting?

THE ONE YOU ARE READING DUH !!!!!!


So the ORIGIN class tos ain't gonna be in effect HERE at the KB for thirty days plus
day one is POSTING day ... or the day after?
no matter

The (and i do mean THE ) The "Origin TOS" became effective upon click throughs on day one and 30 days after >its first public notice<
which was somewhere back in DEC ought ten IIRC ...

but since they don't have an index log of "change/dates" ALL you'll ever see (at most) IS "last updated :date:" @ the Origin tos self referential address OF: terms.ea.com


OLD tos refers to which site? terms.ea.com? NOPE old refers to: "www.uo.com" (the "Web Site")

So ... want to try again?

What is the CURRENT legal state of the ORIGIN TOS ... ?

Whatever you were wrong so quit trying to make it look like you are right. DUH!


It was posted on the Aug 25th. I know there are months with 28 days , 30 days and 31 days. BTW everybody knows that all months have 28 days because of that old riddle. DUH. It's an old riddle so its pretty commonly known by now.


The TOS says 30 days after posting. Does not mean +1 day then 30. The TOS started Aug 25th when it was posted The date is Sept 24th .....UNLESS.....they change and redo another TOS again before that date. Quit trying to justify the 25th when it's not.

Just like an infomercial. You get those free 30 day trials. Then it takes 2 weeks to get to you and you have to have it sent back by 2 weeks. That 30 day trial starts when you place your order. NOt when you get it.


Sorry Zuckuss you are having these issues. many have. I delt with 14 people in icq one night with issues. Was a nightmare.

 

[Zuckuss]

incorrect ... You already been scooped on that bit ...
... ya can stop right there then ...
The OLD TOS had "AS IS" & "AS AVAILABLE" re: what you got (and covered anyother "broadband type issues")
annnnnd The New Over-riding Bill Of Sale (tos fully "active" sept 25, 2011 <<< coincidentally ... huh?)
annnd See: Items 15 & 16

Okay, well thank you for offering your much needed correction as to whether or not you feel I would be wrong.

If you have anything helpful to suggest, that would be great too.

 

[Nyses]

Fayled Dhreams, are you living in another country? Please english....
Those posts are long and make no sense to read.

I have often wondered/thought this myself.

 

[Raptor85]

I have 4 accounts I had active, right now I have 1 active and that's only because i spent a few WEEKS on the phone getting my account sorted out (nothing on mine transfered properly from the old system.....). I'm running on a game time code now because, evidently, my account no longer accepts my credit card, luckily though it seems a prepaid credit card worked to buy a game time code. (I used one of the ones you can pick up at target)

granted this means i'm paying a total of nearly $20 a month for my sub now.....so this solution to their problem sucks to say the least. I'll have to make my call when this code runs out of it's even worth playing UO at this high cost of both time and money each month now.

I really dont WANT to abandon this game, especially playing on such a community oriented shard I would miss it and everyone there, but to the OP I feel your pain, some of us were simply turned over a barrel by EA with the new account system and because we're only a "small percentage" of the total most people who were able to painlessly migrade, and the devs have completely ignored us, written us off as an acceptable loss.

And lets not even get into the utterly INSULTING item giveaway they turned on to appease those with account problems.....I mean, we have account problems, we CANT GET INTO THE GAME, so how does giving away an ingame item appease us.....more like a slap in the face really.

 

[Zuckuss]

#1 Rule in business - Don't f with people's money

That goes for people's salaries as well as customers.

You better have a foolproof method for taking your customers money or drop everything to fix it. The fact that they are resorting to email to work with cusotmers that cannot pay you - is a complete corporate joke. Sell EA stock short.

I agree.

It's like "EA wake up! I am trying to hand you $780 per year plus boosters and expansions, but you won't even pass the effort to pick up the phone and receive it."

I have never had such a hard time in my life, giving away my money.

 

[Pink Dragoness]

I agree.

It's like "EA wake up! I am trying to hand you $780 per year plus boosters and expansions, but you won't even pass the effort to pick up the phone and receive it."

I have never had such a hard time in my life, giving away my money.

I am having that same problem at this time.
I have come to the conclusion, that when my main account ends the end of this month, and my current card that has paid my accounts the last year doesn't go though, I am hanging it up with this company. Almost 12 years, it will not hurt my feelings, it will be one more income loss for them.

 

[Lord_Rotin]

I am just wondering, why none of the American UO player is taking this to court.

As all this promises from EA is depressing and brings one down.... aren´t this psychoilogical strains?

And isn´t this promissing and not delivering in time worth to ask for a little "compensation for immaterial damage"?



I believe a "smart money" of 2 Million Dollar should be in here....

*Just joking*

 

[Ludes]

I switched to a pre-paid card similiar to the ones Raptor mentioned.. switched over all the kids accounts as well.

All of our accounts are up and running fine.

Not sure if it means anything but maybe the OP could try it.

 

[Zuckuss]

I switched to a pre-paid card similiar to the ones Raptor mentioned.. switched over all the kids accounts as well.

All of our accounts are up and running fine.

Not sure if it means anything but maybe the OP could try it.

After I am comfortable that I will receive the truncated time in which I have already paid for then absolutely.

 

[olduofan]

I must have been 1 of the lucky ones I had no problems at all with 5 acc a few have run out of time on and I re-entered the cc no prob. I feel for those that have been having problems and can understand the anger. 1 question is this cc from other country's or all across the board?

 

[Zuckuss]

I must have been 1 of the lucky ones I had no problems at all with 5 acc a few have run out of time on and I re-entered the cc no prob. I feel for those that have been having problems and can understand the anger. 1 question is this cc from other country's or all across the board?

U.S. credit card

Over the phone, EA apparently had no record of my last payment on any account. Also I was told that my account(s) were among a select few that experienced the more harsh issues.

I should be around tier 246.
They only will communiate via maritime flag at this tier level, so this might take a while.

 

[Aroma]

Kind of a funny thing but on the EA forum. In the profile section They don't even list UO at all?? Yep just took a dump on there forum too prolly ban me lol.

 

[the 4th man]

Realistically, griping here does a whole lot of nothing, save for negative discussion.

Call EA corporate, not customer service, corporate.

Do it the right way.

 

[Zuckuss]

Realistically, griping here does a whole lot of nothing, save for negative discussion.

Call EA corporate, not customer service, corporate.

Do it the right way.

Realistically, acknowledging a problem is the first step to solving it.

 

[Capn Kranky]

I already shut my stuff off. Packed things up and banked it all, then logged. Nine more days, account is dead, dead, dead. Already playing a couple other games (and NOT EA).

 

[Woodsman]

Kind of a funny thing but on the EA forum. In the profile section They don't even list UO at all?? Yep just took a dump on there forum too prolly ban me lol.

So are you banned or just have your thread hidden in the Origin forum?

 

[RaDian FlGith]

incorrect ... You already been scooped on that bit ...
... ya can stop right there then ...
The OLD TOS had "AS IS" & "AS AVAILABLE" re: what you got (and covered anyother "broadband type issues")
annnnnd The New Over-riding Bill Of Sale (tos fully "active" sept 25, 2011 <<< coincidentally ... huh?)
annnd See: Items 15 & 16

I'm curious to see what happens when they cancel Ultima Online, as this new ToS provides that they may cancel any service with a 30 day notice, but also states that all fees are payable in advance and are non-refundable.

So they take 6 months of money, cancel UO two days later with 30 days notice...

My point being: Just because a ToS says something does not necessarily mean it will survive a legal process.

 

[Zuckuss]

Time lost has been credited. I was told in one of my recent email's that they are completely unable to do any gametime codes at this time but they will be able to come through when they get that part of the system up and running. No ETA on that.

 

[Slickjack]

Fayled Dhreams, are you living in another country? Please english....
Those posts are long and make no sense to read.

Every thread that FD posts in, it makes me want to chunk my damn computer across the room....

It's just painful to see... forget READING that mess...

I'm out as well Zuckuss, and it's not just 4 accounts friend.

 

[Lady Storm]

Dont feel bad, I have had a ticket with CS for 2 weeks and its still active .. according to the CS I talked to. But not a word from Tier 3 on fixing the ip addy mess.

As for the "free time" forget it. They were told to stop doing it and canceled alot of the "gifted" time on many accounts.

I am now looking into selling off castles and keeps to cut my accounts down to a handfull. UO has lost the cash cow from this 47 account holder. Its a shame 14 years and I get treated like a illegal alien!

 

[Evlar]

Dont feel bad, I have had a ticket with CS for 2 weeks and its still active .. according to the CS I talked to. But not a word from Tier 3 on fixing the ip addy mess.

As for the "free time" forget it. They were told to stop doing it and canceled alot of the "gifted" time on many accounts.

I am now looking into selling off castles and keeps to cut my accounts down to a handfull. UO has lost the cash cow from this 47 account holder. Its a shame 14 years and I get treated like a illegal alien!

Now that's what I really can't bend my head around... 47 accounts!

Your money of course, for all that time, but hell... why give so much... to such an awful company?

If I had that sort of spare cash to chuck away, I'd probably put it towards some charity or other. Just sayin'... because at least they'd appreciate it.

Thing is though, it really comes to something when even multiple account holders, arguably the biggest paying fanbase of UO that's left, are cutting back.

Probably the biggest chunk of what's left of the player base (just guessing here, obviously...) are multiple account holders these days?

Assuming that the 50k subscribers/accounts figure is anywhere near accurate (at the last "guestimate" bandied around), I wonder what proportion of that number of accounts is people with multiple accounts.

So if multiple account holders are feeling the pinch of the economic times, or just simply getting fed up of "donating" more money than they think EA is "worthy" of...

How long can the game survive? Realistically?

Will EA just let it keep trundling along, neglected, losing more and more accounts through ineptitude, lack of support, ever decreasing resources?

But hey... I've not played for over a year since I cancelled the two accounts I played. That doesn't mean I want to see the game I loved playing for so many years just curl up and die. Quite the opposite. Hence why I keep an eye on what's happening, perchance that it's actually worthwhile coming back some day...

Instead of bickering, why don't the Stratics community (and any other sizeable forum communities), get their heads together, get the registered members together, petition, poll, stand as one voice, whatever...

Get some answers.

Individuals smarting on a forum isn't going to get answers, but a large chunk of the player base that's left, just might.

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

But hey... I've not played for over a year since I cancelled the two accounts I played. That doesn't mean I want to see the game I loved playing for so many years just curl up and die. Quite the opposite. Hence why I keep an eye on what's happening, perchance that it's actually worthwhile coming back some day...

Instead of bickering, why don't the Stratics community (and any other sizeable forum communities), get their heads together, get the registered members together, petition, poll, stand as one voice, whatever...

Get some answers.

Individuals smarting on a forum isn't going to get answers, but a large chunk of the player base that's left, just might.

heh! shades of call to arms for classic shard ... springs to mind ...

and, by the way ... WHAT answers were you gonna do all this for?
the "question" again please ...

Good chance that it is already answered

subs are down ... migration won't be fully "resolved" totally, until around mid april for my two accounts ...
when the houses would be due to fall
or become untracked ghosters ...
happens ya know ...

could possibly have happened on a massive scale recently too ...
the "UN-announced" capability to log in long dead accounts and place a house ...
with decay turned off ... and a revert to correct something ...
decay for a "found house" now ...
when decay goes back on ...
ninety days from then for any ... right?

heh ... october november ... mid/end december ...


Old Man UO may not be on his death bed ...
but not so many of the kids visit any more ...
and the doc/dev visits are rather perfunctory ...

unsure if they are still looking for the cure ...
*shrugs*
in the end ...

its old age that gets them all ...

 

[Tabbitha]

Instead of bickering, why don't the Stratics community (and any other sizeable forum communities), get their heads together, get the registered members together, petition, poll, stand as one voice, whatever...

Get some answers.

Individuals smarting on a forum isn't going to get answers, but a large chunk of the player base that's left, just might.

A GREAT idea ......so who would support this ?

I am curious to see just who is /isn't willing to do something more positive when the community have strong feelings about an issue and want their collective voices heard.

Take the poll here and lets see what people think.

 

[Siteswap]

Fayled Dhreams, are you living in another country? Please english....
Those posts are long and make no sense to read.

This message is hidden because Fayled Dhreams is on your ignore list.

Priceless. I'd highly recommend it.

 

[Evlar]

heh! shades of call to arms for classic shard ... springs to mind ...

Maybe so, but whilst asking for a classic shard, those of us supporting such a motion were asking for something that no longer exists. A return of something, or something "new" in addition to what exists, depending which way you want to look at it.

The difference here, is "current" UO is what you've got...

and, by the way ... WHAT answers were you gonna do all this for?
the "question" again please ...

You're still playing the game...

Are you entirely happy with it? Open question I know, but I'm sure most people would like answers to questions they have.

Long-term plans for the game? (or the Ultima "franchise" including UO)

What's happened to customer service and what steps will be taken to improve things?

What steps can the "community" and the developers/producers take to breathe life back into the game, bring players back, encourage new players?

Is the game itself over-complicated? Could things be simplified? Made more manageable for developers?

There's plenty of voices, with plenty of questions, requiring plenty of answers. Too little to late? Not worth it? Well, that's up to you...

Old Man UO may not be on his death bed ...
but not so many of the kids visit any more ...
and the doc/dev visits are rather perfunctory ...

unsure if they are still looking for the cure ...
*shrugs*
in the end ...

its old age that gets them all ...

That as may be, but consider something...

This "game" is a hobby, a past-time for thousands of people still. One that they pay for, one that they contribute towards. Some contribute a little, some contribute a lot.

Millions of dollars are still spent by subscribers and millions of hours still played... How can smaller companies produce and manage other successful games, with much less income, but far more players?

If this were a sports club (soccer, hockey, football, basketball, etc...) in such decline, the fans would be visibly and loudly protesting, asking questions, wanting answers.

Whilst some would lose interest, fall by the wayside and attendances at matches would inevitably decline, others would group together and make their voices heard.

Why should UO be any different?

Ultimately, you can get together and ask the many questions you have as a community, or just let it ride and wait for the inevitable...

...at which point, all that's left to say is:

 

[hawkeye_pike]

Well, I left UO a couple of months ago, so this doesn't really concern me. However, I recently tried to log into the account management to check on my account data, and I couldn't log in anymore. This change makes it even easier for me to keep my hands off Ultima Online...

 

[RalphLauren]

I am having that same problem at this time.
I have come to the conclusion, that when my main account ends the end of this month, and my current card that has paid my accounts the last year doesn't go though, I am hanging it up with this company. Almost 12 years, it will not hurt my feelings, it will be one more income loss for them.

Yes pretty the same for me

Been playing for 14yrs and I am encountering the same problem with that failing account management page

Cant update my card info by any means... not even for those accounts which are still working at the moment..

Just never see that IPDATE RENEWAL button

Contacted them via multiple means... The worse scenario was one of those ignorant little staff even asked what "UO" account stands for .. haha

Well maybe its time to end the game as a whole

 

[Fayled Dhreams]

Maybe so,

huhhhh whuat?

You call ^^that^^ an answer to my question?

I KNOW you saw my question ... you quoted it ... apparently >you do not have an answer<
Pity that ...
sounded like you might have something to form some sort of plan around and possibly garner interest in ...
to work towards something not quite defined as being possibly "good" for some, perhaps a majority of play styles in UO ...

I guess I'll have to consider giving you the "vaguest post" of the year reward, or nomination, or at least place in consideration for being something more than yet another pointless post on the internet ...

*shrugs*

/sign me up ...

 

[Evlar]

I guess I'll have to consider giving you the "vaguest post" of the year reward, or nomination, or at least place in consideration for being something more than yet another pointless post on the internet ...

Always a privilege to receive such a prestigious award, from the expert in such matters...



If you're not going to bother making any sense, or indeed making any sensible or constructive suggestions yourself, why bother at all?