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Rx4
Guest
As you may be aware the Oceania server has had on going issues since Nov/Dec of last year, 6 months ago. Countless cries of help have been made, a huge amount of emails sent to EA, various online chats conducted, and a number of attempted telephone conversations be made...on yet still EA allows the server issues to continue.
For example, the server crashed at 6:00pm AEST and it is currently still down at 8:00am the following day, 12hours later. This happens every weekend, and during the week there are smaller downtimes between 2-6hours.
When the server is running we have major lag and disconnection issues.
It is about time EA responded to us and advise what is being done to resolve the server issues.
I contacted chat tonight after having received no responses to numerous emails sent to EA:
Jennifer: Hi, my name is Jennifer. How may I help you?
Cam: Hi Jennifer, how are you?
Jennifer: Hello Cameron I am good
Jennifer: How are you?
Cam: I am very well thankyou, thanks for asking
Jennifer: Welcome
Jennifer: May I know your issue?
Cam: I am contacting to ask if EA are aware of the Oceania Ultima Online server has crashed again?
Jennifer: Please wait let me check this as I am not very sure about this
Cam: ok, thank you
Jennifer: Thank you for waiting
Cam: no problem
Jennifer: I have discussed it with my supervisor and he told that there are some problems Oceania Ultima Online server
Cam: There have been problems with the server since November/December
Jennifer: yes
Jennifer: I really apologize for the inconvenience caused but our engineers are working to fix it
Cam: This is a regular occurance, that is happening 1-3 times a week which EA simply seem to ignore
Cam: I have now sent EA 3 emails with no response, as have all the other players...EA seem to be turning a blind eye to the issue
Jennifer: I am so sorry but there is nothing like that I really apologize for this
Cam: I know it is not your fault Jennifer
Jennifer: I am forwarding this to the concerned department now
Cam: would you supervisor be available?
Cam: I believe EA should be made aware that I am now seeking legal action to make a class action complaint against EA
Jennifer: Please wait
Cam: and we will be seeking reimbursement of all paid account subsciption money since December
You are currently number 17 in the queue.You should be connected to an expert in about 21 minutes.The average amount of time a customer has to wait is 27 minutes.
Daniel B.: Hi, my name is Daniel B.. How may I help you?
Cam: Hi Daniel
Daniel B.: Please give me a moment while I review the Chat Log so that I can understand exactly what the issue you are having is today and the troubleshooting steps that have already been done. Your time is very valuable to me and I do not want to waste it by doing troubleshooting steps we have already followed through with.
Cam: We have had an ongoing issue with the Oceania Ultima Online server since November 2010, unfortunately EA seem to be nothing to resolve the problem.
Cam: correction, seem = are not doing anything to resolve the problem
Daniel B.: Please take note of the following Chat ID: 719288. This will be very important if you happen to get disconnected anytime during this chat or need to refer back to this same issue. You can always get back in contact with Live Chat and give the next Agent your ID so you do not need to re-explain anything.
Cam: ok, thanks
Cam: May I please ask of your position in EA?
Daniel B.: I am the highest Level of support, Chat Tier 2
Cam: Ok, thank you
Cam: Can I also please ask that this conversation and what it relates to be taken those higher than you?
Cam: Because this is a serious issue that needs to be solved
Daniel B.: I don't understand can you clarify ?
Cam: Certainly, I would like to ask that at the end of this coversation you can assure me that the context of this conversation is presented to someone higher than you, your manager for eg.
Daniel B.: Yeah, I can let them know and leave your feedback for our other teams
Cam: Thank you.. no offence to you but I think it definitely needs to be presented to those above you as we are now looking to seek legal action against EA. but anyway please allow me to explain the issue
Cam: Since Nov/Dec of last year we have had constant issues with the Oceania Ultima Online server
Cam: EA originally tried to relocate the server from Australia to the USA which resulted in major lag and connection problems
Cam: The decision was made to bring the server back to Australia, however this whole process caused a downtime (when I say downtime I refer to the game being unplayable) of approximately 6 weeks
Cam: The server was relocated to a new host in Australia and since then we have had nothing but ongoing issues which EA have not resolved
Cam: Countless emails have been sent from all players on the shards, numerous posts to all the forums, and multiple attempts made via this chat and phone to have the issue resolved, however EA have not even attempted to resolve the issue now for 3-4 months
Daniel B.: I can take down all this information to be review by our management team
Cam: The Oceania server goes down (crashes) at least twice a week, during the week it generally takes between 2-6hours to be fixed, on the weekends it goes down for days at a time
Cam: As an example, the server crashed yesterday at approximately 6:00pm AEST time, it is now 7:00am AEST and the server is still down
Cam: 11 hours later
Cam: And this happens every weekend
Cam: And when the server is up and running there are major lag issues, and big disconnection problems with people getting randomly kicked from the server and unable to rejoin
Cam: We simply find it unacceptable that EA has left this problem ongoing since it all first began in Nov 2010, 6 months ago, with people screeming for it to be resolved
Cam: And due I am now seeking legal respresentation to take class action against EA in which we will be seeking reimbursement of all account subscription fees from November 2010
Cam: It is unacceptable that we pay $30/month per account to not be able to play the game
Cam: I myself have attempted to ring EA on several occasions, I have sent 3 emails and had no response
Daniel B.: I do understand how frustrating this can be, not being able tp play your game and I do apologize
Cam: No offence but I think this is a little more serious than just an apology
Cam: I am asking you to provide this information to someone higher than you
Cam: And I would like that person to contact me
Cam: I (we as a the Oceania server) want to know what is being down to resolve this problem?
Cam: And I don't think it is something you are able to answer
Daniel B.: I will escalate your issue to be reviewed
Daniel B.: but I would like you to run a Uo trace
Cam: I am sorry Daniel but that is not acceptable
Cam: UO trace has been done a million times
Daniel B.: What else do you want ?
Cam: I would like to speak to someone higher than you
Cam: This issue needs to be resolved
Cam: Instead of EA constantly brushing us off
Cam: Can I ask you, do you believe it to be acceptable that a server has been unplayable for 6 months?
Daniel B.: No, if you are paying for a service you are not receiving I apologize and I hope there is some way we can compensate you.
Daniel B.: When I mentioned it would be escalated, that means they will contact you in email about it.
Cam: We have been told that before, I am sorry
Cam: In fact we have been told that exact thing for the last 3-4 months and nothing is donw
Cam: done
Cam: And no one contacts
Daniel B.: do you have a reference number from one of these cases ?
Cam: I have a copy of all the emails I have sent yes
Cam: And I can get the reference numbers for the other complaints people have made if need be
Daniel B.: ok
Cam: Do EA have an official complaints department?
Cam: A customer relations team?
Cam: Surely EA must have an official process for lodging a formal complaint which by law is bound to be resolved?
Daniel B.: The Support team handles these issues
Cam: The support team never reply
Cam: I would like to make a formal complaint
Cam: Something that must be addressed
Cam: As an example, I work for one of Australia's largest companies, we have a specific complaint process in which if I can't resolve the complaint it goes to my manager, if the manager can't it goes to our complaints department and beyond that it goes to a Government board to be addressed. Each tier has a certain timeframe in which they have to review the complaint. Does EA have a similar process?
Daniel B.: I can get your issue into the correct department
Cam: And will that department contact me? And do they have a timeframe in which they must contact me?
Daniel B.: I'm not sure of the timeframe
Cam: Can I please check with you Daniel, do you understand that I am 100% serious when I am telling you we are going to take legal action against EA?
Daniel B.: I understand and I will still help you as best I can to assist you
Cam: I am sorry but there must be another avenue or another department to discuss this with. Surely when EA have been informed that legal action is going to sort against them it is not just a matter of "chat" on the internet?
Cam: There has to be another department I can contact in regards to this?
Cam: Do you have a manager available?
Daniel B.: Your lawyer's can contact our legal department, but I can not speak for them or the matters relating to it.
Cam: I understand
Daniel B.: I am the highest level
Cam: You must report to someone?
Daniel B.: I don't have anyone above me at the moment
Cam: With you at present or in a chain of management?
Cam: Every company has a hierarchy, I would like to speak to the person above you please
Daniel B.: I'm the highest level of support available, there is no department that directly talks to customers, it's my job to handle these issues and there is 1 member above me here I can see if he is available but he is going to tell you the same thing I have.
Cam: I would like to speak to that person thank you
Daniel B.: Please give me just a moment while I look into this for you.
Cam: (I am not having a go at you by the way Daniel, you have been excellent, but I feel with EA it is just a lot of closed doors and people hiding behind them)
Daniel B.: He is not available, sorry
Cam: I am happy to wait
Daniel B.: He is not my supervisor, I don't have one he is the same level as I am he advised me to tell you that he can not take over the chat for me because He is not a supervisor
Cam: What is his position?
Daniel B.: Chat level 2 same as me
Cam: Ok, so who is your manager?
Daniel B.: I do not have one
Cam: You must have someone above you
Daniel B.: There is no one here that manages me, There is a separate team I can forward this information to, but they are not here and they are not Chat
Cam: Can I please have the contact details for someone from that team? Or have someone from that team contact me? I when I ask contact me I don't mean a generic EA email, I would actually like that person to call me or officially reply.
Daniel B.: They, will send you an email it's not for me to decide about what information they can send you.
Cam: What is the name of that team please?
Daniel B.: it will be from the Tier 3 escalation team. They only work from email not phone or chat
Cam: Ok thank you
Cam: And is there any reference to this complaint? And can you guarantee that you will forward it to the correct peron/s?
Cam: **person/s
Daniel B.: The chat id is 7***** and yes I will send it to the proper team
Cam: Thank you
Daniel B.: Is there anything else I can help you with ?
Cam: No that is all thanks Daniel. I understand that you are front-line staff so to speak but this issue needs to go a lot higher than you
Daniel B.: Great, well thanks for chatting with me and I was glad I was able to help you. You should be getting a survey in your e-mail for our chat and if you could fill that out it would be great. I will also be sending you an e-mail with the chat log in it. You can go ahead and press the disconnect button to exit the chat. Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts Live Chat. Have a great day!
Cam: Lol, more generic EA
Cam: That's actually a little insulting
Cam: But anyway, thanks Daniel.
Daniel B.: bye
For example, the server crashed at 6:00pm AEST and it is currently still down at 8:00am the following day, 12hours later. This happens every weekend, and during the week there are smaller downtimes between 2-6hours.
When the server is running we have major lag and disconnection issues.
It is about time EA responded to us and advise what is being done to resolve the server issues.
I contacted chat tonight after having received no responses to numerous emails sent to EA:
Jennifer: Hi, my name is Jennifer. How may I help you?
Cam: Hi Jennifer, how are you?
Jennifer: Hello Cameron I am good
Jennifer: How are you?
Cam: I am very well thankyou, thanks for asking
Jennifer: Welcome
Jennifer: May I know your issue?
Cam: I am contacting to ask if EA are aware of the Oceania Ultima Online server has crashed again?
Jennifer: Please wait let me check this as I am not very sure about this
Cam: ok, thank you
Jennifer: Thank you for waiting
Cam: no problem
Jennifer: I have discussed it with my supervisor and he told that there are some problems Oceania Ultima Online server
Cam: There have been problems with the server since November/December
Jennifer: yes
Jennifer: I really apologize for the inconvenience caused but our engineers are working to fix it
Cam: This is a regular occurance, that is happening 1-3 times a week which EA simply seem to ignore
Cam: I have now sent EA 3 emails with no response, as have all the other players...EA seem to be turning a blind eye to the issue
Jennifer: I am so sorry but there is nothing like that I really apologize for this
Cam: I know it is not your fault Jennifer
Jennifer: I am forwarding this to the concerned department now
Cam: would you supervisor be available?
Cam: I believe EA should be made aware that I am now seeking legal action to make a class action complaint against EA
Jennifer: Please wait
Cam: and we will be seeking reimbursement of all paid account subsciption money since December
You are currently number 17 in the queue.You should be connected to an expert in about 21 minutes.The average amount of time a customer has to wait is 27 minutes.
Daniel B.: Hi, my name is Daniel B.. How may I help you?
Cam: Hi Daniel
Daniel B.: Please give me a moment while I review the Chat Log so that I can understand exactly what the issue you are having is today and the troubleshooting steps that have already been done. Your time is very valuable to me and I do not want to waste it by doing troubleshooting steps we have already followed through with.
Cam: We have had an ongoing issue with the Oceania Ultima Online server since November 2010, unfortunately EA seem to be nothing to resolve the problem.
Cam: correction, seem = are not doing anything to resolve the problem
Daniel B.: Please take note of the following Chat ID: 719288. This will be very important if you happen to get disconnected anytime during this chat or need to refer back to this same issue. You can always get back in contact with Live Chat and give the next Agent your ID so you do not need to re-explain anything.
Cam: ok, thanks
Cam: May I please ask of your position in EA?
Daniel B.: I am the highest Level of support, Chat Tier 2
Cam: Ok, thank you
Cam: Can I also please ask that this conversation and what it relates to be taken those higher than you?
Cam: Because this is a serious issue that needs to be solved
Daniel B.: I don't understand can you clarify ?
Cam: Certainly, I would like to ask that at the end of this coversation you can assure me that the context of this conversation is presented to someone higher than you, your manager for eg.
Daniel B.: Yeah, I can let them know and leave your feedback for our other teams
Cam: Thank you.. no offence to you but I think it definitely needs to be presented to those above you as we are now looking to seek legal action against EA. but anyway please allow me to explain the issue
Cam: Since Nov/Dec of last year we have had constant issues with the Oceania Ultima Online server
Cam: EA originally tried to relocate the server from Australia to the USA which resulted in major lag and connection problems
Cam: The decision was made to bring the server back to Australia, however this whole process caused a downtime (when I say downtime I refer to the game being unplayable) of approximately 6 weeks
Cam: The server was relocated to a new host in Australia and since then we have had nothing but ongoing issues which EA have not resolved
Cam: Countless emails have been sent from all players on the shards, numerous posts to all the forums, and multiple attempts made via this chat and phone to have the issue resolved, however EA have not even attempted to resolve the issue now for 3-4 months
Daniel B.: I can take down all this information to be review by our management team
Cam: The Oceania server goes down (crashes) at least twice a week, during the week it generally takes between 2-6hours to be fixed, on the weekends it goes down for days at a time
Cam: As an example, the server crashed yesterday at approximately 6:00pm AEST time, it is now 7:00am AEST and the server is still down
Cam: 11 hours later
Cam: And this happens every weekend
Cam: And when the server is up and running there are major lag issues, and big disconnection problems with people getting randomly kicked from the server and unable to rejoin
Cam: We simply find it unacceptable that EA has left this problem ongoing since it all first began in Nov 2010, 6 months ago, with people screeming for it to be resolved
Cam: And due I am now seeking legal respresentation to take class action against EA in which we will be seeking reimbursement of all account subscription fees from November 2010
Cam: It is unacceptable that we pay $30/month per account to not be able to play the game
Cam: I myself have attempted to ring EA on several occasions, I have sent 3 emails and had no response
Daniel B.: I do understand how frustrating this can be, not being able tp play your game and I do apologize
Cam: No offence but I think this is a little more serious than just an apology
Cam: I am asking you to provide this information to someone higher than you
Cam: And I would like that person to contact me
Cam: I (we as a the Oceania server) want to know what is being down to resolve this problem?
Cam: And I don't think it is something you are able to answer
Daniel B.: I will escalate your issue to be reviewed
Daniel B.: but I would like you to run a Uo trace
Cam: I am sorry Daniel but that is not acceptable
Cam: UO trace has been done a million times
Daniel B.: What else do you want ?
Cam: I would like to speak to someone higher than you
Cam: This issue needs to be resolved
Cam: Instead of EA constantly brushing us off
Cam: Can I ask you, do you believe it to be acceptable that a server has been unplayable for 6 months?
Daniel B.: No, if you are paying for a service you are not receiving I apologize and I hope there is some way we can compensate you.
Daniel B.: When I mentioned it would be escalated, that means they will contact you in email about it.
Cam: We have been told that before, I am sorry
Cam: In fact we have been told that exact thing for the last 3-4 months and nothing is donw
Cam: done
Cam: And no one contacts
Daniel B.: do you have a reference number from one of these cases ?
Cam: I have a copy of all the emails I have sent yes
Cam: And I can get the reference numbers for the other complaints people have made if need be
Daniel B.: ok
Cam: Do EA have an official complaints department?
Cam: A customer relations team?
Cam: Surely EA must have an official process for lodging a formal complaint which by law is bound to be resolved?
Daniel B.: The Support team handles these issues
Cam: The support team never reply
Cam: I would like to make a formal complaint
Cam: Something that must be addressed
Cam: As an example, I work for one of Australia's largest companies, we have a specific complaint process in which if I can't resolve the complaint it goes to my manager, if the manager can't it goes to our complaints department and beyond that it goes to a Government board to be addressed. Each tier has a certain timeframe in which they have to review the complaint. Does EA have a similar process?
Daniel B.: I can get your issue into the correct department
Cam: And will that department contact me? And do they have a timeframe in which they must contact me?
Daniel B.: I'm not sure of the timeframe
Cam: Can I please check with you Daniel, do you understand that I am 100% serious when I am telling you we are going to take legal action against EA?
Daniel B.: I understand and I will still help you as best I can to assist you
Cam: I am sorry but there must be another avenue or another department to discuss this with. Surely when EA have been informed that legal action is going to sort against them it is not just a matter of "chat" on the internet?
Cam: There has to be another department I can contact in regards to this?
Cam: Do you have a manager available?
Daniel B.: Your lawyer's can contact our legal department, but I can not speak for them or the matters relating to it.
Cam: I understand
Daniel B.: I am the highest level
Cam: You must report to someone?
Daniel B.: I don't have anyone above me at the moment
Cam: With you at present or in a chain of management?
Cam: Every company has a hierarchy, I would like to speak to the person above you please
Daniel B.: I'm the highest level of support available, there is no department that directly talks to customers, it's my job to handle these issues and there is 1 member above me here I can see if he is available but he is going to tell you the same thing I have.
Cam: I would like to speak to that person thank you
Daniel B.: Please give me just a moment while I look into this for you.
Cam: (I am not having a go at you by the way Daniel, you have been excellent, but I feel with EA it is just a lot of closed doors and people hiding behind them)
Daniel B.: He is not available, sorry
Cam: I am happy to wait
Daniel B.: He is not my supervisor, I don't have one he is the same level as I am he advised me to tell you that he can not take over the chat for me because He is not a supervisor
Cam: What is his position?
Daniel B.: Chat level 2 same as me
Cam: Ok, so who is your manager?
Daniel B.: I do not have one
Cam: You must have someone above you
Daniel B.: There is no one here that manages me, There is a separate team I can forward this information to, but they are not here and they are not Chat
Cam: Can I please have the contact details for someone from that team? Or have someone from that team contact me? I when I ask contact me I don't mean a generic EA email, I would actually like that person to call me or officially reply.
Daniel B.: They, will send you an email it's not for me to decide about what information they can send you.
Cam: What is the name of that team please?
Daniel B.: it will be from the Tier 3 escalation team. They only work from email not phone or chat
Cam: Ok thank you
Cam: And is there any reference to this complaint? And can you guarantee that you will forward it to the correct peron/s?
Cam: **person/s
Daniel B.: The chat id is 7***** and yes I will send it to the proper team
Cam: Thank you
Daniel B.: Is there anything else I can help you with ?
Cam: No that is all thanks Daniel. I understand that you are front-line staff so to speak but this issue needs to go a lot higher than you
Daniel B.: Great, well thanks for chatting with me and I was glad I was able to help you. You should be getting a survey in your e-mail for our chat and if you could fill that out it would be great. I will also be sending you an e-mail with the chat log in it. You can go ahead and press the disconnect button to exit the chat. Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts Live Chat. Have a great day!
Cam: Lol, more generic EA
Cam: That's actually a little insulting
Cam: But anyway, thanks Daniel.
Daniel B.: bye