Blizzard Entertainment False advertisment misleading packaging Irvine California

I'm not sure exactly why the buyer is complaining here, Blizzard Entertainment did nothing wrong.

The buyer did the 10 day trial and then bought a 30 day subscription and more renewals after that it sounds like.

THAT IS ACCOUNT #1

He then says the computer went down and he bought another copy of the game, albeit in the form of the battle chest with the first expansion included.

The 30 days free is for when he installed that copy of the game and created a new account. The 30 days free does not go towards a separate account which he has already been playing.

"First Month of Play Included" says exactly what it says nothing more, the first month of play for a NEW account. So if he tried to claim he wasn't getting his first month of play on account #1 he won't because it isn't worded as 30 days free. It's labeled just as he said "First Month of Play Included" which is for the first month of the new account.

He just has to create a new account and he will get the first month free, if he tries to play the account #1 he won't get 30 days of free on it because he bought a new copy of the game which can only be played with a 2nd account he creates.

You state yourself that you're son was playin g for a few months already. You were already paying monthly for it. If your computer hadn't crashed you STILL would have been paying monthly for it with no free month in the middle. The box states 'First month off free play' not 'First month after you've already played for a few'. You logged in with the same user account that you had previously. That's not a new account.

I understand your frustration and I hope this helps explain a bit. For those new to the world of MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing) gaming if can be a bit confusing to understand how accounts work and information is not always easy to locate but it is there. When you upgraded your trial account to a full account you purchased the game online and had no need of a retail box version, and you received 30 free days at that time. When you purchased the retail box version it came with a new account key. Essentially you purchased software and a key that could be used to create a second account, totally seperate from your first account. Since you already had an existing account there was no need to purchase a seperate retail box. To reinstall the game on your computer you would have just needed to download the free software from the World of Warcraft site.

Unfortunately when you purchase the retail box the advertising on it assumes that you will be creating a new account with it since that is what it is intended for and does not say "new accounts only". I guess the company did not assume that a person who already has an account and does not wish to own a second account would be buying the retail box version. The retail box was created with those who have no account and wish to own the software (insted of purchasing and downloading it from Blizzards online store) in mind. This is because the software is available online to download for free should you ever need to reinstall it on an existing or new PC. Also for those with no account who want to create one but wish to purchase it online and not have to go out and purchase the retail box.


Also even if it was possible to gain 30 free days beyond the first month of service no one would pay the $30 or so dollars for the retail box just to get 30 addtional free days of play when the fee for 30 days of play is only $15 or so dollars. When you purchased the retail box you esentially purchased the rights to a second account if you want one. With the key from the new box you can if you choose, create a new account for someone else in your family to play and if/when that account is created it will receive 30 days for free.

I'm understand your frustration, howerver a small bit of research could have told you everything I just did before you made your purchase. To people familiar with online gaming this information is common knowledge. Again, I would agree though that to newcomers this can be a bit confusing. I hope this helps explain what happened to you and helps anyone else who may want to purchase an account and play the game.

Below is exactly what is stated in the Account and Billing FAQ.

Classic Trial Account FAQ
Once the time on your trial expires you will need to upgrade to a retail account to continue playing. To do this, you will need to log into your Account Management page to use a new retail Authentication Key. The Authentication Keys come in copies of World of Warcraft which can be purchased from retail stores or on the Blizzard Online Store.

Important things to know about the transition from guest pass account to retail account:

Your account name and password will remain the same. You are not making a new account.

Your characters and items will remain on that account, even if the trial expires, and will be available upon your return.

You cannot use another trial key to extend your trial account access.

Your Trial Restrictions will be removed.

You will receive another free 30 days which comes standard with all classic retail versions of the game.

If you are playing using the TryWOW streaming client, you will need to install the full game from the purchased CDs or DVD in order to continue playing. You cannot use the TryWOW client with a retail access key.

I downloaded the World of Warcraft free 10 day trial for my son and when the ten days was over we decided to purchase a 30 day subscription. This went well for several months of renewing our subscription. One day my sons PC crashes and needed to be reloaded with all the software due to a computer virus. This computer crash left my son with no game to play because we downloaded it free off of there website.

I decide at X-Mas time to buy him the World of Warcraft Battle Chest that comes with the original WOW and the Exspansion Burning Crusade thinking that I would install it and get the 30 days of game play that it said came with the game. Upon installing the game and setting up my sons subscription it needed my credit card info. They told me that I would not be charged for the first 30 days but that the credit card was required and all I had to do within the 30 days was to cancel the subscription and I would not be charged anything, well 3 days later I have a charge from there company.

I proceed to search endlessly for a way to contact them about this matter and after about a week and 4 differerent emails later they tell me that the 30 day free game play is for new accounts only and not existing accounts.So I proceed to call them directly and eventually get through to someone who tells me the same exact thing but with an attitude. I bought the game and it says directly on the box and I quote "First Month of Play Included" and nowhere does it state on the packaging that it must be a new account and not an existing one.

If I had known that I would not get the 30 days of free game play I would not have purchased it. I would have downloaded the free copy again and saved myself alot of time and money. If this is how they are going to treat existing account holders then something needs to be done. I really don't care much about my $15.00 anymore it's the fact that there packaging is misleading and false advertisement. Very Dishonest business practices.

Matthew
Cottonwood, California
U.S.A.