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Need some help/advice. (long post with a TLDR section)

LobsLobs Member Posts: 8
Hi everyone,

I hope everyone can take a little time to read through my situation. I didn't want to have to bring up this situation here but I really have no where to turn to for help. I will try to keep this as cohesive as possible so everything makes sense. It has been countless tickets now so everything is starting to become a blur. I tried working it out with Kabam support but it is probably causing me to lose years off my life at this point. This started off as a simple request to change the email on my account to a new email. I put in the request ticket to Kabam support and they ask for information verifying the account, asked for the new email, etc. Kabam was a bit slow to respond and there was some delay, but for the most part everything seemed to proceed normally. To give a little time frame, this process started around the Cyber Weekend deals (end of November through beginning of December) and I had just bought every single unit deal which easily amounted to over $500.

On the morning of 12/4, I wake up and tried getting into the game and noticed I was logged out so I tried logging in with the old email on the account and it gave the error "Please enter a valid email address." I assumed they probably changed the email so I tried logging in with the new email I asked them to switch to and ended up with the same error "Please enter a valid email address." Now I'm confused, I try both emails multiple times and tried resetting the password with both emails multiple times with the same error "Please enter a valid email address." Now I'm getting worried because I had just joined a new alliance and it was going to be my first run through AQ and AW with them that day. I notify them and get around to sending a ticket to notify Kabam support of the situation. There was no way I could access the account because neither the old or new email worked.

Now here comes the frustration, we are back at square one and Kabam support asks for all the same information again, literally copy and pasted robotic responses (verify account information, new email, etc.). This eventually leads to them telling me the email on the account has recently been changed and I have to wait 90 days to change the email again. I had to explain to them the email they changed it to is definitely not the email I requested because the game is not recognizing neither my old or new email. This eventually leads to them transferring me to the "account specialist". Keep in mind this whole situation is already taking days and I have already been kicked out of my new alliance since I can't help with AQ and AW at all which is completely understandable.

Now the whole "account specialist" thing is really testing my patience because they simply don't respond at all and never get back to you. I kept trying to send tickets explaining the situation in detail and Kabam support just keeps giving me the run around with the same generic automated responses or just close my ticket altogether because there's another ticket open already (which is just left hanging with no response). We are into our second week now trying to deal with this and I am pretty upset that resources maybe expiring, Collector's Daily Card is being wasted, Summoner's Sigil is being wasted, missing out on offers, dailies, holiday/anniversary events, etc.). Another thing that was in the back of my mind was what Kabam changed the email to? Could it be some random person's email which means now they can reset the password and access the account?

I decided to get on a throwaway account to get into the game and looked up my profile and I notice Blade was now one of my top champions and I was positive it was not when I lost access to the account. So I looked up the screenshots of my roster I sent to my alliance literally just before this whole fiasco occured and Blade was at about 12k PI, but now according to the profile page it's at 14k PI. Now I'm starting to panic for obvious reasons. Seems like some random person is accessing the account and doing things to it. Since Kabam isn't responding to my old email, I started using my new email to send new tickets and explaining the situation. I also mention that someone else is accessing the account. I give them all the information to verify my account so we don't waste time. Kabam support starts sending me directly to the "account specialist" with an automated response and as usual, the "account specialist" never gets back to me. I continue to track my profile's hero rating and it continues to go up and I am now losing sleep over this situation. As mentioned above, I had just spent a lot of money buying every deal during Cyber Weekend which including the generic awakening gem and generic rank 4 to 5 gem along with a bunch of generic signature stones. I was so afraid this person would just burn through the resources on random things and completely waste them. I continued to send tickets or replied to emails on both the old and new email accounts to try and get a response. They start closing my new tickets right away stating there is already another ticket open regarding the same situation. I emphasized the urgency of this situation to Kabam, but I feel like I'm just talking to robots and they don't seem to care at all.

Anyways, fast foward to almost a week later and I finally get a response on the old email account from what I'm assuming is the "account specialist". They said they looked into it and stated they can't determine a sole owner of the account since someone else was able to verify the account information (which I'm assuming is me on the other email account which they should know if they paid attention that I was contacting them from the old email attached to the account and the new email I requested to be attached to the account). The newer tickets I sent in even stated the information of the old email and the new email, and if they actually read what I wrote they would see that. It's not "another person", it's me, both emails verifying the account is both me. There is no way anyone else can verify the account as I never shared any account details with anyone else. The "account specialist" also mentioned someone else was given the login information and was able to log into the account. Yes, Kabam essentially gave my account to someone else to access because they changed the email to something different than what I requested. This is absolutely NOT my fault. Then the "account specialist" had the audacity to tell me I am responsible for my own account security as stated in the ToS and proceeded to close my account and then closed the ticket.

If you've read this far, obviously I am livid now. I send another ticket explaining the situation and stating I am definitely the sole owner of the account and can verify everything and even provide additional proof that I am the owner if needed. Like I said, it is impossible for anyone else to verify the account information and provide the proof. Later on, the "account specialist" once again responds with the same exact message. Pretty much just copy and pasted the message. I continue to to send a new ticket to hopefully find someone that is willing to understand my situation and geniunely help me out. So finally a spark of hope, "Gabby" from Kabam support actually responded with something more genuine and somewhat understood my situation and eventually asked me to give her the new email I want to change the account to. I gave her the new email then "Maddy" responded stating the old email account I was using did not match the one currently attached to the account nor the new email I needed it to be changed to so they closed the ticket and asked me to send a new ticket on the new email account. So that's what I did, I sent them a new ticket explaining the situation with the new email and even attached a screenshot of the instructions "Maddy" gave me so they know what ticket I am referencing and what I was instructed to do.

Unfortunately, things quickly start turning grim again. They respond to the new ticket asking for all the information to verify the account again. At this point I have lost count how many times I have verified the account information. I wait and they eventually respond again by transferring me to an "account specialist" once again. It felt like we made progress earlier, but now it looks like we are back at square one. About a day later I get a response from an older ticket I sent during the time someone else was accessing my account and they basically gave me the same response of "we are unable to determine a sole owner of the account" and "this account will be closed" and proceeded to close that ticket. I wasn't even that surprised of the response anymore. I am still holding out hope and I am now currently still waiting for the "account specialist" to reach out to me for the most recent ticket (6 days now) and I've been literally getting dreams at night where they sort everything out for me and I'm relieved and can move on with my life. In reality, I'm getting the feeling that the "account specialist" is going to respond once again with the same copy and pasted message and keep my account closed then close the ticket or I may never get a response at all. I continued to check on my profile and the hero rating stopped going up which hopefully means this random person isn't able to access my account anymore, so I guess that's some good news.

We are now at the second half of December and haven't got anywhere. I am at a loss on what to do. I have played this game for years dedicating so much time and money into the game. I have reached over 1.1 million hero rating with over 500 champions and probably spent close to $10,000 on the game. I know it's absolutely insane when you think about it, but I really enjoy the game which is why I invested so much time and money into it. I am just shocked on how Kabam can take a simple email change request on an account and turn it into this colossal disaster. All I need now is to get access to my account again, but Kabam is just making me run around in circles never getting anywhere. Part of me tells me I should just drop the game and quit, but I simply can't because of how much I invested into this. I feel like it's an obligation for me to fight for this to make it right because it is absolutely unfair. This situation is really ruining the holidays for me and it is seriously effecting my personal life. I just can't take my mind off this situation. What can I do? Anyone else encounter this situation? What's the solution? I desprately need help because Kabam support is certainly NOT being helpful. Any advice and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading if you actually read through everything!


TLDR: Needed to change the email on my account. Kabam changes it to something different from what I requested. Another person was able to gain access to my account due to this which is obviously not my fault. Kabam also thought another person was able to verify the account because I was using two different email accounts to contact Kabam (old email originally attached to the account and new email I want attached to the account). There is no one else that can verify the account information. Kabam blamed it all on me and closed my account. Continuing to send tickets explaining the situation, but Kabam support is not helping whatsoever. I have invested years playing and probably spent close to $10,000 on the game. What do I do?

Comments

  • GinjabredMonstaGinjabredMonsta Member, Guardian Posts: 6,492 Guardian
    I read the whole thing and dude that is rough. I'm not sure you'll be able to find the advice you are hoping for on here, but good luck and I hope you get access to your account again.
  • LobsLobs Member Posts: 8
    edited December 2019

    I read the whole thing and dude that is rough. I'm not sure you'll be able to find the advice you are hoping for on here, but good luck and I hope you get access to your account again.


    Thanks for reading it all. I am still holding out hope it will all work out.
  • NiteAndDaeNiteAndDae Member Posts: 670 ★★★
    So, looking at it from the perspective of Kabam, what is the source of truth? If an account email gets changed, then the new email is the source of truth. If someone has access to your email and then this changes the email on the account, that new email is the source of truth.

    How can kabam differentiate between your story above and someone trying to wrest control of an account through social engineering? If they change the email, and then another person now posts your very same story, where does that leave them?

    You would have to show a paper trail of the account from creation to the present day.

    - original email and date account was created
    - all purchases and transactions (credit card statements with transaction numbers) showing that you made the purchases
    - device IDs for all devices that were used to login to the account and prove that you are in fact the owner of these devices.
    - email trail of all password resets and of the email changes

    You need to do your best to explain and prove the whole story to them, they won't do the forensic digging for you. If you can map all that out and present them with as much data and information that is provable, that will help your case.

    Just telling stories of emails being changed back and forth is a flag that something shady is going on and I have no reason to believe you over the person that is now in control of the account. Look at it objectively and proceed.
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  • LobsLobs Member Posts: 8

    So, looking at it from the perspective of Kabam, what is the source of truth? If an account email gets changed, then the new email is the source of truth. If someone has access to your email and then this changes the email on the account, that new email is the source of truth.

    How can kabam differentiate between your story above and someone trying to wrest control of an account through social engineering? If they change the email, and then another person now posts your very same story, where does that leave them?

    You would have to show a paper trail of the account from creation to the present day.

    - original email and date account was created
    - all purchases and transactions (credit card statements with transaction numbers) showing that you made the purchases
    - device IDs for all devices that were used to login to the account and prove that you are in fact the owner of these devices.
    - email trail of all password resets and of the email changes

    You need to do your best to explain and prove the whole story to them, they won't do the forensic digging for you. If you can map all that out and present them with as much data and information that is provable, that will help your case.

    Just telling stories of emails being changed back and forth is a flag that something shady is going on and I have no reason to believe you over the person that is now in control of the account. Look at it objectively and proceed.


    Right. I can definitely provide as much proof as they need to prove I am the sole owner of the account. (old screenshots/videos, other purchases, etc.). No way anyone else has access to those. Problem is getting a hold of someone that is willing to hear out the situation and work with me. I either get ignored or get an automated response with my ticket closed instantly without a chance to discuss and work it out with Kabam support. That's the frustrating part. I will keep trying though and emphasize that I can provide proof that any random person isn't going to be able to provide.

    I think you need to try and talk to somone in person the robo messages are ridiculous.

    I understand your pain I was in a similiar situation but not really similiar. I played the game guild wars on PC and played for about 2-3 years I had a best friend on there named ben and we "troll" ppl and cause chaos and just have fun. I farmed alot and had another account that stored all my items and I gave ben the password and he help me move stuff.

    1 day one of our "friends" (i wouldn't say friend friend was just a guy on f list we know) saying he got hacked and i was told don't talk to him cause it's not him. Then Ben got hacked (who knows if thats even true). and out of no where my storage account got emptied. I went on and everything was gone. I lost so much of my wealth.

    Now i don't think I did get hacked I think it was Ben who collaborated with the other guy just to **** me.
    I can't prove it but I have a hunch.

    So I was so destraught I couldn't sleep eat or do anything I was empty.
    but 1 good thing came of this.....it was finals for my last semester in school I had a senior recital (i went to school for music) and cause of that I was able to practice (the game sucked my life i didn't do anything besides Guild wars lol)

    but I was still very upset!

    Atleast your situation you have a chance to get this settled with kabam support.
    I wish you the best!


    Yeah that sucks. Is there any way to talk to a person and not get the same "robo messages" every time?
  • SummonerNRSummonerNR Member, Guardian Posts: 14,678 Guardian
    It would be very unbelievable that if Kabam made a spelling mistake for changing to the new email you requested, that it would happen to actually be a “real” email for “anybody at all”, let along someone who plays MCOC who would know to play the game with it.

    And also, I doubt Kabam would have changed the password at the same time. If you request an email change, don’t they just change the email but not the password ?

    Or thirdly, to avoid a case where they maybe misspelled it and it was not actually a valid email, that before Kabam actually changes someone's email, I would hope that they would need some type of confirmation sent back to them by yourself via that new email so that they know it is actually correct and then they would update the game with it.

    Can you just ask them to RESET EVERYTHING back to the original email, and just continue to play again that way for 90 days, before just trying the whole process over again for changing to your new email ??
  • LobsLobs Member Posts: 8

    It would be very unbelievable that if Kabam made a spelling mistake for changing to the new email you requested, that it would happen to actually be a “real” email for “anybody at all”, let along someone who plays MCOC who would know to play the game with it.

    And also, I doubt Kabam would have changed the password at the same time. If you request an email change, don’t they just change the email but not the password ?

    Or thirdly, to avoid a case where they maybe misspelled it and it was not actually a valid email, that before Kabam actually changes someone's email, I would hope that they would need some type of confirmation sent back to them by yourself via that new email so that they know it is actually correct and then they would update the game with it.

    Can you just ask them to RESET EVERYTHING back to the original email, and just continue to play again that way for 90 days, before just trying the whole process over again for changing to your new email ??


    Yeah I really don't know how it all works since this is my first time making the request. They obviously changed it to something other than my old email and my new email because the log-in didn't recognize either email. Is it possible they mixed my account/email up with someone else requesting to change emails at the same time?

    But yes someone else was definitely accessing the account during the time I was locked out. I really don't know how and it's absurd to me that it happened. I don't think hero ratings go up by itself if no one is on the account. Fortunately, that stopped after I got the email they closed the account.

    That's actually a good idea, if this doesn't get anywhere, I'll request them to just revert it all back to the original info. At this point I just want access to the account again.
  • NiteAndDaeNiteAndDae Member Posts: 670 ★★★

    It would be very unbelievable that if Kabam made a spelling mistake for changing to the new email you requested, that it would happen to actually be a “real” email for “anybody at all”, let along someone who plays MCOC who would know to play the game with it.

    And also, I doubt Kabam would have changed the password at the same time. If you request an email change, don’t they just change the email but not the password ?

    Or thirdly, to avoid a case where they maybe misspelled it and it was not actually a valid email, that before Kabam actually changes someone's email, I would hope that they would need some type of confirmation sent back to them by yourself via that new email so that they know it is actually correct and then they would update the game with it.

    Can you just ask them to RESET EVERYTHING back to the original email, and just continue to play again that way for 90 days, before just trying the whole process over again for changing to your new email ??

    You can't reset it back. What if I sold my account (which I know is against terms of service, but people do it) and then I have kabam reset it and now regain control of the account I just sold. Opens up ways to scam people.
  • LobsLobs Member Posts: 8


    You can't reset it back. What if I sold my account (which I know is against terms of service, but people do it) and then I have kabam reset it and now regain control of the account I just sold. Opens up ways to scam people.


    Wow really? So resetting the information isn’t an option then?
  • NiteAndDaeNiteAndDae Member Posts: 670 ★★★
    Lobs said:


    You can't reset it back. What if I sold my account (which I know is against terms of service, but people do it) and then I have kabam reset it and now regain control of the account I just sold. Opens up ways to scam people.


    Wow really? So resetting the information isn’t an option then?
    So, let's say I 'sell' you my account, and have kabam switch the account to your email address so that you can reset the password and then login. You pay me, and then play on the account for a week. I then contact kabam and have them reset the account to the original email (which is my email) and now I've reclaimed a sold account.
  • LobsLobs Member Posts: 8

    Lobs said:


    You can't reset it back. What if I sold my account (which I know is against terms of service, but people do it) and then I have kabam reset it and now regain control of the account I just sold. Opens up ways to scam people.


    Wow really? So resetting the information isn’t an option then?
    So, let's say I 'sell' you my account, and have kabam switch the account to your email address so that you can reset the password and then login. You pay me, and then play on the account for a week. I then contact kabam and have them reset the account to the original email (which is my email) and now I've reclaimed a sold account.

    Yeah that makes sense. Would Kabam even care about that since the whole thing is against ToS anyways? If they really can’t do that then I’ll just have to keep trying for them to set up the new email and password. Honestly, I’ll take any solution to get access to my account again.
  • SummonerNRSummonerNR Member, Guardian Posts: 14,678 Guardian

    So, let's say I 'sell' you my account, and have kabam switch the account to your email address so that you can reset the password and then login. You pay me, and then play on the account for a week. I then contact kabam and have them reset the account to the original email (which is my email) and now I've reclaimed a sold account.

    Yep, that's right. And if someone bought stolen merchandise on the street and then the cops came and discovered it was stolen, they would take it away from that buyer and return it to original owner.
    Buyer Beware, when buying something you shouldn’t.

    No different that if someone actually scàmmed your account (convinced Kabam to change login info for it). So you’re saying you would never be able to get it back even if it was stolen from you ?
  • DNA3000DNA3000 Member, Guardian Posts: 21,039 Guardian
    Lobs said:

    Now here comes the frustration, we are back at square one and Kabam support asks for all the same information again, literally copy and pasted robotic responses (verify account information, new email, etc.). This eventually leads to them telling me the email on the account has recently been changed and I have to wait 90 days to change the email again. I had to explain to them the email they changed it to is definitely not the email I requested because the game is not recognizing neither my old or new email. This eventually leads to them transferring me to the "account specialist".

    Perhaps you should simply ask them to verify what the email address is that the account is currently set to. You don't say that you explicitly attempted that. Since all communication to Kabam support basically happens with email, you must have sent them an email message telling them the name of the email address to change the account to. You could ask them to verify that the account was in fact changed to that explicit email address.

    If it wasn't, that's an error. If you have proof that you requested the account be changed to a particular email address and it wasn't in fact changed to that email address, and support isn't helping you to your satisfaction, you could try to explain your situation to one of the forum mods. They can't directly solve your problem, but they can attempt to clarify the situation on your behalf. However, you should be prepared to present evidence of your situation and it may take time for them to investigate, and I cannot guarantee that this will be successful. It is not specifically their job to act as customer support in this situation.
  • LobsLobs Member Posts: 8
    DNA3000 said:

    Lobs said:

    Now here comes the frustration, we are back at square one and Kabam support asks for all the same information again, literally copy and pasted robotic responses (verify account information, new email, etc.). This eventually leads to them telling me the email on the account has recently been changed and I have to wait 90 days to change the email again. I had to explain to them the email they changed it to is definitely not the email I requested because the game is not recognizing neither my old or new email. This eventually leads to them transferring me to the "account specialist".

    Perhaps you should simply ask them to verify what the email address is that the account is currently set to. You don't say that you explicitly attempted that. Since all communication to Kabam support basically happens with email, you must have sent them an email message telling them the name of the email address to change the account to. You could ask them to verify that the account was in fact changed to that explicit email address.

    If it wasn't, that's an error. If you have proof that you requested the account be changed to a particular email address and it wasn't in fact changed to that email address, and support isn't helping you to your satisfaction, you could try to explain your situation to one of the forum mods. They can't directly solve your problem, but they can attempt to clarify the situation on your behalf. However, you should be prepared to present evidence of your situation and it may take time for them to investigate, and I cannot guarantee that this will be successful. It is not specifically their job to act as customer support in this situation.
    Hey that’s actually a great idea, I’m really glad I took the time to make this post. I’m so caught up in my frustration with this situation I’m probably not thinking of other good ways to solve this like what you suggested.

    So I have sent tickets in specifically stating they must have changed the email incorrectly because both my old and new emails don’t work anymore and I have also asked them what they changed the email to. They responded by escalating/transferring me to the “account specialist” or “account team”. It’s like they don’t read my ticket at all.

    I’ll try again giving a brief description of my issue and ask them to confirm that the email matches the one I sent to them by giving them a screenshot of the email of them asking for the new email and my response to them with the new email. What I’m hoping for is that an actual human being reads it and tries to understand my situation and help me out rather than a robot giving a generic automated response.
  • LobsLobs Member Posts: 8
    Scholia said:

    Kabam support are useless. If I were you, I’d try contacting apple stating you can’t get into your account ( if all fails) and ask for refunds. They are really honestly so so bad.

    Yeah I don't think I have ever dealt with customer service that is so incompetent and frustrating. I want to bang my head against the wall with some of their responses.

    By the way, I finally got a response back for my most recent ticket a week later. Same default answer "we were unable to determine a sole owner of this account and have determined that this account will remain permanently closed." I responded back to the email once again detailing that I am the sole owner of BOTH the email accounts I have used to send tickets. It is impossible for anyone else to verify ownership of the account. I can even provide additional proof (ie. old in-game videos, screenshots, other purchases, etc.) to show that I am the sole owner of the account. I can guarantee no one else can provide the proof I can besides me. I also asked to speak to a manager or anyone who is willing to take the time to read the information I am providing and really work with me to resolve this situation.

    I just need someone who will take their time to let me prove I am the sole owner of the account and I just need to secure the account with a new email and password and gain access again. I don't think that's an insane request to ask is it?
  • Kabam ZibiitKabam Zibiit Administrator Posts: 7,033
    Hey there, the forum aren't really the place to discuss requests and inquiries about individual accounts. For that, you'll need to continue working with the Support Team, as they are the ones who are equipped to verify information on reports into individual accounts.
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