Names and e-mail addresses were removed from this chain of e-mail by me.

My original e-mail:

Dear Sirs,

after a few attempts to resolve the situation via Game Masters I didn't reach the agreement on this matter and they suggested I should contact you.

I'm speaking about my main char, Death Knight with a nickname Elderdeekey, EU server Ghostlands.

Patch 4.0.1 introduced Master Riding:

"...Master Riding is available from Northrend Riding trainers at a cost of 5000g, allowing all flying mounts to scale to 310% speed. Characters that already had a 310% speed flying mount pre-4.0.1 are given this skill automatically and free of charge..."

Since I didn't have any of 310% speed mount I bought it.

However, in 2 days after patch blue post appeared explaining that,

"...The exception is the the Reins of the Violet Proto-Drake from the meta world events achievement What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been. While still technically a 280% mount due to Patch 4.0.1, this mount will award 310% speed to characters who do not have it for free, due to a hotfix..."

As you may see from my meta world event achievement, I'm 1 event away from getting this Violet Drake that will bring all my mount speed to 310%. Therefore there is no need for me to buy Master Riding now...

So my complaint is the following:

due to misleading and incomplete information about Master Riding in patch 4.0.1 I've spent substantial amount of game currency (5000 gold) which otherwise I would have spent for something more useful. This expense is not necessary in my case because I will get 310% speed for free completing meta world event achievement "What a long strange trip it has been".

My request is to revert my riding skills to the previous level and refund me with the amount of game currency spent.

From my point of view this particular case is due to a mistake in patch notes made by game developers which led me, as your customer, to the actions I wouldn't undertake if got appropriate and complete information on Master Riding on time, when 4.0.1 patch was released.

Based upon reading official WoW forums I should admit I'm not alone who was misled and undertook the same wrong action in purchasing Master Riding skills.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you on how you could resolve this situation because I'm very much unsatisfied with today's approach when game masters simply reject my request referring to their inability to refund money spent on skills instead of acknowledging a mistake made by game developers and fixing it one way or another.

Regards.

Reply from GM:

Greetings xxxxx,
 
Thank you for contacting us about this matter, I apologise for the delay in getting back to you about this incident.
 
First of all please let me apologise for the miscommunication through our forums and elsewhere, this was a genuine mistake and we apologise for the confusion it caused with regards to the flying skill in question. We have been rectifying this mistake by reimbursing those players that bought the flying skill in error when they either already had the Violet Drake, or would earn it through the Hallow's End festival.
 
Having checked your Death Knight it would seem he is still at least two festivals away from completing the corresponding achievement (approximately 2 months from when you purchased the new flying speed) and therefore as we are unable to unlearn the new flying skill we cannot offer you a refund of the gold spent at this time.
 
I do apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, unfortunately with the recent patch there have been a few unfortunate errors on our part which we are working to correct at this time.
 
If you wish to review our current Rules and Policies, they can be found at:
http://www.wow-europe.com/en/legal/termsofuse.html
http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/company/about/termsofuse.html

Regards,
 
xxxxx x.
Senior Game Master
Blizzard Entertainment

Reply to GM:

Thank you for your reply and special thanks for acknowledging the mistake that has been made by game developers.
 
I would love to agree with your explanations but I can't due to the following reason -
 
yes, I'm 2 month away from getting Violet Drake (in fact this is only one seasonal event, not two),
however IF I knew Violet Drake is going to give me 310% speed I wouldn't purchase Master Flying skills. It was not my mistake to buy it but misleading information provided by game developers.
 
I do play WoW since early closed beta test started in 2003, then, due to my work assignment I've started live on US server Dunemaul (Mikerelder is still in my original guild Shinigami there), and continued to play on EU server on my return home.
 
But this is the first time in my WoW gaming history when I see such reluctance in correcting developers mistakes...
Honestly I'm really disappointed with the approach you are referring to as "inability to unlearn skills" thus not refunding this amount.
 
In the end, this is not about game currency, this is about your ability to satisfy your customers. You will start to lose us if you continue as such.
 
Regards, xxxx.

Reply from GM:

Greetings xxxxx,
 
Thank you for getting back to me.
 
Whilst I understand that you only have the Merrymaker festival left to obtain the title, all be it another festival takes place before that, that does not change our position on this issue. We understand and accept that the information we provided may have been misleading, which is why we have taken steps to reimburse those players who were imminently obtaining the mount in the current festival, but regrettably that is not the situation with your particular character.
 
I once more apologise for the gold that you have spent here but as you will receive the benefit of using the mount over the coming weeks, including through the release of Cataclysm, we are unable to offer you a refund at this time.
 
If you wish to review our current Rules and Policies, they can be found at:
http://www.wow-europe.com/en/legal/termsofuse.html
http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/company/about/termsofuse.html
 
 
Regards,
 
xxxxx x.
Senior Game Master
Blizzard Entertainment
http://eu.blizzard.com/support

Hello xxxx,

I'm afraid we speak different language...

I've asked to revert my riding skills to the previous level in my initial e-mail to you.
I'm not trying to cheat anyone or asking for something that may give me any benefit. The arguments you were using in your messages are not applicable to me at all.

What I'm asking is to fix an error that has been made by developers.

In game GMs told me that they cannot refund gold spent on skills. I hardly beleive that but if it is the real reason due to technical limitation of the game please be honest and confirm that.

At least it will be fair and will close this discussion which, otherwise, becomes more and more unproductive.

Regards, xxxxx

Greetings xxxx,

Thank you for getting back to me.

As I mentioned before in my first reply, as we're unable to safely remove the skill you have obtained we cannot refund you the gold spent on this skill. I apologise if you missed the part where I stated this but I can assure you it was included in my first response.

I hope this clears up why we are unable to offer you a refund of this flying skill and I sincerely apologise if my previous mail was unclear.

If you wish to review our current Rules and Policies, they can be found at:
http://www.wow-europe.com/en/legal/termsofuse.html
http://eu.blizzard.com/en-gb/company/about/termsofuse.html


Regards,

xxxxx x.
Senior Game Master
Blizzard Entertainment
http://eu.blizzard.com/support