Electronic Arts Can't Process Address Change, Cancels Your Sold-Out Pre-Ordered Collector's Edition Of Warhammer
Electronic Arts immediately forwards all pre-orders to a secretive processing facility, so if you happy to change your address after ordering a game eight months in advance, well, tough. At least that's what Electronic Arts told Micah when he asked to update his pre-order for the now sold-out limited-run collector's edition of Warhammer: Age of Reckoning. When Micah pointed out that it might not be the best idea to sell games eight months in advance without a way to update addresses, Electronic Arts canceled his order altogether and told him to find another copy somewhere else.
Micah's correspondence with Electronic Arts appears below:
I preordered Warhammer: Age of Reckoning in March, but I have moved. I updated my shipping and billing address, but the invoice still reflects my old address. Will this automatically update when the game ships, or will that have to be done seperately?
Hi Micah,Thanks for providing information. Here is the Codes for "Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector's Edition" you want to have:
Beta Code: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Bonus Code: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Head Start Code: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Please let us know if there is anything else needed.Thanks,
Razia
So just to confirm, the collector's edition, when shipped, will be mailed to my new address, correct?
Thanks for your time.
Hi Micah,
Thank you for contacting back.I have searched your Order Id # xxxxxxxxxx and found that the Shipping address that is listed on your order is "xxxx xxxxxxx Avenue, RALEIGH NC, 27607 US " . Hence your order will be shipped on the same address as listed on your Order Invoice.
Please let us know if there is anything else needed.
Thank you,
Razia
That is the reason I started this in the first place. I no longer live at xxxx xxxxxxx Avenue. I now live at xxxx-x xxxxx Street. I need the invoice updated to ship to my current address. What do I need to do to make this happen? Thanks.
Hi Micah,Thank you for writing back.
Unfortunately, you can not change your shipping address after your order has been submitted. The order is immediately sent to the fulfillment agency and can no longer be changed by our system.However as this game is being sold as preorder now and it is no longer available on the site so you can not place a new order on your desired address.
Please let us know if there is anything else needed.
Thank you,
Razia
So it's either cancel my order and don't receive the now sold-out collector's edition, or just let it ship to a place I don't live, hope the people living there hold onto it for me, and then reverse charges on my credit card when I never receive the item? It seems there should be some way of contacting the fulfillment agency if you're going to release a presell of a collector's edition 8 months before the game even comes out.
Hi,
Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts accounts services. In order to assist you with this issue, we will need some information. Please provide us the following information:
- Order number:
- Full name used to place the order:
- Email address used to place the order:
- Last 4 digits of the Credit card used to place the order:
- Date of birth as listed on the account:
- Zip Code as listed on the account:
Once we have this information we will be able to look into your
situation further.
Thank you,
Rudra
Um... that information was provided further down in the email.
Hi Micah,Thank you for providing the information.
We have now issued refund for the same, we request you to please wait for 3 to 5 business days and the money will be credited back to your account. If your refund issue remains, please reply to this mail with your refund request number "Refund # 80981409". Let us know if there is anything else needed.
Thank you,
Rudra
I've tried being nice, but I've had about as much of this runaround as I can take. I don't want a refund. I want my !#$%ing game. If you can cancel the order, you can update the address. If you don't want to do it, give me the phone number of someone who will. You say the fulfillment agency has the information already and you can't change it, fine. Give me their number. If you've cancelled my order, then apparently there's now one for sale. I don't care how you do it. I want my bloody game. If you can't do it, give me the number of someone higher who can.
Hi,Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts Customer Support. This is the highest level of support.
Your order has been cancelled per your request. We cannot re-create your order. Please attempt to purchase your game from some other online source as we are sold out.
If you need additional assistance or have further questions please reply to this email or visit our self help knowledge base at http://support.ea.com
Thank you,
Samuel
Senior Representative
Electronic Arts Customer Support
Electronic Arts boasts that "only 60,000 units of the Collector's Edition will be available," but adds: "(We're making a couple extra, but those are for us!)" Why not send Micah one of your extra copies free of charge, Electronic Arts, as a way of saying "sorry we didn't use a half-competent processor!"
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Comments:
Wow, reading that whole thing I don't remember anywhere him stating he wanted a refund at all. It's like they never even bothered to read his message at all.
Guy: Hi I moved, can I get you to forward something I bought?
EA: Oh, you want a refund? Okay!
Guy: Uh no, mail it to where I live...
EA: All right, expect a refund in 3-5 days.
Guy and rest of Humanity: WTF?
that's what i would expect... who wouldn't?
Why not file a change of address form with the post office to overcome EA's stupidity? Yes, sure, there's no 100% guarantee that it'll forward (I'm still getting collection mails for my ex whom I haven't seen in over a year), but apparently EA is too incompetent to do The Right Thing here and keep a customer.
After the first time he said the word 'refund' in an email, they responded that it was refunded 'per his request'.
Sounds like a chat-bot - or an under paid moron.
I looked up the possible EA email addresses.
It seems to be [first initial][last name]@ea.com
So for the Chairman of the board, it would be
lprobst(at)ea.com
Heres a list of some of the rest:
jriccitiello(at)ea.com - CEO/Director.
ebrown(at)ea.com - CFO/Executive Vice President
jpleasants(at)ea.com - COO/President - Global Publishing
As always, I don't guarantee these emails will work, and am not liable for anything you do with them.
@Nick1693: Oops! Forgot to mention my sources.
Names: Google Finance
Web address: Wikipedia article for Electronic Arts.
I am not liable for anything anyone does with them, btw.
No, no. Chat bots are smarter than ANYONE working for EA. They are the worst company with the buggiest games and the poorest patches.
Ever play The Sims 2? I do. Every time they come out with an Expansion Pack, they BREAK everything they previously fixed. The only reason it's playable is due to the modding community.
And putting SuckuRom on all their products? No wonder game-pirating is at an all-time high. I'd rather steal their product than have their rootkit software make my CD drive stop working.
Ick.
Good luck to the OP getting ANY sort of response from these a-holes.
@HalOfBorg:
Sounds like several underpaid morons.
The fact that the first response from customer service completely ignored his initial question should've thrown bells and whistles and flags of assorted neon colors.
This brings back memories. I had trouble with Earthlink a long time ago, with disconnects. I tried the e-mail conversation, as at the time I didn't have a cell phone, just my land line. I would send my issue, and someone would ask for some information about my system. I'd reply, and get something to try. When it didn't work, I'd use the same e-mail thread, and someone would ask...for the same information previously requested and provided.
I so hated them.
Good luck, man...Good luck.
OP blamed/told to get a life in five... four... three.. two... one...
FWIW: OP was totally screwed here and he should buy it used on principle. He shouldn't give EA the satisfaction of a new purchase!
Why not sign up for mail forwarding? It's good for one year. Sheesh, it's not that hard people.
@Ubermunch: It's an online MMORPG game played on a PC...there is no used bin for those because once the key code for it is used, it is attached to an online account that you then pay them money every month to have access to. Guess maybe they could get it on eBay from someone who has leveled up a perfect character though...for a premium...
That is.....wow. That is some of the most evil canned responses I have ever seen.
However...um...if they canceled his order then that means that the copy reserved for no longer belongs to anyone. And since they aren't taking anymore orders that means that they have one copy that isn't sold to anyone and THEREFORE THEY'RE NOT SOLD OUT ANYMORE!
I'm a gamer so I can feel his pain. And at first I thought "Well why doesn't he just have all his mail forwarded from his old address." However, having ordered games before, I know that they're sent through UPS or FedEx, so that wouldn't work.
Someone's head would roll for this. You can't let people preorder a game with no way of changing their address. Shit happens sometimes and people move.
This is why I pre-order through stores like gamestop. If you do it online, they send it to your address on your profile, which you can change as needed.
@ratsgnawingatmyface: If EA was smart, they'd have it so you could buy the keys online. But generally, yes, you can't purely online games in the used bin.
Also, I don't think the game is the point. He could probably buy a regular copy somewhere. It's the fact that it's the collectors edition, which would include additional items that would end up being extremely rare.
Try to find a used version of the Halo 3 collectors edition. Sure you might find the game and extra DVDs used, but you will rarely find the complete set used.
EA royally fucked the OP over here.
Wow. EA DEFINITELY needs to fix this.
@Ubermunch: Can't buy pc mmos used. The account key is the only actual part of it that is worth anything...and it can only be activated once.
I encountered my EA frustration today. It is no where on the same level as Micah's, but it still shows how stupid the thought process is over there. I pro-ordered the game Mercenaries 2 for the 360 from GameStop and picked it up today. One of the pre-order bonus was a code you had to enter in-game to access extra costumes. As of right now, I have a Silver Live account which means that I cannot play multiplayer games online. You have to have a GOld account to do this. For some STUPID reason, to enter the code, you have to access EA's servers. You can only do this if you have a Gold account, which means everyone that pre-ordered the game and doesn't want to pay for a Gold account is S.O.L. It is hands down one of the stupidest moves I have seen in a while from a game comapany and it is absolutly uncalled for. I've never played a game where you have to be connected online to enter a code.
EA has a somewhat checkered reputation on all kinds of fronts, soon they will be the Comcast of video game developers. Seriously.
@Cyco: It would have made sense if it were an online only game, but I don't see how a code for extra costumes needs to be verified online. I guess because afterward the code is rendered invalid, which is another stupid idea.
@dragonfire81: You mean they aren't already? Geeze, I rarely hear anything good about EA nowadays. I remember when everyone hated them when Madden became the only football game allowed with the NFL license.
It seems with a lot of these big companies, you're dealing with a different person every time with no real continuity. You almost have to start the explanation over from scratch with each successive e-mail or phone call, like you're trying to have a conversation with someone that has a very, very, very short attention span and memory.
Customer: here's all my info.
EA: please provide all your info.
Customer: ...???
I'm running into a similar problem with pre-ordering the game. For the life of me, I can't get them to send me my beta code or the head start code. One CSR told me I'd get it three weeks ago, then the next one tells me it's my in-item code, whatever that means. It's almost as if they give IQ tests and only hire if your score is less than 80. That, or they make sure you don't speak English. For a large company, I can't understand why EA hates customers who want to give them money.
60,000 units and they're calling it a collector's edition? If something is labeled a "collector's edition", it is probably not worth collecting.
Hmmm....
I figured that there was some sort of physical package that would make this a special purchase. If this is truly just a code and some extra online goodies I say: Screw EA and the Warhammer horse they rode in on. Ditch the game and find another MMORPG experience that actually treats you well.
OP might try Entropia or some other game. But for the life of me I can't understand why anyone would continue to pay a company that treats them like sh1t.
-jm
You are assuming that it is going to be shipped via USPS. If its shipped Fedex, DHL or UPS, that wouldn't help.
ok, ok, i know, petty point but could you please change "if you happy to change your address" to "if you HAPPEN to change your address" in the second line.
/nazi
sorry.
@howie_in_az: As others said but as I need to echo (because I'm running into this problem myself when I move in two days), USPS is the only shipment company that will accept forwarding addresses. DHL/Fedex/UPS don't forward packages under any circumstances (unless it's freight). Perhaps they should amend their policies since people relocate all the time and it shouldn't be too difficult for their computers to keep track of the old/new addresses, but they don't.
@Tamar Weinberg: UPS can forward packages, sort of. If you have a UPS Store mailbox, which I do, they will forward things sent to your home address to that mailbox on request. I learned this after driving a bazillion miles home to catch the third delivery attempt of a package.
And this reads EXACTLY like my email trail with them when I reported being unable to download Sims Life Stories via Download Manager.
After starting each email with, "Please read the previous notes," I'd get emails telling me to do exactly what the previous instructions had been.
I got to the point where I said, "You're not really even trying, are you?"
I ended up buying a copy via Amazon at a discount, and chalked up the money spent on the downloadable version to a bad expense. It'll be a LONG time before I buy another EA game.
Once EA started expanding in the games market, they lost their "personality" and started acting like a typical corporation.
Personally, I don't buy a lot of games but when I do, I make sure it's not an EA game. I don't even bootleg there stuff; why justify their work if they don't care about their customers?
@godlyfrog: Yep, my fiance and I have the same problems with trying (and trying and trying) to get someone to send us the beta codes. Game Stop was the culprit. After about 2 weeks and a different excuse from every customer service rep we spoke with, they finally sent the codes. Actually, they screwed up on our behalf and sent us 2x the beta codes.
I think you need to specify that this is the EA Store you are talking about. Other companies have their act together like Amazon. Where you can actually edit your order. That being said... I had a similar issue with this horrid (EA Store) company. I pre-orderd in june, and never got my codes. It then took untill 7/31 to get my codes, and thats after i brown beat that EA Store customer service site (the have NO EA Store Phone support)I then called the only EA number known thats for support. Found out they outsource first of all. So im talking to Inda or some shit. Having worked in customer service myself, I ask for a manager. 20 mins later i have one. I tell my story, so she puts me on hold. Comes back with my order status...wtf? All of the EA Store customer service is done via email with an outsourced call center in an Asian Country! They send me my codes on 7/31 as i said via the customer service site for EA Store. A month before i canceled my debit card and got a new one. So i send another Customer Service email, on that lame CS site. Tell them i need to update my card info. They come back with a fn email saying they cant edit the order at all! That i would have to order it again, but sorry this item is out of stock. I had already put my codes into the warhammer beta site. Ended up getting the normal preorder from Amazon and have had ZERO ISSUES.
Just forget it and wait to preorder the Dedicated User Edition that comes out 3 months later.
I've been part of the warhammer Beta for 1 year now, and I had to change email accounts. Since there was no option on their site to do that, I emailed them asking to change my email address on the account. The response I got? "I'm sorry its not possible to change the email address on an account".
For a company that programs games, not having a system that allows you to change email accounts seems kind of stupid. Not too organized.
Couldn't he fill out one of the USPS "Change of address" forms? Wouldn't that forward the game to his new address?
They're conspiring to work together, I had to cancel my collector's edition because Gamestop wouldn't give me any of the codes I was supposed to get...
My first email to them:
Hello there, I had a quick question about my pre-order.. My brother purchased his from ebgames.com and recieved an open beta key and head start key in his email, which you need in order to download the client before you can get into the open beta. My question is when I can expect to recieve mine? It's not completely crucial at least until a few days before the open beta begins so I can have the client downloaded and ready to go, but I ask mainly because I pre-ordered the collector's edition May 16th and haven't recieved any key to get me into the game prior to the game shipping.. Just a little confused, and I appreciate any response. :)
- JM
Gamestop's response:
Dear Valued Customer,
Unfortunately, we have exhausted our code supply for this game. We apologize for this inconvenience but we have to remind you that these are free bonus items and are in no way guaranteed.
Best regards,
John Customer Service Agent
My angry reply:
How can the codes be all given away when I pre-ordered a damn collector's edition 3 and a half months ago? Were only what, 4 codes given to the whole company? That is the whole point of pre-ordering the game, especially the collector's edition because they sell out faster than the normal game itself, yet 500,000 normal game players are getting their keys and the limited sold out supply of collector's edition people are not? Not to mention my brother got his 2 days ago from ebgames, and gamestop is THE SAME COMPANY. Even from the Mythic website you see "** Amazon.com, EAStore.com, Direct2Drive and GameStop.com pre-order customers will receive codes via email. Offer does not include the UFS Battle Deck." but I guess all the codes must have been given out long before May 16th when I ordered this, right? Why not just put "** Amazon.com, EAStore.com, Direct2Drive and GameStop.com pre-order customers MIGHT receive codes via email if we choose a number at random and you guess it." at least then you won't be giving out false information to your customers.
@Phillip M. Vector: As some have pointed out, that only works if it's shipped USPS. A lot of games end up going by FedEx, UPS, and DHL.
Holy cow. I will never buy EA new again. I'll be picking up my copy of Sims 2 used.
Another person to try.
Natasha Hodgins - nhodgins (at) ea.com <-She's the Customer service manager. Might be able to help.
We can't change your mailing address. We can't change your email address.
Are you sure this isn't Microsoft?
me: I don't remember my Xbox live username.
ms: Well just log onto Xbox live to access your account. You will need your username.
me: I don't remember my Xbox live username. I'd like to cancel the account, I don't use it and don't want to be billed again.
ms: Well just log on to your account to make those changes. You will need your username.
me: What about my email address? I don't remember my username.
ms: You need to log on to your account. You need your username.
I had an Amazon marketplace dealer tell me similar...
your order is in our entry system and cannot be changed.
me: Did you ship it yet?
am: no.
me: Did you pick it yet?
am: no.
me: Don't see the problem.
am: We can't change it.
And I'm quite sure this is one of those little hole-in-the-wall places like a pawn shop where they "can't" change the order, because they already got the money from Amazon and don't want to refund it.
What microsoft and EA's excuse is...?
This email exchange was outsourced to India. I work with these people all the time and their grammar patterns and english phrasing is entirely distinctive. In particular, only Indians end sentences with "and the same".
Swearing was a very bad idea. Indian culture is based upon British ideals and they have very, very, very thin skins. My guess is that "Samuel" was indeed the manager for that particular outsourcing company, and he decided to cut you off due to your tone.
You need to speak to someone at EA fulfillment directly. Several other commenters have posted their email addresses in this thread. Good luck!
@doctor_cos: This is a sign that people have gotten lazy over the years. Because everything is entered into a system and they can't be bothered to change the system in any way. Even if it's something dictated by common sense, if the computer doens't let them, they can't do it. I ran into that problem when I tried to buy liquor a few years ago. Even though my license had my DOB on it and was genuine, it expired the day before and because the computer doesn't accept expired licenses, they wouldn't let me buy anything. Common sense thing.
@catskyfire: True enough.. True enough..
FedEx = You can contact them when it ships and have them hold it at the office for a pickup.
DHL = I couldn't find anything on their website, so I dunno.
UPS = You can redirect it to a UPS shipping center for pickup.
Ha, something tells me now that this is out in the open, this guy is going to get his well deserved collectors edition copy of the game.
I'm sorry, I believe that the consumerist made a mistake when titling this article. It should read: Electronic Arts Can't Process One Address Change, Cancels Micah's Sold-Out Pre-Ordered Collector's Edition Of Warhammer.
You see, I didn't pre-order this. I have had no difficulty with EA, and I'm not getting my panties in a wad about it. Stop trying to get everyone worked up, and instead try reporting on actual consumer news articles, instead of sensational elitist garbage written to get everyone worked up.
This is a bummer - if I were Micah, I'd email EA head man John Riccitiello and ask *him* what the deal is. Especially after getting Consumerist/Kotaku exposure. That might actually change something for him.
Though possibly not for the rest of those who are getting a bum deal, if any.
@willparry79: I'm not sure it's the Consumerist being elitist, sir. Just because you don't care about this doesn't mean everybody else needs to stop.
all your warhammer are belong to us