Seems like Blizzard is cleaning house, all RAF time that have been obtained through CC chargebacks (majority of all RAF time thats being sold are obtained this way) are being removed, I just lost all 13 months, my friend lost 5 months, and even couple other people who only bought 1-2 month lost it too. I guess Blizzard finally decided to do something about this lol, it was fun and cheap while it lasted. Back to 15 bucks a month =[
On the bright side... you DO get to keep your mount if you bought that, also there don't seem to be any bans or any request to pay Blizzard back for all the month you cheated them out of... Just have to resub to play again. But that might change after maintenance today.. I hope not though.
Edit (10/16/2012)
Well heres the email I got today, so no penalty for ripping Blizzard off but we will have to start paying full price again =[
Hello,
We are writing to inform you that, regrettably, due to a payment issue related to one of the accounts you “referred” via the Recruit-a-Friend system, the free month(s) subscription issued to your account has been disabled. Please note that this is not a penalty for your account, but it may require you to update your subscription details if you wish to continue to play.
Please note that we can only discuss this issue with the “referred” account with the account owner of that account, and unfortunately, we will be unable to answer any of your questions relating to that account. If your referee has any question or concerns, (s)he can contact us using the Blizzard customer service website:
For more details about the Recruit-a-Friend system, please visit the FAQ located at:
Regards,
Customer Services
Blizzard Entertainment
World of Warcraft
Edit 10/16/2012 #2
If your account lost all game time and is currently frozen, you can just get an "unfreeze" code and just get more months using RAF rofl... although I'm not sure how smart that is to do atm, will continue to update as I find out. But I imagine if all the "friends" you "refer" are frauds 100% of the time they might do something.
Edit 10/24/2012
Seems like another wave of removal rolled through a day or so ago, so yes Blizzard is still removing RaF time, even after the first wave.
You can still continue to add RaF time to your account even if its already been removed by Blizzard twice, and if you're buying them at 2-3 dollars per month its still cheaper to just to re-buy 1 month RaF weekly. But... it might not be the smartest thing to do, I'm assuming if you're known for using illegitimate RaF time they flag your account somehow.
Edit 11/1/2012
If your account have had RaF time removed it is most likely flagged by Blizzard, any additional non legit RaF time you buy will most likely be removed on a weekly bases. If you have never had bought RaF time before then ONLY buy 1 month at a time. Seems like some people are able to keep their purchased RaF time but in all these cases the person a) had never had RaF time removed b) Did not buy more than a month.
Final edit 11/20/2012
As of right now almost all RaF time bought are still being removed within a week. If you still insist on buying ONLY buy 1 month at a time at 2-3 dollars per week it is still cheaper than 15 dollars a month. Although buying RaF weekly only to have it removed may not be the brightest thing to do unless its on an account you use to bot or an account you simply don't care about. Anyone who tells you its safe to buy RaF time or their RaF time is either got EXTREMELY lucky or they're lying. Look at all the join dates for people claiming its safe to buy, they're all new accounts, most likely made by RaF sellers themselves trying to boost sale.