Hello ownedcore! I have been a longtime reader of these forums, and just recently got a membership to donate a little. However, I haven't had much of a way to actually contribute, and I definitely did not want to post something an get flamed for posting something that has already been posted. Anyways, if this had been posted, I apologize. I just hope to help someone.
I have played off and on since vanilla. I have botted, not very hardcore or anything, in wow and D3. I have had one account banned and unbanned 2 times in the past 4 years. I have also had a d3 account banned and unbanned once. Finally, I tried to run 5 bots at one point in WotLK just mining almost 24/7, unattended while at work. These accounts were all banned within 2 weeks. Needed to give that information as it may play a role in why I got them unbanned. Basically, I botted very dumb, sloppy, and cheap on all of them. Also note that I DID NOT have authenticators. I believe this plays a big role.(may be obvious)
In every case, I immediately left the accounts alone when I found out they recieved a ban. Personally, I did not contact blizzard for anywhere from 2 months to a year. After this, I would contact them directly. Through either the phone or the live chat option. Of course, be very cordial and polite. You want to seen eager to find out what happened. Explain that you don't understand what botting is, how it's done, or just come off as completely clueless to this topic all together. You need them to bring up the fact that you may have been compromised, and then make them feel as though you don't know how that's possible.
All this may seem obvious to most. However, the big points to take from this are the fact that my accounts were unprotected (no authenticators), and I did not attempt to get them back for a while. This is very important. If you contact them immediately, they will know it was you botting. Nobody gets their account compromised and has it used to bot for a month without noticing. Leaving it alone portrays that you took a leave from the game, during which time you were compromised, and your account was used for botting.
Once again, DO NOT contact them for a while. I would say at least a month. I have had 7 bans unlifted in WoW and 1 in D3 using this method. Hope this helps someone. Remember to be patient! Being to eager could lose your characters!
Feel free to ask questions!