Post Compromised Account Issues someone please help!

I understand that posting in this forum won't directly help me get a resolution, it's just that I don't know where else to go for help and I hope that by posting my experience here someone at SE (community manager, Support, etc...) would see it and help me.
Posts #6 & #7 have a more detailed description of my interactions with support.

My account was compromised in May and had a system data restore in June, which restored it to a point from over year ago even though I have played continually since then. This has caused a host of game breaking issues. For example, all my job quests are completed but I no longer have the soul crystals you receive from them, since they can't be repeated I am no longer able to become a bard/monk/etc. Same thing with the beast tribes, my level is 0, but all the quests have been completed, so I can’t raise it past the level caps because those quests aren’t repeatable. Random other content it locked too, with no way to unlock it.
I called Support Center Team (the ff14 account support guys and later technical support) and they said I needed a ‘character restore to May, 1 2015.(the last time I accessed my account) They also said that that they couldn’t help me because they don’t have access to those functions, but that the in-game GM’s do. They said to contact the GM's and request a ‘character restore’ to May 1, 2015.
So I contacted them and received a template response that said this type of issues is handled by phone support, which wasn't very useful since Phone Support is who sent me to the GM’s in the first place.
I did contacted phone support again, and repeated what the GM's told me, I was told there was nothing they could do since they had no way to escalate my issue, contact the recovery team in Japan or the even the GM's. They also couldn't suggest anyone else who could resolve my issue. Since then I have tried to get the GM's and phone support to restore just the crystals and even just reset the quests so that I can at least reacquire them. These attempts have resulted in the same bureaucratic/temple responses that boil down to, “we can't help but the other support team can.”
So a botched restore has left me with a broken game and despite contacting SE support many times over the last two months, they are still unable or unwilling to help me resolve it. This has left me with a game I am unable to play because it requires items I don’t have and no longer have a way to obtain or content that I have no way to unlock. I really hope that there is someone out there in the forums who can help me because I can’t bring myself to start over after putting in two years of work and spending +$400 (game + subscription) on this game.

Unfortunately all that data is managed server side. Nothing you can do about it from the client end. Probably about all you will get here is redirection to the support portal to open a formal ticket. Might want to go with he chat or email option first...will be easier to track the names and conversations that way (not to mention avoiding potential phone charges).

It will likely take a while and you will probably need to keep the account active, even though they may lock the account down during the investigation. I remember when I went through this with XI it was nearly 2 months and I had to pay 2 billing cycles in the process even though I couldn't play. But it saved me from having to completely re-acquire years worth of gears (had 75 BLM, was a crap load of gear).

If you do get it recovered be sure to setup the one-time password if you haven't already. Will be a BIG help in preventing this in the future.

Raist, my account has already been restored, the problem is that it was from a year ago. I have already created multiple tickets and had many conversations with tech support and the GM's all without any luck.

I got much that from the OP... the process will likely be the same regardless. They messed up and restored you to a point too far back--you need another restore done to a more appropriate time frame. As for the responses, you will always get a copy/paste reply when you first submit a ticket. After someone has looked further into the issue, they usually send a more specific response about your request. But it takes time for that process to run it's course. It would not be unusual for them to call for an investigation first to determine why it was restored to such an earlier date instead of a more recent time, and then to see if they have a more recent snapshot that can be used for recovery. But that process will take time (when it happened to me, I caught the breach the next morning--was within 12 hours between my logout and login, and I contacted them immediately, and it still took just over 6 weeks). And during that time they will likely tell you to stop logging in on that character/account until they can fix it.

At least that's how it was done in the past--they told us to not log into the account until they notified us it was restored. They would also warn us that logging into the account before we are notified could cause issues and delay the process...or possibly even lock things in a state that would prevent a proper recovery.

Again, this is going to have to go through their support team as that data is server side. The users can't fix these things in the client-side data. It has to be done at the server level.

Sometimes it helps if you have a log/transcript of your communications. Having good documentation can go a long way towards either getting something fixed or otherwise being compensated (like perhaps a refund or something?). Which is why I mentioned you might want to try going at it through chat/email if you can, as it gives you a means to save the conversations/names for future reference/presentation. It can be difficult sometimes when all you can do is state that you had talked to someone about something during some time frame in the past---when you have more solid documentation it gives you a firmer platform to work from.

It does work if done correctly. I got restored right to the minute I left the game and deleted my character. Even got my retainers back.

My original post left out too many details, below is timeline that will better explain the timing, my actions and the responses of SE support. I will also list everything I lost because it will help to explain why I am trying so hard to get a full restore.
Where my account was before the hack: Large House, +5 million Gill, All classes/jobs at lvl50, PLD & DRG with ilvl130 gear and zeta weapons. All the other jobs had ilvl gear >120 and their Zodiac weapons were >Animus, all the Disciples of the Land and Hand were fully equipped with the maximum over-melds, max gear and Lucius tools.
Once piece of info: This hack was done by someone I know. They were able to delete my toon because they had access to my cell and computer while I was out of the country (I don’t take my phone with me on international travel because of theft). (When I got back, my computer, phone, Facebook, twitter, Steam, Xbox Live, etc... were all deleted. Luckily they couldn't get access to my backups, so I wasn't complete screwed)

May 1st 2015: Last login before I went on vacation
May 1st~14th: Sometime while on vacation my account was hacked
May 16th: Discovered my toon was deleted
May 16th: I filled out compromised account form
June 1st: I received no response to first compromised account submission so I filled out the form a second time.
June 10th: Called support to find out the status on my recovery. Support informed me that they have no way to see the status of the ticket nor can they contact the restore team in Japan. They then directed me to fill out the form a 3rd time.
June 19th: Received an e-mail that my character was restored and that I am no longer eligible for another restore. I am unable to login because of the servers are down while being upgraded for the expansion.
June 20st: Login to the game to find out that my toon was restored to a point from over a year ago. Based on the gear and items in my possession, I they restored it to May 1, 2014 instead of 2015.
June 20st: Created ticket explaining that the restore was botched and that parts of the game are now locked with no way to unlock them.
June 22nd: Received email stating: "Unfortunately the SQUARE ENIX Support Center cannot assist with this issue via email. In order to further assist you, we will need you to contact us via phone or chat.."
June 22nd: Called phone support, they said they have no access to change anything in game, but that the GM's can fix it and that I should contact them to request a "character restore".
June 23nd. Contacted the GM's; explained my situation and stated that the email/phone support tech directed to contact them and request a "character restore"
June 23nd: I received a template response: "We have reviewed the details you have provided and determined that your concern can best be handled by the support Center team. In order to open a ticket....." Creating a ticked from the link they sent is how I got to this point to begin with.
June 24th: Created a new ticket explaining my situation again.
June 27th: Received an e-mail stating “Regarding your request for account support. Please find your answer below. If you discover a bug in the game, please create a thread containing the details of the bug in the 'In-Game Bugs' section in the 'Support' forums of the FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn Forums." " I did create this bug report even though this isn't a bug and they don't reply or address individual or address.
June 27th: Called Support: Explained everything that led me to this point (previous tickets, GM's...). I was told that "If your account was restored after it was compromised , then it was restored to the point at which it was last accessed appropriately". (This is definitely not true; I know my account had not been accessed by anyone except me during this time period.) The tech said that they don't have the ability to do anything in-game and that I should try contacting the GM's again and create a bug report.
June 27th: Contacted the GM's a second time. I relayed to them the name of the SE support Tech and his exact instructions for getting my account restored.
June 27th: GM’s template reply: “Users cannot restore deleted characters themselves. If you would like to request a character restoration, please fill out the below form, and we will analyze your situation to determine if support is possible.” The link is to the “Compromised Account: Support Form”
June 27th: Filled out the Compromised Account Form and submitted it. I have since filled it out 2 more times, once in the middle of July and again last week. I still haven’t received a response to any of them.
This cycle was repeated again in my attempt to get my account restore to the way it was before being compromised. I then repeated it two more times, the third time was when I tried to get SE to restore the missing soul crystals and the fourth was to reset the job quests for the soul crystals so that I could reacquire them.

The email/phone techs have repeatedly responded in each cycle with the following answers:
1. We don’t have the ability fix your account.
2. We don’t have the ability to restore items.
3. We can’t escalate your ticket to someone who can fix it.
4. We can’t transfer you to a manager or supervisor.
5. We can’t suggest anyone besides the GM’s who will be able to fix your account.
6. Since we have no way to contact the GM’s, we are unable to find out why they aren’t following our instruction to you nor can we make a request that they do so.
7. We have no contact with the restore team in Japan, we can’t direct you to someone who does have contact and we can’t give you a way to contact them directly.
8. Create a bug report on the form. (I think this is the default answer that the techs give so that they can close the ticket. So that they won’t be penalized for open or unresolved tickets)
9. I guess you’re just stuck so you should create a new character (this was by far the most infuriating response)

Repeated responses from the GM’s:
1. (I receive this whenever I asked if they could suggest someone(besides email/phone support) who could help me) We understand that you may have encountered an error in-game, and we apologize for any interruption to your game play this might have caused. To ensure that this matter is addressed in an accurate, timely manner, please submit a Bug Report by creating a post on our official forums, located at http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv.
2. We understand you may be having some difficulties and we are glad you reached out to us for assistance. We have reviewed the details you have provided and we have determined that your concern can be best handled by our Support Center team. In order to open a ticket with our Support Center, please visit http://support.na.square-enix.com, and choose FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn. You can search for possible resolutions in the Knowledge Base, or click on Contact Us to begin a help request. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, 9AM to 6PM Pacific Time, and will work to provide you with the best possible resolution.
3. Hello and thank you for contacting us regarding your item restoration request. We understand how upsetting it can be no longer have an item you had previously, and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused for you. Unfortunately, we are unable to process an item restoration for your requested item due to one of the following reasons: Item restoration falls outside our restoration policy. Items lost due to compromised account activity are only restorable to the point which character was restored to.
4. We understand that you are reaching out to the GM team for assistance, but unfortunately we are unable to address your request as it falls outside the scope of our services. It would appear that the Soul of The Paladin that you have requested is located on your character. We recommend checking all of your available storage as it may have been placed in one of these. (In the previous message, it was clearly stated that I was talking about Soul of the Ninja, Monk and Bard this is also the only response I received that wasn’t completely a template response)
5. We understand that you are reaching out to the GM team for assistance, but unfortunately we are unable to address your request as it falls outside the scope of our services. For a list of issues that GMs are able to assist with, please visit our support site at http://support.na.square-enix.com, choose FINAL FANTASY XIV and review the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). You then can click on In Game and then select Game Master Services to review commonly asked questions. You may also use the Search feature to find possible resolutions to your request.

Again... there is nothing that can be done to resolve your issue HERE. This is user-to-user support. This MUST be handled by the support team. The GM's are actually pointing you in the proper direction. IDK, maybe there is a disconnect between the phone team and the tech team in Japan (language barrier may have caused them to adopt a policy specifically to avoid miscommunication between the departments, who knows). To that end, there is still one contact option you have not used that may help move things along a bit better.

You stated you have tried phone and email...but you have not done chat yet. Might want to give that a try... has actually become one of my preferred first-contact options (not to mention, it's how I've resolved any account issues in the past--substantially more productive than email). Not only is it typically faster at getting some sort of answer/action---it's easy to save off the dialogue for future reference (just in case).

Edit:
Looking at the recovery request form, they have some language in there warning you that this sort of thing might happen. I also noticed they have drop boxes for selecting the dates for last legit access and when you noticed the abnormality. Not saying you did this, but that concerns me---could be very easy to accidentally set the wrong date there, and if someone was too flustered/rushed it might get the wrong dates submitted. Yet another reason why I would prefer to have a chat session...easy to record just what was being reported and such. IDK if you got a copy of that report when you submitted the form...if so, may want to review it/save a text copy in a convenient location so you can copy/paste details from it if needed during future communications with support.

Raist, thanks for the suggestion of trying chat support. I always wondered why I wasn't given that option and after doing a little research I have found out that only certain issues will give you the chat support option. So I am going to try it tomorrow. I did confirm during my first call to support that I had put in the correct dates. Also, that warning you found about the character restore is the one that support always states whenever they can't suggest another remedy. (BTW, I would accept losing 3 or even 6 months of gear, but losing a year while breaking the game too is ridiculous!) One other thing, I understand that I won't directly get a resolution by posting in this forum, but having exhausted all other support options I didn't know where else to go for help. It's my hope that by posting here someone at SE (community manager, Support, etc...) will see it and help me. (I think I will add this to the main post)

Raist, Here is my unsurprising response from Chat Support.

Agent Orlando: Hello and thank you for contacting SQUARE ENIX Customer Support. Just a few moments while I review your question, please.
Agent Orlando: While I look over your ticket information, may I have your first name please?
You: Mark
Agent Orlando: Please hold while I look into your issue.
You: No problem
Agent Orlando: Okay so you had a character restoration on your account but it has made the game unplayable?
You: Correct.
Agent Orlando: How come?
You: They mistakenly restored my character to May 1st 2014 instead of 2015.
You: I didn't have all soul crystals at that time.
You: So, i am now missing Soul of the Ninja.
You: However the level 30 quest to receive it, is still completed
You: and you can't repeat it.
You: Its is true for a bunch of the classes
You: Sorry, for a bunch of Jobs
Agent Orlando: Have you contacted GM's about this issue and also submitted a bug report?
You: GM's have said this is not something they deal with and direct me to create a ticket.
You: When i create a ticket, it says call phone support
You: I call phone support and they say they can't help, but the GM's can restore it
You: i created a bug report two months ago but this isn’t a bug
You: But it says when you submit them, they don't address individuals
Agent Orlando: Okay so unfortunately, that's all you can do.
Agent Orlando: It is a GM issue but if they say they can't do anything then you submit a bug report.
You: Yes, but this isn't a bug. This is a bad restore
Agent Orlando: You can bump your bug report in the forums and let them know it hasnt been resolved and specify that it is from GDR
You: I have been doing that for two months.
Agent Orlando: Unfortunately, that's all you can do.
You: Why?
You: Why can't I have the restore team fix their mistake?
You: This was their mistake after all.
Agent Orlando: It's not a mistake the restore point is chosen based off the date given
Agent Orlando: If they chose that specific date is because that's when character restoration was possible
You: Are you able to pull up the ticket that they used when they performed the restore?
Agent Orlando: No I can't
You: ok.
You: A little info, i have two accounts. Both were hacked.
You: My main, was restored to over a year ago.
Agent Orlando: Like I said the recovery team chooses the restoration point at a point before the compromise and whenever it's available.
You: My mule was stored back to before i got hacked
You: If they had the backup of one, they should have the backup of the other.
Agent Orlando: Like I said they were the ones who choose the restoration point and that's the one they chose and when you agreed to the role back you agreed that this would be a possibility.
You: I would agree with you if the point was a month or 3 months...
You: But a year, it looks like someone put in 2014 instead of 2015
Agent Orlando: So at this point your only recourse is to submit a bug.
You: BTW, thank you for listen
You: If i am coming off angry i am sorry
You: I know a bug report is the answer you have to give when you don't have one and you need to close the ticket
You: Let me ask you this.
You: Do you think this is a bug?
Agent Orlando: it doesn't matter what it is but that's your only solution.
Agent Orlando: So whatever title it has has no importance as long as it gets your issue resolved.
You: Do they address or reply to individuals when you submit a bug?
Agent Orlando: So you can either submit it or try it or not try at all.
You: I have tried several times
You: no response
Agent Orlando: And you can keep trying on the forums like I said keep bumping it.
You: Do you mean the Bug report forms?
Agent Orlando: Yes
Agent Orlando: Are there any different issues I can assist you with right now?
You: one moment
You: When you submit a bug, does it matter if you post in the form or do it through the Support Desk in-game?
Agent Orlando: I would suggest doing it there and also on the official forums.
You: Do both operate under the same rules? Does the same team handle both?
Agent Orlando: Yes but if you want to get their attention again I would post at both places.
File attachment upload has started.
The file Capture.PNG (491.77KB) was received. (The file I sent was a screen capture of the Bug report window saying, “Please note that we are unable to provide individual responses to reports”
Agent Orlando: Okay, if there's no different issue I can help you with I will have to let you go to assist other customers.
You: You can't help me. Thanks
Agent Orlando: You have your options and that's all you can do.
Agent Orlando: Thank you for visiting the SQUARE ENIX Support Center.
Agent Orlando has disconnected.

Looks like there may be some hope at least. Remember what Orlando told you to do:

Quote:

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Agent Orlando: You can bump your bug report in the forums and let them know it hasnt been resolved and specify that it is from GDR

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Something specific like that is often some gimmick that may help escalate the ticket. Worth a try, especially since support is instructing you specifically to do so.

Raist, I want to thank you for all your advice, I really appreciate it! During all of my interactions with SE, including my original bug post two months ago, I have made sure to specify at every step that I was acting on instructions from a GDR. Below are the reasons (based on my I.T. experience) why submitting a bug reports won’t resolve my problem and why Support has continually suggested it.
1. Once a bug report is accepted it is also locked, so you can’t edit, comment or (as far as I know) bump it.
2. Bug reports come with this disclaimer "Please note that we are unable to provide individual responses to reports."
3. The reason for this disclaimer is because usually they are only looking for pervasive and/or program breaking issues. A user is only contacted to get more info after which the forum team then documents how to recreate it and passes the report along a different team that (possibly) created a fix. (The user experiencing the problem is rarely included in the documentation)
4. Finally this isn’t a bug, it’s the consequence of the restore team’s error. My guess is that these issues are the result of a database coherence problem brought about when they restored stale data (over a year old) to the item database while the database that keeps track of my quest progression was kept current.
5. If you were to view this as bug, the fix would be to write/test/validate a script that would look for database coherence issues and fix them. The dev’s won’t spend time writing something like this when a much simpler fix is to do a (correct) restore.
6. Finally the tech support guys are evaluated mainly on the number of tickets they can successfully close and how quickly they can do it. So they try to immediately find out the problem, offer a fix (so they have documentation of the resolution) and quickly get you off the phone so that they can close the ticket. They want as many resolved tickets possible, followed by closed tickets and try to avoid at all costs unresolved/open tickets. When they realize they aren’t able to fix my issue, they offer suggestions that look like resolutions and quickly get me off the phone, to common examples are contacting a GM or directing me to create a post in bug forum . This is why it’s sometimes better for the support guys to give out the wrong answer rather than risk hurting their numbers by trying to track down someone who might actually be able help.
Regardless, your suggestion to contact chat support was a very good one. I was able to save the chat conversation which I posted along with my problem and support frustrations to the General Discussion Forum. It quickly racked up a lot of supportive comments and was locked by a mod who stated: “Thanks you for bringing this concern to our attention. I have made sure to escalate this for further investigation to see if we are able to correct the compromised account restoration. Since further discussion about this topic is not needed, I will be locking the thread.

LGM Enkrateia”

While I am cautiously optimistic, this is still the best response I have received since this issues began three months ago! Thanks again!

sweet. hope it works out for you.

I remember back when I worked with an IBM/Microsoft firm (I know.. strange bedfellows--Linux, Java, and Winblows under the same roof....I lost a LOT of sleep) how frustrating it would be when things would go awry in a database. More often then not, me and the project manager would just manually edit the darn things through a SQL interface or get one of the AS400 guys to pull up file/field and we'd tell them what to change directly.

SE would probably birth a cow if they saw someone using such brute force on their databases. But hey... sometimes it's just faster to type that credit card info directly into the @#$@#$ fields than trying to script the d@mn thing. I understand why they wouldn't want the GM's to just go in there and set flags like that....but it sure would be nice if they would give them the power to do so.

Hang in there... and good luck!