D&D Insider: Renewal

I'm one of the folks who didn't move to Fifth Edition when it dropped.  My 4e books work just fine, and I'm already in a 4e campaign, which I'm very much enjoying.

One of the centerpieces of the 4e campaign was the D&D Insider tools that Wizards of the Coast put together. They include a character builder, and a reference to all of the Feats and Skills and Powers that you could pick up as the game went on.

They've stopped updating the tools, and not too long ago announced that they would not be accepting any new subscriptions.  But they'd continue to keep the site up for paying subscribers.

Like me.

Last year, my credit card was compromised, and I had to replace it.  This is relevant.

It means that my card wasn't available to renew my Insider membership. I went to the site to update my payment method and ... error.  It wouldn't let me update my credit card number.

This was frustrating - and more than a bit concerning, as that's where I keep my characters.

I contacted Wizards' customer service team on Twitter, and they told me to e-mail them. And I got back a "Oops, sorry. We know it's an issue, and we don't know when it'll be fixed" message:

Hello Eric,
Thank you for contacting Wizards of the Coast Game Support. In regards to recent D&D Insider changes, Wizards of the Coast recently made an announcement mentioning that the tools are not available to new subscribers at this time here:https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/news/dd-insider-update.

While the DDI service is not ending, and subscription renewals with valid billing information will still occur, there is a separate issue where subscribers are currently unable to update their billing information. This does mean if the original credit card information is no longer valid at the time of renewal, there may be an interruption of service. Unfortunately, we have not yet made any public announcements about when billing information updates or new subscriptions may be available, and we do not have a timeline for when such announcements might be made.
As a note, you should know that any characters or monsters you had created on your account will be held for one year on our servers. If subscriptions become available during that time, you will be able to access that information again.
I apologize if this causes any inconvenience for you and your fellow players. However, I have forwarded your comments up to the appropriate teams for review. They are definitely looking into the matter and are taking customer feedback seriously. While I cannot guarantee any direct contact from those teams concerning your concerns, I can assure you that we place great value on the feedback of our customers. We in Game Support meet with teams around the company on a regular basis to keep them up to date with that feedback, and we make it a priority that your voice is heard.
Take care, and may all your rolls critical!
We would appreciate your feedback on the service we are providing you. Please click here to fill out a short questionnaire. To login to your account or update your question, please click here.

Noah M.
Online Response Crew
Wizards of the Coast
1-800-324-6496 (US and Canada)
425-204-8069 (From all other countries)
Monday-Friday 9am-5pm PST / 12pm-8pm ESTSaturday-Sunday 9am-5pm PST / 12pm-8pm EST

So I figured that was the end of it and the ability to update my characters would be lost forever when my Insider expired on the second of March.

So I printed copies of the characters as PDFs and save them away so I wouldn't have to start from scratch.

A few days later, I got an e-mail from WotC that was completely unexpected.  They have a workaround.  I passed the info onto my DM (whose Insider had long since lapsed), and the workaround worked for him, too.

So if you ever were a D&D Insider, this should work for you. Of course, if it's been more than a year since your membership lapsed, they probably haven't saved your characters.

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Wizards of the Coast Game Support!

We're more than happy to help with this! At this time there is a known issue preventing the renewal of D&D Insider accounts, and we are working to resolve that. In the meantime, we have a workaround. However please bear in mind this workaround will only function in the event that you would like to renew your subscription for a renewal period you have already previously purchased. If you are interested, please follow the steps listed below to renew your account:

1) Navigate to https://store.digitalriver.com/store/dndi/DisplayHelpPage.
2) Click the "My Order History" link (any link will work, however this is the most direct one to reach the information we're seeking).
3) A login page will appear. Enter your account's Login ID and password to proceed.
If you do not know your Login ID and/or your password, please reply with the following information and we can assist:
Email Address:Date of Birth:Login ID: (please bear in mind DCI numbers and email addresses are not able to be used as Login IDs during account creation)4) Once you have logged in you will be redirected back to the main page. Click the "My Order History" link again to access your account's order details.
5) Select a "Completed" order that fits your preferred renewal timeframe. Please bear in mind that you will be limited to selecting a renewal timeframe that matches the timeframe of a previously completed order, and we do not have the ability to adjust this at this time.
6) Once you have arrived at that order's page, select "Manage Subscription" from the right-hand side of the page.
7) On this account subscription page you will find a "Renew Now" link. Click that, then click the "Check Out" link.
8) Simply enter/update your information as necessary and process the order as normal!
If you experience any difficulty following these steps or have any questions or concerns about this process please do not hesitate to reply to this email and we will do everything in our power to assist you.
Please let us know if you ever have any further questions or concerns. We’ll be happy to help as best we can. Thank you very much for your patience in this matter.Happy gaming and have a wonderful day!We would appreciate your feedback on the service we are providing you. Please click here to fill out a short questionnaire. To login to your account or update your question, please click here. Joshua M.Online Response CrewWizards of the Coast1-800-324-6496 (US and Canada)425-204-8069 (From all other countries)Monday-Friday 9am-5pm PST / 12pm-8pm ESTSaturday-Sunday 9am-5pm PST / 12pm-8pm EST

The small font and the like that are in there are in the original. I did remove the survey links from both messages.  Either way, save this information somewhere if you're one of the folks who is still playing 4e. It could save your character.