Sims 3 Codes linked to old account, need to move them onto this account?

[TheElvenJedi]

So, got the nostalgia itch to dig out my old Sims 3 disks and play them again - but I have a big problem!! The redemption codes to download them to the new EA app are tied to an old as heck email address that has since been deleted by my old email provider (ie. it's GONE and I don't know the password for the "old" acct so I can't get back into it to "unverify" the codes) so I no longer have access to it.

In spite of having every single disk I've ever owned (alongside every single manual which I took great care of to this day) I now cannot "register" them to my ACTUAL account that I have access to (which has my sims 4 and had my Sims 3 base game + pets  that I was able to register for some reason even tho I definitely used that disk on the old computer/account as a child too because I very much remember getting a unicorn and using it to set my neighbours house on fire when she was mean to my sim lol) because the codes are invalid because they were already "used" by my old account. I really don't think its fair that I have to pay for "new" codes when this is the same disk that I've had since I was 13-17  (I'm 27 now so that was a good 14 years ago now!), I haven't lost or damaged them, I just can't use them now because the codes are locked behind an account that for some reason didn't transfer ALL my sims 3 verifications over to the "new" system when the switch to Origin happened, even though it did do the base game and apparently Pets?? I'm fine with re-purchasing some of the Store stuff like Dragon Valley and even buying more simpoints to a degree but full on preventing me from using the disks I've had since I was a child and never given away or anything is a bit rude I think? D:

I've been sat here for over an hour and discovered there potentially is a way to merge the accounts together as long as your account doesn't have any bans or such (I'm good on this front), but I apparently have to contact EA customer support to do it. Except....they will not LET me email them to explain all of this to them because when I go onto the "email customer support" option it literally won't let me select a platform (the drop-down menu just shows "Select Platform..." and nothing else. it's so buried deep that I can't even find how I got onto that page now as I type this, to try and take a screenshot to illustrate because I don't know how to get back to said page >_<' ) that my issue is on and therefore I cannot click the "Next" button. It's 2am right now and it's been hours + I really want to sleep so I do not want to sit in a live chat room for like another hour right now - but potentially can and will do this tomorrow.

I was really hoping to be able to just pop off an email and go to bed and deal with responding to it to get things sorted when I woke up in the morning but the only option with a button that I could click re-directed me here and idk what to do from here so any help is honestly very appreciated ;-; probably going to go pass out now but will check for replies and such when I wake up. Ty <3 

[EA_Solaire · Accepted solution]

Hey there @TheElvenJedi,

Hate to hear you're having issues accessing your packs from your old account! Codes can only be redeemed to one account, so if you've redeemed your codes previously on an older account, you won't be able to redeem them again to a different account. This means you'll need to regain access to that older account that you had originally redeemed your codes on to access and play your content again. 

If this email is no longer available and you're not able to login to that old account, the live support team can help you regain access to that account and get the email updated to something you do have access to. Live support will work with you to verify that you're the owner of this account, and once they've done that they'll help you get the information on this older account updated 

You'll want to reach out to live support for further assistance on this from the help site here- account recovery is not something we can help with over the forums since we don't have access to any of your specific accounts details here. On the help site, you'll want to select EA app as the product, then PC-> Manage My Account-> Manage Account Details and this should take you to an email or live chat option. 

If the help site isn't loading for you, please follow these steps: 

• Press F5 to refresh the page
• Clear the cache for your browser
• Try a private browsing window
• Try another browser, like Firefox or Opera 

[5gtju2cswszl]

@TheElvenJediI truly hoped that I would be able to send an email, go to bed, and deal with responding to it to resolve the situation. free games

[EA_Solaire · Accepted solution]

Hey there @TheElvenJedi,

Hate to hear you're having issues accessing your packs from your old account! Codes can only be redeemed to one account, so if you've redeemed your codes previously on an older account, you won't be able to redeem them again to a different account. This means you'll need to regain access to that older account that you had originally redeemed your codes on to access and play your content again. 

If this email is no longer available and you're not able to login to that old account, the live support team can help you regain access to that account and get the email updated to something you do have access to. Live support will work with you to verify that you're the owner of this account, and once they've done that they'll help you get the information on this older account updated 

You'll want to reach out to live support for further assistance on this from the help site here- account recovery is not something we can help with over the forums since we don't have access to any of your specific accounts details here. On the help site, you'll want to select EA app as the product, then PC-> Manage My Account-> Manage Account Details and this should take you to an email or live chat option. 

If the help site isn't loading for you, please follow these steps: 

• Press F5 to refresh the page
• Clear the cache for your browser
• Try a private browsing window
• Try another browser, like Firefox or Opera 

[TheElvenJedi]

Hi Solaire, unfortunately I don't think I will be able to access the old account myself as I just can't figure out what 13-yo me's password was (too far back lol) and with the email it was attached to no longer existing my only option with that email provider is to make a new account which I don't think will solve the issue itself pfft. Thank you though, I couldn't figure out how to send an email for help and kept getting redirected here whenever I went through the helpsite myself so this was very helpful. I will shoot them an email and hopefully get this sorted!

[TheElvenJedi]

I would like it to be known that it is a month later And EA STILL has not resolved this issue

Funny how this has been tagged as "Solved" yet you have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to help me whatsoever.

You get reassigned to a new worker every time you respond to an email. This worker doesn't bother to read a SINGLE thing you say in the email even when you bullet point it into an ordered list to make it easy for them. These people do not even know how IP addresses work.

They ask me to provide an IP address even though I haven't lived at the house that the account in question would be attached to in 13 years. My PARENTS don't even live there anymore, so i dont even have access to the damn IP address even if I wanted to give it to them. I have explained this to no less than 10 people now and every single one of them has continued to ask for my IP address even though it won't match, because they don't even know that IP addresses CHANGE WHEN YOU MOVE!!!

Their best issue is "make a new account, you can't get your games back and have to pay for them again even though you have EVERY single disc ever in absolutely perfect condition. You can't USE them because we never transferred them over to your Origin account even tho you were told that they would be and we refuse to do that for you now because we refuse to actually read a single thing you have said in a month's worth of emails. Give us more money heeheehoo!"

For anyone else experiencing this issue, don't bother, support is not at ALL supportive, it's a joke.

[EA_Solaire]

Hi @TheElvenJedi,

The account recovery team will need to ask you multiple different questions in order to verify that you own this older account- if you cannot answer one question, you need to answer all other questions as best you can to verify that you own that account. If you are not able to answer any of the questions to verify your ownership, the account recovery team will not be able to help- they cannot provide access to an account if you cannot prove that you are the account owner, this is for account security. You'll need to reach out to live support again and answer the other questions to verify ownership of this account. 

[TheElvenJedi]

The "account recovery team" has not asked me ANY other questions, I just keep getting parroted back with the SAME request for IP addresses - at this point I am 100% sure that I'm not even SPEAKING to a person and am just getting parroted around in circles by an automated reply bot

I would very happily answer other questions beside the IP address one if they'd bother to ask them. THEY HAVEN'T. It has been a month, I am desperate, at my wits end and close to tears at this point. I have made no less than FOUR requests for a phone number, an email address, ANYTHING, for an actual human being that works on the account recovery team and am constantly met with "you need to access the account yourself" "give us the IP address" etc etc. I  just want to speak to an actual human person that will take steps to resolve the issue instead of parroting me around in circles non-stop ;-;

[TheElvenJedi]

I have gone back through emails and was asked exactly once for other info, however as the IP address appeared first on  the list, at the time I was confused and therefore I asked the "account recovery team" to advise me on how else to prove I owned the account if I could not provide the IP. Not once since then has it been communicated to me that it was not needed if I could provide all of the other info and not once was I asked again for any of these - which I could have happily provided had I been asked for them. Instead, the "account recovery team" who I am becoming more and more suspicious is just automated entirely and switching out new names because the "advisor" says the same damn thing about providing an IP address every single time even though I have made it very clear that I have moved and do not HAVE the IP address, have persisted in not reading anything I have to say and continuing to ask me over and over and over again for my IP address which I guarantee you will not match because I haven't been anywhere NEAR that house since we moved out of it in 2013 lol

Would you suggest that I close this ticket entirely and open an entirely new one at this point because honestly at this stage anything that's not focused on the stupid IP address thing would be helpful, I've come to dread checking for "EA help" emails because its just the same nonsense on a different day with a different "name" and it's become so so stressful for a simmer who just wanted to play the darn game for the sake of nostalgia.

[CM Edit: Personal info removed]

[EA_Solaire]

@TheElvenJedi 

I'd recommend replying to the most recent case update you've received and answering any of the other provided questions to the best you can so the team can move forward with verifying your account ownership. 

[TheElvenJedi]

At this point it's not even worth it to me anymore. This has been a month of nothing but frustration and no game is worth this level of headache, no matter the nostalgia attached. >__< I'll just stick to sims 4 I guess lol

Thank you very much for all your help at least, I appreciate you taking the time to actually read and answer the questions which is more than I can say for the account "recovery" team. Yeesh. Sucks being a simmer that has been here since Sims 2 and now not having access to the games I still have on disc because of some silly mess up on EA's side but it's genuinely not worth this level of ridiculousness and I'm tired of being stressed about it