Took the Gear Update on a trial account. Items sent to mailbox, which is inaccessible

I’ve been informed that locking up people’s items behind a paywall might not be the intent behind the Gear Update, so I’m reposting this here so the relevant teams might see it.

I haven’t played for years, logged in my account recently and saw the Gear Update option. I took it without knowing it sent all my items to the mail. Which I have no access to because I don’t have a sub.

I contacted support and the answer was as follows:

Hello there ,
This is Game Master Naesearred.

I understand that you clicked the Gear Update and would like to retrieve your items from the mailbox but you are on free trial.

After having investigate your case, Customer Support is unable to give out free game time, even though we dearly comprehend your situation.
If you would like to open your mail, you must purchase a subscription, game time or a WoW Token in order to access it.

I know this is a different answer than the one you were hoping to receive, however I hope that you have better experiences in the future despite this setback.
If any other questions arise, feel free to contact us through our support channels.

Have a wonderful day and take care.
Game Master Naesearred ʕ •ᴥ• ʔづ


Out of curiosity, is there not a way to get my items back that doesn’t involve adding game time to my account?

Hoping for a fix that’s a bit fairer to free trial players.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they don’t even fix things for paying customers…just scroll through the bug report forums and see how many things (some major, such as deleting millions of guild bank items without so much as a genuine apology) are broken, and HAVE BEEN broken for MONTHS, if not longer…

If you haven’t played in years, this is a terrible time to come back, especially if you have fond memories of this game, because it’s a S-show now…