Apparently - Mythic/EA and their billing vendor have billed hundreds of people many times over for subscription to the Warhammer Online MMO.
This forum thread shows just how insane the whole thing is.

Some player report upwards to 20 times the subscription, others report having multiple erroneous withdrawals happening over two days, some incurring heavy overdraw fees and some even report it happening to inactive or trial accounts.
We're talking of many thousand dollars here, erroneously taken from peoples accounts.
To make matters somewhat worse, the information from Mythic seems rather .... insincere: "We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this issue may be causing our players."
Inconvenience is the understatement of the year. (And saying "sincerely" does not automatically make you sincere)

Now anybody working within this field knows that errors can and will happen - also with billing procedures. However this looks to be on such massive scale and occurring up to and exceeding 20 times for some people that it looks like untested code somehow have made it into production.  I know I'm always paranoid when it comes to coding billing services, so this event just strikes me as completely odd.

It is a reminder to how much care one should take with credit card information. I also play MMOs and have had reoccurring subscription running (without problems), however next time I touch a (EA) MMO, I'll most likely consider time cards, unless I have the option to remove my credit card information after each subscription period to avoid accidental withdrawals. I also personally never use "save card information" on various sites even if purchasing there often.

This incident really is an eye opening experience. Now the question is - what repercussions this incident will have for EA/Mythic and their billing vendor.

Stardock have published a “Bill of Rights” for gamers which is an interesting read and an interesting initative . Could bring some integrity back into the industry as seen from the view of a consumer like me. (Yes, I like to play computer games; it is a good relaxing tool for me)

The list looks like this:
The Gamer’s Bill of Rights:
 1.  Gamers shall have the right to return games that don’t work with their computers for a full refund.
 2.  Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
 3.  Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game’s release.
 4.  Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
 5.  Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
 6.  Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won’t install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
 7.  Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
 8.  Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
 9.  Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
10.  Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play.

I do, however, have some response to their list (of course hehe)

1) This should already be covered by consumer laws. Sure some stores try to weasel out of it with "products have been open" and all that - but it is consumer law.

2) In theory I would agree, if it weren't for 2 things.
Gamers themself.
Software is never "done".

Gamers are inherently impatient and want their game now and not later. Just watch game forums when an anticipated game gets delayed. People are ranting up and down demanding release dates.
Secondly - they buy all these unfinished products, so why should developers change their way willingly when the consumers seems to be indeffierent.
Yes, I know we are many who complains about the bugs, but we are also many who still buy the products (although I do avoid some because of bugs myself, I'm speaking generally).

Software is "never" done. Sure it can be more or less finished, but due to the complexity of the software and the machines they run on. Bugs are impossible to weed out. Some players will get hit by more bugs then others which is quite visible. Sure more testing can be done, more quality control etc - but ultimately it comes down to an economical call "can we sell this and will people buy".
And the sorry state is that people buy them :)

3) Depends on the game and the "meaningful" content. If a game was completed fully (as per item 2) then demanding additional content for free is perhaps a bit ..... naive and greedy.

4) Completely agree. I should be the one to decide what runs and when on my computer.

5) Very much agree. And the same goes for recommended. It is an annoying thing when companies understate the specs requiered simply to sell more copies. There isn't much worse then playing a game with frames per minute simply because the specs were understated.

6) Agreed. See point 4.

7) Agreed. Would be nice. Would also mean the need for less discs in this day and age of broadband.

8) Agreed to an extend. The problem is much more complex then this, but I do agree that customers - legal, legit customers - shouldn't be penalized because a large segment of people can't figure out how to behave. This does not mean I do not understand and sympathize with anti-piracy protection. Is should just not be so invasive it causes problems for legit customers.

9) Well - connection to the web could be a means of copy protection, in which case I find the procedure less invasive then many others. A matter of taste, which I see no issue with personally, but then again - I'm on broadband and am always connected anyway :o

10) Oh yes yes yes. The most important point on the entire list in my book. I so hate having to have the discs in the drive.

But all in all, I think it is a good initiative and more power to them for it. Lets hope the industry could start living up to some of it again.