My name got stolen and I want it back

my account is old and was inactive for a few years. one of my character names that i had from day one launch of the game got taken from me by someone else. there appears to be nothing in place for me to get it back and i do in fact want it back. it was a gnome warlock named squishy. its a character i never finished but really enjoyed, and now that im back i wanted to play it again as something different from the tanks and healers that i usually play.

my account is old and has been inactive yes, but surely in a game as old as this people come and go and come back again. there should be some advantage to having an old account with names that you reserved. i was told by a gm that he has never heard of this ever happening before, someone coming back to the game and wanting their stolen name back and that there is no system in place for it to be returned. he suggested that i start a thread in the forums in hopes that it comes to someones attention that can do something about it.

i looked up the character who has my name and its a level 30 blood elf warlock on the dalvengyr server. it seems to be active but the fact is, he had to have petitioned to take my name and someone at blizzard had to have done it for him. all i want is my characters name back and i would appreciate a response.