Shattered Kingdoms

I've never quite bothered with that mechanic because it never quite mattered to me, but since I got slapped with it on the last reboot, I got to realize that it's really a harsh measure.
Don't get me wrong. I understand the pain of having players hoard stuff and never log in. (some could say that for me since my hours are generally different from the main hours of most of the playerbase)
But 7 days before you are able to get anything? Isn't that a bit harsh? I know that you want to give the rest time to take whatever they've been hoarding (or lost due to circumstances that I will not explain here) but if a character really plans on returning after some absence you practically forbid them from playing the game for seven more days.

Solution? Perhaps make it so that they can no longer hold unique or rare items (similar to the thieves' code) for seven days. That way one can at least put some clothes on rather than have to practically either go "hide in HQ all day" or not log in at all.