I realize that this is an old post I'm bumping but I am having this issue exactly. I was looking for a solution, found this thread and was surprised to see there was no response.
Anyways, unlike the OP, I don't feel it is far fetched that I should be granted control of the website I paid for. In fact, I imagine it's entirely possibly and I'm only curious about how to go about doing it.
man w/credit card trumps all things
Things like this you probably want to call Chops directly on. He has at least one time in the past that I recall restored this for someone and just as you said...based on the owner of the credit card that purchased the site if I recall.