There's plenty of evidence on the Z8 thread similar to this one that what you said is true. That and RNG-sus has no interest in playing mercy with the new Santa packages. They're an insult to the players because it's RNG, and RNG that includes the "meh" 2014 gears...
I'll not go on a tirade, not the time, nor the place.
The game is okay if you're just messing around.