<p>You might do better to ask this question on meta.SE (or perhaps have it migrated); the bounty policy is system-wide.  There is nothing we (including CV's moderators) can do about it here.  On meta.SE you might get some attention from the developers, who could address this, if they so desired.  </p>

<p>For what it's worth, I sympathize with your situation.  This does seem like a reasonable request.  However, it's also true that the bounty policy is clear, and it's clear that you lose the bounty <em>even if no one answers</em>, see <a href="https://stats.stackexchange.com/help/bounty">here</a>:  </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A bounty does not guarantee a response, however, and reputation refunds are not available if no answers are received as a result of the bounty.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Which is about as clear and on-topic as I can imagine.  Sorry.  </p>
