So, if someone neglects a character for a year that is in the 6-49 level range, I'm not worried about their name becoming available for a new character. Heck, based on the scenario that nzer describes, since this theoretical person won't see any of the warnings, they probably will never no that the character now has a different name.
Yes, this policy will discriminate against people who are not playing those characters. Instead of the names being stuck in some dusty warehouse, they'll hopefully be used by someone.