I just read in another post, that you would recieve a code and that's how you can claim your toon. Well I didn't get a code, just a link that allowed me to activate my account. I can't claim my toon......
Link and code have a same purpose to activate your account. If you have clicked on link in the email your account is activated, and can claim your characters by login to "My account" on the wow-heroes main page.