UK Credit Card Problems

Hi

Is anyone successfully using a UK Credit card to operate an account in Second Life.

Both my Visa and Mastercard have received the 'Not Authorised' message but both issuers have stated that they haven't received requests for payment or would block them.

It's as though the SL system is not even trying to set up payments. SL say that there is nothing wrong at their end, so I'm caught in the middle.

thanks

Try entering your details again, that sometimes fixes it.

It's easy to be a digit out and not realise it. Pay particular attention to the expiry date. Sometimes, when entering the expiry date on a website that uses drop-down menus it jumps to the next one up. For example, you may try to click on 09, but accidentally knock the mouse-wheel when you click and scroll up to 08 without noticing.

I have accounts set up on both visa and mastercard with no probs although never actually had to make a payment with either card.

Two reasons, from my own experience, why European Credit Cards get refused by US companies are both linked to the software used for validation:

1. Your actual address and the billing address do not match.

This is quite common in the UK, for example, where people often opt for their CC bills to go directly to their bank for immediate payment, rather than to their home.

2. The country where the card was issued does not match the country of residence.

Again, quite common now in Europe. I am British, and my card was issued there, but I am currently working in Germany. Around 50% of all US-based internet shopping sites decline my card for this reason.

US software writers still do not know how things are in Europe.

Rock

I mostly readed "its not US-standard". So, dear us citizens, "US" isnt the standard for the world, its only for your country! Fuck off this bigheaded dullards who created this!
As they would investigate this causes more careful some people woulndt be so often frustrated, but it seems beind the big pond some doesnt know that more then their pond does exist. That is a fact europeans sadly have to live with

Congrats. Your first post on the forums and it is completely out of left field

I had problems to start with - my credit card company was blocking payment - took several phone calls to them before they accepted it was me and not a hacked account

In addition to what Rock said: there are more reasons why European credit cards can be refused. The US started some verification methods using 9/11 as an excuse that are illegal in European countries.
This verification requires information which is against our privacy policy to give.
If our banks comply they are doing things against the law, if they don't, it's not very wise economically seen.


It will not always cause problems, but it may sometimes.

My credit card was also not accepted by SL in 2006. Even though I use the same card for internet buys from US sometimes without problems.

Later SL did add some other verification methods for European countries, so more people here won't have a problem, but many still do. My own credit card is still not accepted.

I solved the problem by using my Paypal account (which needs to be verified as well).

There is no clash between my credit card and Paypal account, and there is no clash between Paypal and SL. So, indirectly I did get my credit card connected to SL.

I'm on a free account, but buy L$, first time used my UK CC and since used my PayPal account. Both were OK.

I'm scandinavian live in Stockholm and use a 'swedish' VISA.
I never had any problems.

For large amounts it seems SL sends a "test" amount, smaller than the total. This caused problems with our card provider as that was a flag to them of fraud. They blocked the payment and then called us to see if we knew our card was being used. Having said that, small amount like the minimum $25 go through without problem.

Eh? That sounds like an eccentric arrangement. I've never come across it in my life. Here in the UK, if you have a credit card, it is registered to your home address.

You can choose to pay off the balance a variety of ways (like Direct Debit for example), but that has no bearing whatsoever on the registered cardholder or their details.

All credit cards issued in the UK have two addresses associated with them (check the application forms for VISA or Mastercard, for example). The address of the cardholder, and the billing address. These can be same, or different.

If you elect for your Credit Card bills to be paid automatically by your bank you must give your bank's address or sort code details when electing for this method of payment, and this becomes the billing address.

The banks have different names for this service, such as AUTOPAY, FLEXIPAY, etc.

I am currently with HSBC, and when I applied for my CC I elected to have all my CC bills paid by Autopay (so no interest). I had the same arrangement with my previous bank, Barclays, and have been paying this way for around 20 years now.

I still get a COPY of my statement, but with large letters across it saying, DO NOT PAY, YOU HAVE AUTOPAY.

It is far more common than you think.

The problem that people have using this method of paying their bills is with AVS (read about the problems here on the Wiki. At present, only the USA, Canada and Britain use this)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address_Verification_System


The second problem I had was when I tried to buy a dedicated server service to host my Opensim. The company I chose was OVH, in the UK. Unfortunately, their online ordering service declined my CC payment. When I phoned them I was told that they could not accept credit cards where the country where the card was issued was different to the country of residence of the cardholder (my card was issued by HSBC in the UK, while I was living there, but my present address is Norway, where I am currently working).

They told me I either had to get a UK address, or apply for a new Credit Card in Norway. In the end I went for a slightly more expensive server service from a supplier in Holland, who did not have such a restriction.


Speaking in the opensim forum, it appears that many others there had similar problems.

THAP