annoying thing about EA billing "courtesy"

[ingsmsico]

if you use a credit or check card to pay for UO accounts, EA billing will do an annoying "pre-authorize" at least 4 days (possibly more) in advance of your actual billing date.

this, I assume, is a courtesy so they can find out if there will be a billing problem in advance so they can e-mail you and let you know.

the problem is, (and this may not be a problem for some people) it hits your bank account for the monthly fee like a week prior to the actual billing date.

the only way to avoid this is to opt-out by using a "loophole", canceling your account and reactivating it when it goes down.

I think this should be an opt-in for those who actually want this service. I don't know about the rest of you but I don't need EA checking on my bank account every day for a whole week prior to the billing date.

another oddity is that to activate an account, you actually need an extra $1 available because for some reason they hit your account with a $1 pre-auth, and if that happens to bring your balance below the monthly fee, you won't be able to activate your account. again, this is just silliness.

 

[mjolnir131]

This is because the system,the whole system not just EA was set up for credit cards not debit cards, debit came many, many years latter.This is how an active card is checked realize this learn the system and work with it not against it.

 

[ingsmsico]

This is because the system,the whole system not just EA was set up for credit cards not debit cards, debit came many, many years latter.This is how an active card is checked realize this learn the system and work with it not against it.

"work with it not against it" can you clarify?

if I have 2 dollars in my bank and I go buy 2 dollars of gas, I am able to do so. I don't have to have 3 dollars in my bank account to buy 2 dollars of gas. so I'm not sure what your point is.

I am a customer, I feel the billing system is working against me, so I'm voicing my concern.

 

[mjolnir131]

i'm pretty sure if you did pay at the pump in most cases you would be only able to pump one dollar the prepay 1 would lock the other now pump 2 and pay yes you can do that no problem

working with the system is you know it is going to hold that dollar so realize it's not there and live with it

 

[Black Sun]

if I have 2 dollars in my bank and I go buy 2 dollars of gas, I am able to do so. I don't have to have 3 dollars in my bank account to buy 2 dollars of gas. so I'm not sure what your point is.

Sounds like you routinly spend every last cent in your account? What if you made a math error and thought you had a nickel more than you really did. Is that worth an over limit/bad check fee? Not for me. I always have at bare minimum 5 bucks in there just in case. Its just smart.

 

[kitiara-atlantic]

Many credit/debit card transactions perform a pre-auth. Maybe it's regional, but where I live, pay-at-the-pump gas stations all do the pre-auth (so, if I only had $2 in my account, I could only get $1 of gas - unless I went inside and pre-paid the cashier for specifically $2 in gas, then pumped it).

And boy, I wish a $5 buffer was enough to cover my goofs in my checking account!

 

[Beer_Cayse]

use a debit card in the gas pump and you will be dinged a buck. that dollar diff will remain until the full purchase amount comes thru about 2 days later. why does it do this? because in the main, gas pumps will CREDIT your bank card rather than DEBIT it.

in your scenario, the dollar ding would give you a day to get an added 'n' dollars to cover the charge. whereas with a DEBIT card you'd best have it all available NOW.

 

[Kayhynn]

Sounds like you routinly spend every last cent in your account? What if you made a math error and thought you had a nickel more than you really did. Is that worth an over limit/bad check fee? Not for me. I always have at bare minimum 5 bucks in there just in case. Its just smart.

I always have a certain amount in my bank just before the next paycheck. However, UO bills 5-7 days 13.90 for a pre-authorization amount that puts a "reserve" on that funds in your bank account until a day or so before it actually bills.

A great example of how this screws folks over. I had $30 in my bank account, enough to cover a prescription and have money left over for any small emergency item. I get paid always on the 5th and 20th of the month, I had UO set to bill on the 22nd, or buy gamecodes then (i've since changed the date). This time I had it set to auto bill.

As I had forgotten about their billing systems quarky way of doing things and knowing I got paid on the 20th and didn't have to worry about any other bills coming out as everything had cleared, I went to go pick up my prescription I needed on the 17th. Card declined: insufficient funds. I was sitting there going WTH? I knew I hadn't spent anything since I had last checked my balance. Went home, checked online bank, saw the UO pre-auth there. Basically 14 dollars "gone" because I can't touch it. So I had to cancel the UO billing, wait for it to reapply and pick up my meds two days later.

I use my debit card for WoW and for other games. I have -never- had this stupid problem with Pre-authorizations that UO has. There was one time that UO actually overdrafted my account because they had the preauthorization billing and the actual billing for three days on it. So think 3 accounts times 2 for billing. After that I adjusted the billing cycle to make sure UO would clear way before other bills because of the double billing as I called it. Eventually I called and raised enough stink about it that it's been adjusted to this method...but it's still ridiculous. There is no need for multiple "billings" or "preauthorizations" on funds, especially not a week out. A day or two before, yes. 7 days? No.

If any of you work on a budget, you know how your paychecks are divied out. And you have them set that way for a reason.

And for whoever is making the comparison to gas pumps, seriously? It doesn't preauthorize $1. It Preauthorizes $50.

I honestly don't see the purpose of charging 5-7 days prior to the actual bill date. I don't pre-pay a restauarant for my meal and services. I don't pre-pay a doctor. I don't get paid in advance for "work to be done". If I set a billing date for a specific date, I expect it to come out THAT date, not earlier, not later.

Other games can do billing right, I don't see why EA can't do the same.

 

[Kaleb]

This is a system that has been in place for years, when it first started it caught me off guard so now I just take my billing date minus 7 days and that is my true billing date. I have many checking accounts and x-fer moneys to which ever needs it the most, Like my account I use just for UO I put $40 every month for my 2 accounts nothing else uses this card, With the extra I put in I can build up a credit where I dont have to deposit the full amount should something happen with my income in the future.

 

[Connor_Graham]

I agree with the others. EA needs to get with the times and not the other way around. Not one single company I've ever done business with in the past few decades has EVER pre-authorized funds from my account a week prior. That's just asinine.

 

[HeadOn]

I use my debit card for WoW and for other games. I have -never- had this stupid problem with Pre-authorizations that UO has.

Other games can do billing right, I don't see why EA can't do the same.

Hate to tell you this but WoW has the exact same thing.

Few examples:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=8202655663&postId=195021278126&sid=1#12

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=15443525093&postId=154419756165&sid=1#0

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=19110157204&postId=191083876672&sid=1#2

 

[Kayhynn]

I'm talking about the Pre-Auth $13.90 monthly billing, not the $1 they charge to see if the card is active then refund within 2 days when you change or reactivate.. WoW does not preauthorize 14.99 7 days in advance for billing.

 

[GarthGrey]

EA does that (my opinion) because they know that lots of players cancel accounts on a regular basis. Ever notice how it says "Cancel now and foreit any remaining time" (uhh why would anyone want to do that) or cancel at the end of my billing cycle. You know your account comes up for billing on 10/10/09, you cancel your account on 10/5/09 and expect to play out 5 more days. EA prebills 5 days early. The real charge hits your bank "AFTER" your account cancelled. I"ve personally witnessed this on my own accounts. It's free money to EA whether they want to admit it or not.

 

[ingsmsico]

This is a system that has been in place for years

so what? It is still BS.

from now on I will immediately cancel my account and remove billing information after paying for a month.

I was barely playing anyway, so I might just leave the account off. honestly playing UO is a waste of time and money as it is, now EA has crossed the line and really screwed me over this week.

in my view, this is just another reason on top of the pile that people quit UO and the game is dying. just read the thread about the guy who almost lost his castle due to a bug in the game. he got ZERO support from EA.

POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS KILLING UO.

 

[Kayhynn]

Hope you don't want any veteran rewards in the future. Apparently when you cancel your billing, your account is no longer considered "active" and the days wont count towards your vet rewards.

 

[ingsmsico]

Hope you don't want any veteran rewards in the future. Apparently when you cancel your billing, your account is no longer considered "active" and the days wont count towards your vet rewards.

figures... I may not even come back to UO, the reasons are piling up.. at this point all I do when I log on is check vendors anyway. I was actually considering buying the expansion for 2 accounts but the way I have been treated on this forum and by EA, and the fact that there's barely anyone to talk to in the game, well... you do the math.

 

[ingsmsico]

Well I just spoke to someone at EA, who was rude and argumentative (what happened to India call centers? at least they are polite) to me and pretty much blamed it on my bank. I asked why they do the pre-authorization and he said it was so they could notify me via e-mail if there are insufficient funds in my bank account. at this point I hung up because the conversation could only go downhill from there.

again, if customers really want this silly "e-mail service" then they should ask us to opt-in to it. not force us to forfeit vet reward time just to avoid it.

this whole thing is ridiculous, to say the very least.

 

[ingsmsico]

Just called the bank, turns out the EA representative lied to me, or doesn't know what he is talking about because my bank cannot get rid of the pre-authorization without a written statement from EA on their letterhead. This is because they have to wait for them to ask for the money they pre-authorized, even though I canceled the account.

Thanks again EA, now you are costing me gas money because I have to physically drive to the bank and deposit money. Thanks for ruining my day off. A**holes. I've paid THOUSANDS of dollars over years to play this stupid game, and this is what I get.