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BS? Fix my account, will ya?

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Spartan

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My account was 6-month cycle.

Today I get a notice that my account was canceled because my CC was declined.
1. the CC is my bank card.
2. All CC data in Acct Mgmt is correct.
3. my balance in the account is 4-digits large - sufficient to cover $65 charges.
4. the bill due date was the 21st but they're processing it on the 10th.
5. there is a difference of $64.79 between the bank balance and my register - indicating they have tapped the bank AND it was not declined!

I did respond to the email accordingly but I'm curious ... anyone else get nabbed like this? How long did it take to resolve? Years with EA and no issues even with card expiration changes, but now they decide to pull this crap? <sigh>
 

Smoot

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i had it happen once. thats when i stopped doing auto renew and changed to game time codes.

cant offer any suggestions other than email mesanna or calling some support number which is always a headache.
 

MalagAste

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My account was 6-month cycle.

Today I get a notice that my account was canceled because my CC was declined.
1. the CC is my bank card.
2. All CC data in Acct Mgmt is correct.
3. my balance in the account is 4-digits large - sufficient to cover $65 charges.
4. the bill due date was the 21st but they're processing it on the 10th.
5. there is a difference of $64.79 between the bank balance and my register - indicating they have tapped the bank AND it was not declined!

I did respond to the email accordingly but I'm curious ... anyone else get nabbed like this? How long did it take to resolve? Years with EA and no issues even with card expiration changes, but now they decide to pull this crap? <sigh>
This often happens to me when my bank declines them because they for some reason bill me from some foreign country... I soon get a call from the "fraud detection" service telling me they have a report of fraud I have to call them about. VERY annoying.

Usually requires me to call my CC company explain that it's ok... go in and resubscribe and things are fine for another year or so when they weirdly do it again... for no reason out of the blue.
 

Spartan

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Now they're telling me that even though the bank has acknowledged AND processed the payment, it ain't good enough. They want me to resubscribe (right - and get billed AGAIN?), fill in some damn template (did that and returned it) - all of which they already have on file - to simply get the lock off.

I'm already ] [ close to killing the account any way. If it's not on today, then I will be gone and ask for my money back. I was already packing up the house but just hadn't finished it.
 

Spartan

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<sigh> The shoot-from-the-hip attitude just boggles my mind. I have confirmed with my bank that the payment request did indeed get accepted and the funds are already released to EA. But I still cannot get into the game - it needs to be unlocked or whatever.

I have just advised them that if they cannot or will not unlock the account and allow usage of the game, then they can kill the payment request and leave the account in closed status.

They have a billing system that ....
files a payment request; gets a decline
flags account closed and emails customer
resubmits pay request; gets accepted
does not release the account to original status nor email a "we got it. thank you" email

Then I have to do all this happy horse-pucky ... for a bunch of pixels? <shakes head> I've done business with UO/EA/BS since 1998 and the bank since 1986. Who do you think I trust more? Who do you think I believe to be more accurate?
 

Spartan

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Okay - original email about account lock says contact Broadsword to resolve. NOW they want me to contact EA because EA is where I should have been all along. <shakes head>

I'm done. There's been years of stupidity with the game, we all know they've got the most borked Acct Mgmt on Earth. But like "Joe Public" I have chosen to walk with my wallet. I'm done.

When the house falls mebbe someone will like what they can get. <shrug>
 

Fridgster

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This. This has been possibly my biggest pet peeve about UO. I can deal with bugs. I can even grudgingly deal with stupid nerfs. You are a God damn business. You goal is to provide a service and collect money for said service. How the HELL do you have a payment system that has more problems than a goldfish in a tank full of piranhas??? Seriously WTF?
 

Parnoc

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I have multiple accounts and they are on 6 month renewal but EVERY time one comes due EA says it is declined by my bank and I do use EA to get into my account. I go in, delete the card (it has all correct info) make a new card, push the "back" button and it kicks me to some advertisement. Then I have to relog in, go thru the whole thing again and then it goes through immediately. I have to do this on every renewal. You're right, for a huge company EA is absolutely the worst for customer service I have ever seen. I have no idea how they have survived this long.
 
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Captn Norrington

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You're right, for a huge company EA is absolutely the worst for customer service I have ever seen. I have no idea how they have survived this long.
Customer volume probably. They know the large majority of their money comes from non-online games where most people will never need to contact customer service, so they don't bother investing in better customer service to appease the rest of us who play their online games and need it. It's easier to just ignore us and let us leave than refocus their attention on revamping customer service. It's a pathetic way to run a company, but it seems to work for them.

Sorry to hear you're leaving Spartan, I've always enjoyed reading your posts.
 

MalagAste

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You will be missed but I totally understand your frustration... and yet I'm not allowed to say anything negative about things at EA/UO/Broadsword... or anything... but we all know the company (EA) was voted the WORST company in America 2 years in a row ... and yet they do not care.
 

Captn Norrington

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There is no excuse for the poor acc mgmt, but there is no excuse for people not use Game Time Codes nowadays, is safer and works like a charm and no risk of CC fraud.
It's easy to forget your game time code is about to expire if you're not an active player and have a busy life. By the time you notice it your house might already be falling or be gone. The auto-renew with a credit card prevents that (or at least it should, if it worked correctly).
 
I dont agree @Captn Norrington .
You get an email from BS saying that your acc went inactive, no matter how you pay.
You can stack game time codes and prepay for your acc for 1 year for example and set a google alarm for the day that expires, there is so many ways to manage that and any of those ways are better than the current system. But dont you worry, the new acc mgmt system is coming soon* , at least that is what I heard in 2015.
 

Uriah Heep

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I dont agree @Captn Norrington .
You get an email from BS saying that your acc went inactive, no matter how you pay.
You can stack game time codes and prepay for your acc for 1 year for example and set a google alarm for the day that expires, there is so many ways to manage that and any of those ways are better than the current system. But dont you worry, the new acc mgmt system is coming soon* , at least that is what I heard in 2015.

Wrong. I have yet to figure out how accounts, set up to the same email, don't get the email notice when an account expires. EAMythicOriginBroadsword doesn't always send them for some reason. I lost a house and some treasured items, when a householder account didn't get the email.

Overall service has gotten much worse than it was.
In the past, I can remember all accounts getting notices daily for a week it seems, that an account was about to expire in x days.
Then that stopped, and many times I go to log into an account and find it expired. No email.

Guess they just can't afford the stamps...
 
I agree, system is horrible. It is the only game that i have to do multiple checkout to buy what i need and that is why the bank think is a fraud, any other decent system allow you to change qty of items that you need and do a single checkout.
Suggestion: they should ask the avatar people, so sad that some basement kids kniw how to create a faster and single system, with an instant delivery.
 

MalagAste

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The only way I know of for sure to know whether your accounts are active or not is to use them...

I don't get emails every time one goes inactive... I usually notice when I go to log in and can't... So IMO the BEST answer to the question of; is my account active and house ok, is the auto-renew... and watch your billing... as well as LOG IN regularly on each account every month...

Now I'm not the best at logging in every single month but I'm pretty sure I log into all of my accounts at least every other month.

The Account Mis-Management system has been a joke for years and not a very funny one... not to mention if you play the "roulette" game with your account ie paying once every 3 or 4 months you run the risk of the house falling anyway... I have a friend who used to do that all the time while going to college... he lost a house and precious items when they updated the housing server and it went down WAY before it should have. He now barely even logs in ... he was once pretty active but now can hardly bear to log on... Not that I blame him. He also dropped several accounts.

I know numerous people who've wanted to return to the game but could never get through the system to get their accounts back. They weren't willing to wait months to get in for emails and all the hoops and hurdles you have to go through to get back in sometimes... so they gave up in frustration and will likely never return they were so disgusted.

I've helped I don't know how many people get back into the game and get their accounts back... but it is a very lengthy and frustrating experience and for some that alone makes them quit again ... some have even quit because just trying to update their CC information was such a PITA that they said forget it not worth it.

Not sure why EA does not want our money but they seem determined to make giving it to them such a chore that you just don't want to deal with it. IMO that's counterintuitive to business practice... but maybe I'm wrong I'm no business major... but years of accounting and business math in High School I'm fairly sure that you want your customers to give you money for your offered service... I don't know. That was a long time ago but it seems to me that at least that aspect of business management would not change.
 

Tyrath

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Swore I would never post on this site again but................... What is happening is your banks auto fraud detection and protection is rejecting the payment. I get this a lot when 6 accounts on a 6 month sub all bill at the same time or if I make multiple Store purchases and then they all bill at the same time close to the the store purchases. When it bills at most banks it goes in as Pending and the money is effectively removed from your account but not yet transferred to EA that is where the auto fraud protection kicks in and rejects or fully processes the payments. In my case the bank locks the card and calls me to ask if I authorized these charges (Very small regional bank) I say yes and they allow the payments to process. Bigger banks usually just decline the payment and then contact you or not. On some occasions they let the payment go though and then take it back, this upsets the payee and then they see you as being the fraudster. EA in particular hates charge backs and it has a very negative effect on your accounts. It is basically just everyone trying to protect themselves from fraud. Happens now and then with every online game that I have multiple accounts on but more so with UO and RuneScape, Runescape triggers because it is multiple billings from Europe. I just hate the hassle of game time codes and auto renew is sooooooo much easier for me. One thing I have noticed is that when a card expires the EA store calls it a dead card. Broadsword billing just adds another 4 years to the expiration date automatically and keeps right on billing. I have never had to update my expiration date on the account management site. So in theory I could fall over dead tomorrow and the accounts would keep billing and renewing as long as there is money in the bank account. So look at it as Account Management and auto renew gives you a form of limited immortality :) Banks though are always updating and changing their algorithms for fraud detection and whom ever the game may be gets the blame for the banks tighter security rejecting the payment. You see these same complaints in just about every game forum.

Where EA and BS fall short is in resolving the issue when your acct is suspended for fraud. Usually takes 24-72 hours to resolve it by email or faster by phone if you can stomach their phone support and CS. I will do the email CS, rather than trying to learn a new language :) And now I will go back to not posting on Stratics :)
 

DJAd

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I switched to gametime codes via PayPal years ago. Never had a problem since. The account management sucks and they know it.

Easy these days with smartphones to set a reminder
 

Pawain

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I get this a lot when 6 accounts on a 6 month sub all bill at the same time or if I make multiple Store purchases and then they all bill at the same time close to the the store purchases.
Present tense. Still playing on 6 secret accounts. Welcome Back
 

Tyrath

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Present tense. Still playing on 6 secret accounts. Welcome Back
Even when I quit I never let those 6 accts close cause I know I will eventually play again :) Had not intended to quit these last 6 months but had severe internet issues and was using hughes as a alternative. DL speed was OK but the .25 UL speeds made any kind of online game impossible........ 15-45 seconds of lag between click and action happening. Been playing on LS the last few weeks learning the new stuff.
 

Laura_Gold

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The auto-renew with a credit card
That's worked for me except when my card gets a new expiration date, hence my rather blistering wish on the Wish List.

My former employer used to say "Never make it hard for someone to give you his money."
EA seriously needs to redesign their account management 'site.
 

Spartan

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The account is closed. The CC info is now empty.

@Tyrath
I know what you're saying but this is not the case. According to my bank, the payment request was received during a downtime server reset, thus was denied. Upon a resubmission of the payment, the funds were released and processed. EA had their money the day after - Thursday.

The issue is that the crap accounting system they have does not allow for more than one attempt to collect payment before locking an account. I wrote better billing systems when had only 10 years experience in coding! Soooo, to recap:
1. EA duns my bank for 6 month subscription.
2. Bank is in server reset, so request refused
3. EA promptly locks the account and sends email to that effect
4. EA resubmits billing and it is accepted for processing
5. BS was notified via emails while trying to resolve this issue. Mostly BS as they sent me the initial email.
6. BS sez to me: EA has to unlock the account. Ummm, so why am I dealing with you, then? <sigh> That was 5 PM EDT Wednesday,
7. Sent note to @Mesanna about situation, asking for either unlock or refund.

Went out of town Thursday until this afternoon. Found account still locked, removed CC info and said "to hell with it". That last part was cleaned up for family viewing.

Mods? Do me a favor and lock this thread. From this point on I see nothing further happening. Thanks!
 

MalagAste

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Sorry for your trouble @Spartan it's a stupid system and I'm sure if BS had control of it they would try to fix it but truth of the matter is that it's held in the firm grip of the insane folk at EA who don't seem to like taking our money...

I tried to get me another copy of Blackthorns for one of my other accounts... apparently you can't buy more than 1 of them per EA account... how stupid is that? I have over a dozen accounts... so I guess I'm only allowed to have 1... stupid, stupid, stupid...
 

Uriah Heep

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Sorry for your trouble @Spartan it's a stupid system and I'm sure if BS had control of it they would try to fix it but truth of the matter is that it's held in the firm grip of the insane folk at EA who don't seem to like taking our money...

I tried to get me another copy of Blackthorns for one of my other accounts... apparently you can't buy more than 1 of them per EA account... how stupid is that? I have over a dozen accounts... so I guess I'm only allowed to have 1... stupid, stupid, stupid...

Yeah don't ya love that stupid crap of 'you already have that' lol

geeez
 

Captn Norrington

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Mods? Do me a favor and lock this thread. From this point on I see nothing further happening. Thanks!
I don't usually lock things due to an original poster request, but in this case I agree that this seems pretty resolved and leaving it open will just be inviting eventual insults/attacks/drama etc.

The rule about not restarting a locked thread does not apply here if you ever want to start another topic on it as well.

Sorry again to see you go, and I wish you luck in all your future endeavors. Thread has been locked.
 
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