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Heads up - Don't use a PrePaid Gift Card to Purchase Zen

mystagoguemystagogue Member Posts: 322 Arc User
edited May 2014 in General Discussion (PC)
Long story short - I made the mistake of trying to go the Perfect World route to purchase Zen using a prepaid Visa gift card (Vanilla Visa). Not only was it declined, but now it's a too bad/stinks to be you situation because the transaction will be tied up for 2-5 business days which will keep me from being able to take advantage of the Key sale.

Yes I contacted support. They said "oopsie" too late. Nothing we can do. You are out of luck.

Yes I read over the FAQ before purchasing (typically I use Steam, but since a few of our Community Moderators have lambasted us for using Steam I thought I'd give PW billing a go) and I couldn't find any warnings about using prepaid gift cards.

Never had this problem with Steam or Gazillion (Marvel Heroes) billing.

Any way - just a word of caution for the next person.
Post edited by mystagogue on

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    silverquicksilverquick Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    I ran into that too...

    In order for me to use my normal card they want me to send in a fax or proof with my identity and face to prove I'm the one using the card. I was like... errm... wait a minute here. I understand wanting to keep me from getting ripped off... but if its going to be THIS difficult for me to pay you. Then I'm not going to do it.

    The only time I do now is if I go to Walmart and buy one of those Perfect World cards, or do it through Steam. I am not going to put out that kind of effort just to pay you. You either come up with a more convenient way... or we're not doing it.
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    frishterfrishter Member Posts: 3,522 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    I don't see why the moderators would care if you used steam. Ideally it's best to support a company directly if it's no hassle so that they get more of the money. Having said that, if I preferred to pay with steam I would since cryptic charge more than enough imo. I do it through my debit card though. Any links to them disliking steam payments?

    Though this may get locked...

    The worst customer service I had was being emailed by EA to give them personal information like dob and I think the last 4 digits of my card iirc in order to unsubscribe to a newsletter. There was no option to disable it elsewhere and it was in response to a ticket I made on their site. A stern tone made them decide that information wasn't necessary.
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    mystagoguemystagogue Member Posts: 322 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    Quick follow up. After a little research on the forums I found some folks reporting success using the PayPal option (which allows you to use your PayPal account OR a credit card) with prepaid cards. I had a $10.00 available balance (the original money I tried to spend with PW is still held/pending) so I decided to give it a go. I'll be darned if the transaction didn't go smoothly and the Zen was in my account within 10 minutes.

    I'm still extremely disappointed in PW for not even attempting to make this right. They made a (bad) decision and now have customer who can't take advantage of a sale that's about to end.

    I guess it would be different if they had been the least bit sincere/apologetic, but their "flitter" off approach towards the situation has left a bad impression with me.
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    bucklittlebucklittle Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    My suggestion is to go through Steam.

    If you like Valve and/or Steam, they get a cut, so support them by buying Zen through Steam.
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    mystagoguemystagogue Member Posts: 322 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    bucklittle wrote: »
    My suggestion is to go through Steam.

    If you like Valve and/or Steam, they get a cut, so support them by buying Zen through Steam.

    Yeah - that's normally what I do. Again, I have seen one of the community mods (not a PW Dev - green named mod) bemoaning using Steam for purchases.

    Also, to further clarify, my gripe lies in that PW does NOT warn you NOT to use prepaid cards. This should be spelled out clearly. They should suggest using the other available options. A customer shouldn't have to research potential purchases of your base currency on a message board to discover best practices. This is a customer service no brainer.

    I'm further disappointed by the total lack of empathy on PW's part to make the situation right or acknowledge any shortcomings on their end. This was clearly a failure on PW's side - not mine.

    Finally, I'm ticked off that I'm not getting to "buy moar keys" at the 15% price.

    /rant over
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    demommademomma Member Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    Just a note to clarify and perhaps it may not apply here:
    That particular pre paid card you mentioned has issues with many retailers in my experience. I work at a retail establishment and i cannot count the number of times that brand of card has disappointed a customer. For whatever reason, grandma's use these for birthdays and holidays not understanding that the person receiving it has to jump through online hoops to activate it , then has a cool down on the registration of it , then the card charges a percentage of the balance as a fee. Many many youths unable to make coveted purchases with that card. Perhaps Paypal and Steam are better options?
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    mystagoguemystagogue Member Posts: 322 Arc User
    edited May 2014
    Point taken demomma. I've used them before, though, with no issues.

    But yeah, ongoing lesson learned. I just wish they'd flesh out their FAQ to keep others from having this issue.
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