Dev - Anyone from SE - Can we seriously please get a response to payment problems?

[Jeanna]

Dec 29th/14, Last/Final update: My main accounts been locked out since Oct 2 (almost 3 months now) and I'm still 401'ing/601'ing on it. I've pretty much given up at this point. Good luck to anyone else with these problems, se certainly doesn't seem to give a crap. Take everything they say with a grain of salt, we were able to buy crysta on my fiance's account with a family members credit card, whose name, address, and country didn't match what was on our SE account. Either they changed something recently, or no one has any freaking clue how their system works.

My advice to anyone who's having serious problems with this too: don't waste your time. Find something else to play. SE reps can't and won't help you (unless you're EU). The 401 problems have been going on for at least a year and a half, they removed Paypal in the beginning of October. They aren't going to fix this in a timely manner, if they even intend on fixing it at all.

Going over some of the main things I've posted in other threads:
- (Updated)I've talked to SE support several times and have an email ticket open with them (that still hasn't been responded to despite assurances saying it'd be within 48 hours). They can never do or tell me anything useful. Some people seem to think that the se reps can do something, but after multiple calls and heckling them pretty hard I pretty much just stopped wasting my time.

- (Updated)I've talked to my bank on four seperate occasions. First time was on the phone, second time I physically went into the bank and had them double check, third time was a number I was given to call the next time my card was declined to see if they could track down whatever the problem was. Fourth was another phone call where I again triple checked that they're not blocking anything and that they allow pre-authorization charges. IT IS NOT MY BANKS PROBLEM. I was able to re-sub a mule after 9 days or so, so I know that that card does sometimes, somehow work.

- (Updated):I've talked to Global Collect twice. They told me it's not on their end and it's squarely on SE. Many people on the 14 side have been contacting them as well and they all get the same response... that's it's on SE banks' end, not on theirs. While they could be lying or just uniformed, I'm gonna lean towards it being on SE's end.

- I've barely been able to use my CC since about June and have just been buying crysta with Paypal. However, my fiance can pay for his FF14 sub with the same card with no problems.
. (My fiance can no longer buy crysta or sub on his 11 or 14 account anymore either).

- (Updated)I went out and bought a pre-paid Visa to try, and even that didn't work. According to a conversation I had with a SE rep, they said pre-paid visas don't work. However, I've had multiple people tell me they were able to use pre-paid credit cards. Conflicting information, much? I had a LS mate use a pre-paid visa card to buy crysta with, and it worked.

-(Updated)I went through the trouble of acquiring a brand new credit card tired to a totally different financial institution and even that doesn't work on any of my accounts.

- I've tried all of IE, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari (on my iPad).

- I've tried different computers, and heck even straight out different internet.

- The person I talked with on the phone said the majority of the calls and support issues in the last couple weeks were people with 401 problems. Obviously this is a pretty big issue right now. The best he could do/tell me was to try again in thirty days...... which is ludicrous not only because you're throwing away my business for 30 days but because he couldn't tell me what the problem was with my card/s was in the first place, and since I haven't been able to use them in months I doubt they're magically gonna work after my 30 day block is up.

I gotta admit, out of every online game or even any online service I've used, you guys have the absolute worst customer service I have ever encountered. The phone support are nice enough, sure, but they have very little power to do anything or help. The chat support sound like scripted robots. Every business has problems, but the way things are dealt with by SE is just absurd. The way you ignore problems, deal with them at a snail's pace, or try to push the blame off on other things is disheartening. What do you think would happen to most businesses if a customer was told to come back in 30 days? Or even 7 days, or heck even 24 hours? Most people would be like "meh screw this, I'll find some place else to shop".

(Updated)Some sort of confirmation acknowledging the problem and letting us know if there's a fix in the works would be absolutely lovely... at this point it's very unlikely I'm going to come back even if I wanted to, as I highly doubt my cc is even going to work after my 30 day block is up, like I said I haven't been able to pay with a CC in months. SE rep posted on Oct 14th that they're working on paypal and hope to have it up and running "soon". 6 weeks and still nothing. Guess we have different definitions of "soon".

As for the systems and fraud protection on the square site...... this could be much better designed and implemented. Why on earth do you let us retry and retry putting a block no one even knows about at first that potentially extends to 30 days? Is it that hard change the error from some vague 401 error to explain what it means and that after the first 401 error, there's a 24 hour block on your account, and to disable further payment attempts so we don't screw ourselves over? Payments are processed at midnight, support isn't open then, in my case what happened was this: account runs out of time while I'm in the middle of doing stuff, I try my main CC, doesn't work, think maybe I typed it in wrong, try again, still doesn't work, think maybe it doesn't like it because it's Canadian, grab an american card, repeat. I had no clue at first that there was a block placed on my account and that further attempts would lock me out even longer, and I unintentionally ended up with a 30 day block on my account. This same thing is happening to multiple people and no one seems too pleased about it (then again, who would be?)

Ok, so maybe on the extremely low case someone was actually trying to use fraudulent cards for whatever reason. Why can't the block be removed and payment problems fixed by phone support? It's highly unlikely someone involved with illegal activities is going to call in, let alone know all the relevant information to the account. The inability of employees to actually do anything to help is pretty maddening.

TLDR; Dear SE, stop ignoring your customers and their problems if you like subscriptions.

If you guys were smart you'd be handing out free game time to people - give them the option to play again while acting like you actually care and maybe keep them around instead of walking away forever.

Edit: Obligatory Fry

Edit 2: Copy/Paste some other relevant stuff:

Even if I can re-sub after 30 days, 30 days is a pretty long time to be locked out of an MMO, especially when you play pretty extensively in endgame/with a LS. I don't wanna make it sound like I'm being egotistical and that I'm absolutely essential my LS or anything, but we're a low man LS (currently at 4-5 people and we do everything from all bcs, selling delve, Incursion, etc),and I'm a main Yagrush whm with a whole slew of other jobs that are commonly used (stun scholar, smn for bc zergs, extra brd/cor mule buffs, etc). During events I usually play 2 characters so we can low man stuff better. With my absence, what they can do is cut down pretty effectively, meaning they just stop events entirely or recruit new people, which might put me in a weird spot if I can ever come back, not to mention I feel pretty guilty for being forced to just leave them out of the blue.

Seriously, due to the nature of MMO's... locking someone out for a month is really good way to screw them over. Not to mention all the small little 1~2 week campaigns constantly going on that we're missing out on.

http://puu.sh/c83tI/58ed7f5ef2.jpg

[Johnnyderp]

let me second this -
my 3 accounts are all now down. I can't pay, and SE has lost themselves ~$40/month until they find a way to accept the money I'm trying my hardest to throw at them.

[Kornflake]

I've been trying to pay with 3 different credit cards and seems like there is no way for me to continue my subscription or activate my second account.

[Pixela]

Good luck, Square are terrible on anything pertaining to making money.

They region lock expansions, meaning they lose sales and customers who may have imported years ago. They lock accounts if you make any kind of error in payments meaning you can't pay for extended periods (without actually telling you that it's locked) They remove payment options losing customers etc.

They are genuinely dumb in so many ways, they have great devs but their suits are terrible.

They will ignore this like they ignore all the others because the CS agents only deal with the devs, not the people that make financial decisions. The only time you may get a response is after an official response is made on the website already so they can just copy and paste it.

[Jeanna]

It's unfortunate, as I generally quite enjoy the game, but it's very frustrating/dissapointing trying to guesstimate how long the blocks on my accounts might be, and knowing that even when it's up my cards aren't gonna work unless they fix or change something.

[Stompa]

Have LIKED this thread.

I would like to be able to buy CRYSTA, using PAYPAL, via the SE Account Management System.

This would be easy and secure, for me as a customer. It would also mean I could stock up on Crysta, and reactivate my mule Content IDs which I cancelled due to payment difficulties.

Currently I am only using my two main Content IDs. This is to Conserve Crysta. This is because UGC/Paypal option has been cancelled, and I don't know when I'll be able to buy more Crysta, so I cancelled my Content IDs except for two, to make my Crysta last longer. This despite me having money in the bank.

So instead of me paying for sixteen Content IDs like I used to, I am now paying for two Content IDs, because I don't know when I'll be allowed to exchange my £GBP money for Crysta in future. Who is losing money from this bizarre situation? Not me.

I have worked in a number of businesses, and they all had financial departments with a Special Forces approach to customer payments. If they heard these words from a customer; "I want to pay money to you but I am unable to", those other companies' Head Offices would have sirens ringing, red lights flashing, and Chuck Norris sliding down a fireman's pole, ready to spring into action with shark-like reflexes, to fix the customer payment problems before a single dollar was lost.

:confused:

[Jeanna]

I have worked in a number of businesses, and they all had financial departments with a Special Forces approach to customer payments. If they heard these words from a customer; "I want to pay money to you but I am unable to", those other companies' Head Offices would have sirens ringing, red lights flashing, and Chuck Norris sliding down a fireman's pole, ready to spring into action with shark-like reflexes, to fix the customer payment problems before a single dollar was lost.

:confused:

Seriously, I find it hard to follow SE's reasoning sometimes. I have a longtime joke with some friends that some of the head honchos at se have a bet going on with how long they can mess with their customers before they drive the company into the ground.

While some people are likely addicted enough to jump through whatever hoops they need to, I'm pretty much at the end of my line. I've been playing on and off since 2004, never had so much as a warning on my 4 accounts. I'm a legitimate person with a legitimate debit and credit card. I just wanna play the damn game and hang out with my friends. It wouldn't be so bad if I knew they were trying to fix stuff or help us, but they're so silent and god-awful slow with everything I find it hard to believe this is going to be fixed in a timely manner.... as a reference, there's a threadhere (http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/93493-Payment-Method-Registration-Errors-Error-Code-401-and-601) that's 100+ pages over several months with this same problem. (I realize this is for 14 but they use the same payment page on the Square Enix Account page).

My 30 day block is pretty close to the Warlord of Draenor release. I mostly just wanna say forget ffxi, but I'll likely try once my 30 day block is up, but if I see another 401 I think I'd rather just devote my time to WoW.. at least blizz treats their customers like actual human beings :/

[Pantafernando]

I often have similar problem, its not just my account that i pay monthly, so i really demand that this problem to be solved as fast as possible, because we cant be punished by your problematic payment system issues.

[Stompa]

Seriously, I find it hard to follow SE's reasoning sometimes. I have a longtime joke with some friends that some of the head honchos at se have a bet going on with how long they can mess with their customers before they drive the company into the ground.

While some people are likely addicted enough to jump through whatever hoops they need to, I'm pretty much at the end of my line. I've been playing on and off since 2004, never had so much as a warning on my 4 accounts. I'm a legitimate person with a legitimate debit and credit card. I just wanna play the damn game and hang out with my friends. It wouldn't be so bad if I knew they were trying to fix stuff or help us, but they're so silent and god-awful slow with everything I find it hard to believe this is going to be fixed in a timely manner.... as a reference, there's a threadhere (http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/93493-Payment-Method-Registration-Errors-Error-Code-401-and-601) that's 100+ pages over several months with this same problem. (I realize this is for 14 but they use the same payment page on the Square Enix Account page).

My 30 day block is pretty close to the Warlord of Draenor release. I mostly just wanna say forget ffxi, but I'll likely try once my 30 day block is up, but if I see another 401 I think I'd rather just devote my time to WoW.. at least blizz treats their customers like actual human beings :/


Yes.

I want to fight against incredibly tough monsters, not to fight against an incredibly tough payment system!


:)

[Seha]

Bring back PayPal please. Your company clearly doesn't know how to do transactions without third parties.

But after seeing the 14 side having a thread about this hundreds of pages long I'm being skeptical we'll get a response at all...it blows my mind that they're not on top of this, how can they not care for so many users not being able to play anymore?

[Camiie]

When it comes to FFXI, SE seems to operate with such an overabundance of caution that they end up hurting themselves far more than if they simply threw caution to the wind and accepted a little risk. It's called cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. The devs are often guilty of it when it comes to in game content and it seems the business side is as well.

Chargebacks happen, and are often perfectly justified. Even if not all of them are it's just a risk of doing business. A smart business understands that sometimes you have to lose out on a transaction here and there to come out better off in the long run.

People move about the planet and take their entertainment with them. That's reality. They aren't suddenly a risk to you simply because they changed their location, nor should they be punished for the actions of others in certain parts of the world.

And please, SE, don't lie to us and say that what you're doing is for the security of the customers. It's obvious you're only looking out for number one just like always. SE does what (they think) is good for SE first, and does what's good for the customers pretty much never.

[Everdyne1281]

I, too, have been getting the 401 error. I recently had to get a new credit card so the other one was invalid the day the monthly was supposed to charge, which also happened to be the day I got the new card. I've sent an email, since it's the weekend and I can't call till monday. I'm hoping I can get it resolved somehow. I don't even care if I have to buy Crysta, just as long as I can play! :(

[Comeatmebro]

Posted in the other threads too, but throwing in my +1.

Paypal would be ideal, but a functioning credit card system is vital.

[Kaoriasada]

I'm having this problem, too. Thankfully, it's not my main account, only my BRD alt. I called Square Enix and they said that the only way for me to get around the 401 issue was to pay with UltimatePay, which is ridiculously stupid, because I called a WEEK before it was taken off, and she made no mention of it not being a reliable way to pay in the future. I've had someone that I trust try to pay and they got a 601 error, and when I tried to pay with both my credit card and theirs, I got a 401 error. I expressed this to the lady and she said that there's no way around this. And since XIV is their heart and soul now, I suppose that if their XIV community isn't getting a fix, it's even less likely that we'll get one. It makes me wonder if the rumors of XI going down are true, since they're taking away one of their most reliable payment systems now.

[Jeanna]

What actually upsets me the most in all this is that while there was notice that UP was stopping their gamecard and points, UP itself didn't shut down, so there really was no reason to remove their payment station off the website. There was no notice that they were going to remove UP completely. They just up and did it without warning, taking away the paypal option with it which many of us relied on. .........Why?.............

This has been a huge problem for a long time. Please feel free to prove me wrong se, but personally I wouldn't actually expect anything to change. Hopefully they'll be quick to add Paypal and other options again, before they lose too many more customers.

[gregchiro2013]

Yea forgot I changed banks and one of my 3 accounts is 401 error. Yea, this should be easy to fix. I am sure the owners of SE have no idea this is going on or they would be freaking out on the loss of income. We will see how long it takes to fix such errors.

[Jeanna]

Oh, they know. At least by now, I can't imagine someone with the power to implement changes doesn't know. I was told the majority of all support calls lately were about 401s. There's a 110+ page on 14 forums that's still active that was started in September 2013.

I'm just gonna go with the same old "Working as intended, we have no plans............." (if they even bother to grace us with their presence at all)

[Vasch]

I'm just gonna go with the same old "Working as intended, we have no plans............." (if they even bother to grace us with their presence at all)

More like "We have no plans to work as intended."

[Seillan]

I honestly can't believe what I'm reading. This is just a ridiculous way to run a business and the fact that not a single official has commented on this issue -- even with it affecting their new mmorpg, which I imagine is one of their prime "bread and butter" contributors -- is unbelievable. Is SE just giving up on the mmorpg scene now or what?

I'm really sorry about what you're all having to go through, especially with these apparently insoluble 30 day lockout timers with no prior warnings. I have to wonder if I'll even be able to resubscribe once my current month is up or -- if this is how they're going to run their company from here on -- if I even should regardless. Step up you customer service while you still have any to serve SE, seriously.

[Pixela]

I honestly can't believe what I'm reading. This is just a ridiculous way to run a business and the fact that not a single official has commented on this issue -- even with it affecting their new mmorpg, which I imagine is one of their prime "bread and butter" contributors -- is unbelievable. Is SE just giving up on the mmorpg scene now or what?

I'm really sorry about what you're all having to go through, especially with these apparently insoluble 30 day lockout timers with no prior warnings. I have to wonder if I'll even be able to resubscribe once my current month is up or -- if this is how they're going to run their company from here on -- if I even should regardless. Step up you customer service while you still have any to serve SE, seriously.

No, they just aren't good at the basics of running one. They are like a really talented artist that has little idea how to make money off their work, but manages in a half assed way to get by.

The sad fact is that many of us will find a way around it, they are waiting to see how big of an issue it it. If customers can find a way around it themselves why should they spend money to fix it? There are so many things that you can point out that are really stupid with how they run their business and that lose them customers but it's pointless, that's just how terrible Square run their mmo business. They make decisions that make no sense at all and are counter-productive.

They are lucky the games are good because if they were any other title they would be closed down due to massive player loss (more than already are due to stupid decisions like making 2 competing FF mmo titles which in essence scavenge their own customers who are already paying more $ on an older title to play a new one that costs more to run...duh).

Someone needs to send Square to business school.

[Jeanna]

Even if I can re-sub after 30 days, 30 days is a pretty long time to be locked out of an MMO, especially when you play pretty extensively in endgame/with a LS. I don't wanna make it sound like I'm being egotistical and that I'm absolutely essential my LS or anything, but I'm a main Yagrush whm with a whole slew of other jobs that are commonly used (stun scholar, smn for bc zergs, extra brd/cor mule buffs, etc). During events I usually play 2 characters so we can low man stuff better. With my absence, what they can do is cut down pretty effectively, meaning they just stop events entirely or recruit new people, which might put me in a weird spot if I can ever come back, not to mention I feel pretty guilty for being forced to just leave them out of the blue.

Seriously, due to the nature of MMO's... locking someone out for a month is really just not a nice thing to do :/

[Kornflake]

Tried to pay again after 24 hours. This time using different browser, removing adblock, making sure all the addresses match. No luck.

After my subscription ends, there is basically no way to continue playing anymore.

[Jeanna]

Chances are if you tried more than once in a smallish period of time the block is longer than 24 hours. It can be anywhere from a few days to 30 days. When I called, the guy went and talked to billing and told me there were enough attempts that it was probably at 30 days. You might wanna call and see if they can guesstimate how long the block might be, because every time you retry, you reset the block. (So very mindboggling)

[Camiie]

No, they just aren't good at the basics of running one. They are like a really talented artist that has little idea how to make money off their work, but manages in a half assed way to get by.

They seem to operate with the mentality of a game company from the 80's or early 90's. Produce a game, box it up, ship it out, and that's it. Anything beyond that is beyond their comprehension. Service and support? Payment system? <I don't understand.>

Look at how long it took them to start communicating with the players, and they still haven't mastered the art. You can say the same about content updates although they have certainly made improvements. This game has been out for over a decade and they still haven't got the basics down.

Say what you will about the style and content of other MMOs, but at least their customers can pay them and at least they address issues. They don't always get it right either, but the ones I'm familiar with show a far better understanding how to operate in this day and age than SE does. Even companies that are far smaller and far younger than SE seem to know what they're doing while SE can't or won't modernize their approach. It's sad really. They've managed to squander so much of the respect they once enjoyed.

[Kornflake]

Here is an email I got from SE regarding the issue. It's what we already know and doesn't really resolve anything.


Thank you for contacting SQUARE ENIX support,
If you are receiving an error 601, 406, or error 401 when attempting to update your payment method, then there is an issue where the financial institution is declining the authorization attempt. Unfortunately as SQUARE ENIX is not the financial institution, we are not provided with any information as to why the authorization was declined, only that it was. Please confirm that all billing information is entered correctly on the SQUARE ENIX Account in question. Please also note that once an authorization has been rejected, that form of payment cannot be attempted again for a full twenty-four hours, and any further attempts before that time will automatically be rejected. If you would like further information about this specific authorization attempt, please contact your financial institution.

Please ensure the personal information listed on the Square Enix account matches the information listed on the credit / debit card. For example, name of the Square Enix account holder must match the name that's listed on the credit / debit card itself. Keep in mind that only certain pieces of personal information on a Square Enix account can be adjusted (street address and email address) after creation.

Make sure that the card you're trying to use isn't already being used to pay for another account. Problems may arise if the an attempt is made to use the same card to bill two separate accounts simultaneously. If this is indeed your situation, please wait 24 hours between reactivation attempts

Make sure that your card provider allows $1.00 preauthorization holds. This billing attempt is made in order to make sure that the account is valid for billing. After 1 to 2 business days, these funds will be placed back on the account. If your card issuer does not allow such preauthorization holds, you may want to contact them.

If you attempted this method of payment multiple times with a failed result, there is a possibility of a longer block being placed on the account. This block can last 30 days.
Thank you for contacting the SQUARE ENIX Support Center.
___________
For additional assistance with this issue, you can reply to this email directly. For assistance with a new issue, please visit the SQUARE ENIX Support Center at http://support.na.square-enix.com

[Kincard]

I've had no problems with paying for my account since I've been using my credit card for a long while now (knock on wood), but I just want to say I feel for you guys having to deal with SE's customer service. Based on my experiences a few years ago they're probably the absolute worst I've ever had the deal with, and it baffles me that how little its improved over a decade of playing this game. I remember half the time I called in the person was incredibly rude (I make an effort not to act rude/agitated to customer service people in case you're wondering) and the times they weren't they basically told me that they could do absolutely nothing about just about anything I asked, which I guess I can't really blame on the guy answering the phone, but it makes me wonder why SE bothers having customer service if they arn't going to allow them to actually do anything.

Unfortunately I'm not even sure how much help posting around here helps given the role of the people that browse our posts. I've heard XIV's been having a couple of the same problems though, so hopefully they'll wise up to this stuff since its also affected their "flagship" MMO as it were.

[Jeanna]

So I just tried again on my last mule account that's still active, haven't tried registering anything on that account on the 6th, and don't have any reason to believe that account has a 30 day block.. still got a 401.. (yes, I've logged into the Visa site and registered an address with the prepaid card, so there shouldn't be any conflicting information going on).

Really, really wish I knew what the hell was going on. I can't even begin to explain how incredibly frustrating this is.

[Spectreman]

let me second this -
my 3 accounts are all now down. I can't pay, and SE has lost themselves ~$40/month until they find a way to accept the money I'm trying my hardest to throw at them.

That really sucks. Idk why SE is such a bad company for simple things like paypal payment.

[Comeatmebro]

They ninjaed in a warning not to spam your card or it'll get locked out, so they must at least know the problem's occurring.

Wonder if they plan to fix it or they just call that good enough.. I'm sure the people who are locked out of their accounts would really appreciate a response!

[Camate]

Hello, everyone.

We definitely understand the frustration that certain customers are unable to pay for their subscriptions due to the removal of the PlaySpan payment option – specifically those customers who used Ultimate Game Cards and PayPal.

At the moment, we are working on implementing a PayPal payment option and we hope to have this up and running soon. In the meantime, if you do encounter errors when attempting to register your credit card please contact our Support Center for assistance.

I apologize for the inconvenience in the meantime, but rest assured that we are doing our best to provide a payment solution for everyone.

[Demetrius]

This is my only char that's still active that I can post under (what's up with needing an active chat to post on the forums btw? that's a little silly!). I've been posting under Calipso/Jeanna. Just wanted to pop in and say thanks for taking the time to reply, hope the paypal stuff doesn't take too long to implement.

[Spectreman]

Hello, everyone.

We definitely understand the frustration that certain customers are unable to pay for their subscriptions due to the removal of the PlaySpan payment option – specifically those customers who used Ultimate Game Cards and PayPal.

At the moment, we are working on implementing a PayPal payment option and we hope to have this up and running soon. In the meantime, if you do encounter errors when attempting to register your credit card please contact our Support Center for assistance.

I apologize for the inconvenience in the meantime, but rest assured that we are doing our best to provide a payment solution for everyone.



Nice to know. I'm on CC but i can't imagine how bad it would be for those players without that option.

[gregchiro2013]

I called and chatted with customer support they said nothing they can do for me. What kind of BS is this? I have called and chatted a few time I the best I got was try to wait 7 days and try again. Ive had issues recently where my card was declined, and I changed cards with none of this 401 error. Bad choice using Global Billing.

[Kjara]

Just called my bank after getting this error tonight, a few hours after paying my subscription to FFXIV's fanfest premium LIVE streaming.

It turns out I was right. The errors 401 and 601 on the account management were caused by the fact that the CC was already in the process of being locked by my bank for suspected fraud, and the transaction that raised this suspicion was the TwitchTV subscription to the Premium streaming for the FanFest.

[gregchiro2013]

I will call my bank in the morning Id laugh if its the banks fault....

[Demetrius]

While it certainly can be the banks fault, I've talked to my bank on 3 seperate occasions and each time they assured me there was no restrictions on my account.

[HimuraKenshyn]

Worst system ever I swear SE must be looking to go fing bankrupt.

[Demetrius]

Sooooooo...... I really hope this is gonna be soon soon, and not Cait-sith soon..

[DrathaNor]

I really hope this is dealt with soon. with these possible "Wait 24 hours or 7 days or 30 day lock outs" We are missing out on things with our friends, the new login event, the new trust from said login event along with the halloween event. As these are time limited and only happen once or once a year. Its kinda unfair. This also happened to my friend trying to reactivate his XIV account. so its happenng to both games. Its very upsetting to us that really enjoy the game and love doing events. Please do something about this Quickly. as in a week at the longest. taking months to fix this is unkind to your player communities on both games, and causes nothing but loss and bad reviews for your services.

[Olor]

I don't understand why they removed UPay (which still exists !) before they had paypal up and running. Not to mention they knew for months this was coming and they haven't set paypal up yet? Don't you guys have hundreds/thousands of employees? Aren't you a multi-million dollar corp? Why is this so hard?

[Demetrius]

At this point it's kinda like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted. It's a little unfortunate they didn't have some more foresight.

Better late than never I suppose.

[gregchiro2013]

Ok so I tried 8 times - its been 96 hours since then. I have used online chat support. They told me on chat to use the card today. I used the card and it worked. I would for sure contact online chat support they were finally able to help - make sure they actually look at your account (they will ask for personal info)

[Demetrius]

I just tried chat support and got the same scripted BS as usual. Even after asking twice if there was any way to look further into it, was just told the same "Se is not the financial institution" excuse and to try again after 24 hours. -_-

[DrathaNor]

Yeah same here. I just finished chatting with them 10 mins or so ago. And they say its my banks fault. But how is it my banks fault with a brand new prepaid card being declined, when its not even part of my bank. This is terrible... But they says its all on my end. nothing wrong on their end. not even looking into similar cases or anything because i mentioned this was happening to many other players. And the reply was "We are looking into another form of payment in the future" so i have to wait possibly MONTHs before you guys get your shit together?! half my friends could stop playing by then -.- I miss out on many event s in said time... Limited items ect. Such BS.

[Jiyou]

Hello, everyone.

We definitely understand the frustration that certain customers are unable to pay for their subscriptions due to the removal of the PlaySpan payment option – specifically those customers who used Ultimate Game Cards and PayPal.

At the moment, we are working on implementing a PayPal payment option and we hope to have this up and running soon. In the meantime, if you do encounter errors when attempting to register your credit card please contact our Support Center for assistance.

I apologize for the inconvenience in the meantime, but rest assured that we are doing our best to provide a payment solution for everyone.


Please re-add PaySafeCard option as well!

[Demetrius]

To the top. Still getting 401 errors. Any word on if Paypal is gonna be out this year?

[machini]

Honestly, this just furthers my belief that SE want FFXI to tank, considering you can buy FFXIV playtime cards WITH PAYPAL in their online store, but there's no similar option to buy time codes or pay for crysta for FFXI with PayPal.

[Afania]

Honestly, this just furthers my belief that SE want FFXI to tank, considering you can buy FFXIV playtime cards WITH PAYPAL in their online store, but there's no similar option to buy time codes or pay for crysta for FFXI with PayPal.


This game definitely needs game time card for none CC/Paypal users.....

[Comeatmebro]

don't understand why we can't have ffxiv game time cards converted into appropriate amount of crysta..

[bungiefanNA]

Honestly, this just furthers my belief that SE want FFXI to tank, considering you can buy FFXIV playtime cards WITH PAYPAL in their online store, but there's no similar option to buy time codes or pay for crysta for FFXI with PayPal.

FFXIV has two monthly fees, for if you want just one character per server, or multiple per server. FFXI has variable monthly fees, for each different amount of characters (up to 16, so 16 different fees). Unless they git rid of the fee per extra character, they can't easily do a game time card. Now if they sold Crysta cards, you'd always have change left over...

[Comeatmebro]

having extra change left over is better than not being able to pay at all, a lot of the people having this problem were used to buying $20 increment ultimate game cards already

there's no reason that someone with money they want to spend should be unable to pay..

[Demetrius]

I don't really understand the point of having both game cards and crysta (and really don't understand the point of crysta period), from my understanding ff14 gamecards don't let you use Retainers. Seems like it'd just be smarter for them to add crysta cards or just have 1 static fee no matter how many characters you have.

I realize the people reading this site probably don't have a lot of power when it comes to making changes, but I hope you're getting across how much a pain in the butt this 401 thing is, and how much business it's likely causing you to lose :<

[Afania]

I don't really understand the point of having both game cards and crysta (and really don't understand the point of crysta period), from my understanding ff14 gamecards don't let you use Retainers. Seems like it'd just be smarter for them to add crysta cards or just have 1 static fee no matter how many characters you have.

I realize the people reading this site probably don't have a lot of power when it comes to making changes, but I hope you're getting across how much a pain in the butt this 401 thing is, and how much business it's likely causing you to lose :<

They should have release game card/game code to buy crysta instead. That way we don't need to use Paypal/CC to pay for FFXI/FFXIV services.

[Jeanna]

Still no word on if Paypal is coming out this year? Still can't activate my main character :(

[Sekundes]

May as well make my comments too as I'm locked out for the foreseeable future. Why does SE have a system with no failsafes? What does a 24hour lockout help with? A 30 day lockout? These things only cause problems for legitimate players. If a gil seller had this issue, they would just make a new account. It doesn't stop any of them. The fraud system is a fraud.

So... why can't SE customer service reset an account? Why can it not whitelist a card? Why can they not just admit that the billing issues are not on the bank's side? It seems incredibly irresponsible to create a system like this where "nothing" can be done and try to put it back on the user? How many years does this issue need to be around before it gets fixed?

I'll be over there giving steam my money. Let me know once SE realizes they are killing both their games with their inability to take money.

[Elizara]

I had no problem adding crysta, but I have a friend who is affected. She can't and has contacted support.

Please Square, fix this. I'd like to see Kadiann back...

[Jeanna]

For the love of god, can you guys seriously do something about this, this year? Why is this so hard?

[Olor]

For the love of god, can you guys seriously do something about this, this year? Why is this so hard?

Because they don't put almost any of the money we pay back into the game.

They have sucked this game dry for years.

[Xaphina]

This is very frustrating. I was only 2 levels until lvl 99. >.<

My chat with tech support was not very helpful. It is really messed up that you account can be banned from trying to pay for a whole month.

[Jeanna]

Well, I think I'm out. This is more frustrating than I care to deal with anymore.

It's been almost a month since they removed paypal, and these 401 errors have been constant and causing issues since 2013. (Probably earlier). Starting to believe they're not taking it seriously or just have too much invested in their precious fraud system that they're not planning on making any changes.

Paypals probably only gonna make a re-emergence in some other new horrible 3rd party site (hello CnB) they partner with after several months.

[Seha]

Fix this please. Fix it now.

[Olor]

Fix this please. Fix it now.

that would be nice.

[Xaphina]

I am wondering how much legal trouble they would be in considering the website still says there are various forms of payment that are available when there really isnt. Today I also had a problem with tech support and the false information on the tech support website. I wanted to unlink my playonline ID and transfer it to my Japanese account. I live in Japan so it would be easier for me to pay through webmoney but the tech support said they could not unlink my account. However they could do something if my account was hacked. This makes no sense. If they can unlink as the support website says they can but then tell me they will only do it in this case. It is a complete contradiction of the info on the website.

There are soooooooo many things on the website for as official information that is just false.

[Jeanna]

If the week of free game time (return home to vanadiel) comes after they fix payment issues, I'm walking away from SE for good. What a slap in the face.

And wow, a whole week of free game time, after over a year of 401 errors and after 7 weeks of screwing over hundreds of customers by removing paypal with no notice. You're so very generous I can't even understand how you do it! /s

[bungiefanNA]

I am wondering how much legal trouble they would be in considering the website still says there are various forms of payment that are available when there really isnt. Today I also had a problem with tech support and the false information on the tech support website. I wanted to unlink my playonline ID and transfer it to my Japanese account. I live in Japan so it would be easier for me to pay through webmoney but the tech support said they could not unlink my account. However they could do something if my account was hacked. This makes no sense. If they can unlink as the support website says they can but then tell me they will only do it in this case. It is a complete contradiction of the info on the website.

There are soooooooo many things on the website for as official information that is just false.

They can unlink your account. I had my JP POL ID unlinked from my JP SEID and linked to my NA SEID (though I still have to buy JP registration codes). It took 8 months of fighting and emailing them using Google Translate, but they did say they would do it, just once for my account. I did it because they forced the new payment system and refused to run non-JP credit cards anymore, while Crysta required registering a valid in-region mailing address to the account so I could continue to use WebMoney at a 10% markup to pay my fee. When I got into the game, there wasn't any region but JP, and I have moved at least 8 times since starting the game. It seemed unreasonable that they didn't have a procedure for handling when someone moves internationally, with how many people in NA are military or government workers that move a lot. I have trouble staying in the same location for more than 2 years, and it's usually not my choice to move.

[bungiefanNA]

ANother thought occurred. PayPal has a debit card with the MasterCard logo on it. You can order the card, and if your PayPal account has insufficient balance, it can pull from your bank account instead.

[oliveira]

@bungiefan I'm still paying for FFXI with webmoney.jp ... -_-;

[Jeanna]

A full month has passed with no paypal (or other) implementation.

You guys must really, really not give s*** about your customers :/

[bungiefanNA]

@bungiefan I'm still paying for FFXI with webmoney.jp ... -_-;

Japan didn't use UltimatePay, so their payment didn't change. My issue with WebMoney was having to give a fake mailing address (risking a ban) and having to pay SuTo Corp's markup (between that and the currency exchange rate, the monthly fee increased greatly for me).

[doublesbrian]

Omg is this company serious ? I just reactivated my charecter today and that went fine, i then goto add crysta to xfer server and now it won't let me same card, more than enough money in my bank. I then try 3-4 diffrent credit cards i have and none will work after that i come here and read this thread only to find out i might now be locked out from adding crysta for 30 days or more ?

Wtf and only one shitty reply from a mod, get this crap sorted se and add paypal this week coming or loose a customer who just came back, i'm so mad about this.

[Camiie]

Japan didn't use UltimatePay, so their payment didn't change. My issue with WebMoney was having to give a fake mailing address (risking a ban) and having to pay SuTo Corp's markup (between that and the currency exchange rate, the monthly fee increased greatly for me).

I'll just go ahead and say it:

If this was affecting Japanese players they would have fixed it already. If you're not under the Rising Sun then you're apparently considered an untrustworthy second class citizen. Not that this is news.

[doublesbrian]

Do you know what makes this even worse on the website they have what sells copys of this game, ff14 etc they have a paypal option.

Come on sort it out tomorrow when you get back to work, enough people need paypal now to play your game it should take you a few hours to add it and a little update get to working on it right now, we are sick of waiting and it's about time we all rioted.

[Vasch]

I don't really understand the point of having both game cards and crysta (and really don't understand the point of crysta period), from my understanding ff14 gamecards don't let you use Retainers. Seems like it'd just be smarter for them to add crysta cards or just have 1 static fee no matter how many characters you have.

I realize the people reading this site probably don't have a lot of power when it comes to making changes, but I hope you're getting across how much a pain in the butt this 401 thing is, and how much business it's likely causing you to lose :<

Ironically, converting those game time cards into crysta cards would solve a lot of issues on both ends (XI and XIV). It would allow XI players an option to keep playing and would make it so Legacy XIV players wouldn't get screwed over if the gametime card is their only option.

[doublesbrian]

Come on how hard is it to give us an answer instead you just deleted the topic i made on this subject.

Put the se websites under maintence for 24 hours and in that time you can change the code to accept paypal, get to it you bunch of useless monkeys.

[Stompa]

I'm really happy that SE responded to member complaints on payment issues, and have said they will implement a Paypal option.

I was really happy when they said that. I'm looking forward to buying lots of Crysta with Paypal, and reactivating my mules. Its something to look forward to, and hopefully it will be the end of payment problems which I've experienced on-and-off for about three years.

So this member says a big "thankyou" to SE for listening to our complaints, and declaring that they will add a Paypal option. I'm very happy about that announcement, and now its just time for me to have some patience while they fix it up.

:)

[Jeanna]

Saying something and actually doing it are two pretty different things. Empty promises are pretty meaningless. I was happy at first, but it's been a month since se rep came in and said anything. SE and I must have very different definitions of the word "soon". My accounts been locked out since Oct 2, and it's starting to be a pretty big bummer. Most people in my LS have ended up leaving/quitting.

[Stompa]

Yes, but this problem has existed for a long time, and during that time there was no talk about fixing it. Now they have said they will fix it, that is a positive step. My account has only a bit of crysta left, so I might be taking a a holiday from the game when my Crysta runs out. And then return to the game when the Paypal option is added.
Why should I waste my time being angry and raging about it. Its better to be happy about them eventually fixing the Paypal option, and have some patience in the meantime.

[Lokex]

In reading and going threw the many similar frustrations many have been experiencing with payment system.

I am gladly retiring and returning to Blizzard products to say the least. In all my years of enjoying and spending time with In-game friends from across the Globe. I pains me to hang it up for the last time and never return. :confused:

Like many before me, I used an estimated 2 to 3 main accounts to low man several aspects of FFXI. Each holding 8 to 10 sub accounts for storage. In the recent events and spending several frustrating hours in the attempts to restore these accounts. I'm gladly calling it quits and returning to other MMO's who have their act together and relish in taking my simple monthly fee to pay to play. :rolleyes:

Thx SE for making hundreds if not thousands of players in my similar situation come to a similar conclusion. :D

[Vasch]

Hello, everyone.

We definitely understand the frustration that certain customers are unable to pay for their subscriptions due to the removal of the PlaySpan payment option – specifically those customers who used Ultimate Game Cards and PayPal.

At the moment, we are working on implementing a PayPal payment option and we hope to have this up and running soon. In the meantime, if you do encounter errors when attempting to register your credit card please contact our Support Center for assistance.

I apologize for the inconvenience in the meantime, but rest assured that we are doing our best to provide a payment solution for everyone.

So I take it that this was a "Cait Sith" soon?

[Finality]

Just throwing this idea out there. The "Free-to-Play" weeks that you guys keep giving out...why not just activate the people receiving the error 401 so they can continue playing, until you learn how to fix the payment problem? Them being happy while waiting to pay for your game would be way better than having potential customers get upset and quitting forever. You're not getting money in either instance, but in one of the cases you'll be getting money from them in the future because they wouldn't rage-quit.

Most companies I know operate this way. When my cable was interrupted for weeks on end, I'd call them, and they'd give me a free month to keep me as their customer, just a thought. I for one would love to be able to continue paying to play this game. I'd even be willing to sign a thing that says I have to retroactively pay for what I play while you get it sorted. But not being able to play for such long periods of time completely diminishes my enjoyment overall with this game.

Also, you guys should respond more than once a month to this issue. You're putting so much effort into bringing old ffxi players back to the game, but putting no effort into keeping the fans who are already here and ready to pay-to-play? That makes 0 sense.
Please, please, PLEASE, give us an update with a realistic time-line of when the paypal option will be available. You can say "Try back in 6 months", and people will be happier. It's the uncertainty that is upsetting to people, not the having to wait(although waiting isn't entirely enjoyable).

Use this forum for what it's supposed to be used for, TALK TO THE COMMUNITY PLEASE!

[Jeanna]

To the top. The free week is lovely, it'd be even lovelier if these issues were fixed by the time free week is over. My account has been off since Oct2 and I still can't reactivate it :(

[Vasch]

We really need an update on this. The free week is starting to feel like the green mile for my friends who are being affected by this issue. This is really tearing my linkshell apart. Bring us some good news, Camate!

[Grekumah]

Hello,

I want to apologize for not being able to communicate this information to those of you facing payment issues sooner, but rest assured I've been keeping an eye on this thread.

I know how frustrating this may be for those of you who want to play, but are unable to due to the changes in our payment options. We assure you that we are working as swiftly as possible to add a PayPal payment option, and we ask for your continued patience as we work towards an exact implementation date for this service.

As soon as we have more details to share about additional payment methods, we will be sure to update all of you. Please hang in there just a bit longer!

[Finality]

Hello,

I want to apologize for not being able to communicate this information to those of you facing payment issues sooner, but rest assured I've been keeping an eye on this thread.

I know how frustrating this may be for those of you who want to play, but are unable to due to the changes in our payment options. We assure you that we are working as swiftly as possible to add a PayPal payment option, and we ask for your continued patience as we work towards an exact implementation date for this service.

As soon as we have more details to share about additional payment methods, we will be sure to update all of you. Please hang in there just a bit longer!

Thank you for the update! :D I can't wait to play again.

[Jeanna]

Green mile.. that's pretty apt.. not to look a gift horse in the mouth but I'd be enjoying the free week and update a lot more if there wasn't the knowledge that at the end my accounts are gonna be off for good :/ Haven't been able to re-activate since my account turned off on October 2nd, I doubt that's going to change unless they fixed something.

I realize the reps on this forum are likely no more than messengers, but I hope you're somehow getting across just how shitty and terrible this is. Many people in my ls have quit and the rest of my friends are probably going to leave/move on to other things if I'm out of the game again for a long time. I don't really want to quit, but I feel like I'm being shoved out the door with it being slammed behind me. If paypal takes a long time to implement, there's likely not going to be a whole lot for people to come back to, me especially.

Seriously though, I hope the higher ups realize WoD is coming out this week (and they're doing an AMAZING job of marketing it, seen times square lately?) as well as other games and competition is fierce enough without many many players literally being forced to quit because they can't play :/

[Malphius]

Here's my question to SE. Shouldn't the people unable to pay because of the faulty payment options be playing for free until the issue is resolved? It's just hurting everyone. Some of those subscribers are bound to not return. It harms the company and the community. I've payed for FFXI for 12 years and have no issues paying now but for those that can't, they should still be allowed to continue playing. The community is not the ones at fault over this but they're the ones that pay the price.

[Jeanna]

I've been pushing for free game time while they fix this out, but it's just not something SE is ever, ever going to do... especially since they've been vague and often won't even take the blame for the errors. (Probably 75% or more of the time they try and say it's the fault of the person/browser/bank etc). Even though most companies would hand out something free no matter who's error/fault it was.. unfortunately SE just doesn't bend that way.

[Olor]

The thing that irritates me most about this is that SE could have warned people who relied on paypal through ultimate pay that they should stock up on currency. Instead they said only ultimate game cards were being discontinued, so many, myself included, were caught off guard. It would have cost them nothing to give people a heads up before pulling the rug out from under their paying customers. Sometimes I wonder if they even want subscribers.

[Jeanna]

Yeah, that was a pretty huge bummer. I wouldn't have had a problem stocking up on max crysta on my chars had I known. :/

[bungiefanNA]

Hello,

I want to apologize for not being able to communicate this information to those of you facing payment issues sooner, but rest assured I've been keeping an eye on this thread.

I know how frustrating this may be for those of you who want to play, but are unable to due to the changes in our payment options. We assure you that we are working as swiftly as possible to add a PayPal payment option, and we ask for your continued patience as we work towards an exact implementation date for this service.

As soon as we have more details to share about additional payment methods, we will be sure to update all of you. Please hang in there just a bit longer!

That's all well and good, but while people have been unable to play for upwards of a month, social groups are drying up and leaving. It shouldn't take this long to get a new payment method up and going, when there should have been knowledge at SquareEnix that they were getting rid of the payment option (I've seen posts dated in July on the forum that it would be going away, which someone dug up, but wasn't posted in the game news), which means they really knew it would be a problem 5 months ago, which is even worse for getting a backup option available. The longer this goes on, the more people will find another game to play and won't come back. It's also affecting FFXIV, so I'm surprised it wasn't jumped on faster.

[Afania]

Hello,

I want to apologize for not being able to communicate this information to those of you facing payment issues sooner, but rest assured I've been keeping an eye on this thread.

I know how frustrating this may be for those of you who want to play, but are unable to due to the changes in our payment options. We assure you that we are working as swiftly as possible to add a PayPal payment option, and we ask for your continued patience as we work towards an exact implementation date for this service.

As soon as we have more details to share about additional payment methods, we will be sure to update all of you. Please hang in there just a bit longer!

Can we have some sort of game card option as well? It's more accessible than Paypal.

[BobbinT]

Can we have some sort of game card option as well? It's more accessible than Paypal.

Agreeing with this. XIV does have it. At least with XIV, I still have the option via that. But for XI, you're kinda stuck. :(

[Mnejing]

Can we have some sort of game card option as well? It's more accessible than Paypal.
There was rixty which I was paying for 3 other accounts but it was removed when Ultimate Pay was removed.

[BobbinT]

There was rixty which I was paying for 3 other accounts but it was removed when Ultimate Pay was removed.

Think what @Afania meant was the exclusive game time card like the 60 days time card that XIV produces, not the 3rd party game card.

[Jeanna]

Please have this fixed by the end of free week ;; you've had so much time to work on it already.

[Mnejing]

Think what @Afania meant was the exclusive game time card like the 60 days time card that XIV produces, not the 3rd party game card.
That would only work if you aren't planning to transfer servers or in 14's case rename characters, no extra retainers and etc.

[BobbinT]

That would only work if you aren't planning to transfer servers or in 14's case rename characters, no extra retainers and etc.

lol

You do realize that XI doesn't have cash shop, unlike the recent-added one in XIV. And neither does those additional services like retainers, fantasia, namingway, etc.

There's only world transfer service, but I don't think ppl like to move around them alot. ^^;

[Jeanna]

I went through an insane amount of trouble to go and get a different credit card that wasn't tied to my bank.

I either have some stupid, unreasonably long block on my accounts or something is seriously wrong with your system. Still get 401 while trying to buy crysta and 601 while trying to register.

Highly disappointing but looks like I am out for good at the end of free week if this isn't fixed :(

[Mnejing]

lol

You do realize that XI doesn't have cash shop, unlike the recent-added one in XIV. And neither does those additional services like retainers, fantasia, namingway, etc.

There's only world transfer service, but I don't think ppl like to move around them alot. ^^;
Point of the post was pointing out the obvious flaws in creating a time card, that's why the 3rd party game card option (UGC and Rixty) was better since it was converted into crysta rather than extending your sub.

[Angrymithra]

Do you know what really annoys me, my account runs out of crysta last night and obviously I get another 401 error as I have on two other accounts, however the free login campaign is still ongoing but it won't let me login so everyone who hasn't paid in ages gets a week free to play and I don't because my crysta ran out last night and your silly system won't let me top up and no free week for me either how nice.

This is two of my accounts locked out now one is coming up to two weeks the other went last night and another one is due on the 17'th it's on the same se id as one of the others who I can't add crysta too, so once again i'm going to loose another account.

This is beyond a joke now you have had months to sort this issue but you would rather mess your customers around and the reply in this thread is no help "give us a little more time" how much time is a little time a day, a week or another two months ? It shouldn't take more than one day to add paypal to your own website but no, why do i get the idea you're looking for a third party company to take it through again. If you insist on this third party crap please make sure they take some form of payment card such as ukash or the ones mentioned above because ultimate pay used to also block paypal payments, I really don't get why this is taking so long or why a company is pushing it's own customers away but bravo se bravo you really how outshined yourselves this time.

[BobbinT]

Point of the post was pointing out the obvious flaws in creating a time card, that's why the 3rd party game card option (UGC and Rixty) was better since it was converted into crysta rather than extending your sub.

Again, the only flaw I see for exclusive game time card are the world transfer service, since from what I see, there's no form of cash shop or additional services in FFXI. It does become a major flaw in XIV, not just other cash shop & additional services, but also those XIV players who has legacy billing. And yes, I am one of those XIV legacy players who suffers from this.

But as for XI, at least this game time card might be a good solution, given there's never be a discounted billing prices like what legacy players in XIV had. And according to some friends who's not a legacy player, prices on those game time card are actually quite worth it and cost slightly less than what you pay directly.

Unless... you like to hop between server really alot tho... lol

[Jeanna]

The problem with gamecards is they don't allow for the extra costs of mules/retainers. If they want to make gamecards a thing, they're going to have to do away with the price tag on those things or make varying prices of game cards which seems annoying.

[Jeanna]

Starting to look like they aren't going to have this fixed by the time free week is over :< Not getting my hopes up for a last min announcement on monday.

[Jeanna]

C'mon, square! Have this fixed before free week is over!

https://38.media.tumblr.com/64176f6ff92997a09d1072f04be0c9ef/tumblr_mxept6tiwp1se83aeo1_500.gif

[Angrymithra]

My final account will go down tomorrow night at midnight. What is the point in me even playing now because i know for a fact this useless company won't have any extra billing options ready by tomorrow.

Prove me wrong se, have everything set up by tomorrow so the people who can't play but want to play can do so.

If it doesn't happen im gone for good im not been messed around by you lot any longer, you may not care and other players will probably just mock but who cares i will be done this is really beyond a joke and for a company of your size unacceptable.

[Jeanna]

this is really beyond a joke and for a company of your size unacceptable.

Sometimes I genuinely wonder if employees of SE ever become embarrassed of how terribly the company they represent and work for is run. I know I would be. Unless there's some sort of miraculous announcement tomorrow as the free week ends, I'm done with ffxi (not like I have a choice) and square in general. If it takes them more weeks/months to fix this what's left of my LS is going to scatter and move on (not that I blame them or expect any different), people I've been playing with for years, in some cases since 09-10. I really have no desire to come back to this dying game with no friends left to play with.

I realize at this point I'm pretty bitter and probably sound pretty bi***y but this really is so pathetic that it's borderline embarrassing. I almost pity square. These payment issues (401/601 etc) have been going on since at least Sept 2013 (possibly earlier), affecting thousands of customers causing many to quit, and in October of this year they remove Paypal with zero notice and 6 weeks later there still isn't a replacement, causing even more people to quit (or be forced to quit). What a freaking joke.

Here's a little context/comparison for you all, I was having some issues buying WoD from Blizz. Got some payment error on their site and it wouldn't go through. (Note this is NOTHING to do with my CC and was a huge problem for a lot of people on their part). Not only was my ticket responded within a few hours outlying not only the problem but what the exact solution was, but the error was fixed within half a day and I was able to buy it.

[Angrymithra]

Jeanna i feel so bad for you with how long this has been happening to you without any kind of resolution, it all started for me just a couple of weeks ago and it's already driving me crazy so don't worry about sounding bitch which you don't but you would have every right.

We both can hope that tomorrow when we wake up some new payment system is ready to go live but i doubt it :(.

[Jeanna]

The worst part about all this is being kept completely in the dark. No one has any clue if it's going to be fixed next week or next year. The lack of information from square and their total seemingly lack of regard for the customers is what makes this so bad. How hard is it to either say, "Hey, we should have this fixed within a month, come back and check then" or "We're working on hooking up with another shady third party site that's probably going to cause as many problems as it fixes and is probably going to take us 3-4 months, come check back then". Having someone pop in and say "soon" and having nothing for 36 days after "soon" is ridiculous. Stop lying to us, stop humoring us, and just let us know what the hell is going on.

[Angrymithra]

The worst part about all this is being kept completely in the dark. No one has any clue if it's going to be fixed next week or next year. The lack of information from square and their total seemingly lack of regard for the customers is what makes this so bad. How hard is it to either say, "Hey, we should have this fixed within a month, come back and check then" or "We're working on hooking up with another shady third party site that's probably going to cause as many problems as it fixes and is probably going to take us 3-4 months, come check back then". Having someone pop in and say "soon" and having nothing for 36 days after "soon" is ridiculous. Stop lying to us, stop humoring us, and just let us know what the hell is going on.

100% agreed and to further add they even have paypal as an option when your purchase games from there online store, how long would it really take them to put the se account website under maintenance and add paypal as an option it should take no more than 24 hours the whole thing stinks.

If they are worried about somone paying for the month then recalling the money on paypal simply lm-11 them until they repay.

[BobbinT]

XIV's SE golden child now. And from what I see on the Adoulin story closure, it felt rushed, as if SE trying to get over this as quick as possible.

[Seillan]

XIV's SE golden child now. And from what I see on the Adoulin story closure, it felt rushed, as if SE trying to get over this as quick as possible.

Isn't this problem happening to a lot of the XIV players too?

Regardless, it's definitely no way to run a business in any sense.

[Vasch]

If they are worried about somone paying for the month then recalling the money on paypal simply lm-11 them until they repay.

You can just as easily file a chargeback on credit card and you do get banned if that happens.


XIV's SE golden child now. And from what I see on the Adoulin story closure, it felt rushed, as if SE trying to get over this as quick as possible.

XIV's got the same issue. They've got a thread on their forum from September 2013 to now with over 100 pages. While they do have timecards, it screws over people who have Legacy because they can't get the discount.

[Angrymithra]

Get this sorted out come on, in a few hour i'll lose my last account and the ability to post on here.

I really don't know what is taking so long, well at least everyone can see the shambles for customer service this company has hopefully at some point down the line it costs you business.

[bungiefanNA]

Get this sorted out come on, in a few hour i'll lose my last account and the ability to post on here.

I really don't know what is taking so long, well at least everyone can see the shambles for customer service this company has hopefully at some point down the line it costs you business.

As long as you don't sign out or try to view your profile, you can continue to post from your computers you have logged in on before expiration. Doing either expires your cookies on all systems and locks you out. I posted for months with my FFXI account inactive while fighting for my region change, until I accidentally viewed my profile and expired my login.

[BobbinT]

Isn't this problem happening to a lot of the XIV players too?

Regardless, it's definitely no way to run a business in any sense.


XIV's got the same issue. They've got a thread on their forum from September 2013 to now with over 100 pages. While they do have timecards, it screws over people who have Legacy because they can't get the discount.

Well... yes it does, and I'm also one complaining there too. But XIV still has their exclusive game time card which would works even though it's more expensive than legacy billing that I have. There's also extra billing that game time card can't handle such as additional services like retainers/namingway/phantasia or cash shop for buying minion and stuff, but that is something I (and even most of ppl) can live without.

XI on the other hand, are completely stuck without CC/DC billings. And they don't even have exclusive game time card too.

And that's not all. XIV has been offering cumulative billings like quarter or half year billing which is way cheaper compared paying it monthly. Sadly, XI only has monthly billings, which they should seeing that this game are getting older.

[Jeanna]

Bye-bye Q___________________________Q

I'm done trying to fight for this. I've played the game for a very long time and enjoyed my time in it, but SE is a horribly run company that doesn't value their customers in the least. The things I've done for the last month and a half and the amount of frustration I've been through has just soured me to the point where I really don't give a shit anymore. I doubt even a years worth of free time could get me to come back to this game, let alone any square product/game in the future.

Anyone who still actually has the desire to play this game and is still having issues, good luck. I hope they do actually fix stuff soon. (Although personally I wouldn't be holding my breath).

[BobbinT]

Bye-bye Q___________________________Q

I'm done trying to fight for this. I've played the game for a very long time and enjoyed my time in it, but SE is a horribly run company that doesn't value their customers in the least. The things I've done for the last month and a half and the amount of frustration I've been through has just soured me to the point where I really don't give a shit anymore. I doubt even a years worth of free time could get me to come back to this game, let alone any square product/game in the future.

Anyone who still actually has the desire to play this game and is still having issues, good luck. I hope they do actually fix stuff soon. (Although personally I wouldn't be holding my breath).

awww... that sucks. This game is too wonderful to let go. Hope you got your issues resolves. ^^;

[Sfchakan]

Jeanna, you are a really nice person and skilled player in the game. I'm sorry this has happened to you and your ls. I did a few things with you guys previously and could see how this is devastating to your group of friends.

Unfortunately for me, I went to subscribe since the free week was ending today. I got hit with a 601. I googled 601, since there was no real information given.

I discovered an answer stating that it's usually when the billing address is incorrect. So I checked mine and found it was out of date. I corrected it and started getting 401 errors. Anyone following this thread knows what that entails and that I, of course, assumed I had incorrectly entered my credit card. So I entered it again. And a 3rd time. I scratched my head.

I tried my other credit card. Still denied with 401.

I browsed around and found I'm likely screwed from enjoying XI any time soon. A very large bummer, as not only was I going to return, but my significant other as well.

The very least Square can do before making other options available is EDITING THE ERROR TEXT TO MAKE IT LESS ESOTERIC. Please do so shortly so that more players aren't affected by this backwards system we are stuck using.

EDIT: And here's the really stupid thing. After reading about this issue for the past few hours, I came upon a few posts urging people to simply try buying Crysta through Internet Explorer, with no Add-Ons running. It worked like a charm first time. I was hesitant because I had received a few 401 errors and didn't want to block myself for 30 days. However, this all seemed ridiculous since I had paid for the game with this same card previously with no issues.

I noticed when I payed via IE, a GlobalCollect animation appeared that I did not see in Chrome.

Evidently, this error can happen when the server receives an incorrect value from the web browser. Why it's lumped together like it is with other issues is beyond me.

So if you are not seeing that animation appear, give a bare bones browser a shot.

[Xaphina]

So if you are not seeing that animation appear, give a bare bones browser a shot.


I just went and tried all of this. It worked this time. I was able to add 2600 crysta to my account.

[Seillan]

I just went and tried all of this. It worked this time. I was able to add 2600 crysta to my account.

I think that's the method I had read about on the XIV forums (using a barebones browser I mean) to circumvent the issue, but I figured it was only working for a select few. I'd say it's worth a shot for anyone dealing with this issue; assuming of course that your account isn't locked out due to SE's lack of transparency on the issue. You'd think the least they could do is add a freaking disclaimer alerting people that they'll be locked out if they continuously try to resubmit their information. The lack of punctuality and professionalism on this issue is truly baffling, especially for a company that went out of their way to bring a previously failed project (XIV) back from the brink of death after admitting their mistakes and rectifying them. Come on SE -- get with the program!

[Coops]

I'm getting 401 on a server transfer. 10 minutes after I successfully transferred 2 other characters with the same card.

[bungiefanNA]

401s seem to happen if you use the same payment method multiple times in a day. You can't have all your accounts sharing the same payment method unless they are all on the same SE ID and you charge the account with enough Crysta to do all your transactions at once. Everyone I've seen that has been able to pay and then has had the error has had it happen after multiple charges in one day, usually the 2nd or 3rd charge to the same card.

[BobbinT]

well... unfortunately, web browser could indeed affect the way website works. But... reverting to the old IE were not really a great idea, especially on older OS such as Windows XP which won't be able to have the latest version of it. And most of PC user should already know how susceptible IE against things like malware and stuff. :p

And from what I read, this is really a very old issue that hasn't been fixed yet. Or worse, maybe not even care to. And I'm also talking about the old-401 errors too. :(

[BobbinT]

Btw, just recently discovered this revelation. Might be the way to remedy this problems:

http://i.imgur.com/NT1PNLE.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/BeDPPCF.jpg

Yes, I'm talking about Steam Wallet, taken from XIV Mogstation. Apparently these were made available not only to purchase your subscription, but also all the extra additional services too. Unfortunately, it's also confirmed that this option only enabled for ppl who buy the game through steam.

Wonder if we could just buy a digital copy from them, then register to our own account to make them available for us? If it can, this would be really great since at least I can refill steam wallet though local payments. :)

[Vasch]

Can you add crysta with steam wallet using that? It wouldnt really help 11 players otherwise.

[Sfchakan]

I just went and tried all of this. It worked this time. I was able to add 2600 crysta to my account.

Glad I could be of any help!

"Bump" for the new page so more people might be helped:

EDIT: And here's the really stupid thing. After reading about this issue for the past few hours, I came upon a few posts urging people to simply try buying Crysta through Internet Explorer, with no Add-Ons running. It worked like a charm first time. I was hesitant because I had received a few 401 errors and didn't want to block myself for 30 days. However, this all seemed ridiculous since I had paid for the game with this same card previously with no issues.

I noticed when I payed via IE, a GlobalCollect animation appeared that I did not see in Chrome.

Evidently, this error can happen when the server receives an incorrect value from the web browser. Why it's lumped together like it is with other issues is beyond me.

So if you are not seeing that animation appear, give a bare bones browser a shot.

[Jeanna]

I got IE to work, once, about a month ago, to renew my sub, but couldn't buy crysta. That char has since ran out of time. Since then no browser has worked including IE :/ I don't/didn't try that often, either. Definitely no reason to have a block on that account, especially since it went through. I was trying once every couple days to a week. So silly. At least WoD is fun and blizzard has no problems taking my money.

[Stompa]

I don't really want to monkey around with my browsers or operating systems or anything. My PC works fine on all other websites.

I also don't want Steam or any other 3rd party payment option.

I want a direct Paypal-to-SE-management-system payment. And hopefully, judging by their responses so far, this is what is being planned.

[bungiefanNA]

PayPal is a third-party payment system though, if you consider Steam so.

The SteamWallet thing can work like Crysta though, in that you can charge your wallet ahead of time and have SE just pull funds from it for your subscription. They also sell Steam cards at various stores to charge your wallet, for people that can't use a credit/debit card. Also, selling trading cards from your games can fill your wallet, which can cover some of your subscription. The only downside I can think of is that you have to buy a copy of the game through Steam to be able to use the wallet, which is something console users wouldn't have done, and importers couldn't do.

[Jeanna]

Hey look, 15 months or more after this first started happening there's an official post on the website about it (that isn't a community rep/gm).

http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/polnews/news23840.shtml

Now it should only take them another 15 months to actually fix it :<

[Sfchakan]

It's some news, even if it isn't new news.

Hope to see you running around again eventually, Cali.

[lllen]

Wow, I feel lucky. I use Mozilla/Firefox and usually use my prepaid debit card to buy crysta, this month I was waiting for new regular card so I bought a prepaid Green Dot put $20 on it and it worked. I have been buying crysta everymonth with a prepaid since I couldn't get a game card anymore.

[Vasch]

Well, my LS has all but fallen apart...

[bungiefanNA]

I've seen some people on Reddit, and my own LS seems to be a bit shy on numbers. This is what I was talking about earlier where the players that can still pay are affected because their friends can't log in, simply because SE won't accept their payment. It's pretty inexcusable to have this problem from such a big company. They are throwing away income, and turning off players of both their games, not just the ones that can't play.

[Vasch]

I've seen some people on Reddit, and my own LS seems to be a bit shy on numbers. This is what I was talking about earlier where the players that can still pay are affected because their friends can't log in, simply because SE won't accept their payment. It's pretty inexcusable to have this problem from such a big company. They are throwing away income, and turning off players of both their games, not just the ones that can't play.

Just losing Cali has lead to our LS almost completely stopping events. It isn't because we can't complete events without her, but because it's completely disheartening to our morale to watch our friend be frustrated because she can't play with us. It's completely ridiculous that it's taken over a year for it to even be looked into.

She can't even post on this forum anymore because her subscription ran out. I'll keep posting on her behalf til we see all our friends able to return.

[bungiefanNA]

She should still be able to post, even with an expired subscription, as long as she didn't expire her cookie by logging out or viewing her user profile. I was able to post for 5 of the 8 months I wasn't subscribed while fighting/waiting for my region change on my account.

[Vasch]

Well this is just great... Now I'm the only person left in my linkshell of 7 because of this >.>...


She should still be able to post, even with an expired subscription, as long as she didn't expire her cookie by logging out or viewing her user profile. I was able to post for 5 of the 8 months I wasn't subscribed while fighting/waiting for my region change on my account.

It kicked her off when she tried to get on after losing her account.

[Vasch]

Hey, it's been too long...
And this is crazy...
So here's my money...
Fix your stuff maybe?

[Sfchakan]

Every time you bump this, I get excited - hoping it's a new official response. By this point, Square has lost out on a good deal of subscription revenue. You think biting the bullet and putting up a default PayPal system and absorbing the related costs or risks would be worth it.

Unfortunately, we all know whenever the new payment method arrives, it will be too late for some. They'll have moved on to other things.

[BobbinT]

By this point, Square has lost out on a good deal of subscription revenue.

Could you back up this claim? ^^;

[Demonjustin]

Could you back up this claim? ^^;Umm~ the number of people who've posted here repeatedly leading up to their accounts no longer being active asking for an alternative payment method informing SE that their time is coming up when they'll be unable to continue to play? I mean that source seems trustworthy enough to me.

[bungiefanNA]

Also, look at previous posts and see who doesn't have a character icon and profile by their name. That means their subscription is inactive.

Reddit and FFXIAH had several posts saying how some linkshells were decimated (or worse) by it. Note that this also impacts FFXIV, which has more subscribers, so is going to take a bigger hit.

[Apie]

I'm in the same boat, I have until 12/14 and then bam, I won't be able to log on. I am more than happy to pay, but since the first 401 error on 12/7, it's been pretty clear that this month's login event is screwed for me...So much for the Marduk's set I was gonna get with my points... Messed up part is that I did exactly what the SE employee told me to do on the chat system...still nothing.

[Stompa]

Me too, my PAYPAL Ultimate Game Card crysta runs out at the start of 2015.

And since SEMS doesn't want to accept my UK bank cards / account, that means my FFXI account will be going Han Solo <Furnishings> mode in a month or so.

Will thaw Han out if/when Paypal option is added in the future.

[Apie]

Me too, my PAYPAL Ultimate Game Card crysta runs out at the start of 2015.

And since SEMS doesn't want to accept my UK bank cards / account, that means my FFXI account will be going Han Solo <Furnishings> mode in a month or so.

Will thaw Han out if/when Paypal option is added in the future.

My chat that just ended a few minutes ago made it sound like paypal MIGHT become available in under 30 days, but even so, we shouldn't have to go through this, period. I mean come on...How about this, SE, give me your mailing address, I'll send you a check/cash/money order/whatever and then you can have your money and I can play FFXI.

[Olor]

pretty sad when people can't even pay... if SE knew for months they were going to do this, why didn't they set up paypal before ending ultimate pay? Such a bad way to run a business. Not shocking though,

I mean this is the company that hasn't released a single older title for the wiiU eshop. I mean god forbid someone want to give them money, right? So I don't know why I expected FFXI to be more sensibly run than the rest of the company.

I feel for everyone affected by this, I was able to swing a CC to pay... not everyone's works. Worst part is with Xmas and everything it's such a prime time to play.

:(

[Jile]

<player> Take my money!
<SE> \
<player> ... Take my money!!
<SE> \
<player> Um, Please? Please, take my money?
<SE> No soup for you! Come back one year!
<player> >.>

If they're not going to accept people's money they should make it F2P, I mean seriously they need to get new management that knows how to handle this. The dishonor alone should have been enough to motivate change. Very dishonorable way to treat customers!

[dasva]

So I've used the same bank and debit account since I started playing ffxi about 11 years ago. Gotten new cards as old ones expired but always the same account tied to it. The most recent card had been registered and working just fine for several months now... then randomly one night account deactivated and they say something is wrong of course everyone else in the world accepts the card and money and says it's fine but no not SE... then a few days later same thing with another account. Seriously what kind of business model do you guys run that literally tells customers that the money that they have been using for years is no longer good for no reason?

[BobbinT]

Wow! Seriously?

Then what the heck SE's doing? If what you guys claim were really true, maybe perhaps SE intends to close doors of XI in the future?

Right now, I want to hear if the amount of CC payer does make this game still survivable. :?

[Vasch]

Wow! Seriously?

Then what the heck SE's doing? If what you guys claim were really true, maybe perhaps SE intends to close doors of XI in the future?

Right now, I want to hear if the amount of CC payer does make this game still survivable. :?

It affects a lot of FFXIV players too, so it isn't an XI exclusive thing.

My Linkshell is now just me. Everyone else lost the motivation to play after a few of our favorite members were locked out. I think it may be too late for us :/

[bungiefanNA]

Wow! Seriously?

Then what the heck SE's doing? If what you guys claim were really true, maybe perhaps SE intends to close doors of XI in the future?

Right now, I want to hear if the amount of CC payer does make this game still survivable. :?

The same payment system is used for FFXIV. If your card isn't accepted and you get a 401 error, it locks your SE Account from accepting payment for 1-30 days (lock time depends on how many times you tried to pay and got the error). It's a systemic problem, not just limited to XI. XIV just has the option of game time cards to pay for a month, but with no discount for Legacy players, and no option to buy additional services. XI and XIV are being impacted by this payment system problem. It's not there to kill XI, it's an amazing oversight by the SquareEnix staff that could have easily been planned for and avoided, but they'd rather go several months without being able to accept money from some players.

[Vasch]

I was bored earlier and asked Cortana to tell me a joke on my phone. For some reason, it loaded up the billing page for FFXI.

[Jeanna]

So after being locked out for over a month (and since oct 2 on my main account), the other night ago my fiance tried to buy some stuff for 14 (his SE account has been locked too and he was unable to pay for 14 or 11) and it went through. I was able to get my mule through, too. My main account still gets 401 errors, though. It had been about 17-18 days since I last tried on my main account, so I'm guessing it has a 30 day block on it.

You guys are so full of s**t it's not funny. It's sad. Really, really sad. At least get your facts straight and pass them on to your employees properly so there isn't so much misinformation flowing around.

The credit card I finally got to work was a brand new one my fiance got that's tied to a relatives' bank out from of the country. So not only does the name not match, the address and country don't match what's recorded on our SE account pages.

Almost 3 months and no Paypal? 15+ months of 401/601 errors and it's still not fixed? What in the actual heck are you guys doing?

[Olor]

they are killing their own profits with poor planning. Maybe they mailed paypal a letter about possibly one day working with them and they forgot to put a stamp on it?

[Jile]

I honestly think SE has forgotten that in order to keep running this business they need to keep getting paid!

People wonder about current server player levels and think it's people quitting. I see the current levels and wonder how many people are waving money at SE and they're blatantly turning it away!?

How long until none of us are able to pay? The next payment arrangement update?

I cant imagine most people are as patient as Jeanna and willing to come back after all the stress SE has intentionally dished out?!

In the past when honor mattered, their entire billing management staff would have already committed harakiri and a new honorable staff would have been hired to take their place. (not saying I want them to die - just die from embarrassment at their failure and make things better!)

[Seillan]

I'm not 100% sure yet, but I think I may have just been admitted to the billing error club. My sub was supposed to renew a few days ago and right before it did, I got an e-mail from SE saying there was a "processing error" with my payment and that my sub had been cancelled. I've been really busy lately so I haven't bothered to try manually resubbing again, and honestly, considering how poorly SE has went about handling this situation, I may just say screw it and move on to something else. Chances are it wouldn't let me resub now anyway.

In my close to 15 years of playing these games, this payment nonsense is truly unprecedented. And that goes for their lack of communication and action taken on it as well. Very unprofessional.

[Jeanna]

I cant imagine most people are as patient as Jeanna and willing to come back after all the stress SE has intentionally dished out?!


I'm actually not planning on coming back to the game. I logged on my mule for about 5 minutes and had zero motivation to play. A lot of my friends have burnt out/moved on. My fiance managed to buy crysta which he'll use for his 14 account, and I don't really have any desire to play on mules till/when/if they fix this bullshit. My main account has been locked out since Oct 2 and I'm still 401'ing on it. Three months while they ignore me (and everyone else) and treat us like shit - yeah, I've moved on from XI lol. At this point even a free years worth of sub wouldn't motivate me to play again.

[Olor]

I'm actually not planning on coming back to the game. I logged on my mule for about 5 minutes and had zero motivation to play. A lot of my friends have burnt out/moved on. My fiance managed to buy crysta which he'll use for his 14 account, and I don't really have any desire to play on mules till/when/if they fix this bullshit. My main account has been locked out since Oct 2 and I'm still 401'ing on it. Three months while they ignore me (and everyone else) and treat us like shit - yeah, I've moved on from XI lol. At this point even a free years worth of sub wouldn't motivate me to play again.

That's really sad :(

[Kerumomo]

I just got out of this live chat with an actual helpful rep. I am going to post the experience I had in here. I was having problems with my account for about 2 weeks and plenty of unhelpful reps in the other days only telling me to wait and that they could not do anything.
I am still waiting for the 10 minutes to go. I will actually wait more than 10 minutes just to be sure. edit: can finally subscribe now.


Agent Melinda S: Hello and thank you for contacting SQUARE ENIX Customer Support. Just a few moments while I review your question, please.
You: hello and good morning
Agent Melinda S: While I look over your ticket information, may I have your first name please?
You: XXX
Agent Melinda S: Hello XXX. May I have the SQUARE ENIX ID?
You: XXX
Agent Melinda S: Thank you. You are encountering an Error 401/601. Is this correct?
You: yes
You: I have been having this error for about 2 weeks now
You: including on other accounts I have
Agent Melinda S: What are you attempting to purchase?
You: when trying to purchase crysta I get 401. when trying to subscribe to FFXI I get 601
Agent Melinda S: May I have the last four digits of the card you tried using?
You: XXXX
Agent Melinda S: Thank you. One moment as I look into this issue.
Agent Melinda S: I apologize. I am still looking into your issue. I will be back with you as soon as I can. Thank you for your patience.
You: No problem. I don't mind waiting
You: already been waiting for 2 weeks so it's nothing. As long as you can help me
Agent Melinda S: Thank you for holding. For future reference, please refrain from trying a card an excessive amount of tries. Also, make sure to stay consistent on using the same card to prevent triggering the automated security system>

Other than that, it appears that the account looks good to go. Please wait "10 Minutes" before your next payment attempt, and it will go through.
Agent Melinda S: Are there any different issues I can assist you with right now?
You: thank you very much! why was the other agent I talked to before worthless and you were able to help me?
You: can you help me with the other accounts as well? or was the block just to my card?
Agent Melinda S: The information that the previous agent was correct. However, keep note that this is an exception we made for you. You still take note on not using the card excessively for the future.
You: my other accounts were XXX and XXX
You: Ok
Agent Melinda S: The card should work on the SQUARE ENIX Account you have provided me earlier. You can attempt making a payment on the other account too. However, there are no guarantees. You may need to pace the payments out to be safe.
You: ok, can I ask something? why were the other agents unable to lift this block like you did? what was the exception on my case?
Agent Melinda S: Through thorough investigation, we have determined that you were consistent using the same card which eliminates the possibility of suspicious activity.
You: I see
Agent Melinda S: Any last questions before we conclude this chat?
You: was the block on the card or just on this one account?
Agent Melinda S: At first it was tied to the card. However, it should work now.
You: SE ID XXX and XXX also got 401;601.
You: I havnt tried now but it was before I talked to you.
Agent Melinda S: Again, please try after 10 minutes. It will work for the account XXX. If you are attempting to pay for multiple accounts, please pace out the payments.
You: so I wont have any problem paying all 3 accounts with 24hr between them now?
Agent Melinda S: You should be able to pay for the accounts, if you are consistent using the same card and avoid using the card excessively.
You: ok thank you. that is all
Agent Melinda S: Thank you for visiting the SQUARE ENIX Support Center! Take care and hope to see you online!
Agent Melinda S has disconnected.

I hope this helps somebody out there or brings them hope to keep trying.

[Byrth]

That's another factor that I didn't anticipate, needing to space payments out across time.

[bungiefanNA]

Yes, one of the triggers appears to be multiple charges to the same card in the same day. So if you reactivate your accounts via credit card, and then the same day try a server transfer, you just did two billings to the card, and you will likely get a 401 error. You want to get all the Crysta you will need for your transactions at once, not pay multiple fees in multiple transactions via credit card.

[Jile]

What I find most interesting. Yosuke Matsuda is reflected as having been a CPA on his linkedin profile. The man should be good at math... Yet SE doesn't understand they need to take payments to retain customers and most importantly, remain in business?

Yosuke Matsuda (https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Yosuke/Matsuda)

The billing and payment policies need reviewed Matsudasan!

[Camiie]

What I find most interesting. Yosuke Matsuda is reflected as having been a CPA on his linkedin profile. The man should be good at math... Yet SE doesn't understand they need to take payments to retain customers and most importantly, remain in business?

Yosuke Matsuda (https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Yosuke/Matsuda)

The billing and payment policies need reviewed Matsudasan!

Maybe he ended up at SE because he sucks. So far neither he or the company have given me reason to think otherwise.

[dasva]

The problem is there is nothing at all suspicious with reactivating and doing something like transferring or getting expansions and yet that still flags it. There is nothing suspicious about an account being autopaid by the same person for 11 years just because he tried to get an expansion for another account a couple of days earlier on the same card. I swear SE does not have a clue what suspicious means

[Seillan]

Well, it's just like I thought. I went ahead and finally tried resubbing today (after my automatic billing stopped by itself last month due to a "payment processing error") and, lo and behold, I get the 601 error. Awesome. I guess I can try talking to support but I'll likely just have the same luck -- or lack thereof -- that the rest of you have been dealing with. I seriously can't get over how crazy it is that nothing has been done about this yet. They even come in here and give everyone a little false hope, only to not be heard from again for god knows how long. Effing ridiculous.

[Stompa]

Well, it's just like I thought. I went ahead and finally tried resubbing today (after my automatic billing stopped by itself last month due to a "payment processing error") and, lo and behold, I get the 601 error. Awesome. I guess I can try talking to support but I'll likely just have the same luck -- or lack thereof -- that the rest of you have been dealing with. I seriously can't get over how crazy it is that nothing has been done about this yet. They even come in here and give everyone a little false hope, only to not be heard from again for god knows how long. Effing ridiculous.

We should make a new thread; "Games we are playing now instead of FFXI, now that our crysta has run out due to payment problems."

"Baldur's Gate" replay #5634 lol, casting fireball on shopkeepers!
"Cooking Mama" on Facebook.
"Exolon" on Amstrad 464.
"Daggerdale."

My crysta runs out soon and my Visa card is still being Zorro'd every time I use it. My UltimateGameCard crysta is bleeding away and when it does I've got a long list of old and new games to play through, instead of trying to get SE to take my money.:p

[Seillan]

We should make a new thread; "Games we are playing now instead of FFXI, now that our crysta has run out due to payment problems."

"Baldur's Gate" replay #5634 lol, casting fireball on shopkeepers!
"Cooking Mama" on Facebook.
"Exolon" on Amstrad 464.
"Daggerdale."

My crysta runs out soon and my Visa card is still being Zorro'd every time I use it. My UltimateGameCard crysta is bleeding away and when it does I've got a long list of old and new games to play through, instead of trying to get SE to take my money.:p

That's not such a bad idea, although it's kind of depressing given the circumstances, heh.

I've been going through some old PSX rpgs that I never got around to back in the day. I just finished Persona 1 (finally) and now I'm thinking of working on Legend of Dragoon.

Others on my list:

- The Breath of Fire series, 1-4 at least
- The rest of the Persona series eventually
- Fallout 2 (beat the first one last year), along with 3 and New Vegas
- I bought the Baulder's Gate: Enhanced Edition when it was on sale last year but never got around to playing it. I might follow your lead on that one soon.
- Speaking of BG, have you ever tried Arcanum? That's another I'd like to go through.

There are plenty of other single player games I'd like to tackle but I'm trying not to overwhelm myself. On the online front -- since FFXI is likely not going to be possible for who knows how long -- I've been thinking of trying Elder Scrolls Online once they roll out their next big patch which is supposed to change a ton of stuff. I figure why start now only to have to learn a bunch of new systems when the patch hits. Dungeons and Dragons online is a possibility as well, but the learning curve in the game looks pretty steep for something I'd probably only be playing as a filler game. I do love being able to make many different interesting builds though. I've also been thinking of messing around again on this one Vanilla World of Warcraft private server again. I don't normally play servers like that, but it's pretty much the only version of WoW that I've ever enjoyed. It pales in comparison to the enjoyment and fulfillment I expected from FFXI of course, but what can you do?

[Stompa]

The Breath of Fire series, 1-4 at least



I'm going to replay BOF series too. I was thinking that earlier today, I haven't played those games in a few years.

Arcanum was OK, I didn't really think it was great, but it was okay.

Baldurs Gate 1&2, plus the Throne Of Bhaal, Neverwinter Nights series. Those are awesome games, which I played from the late 90s, and only stopped playing when FFXI arrived and swallowed up all my free time lol. They're all great games and expansion spinoffs, but I like the original BG1 and 2 best. Great fun, and very imaginatively written story and characters.

I agree with you that I would rather play FFXI, but that if it isn't available due to SEAMS billing problems I will go with other games instead. I might have so much fun playing through my old games catalogue that I just don't miss FFXI and don't want to come back lol. :p

[Seillan]

Well, that was fun. I just got off with a useless agent in support that gave me the BS spiel about how my card was blocked due to "suspicious activity." I guess you have to get lucky to get an agent that will actually help you with this issue. He told me my only option was to wait for other payment options "that will become available in the near future." Fat chance that I'll wait that long. I've never heard of a security system that was so touchy you got your payment locked out for literally doing nothing. When my automatic re-billing stopped initially, I hadn't even logged into my account for probably about a week prior. It makes no sense. Ugh, I'm ticked.

[Seillan]

I'm going to replay BOF series too. I was thinking that earlier today, I haven't played those games in a few years.

Arcanum was OK, I didn't really think it was great, but it was okay.

Baldurs Gate 1&2, plus the Throne Of Bhaal, Neverwinter Nights series. Those are awesome games, which I played from the late 90s, and only stopped playing when FFXI arrived and swallowed up all my free time lol. They're all great games and expansion spinoffs, but I like the original BG1 and 2 best. Great fun, and very imaginatively written story and characters.

I agree with you that I would rather play FFXI, but that if it isn't available due to SEAMS billing problems I will go with other games instead. I might have so much fun playing through my old games catalogue that I just don't miss FFXI and don't want to come back lol. :p

Yeah, the BoF series is a childhood fav of mine. Another one that I still hold as one of the most unique, must-play rpgs of that era would have to be Earthbound. It comes off as a bit childish on the surface, but the deeper you get, the more you appreciate it. It also has one of the creepiest end bosses in the genre, heh.

Neverwinter Nights is another game I'd like to delve deeper in. I believe I still have a copy of it lying around somewhere, along with the 2nd. Maybe I'll finally get around to playing it now, considering these asinine payment issues (grr...)

[Stompa]

Well, that was fun. I just got off with a useless agent in support that gave me the BS spiel about how my card was blocked due to "suspicious activity." I guess you have to get lucky to get an agent that will actually help you with this issue. He told me my only option was to wait for other payment options "that will become available in the near future." Fat chance that I'll wait that long. I've never heard of a security system that was so touchy you got your payment locked out for literally doing nothing. When my automatic re-billing stopped initially, I hadn't even logged into my account for probably about a week prior. It makes no sense. Ugh, I'm ticked.

Ah yes, but having a valid bank account, valid debit/credit card, and money in the bank is not enough. Even being a loyal customer for ten years doesn't help!

For payments to go through, you have to make the transaction during Full Moon, and during a Total Lunar Eclipse, and while chanting ancient sacred prayers in a room full of candles and shrines and incense burners. Don't forget to wear a lucky rabbit's foot, incase the other things are not enough. Happy New Year lol.

[Seillan]

Ah yes, but having a valid bank account, valid debit/credit card, and money in the bank is not enough. Even being a loyal customer for ten years doesn't help!

For payments to go through, you have to make the transaction during Full Moon, and during a Total Lunar Eclipse, and while chanting ancient sacred prayers in a room full of candles and shrines and incense burners. Don't forget to wear a lucky rabbit's foot, incase the other things are not enough. Happy New Year lol.

I... may try this. :p

(Happy New Year!)

[Jile]

I thought I'd mention to those interested in knowing - SE does indeed read this thread, so take whatever comfort that is to you.

That said, since they just threatened to take my account and ban me for the wording I chose on my previous post, I bid you all farewell on the forum as this will be my final post here. See you in game! Hope you eventually get your accounts back online to enjoy the game again!

<take care>

[Seillan]

I thought I'd mention to those interested in knowing - SE does indeed read this thread, so take whatever comfort that is to you.

That said, since they just threatened to take my account and ban me for the wording I chose on my previous post, I bid you all farewell on the forum as this will be my final post here. See you in game! Hope you eventually get your accounts back online to enjoy the game again!

<take care>

Considering this is still an issue for some even on FFXIV, I'm starting to doubt anything will ever change -- regardless of how much we complain here. They apparently haven't lost enough people for it to make a difference; either that, or they just don't care. I've never seen a company that basically refused to take people's money, so I really don't know what to think. For the last three days, I've tried every different method I could find around the web for getting my payment to go through (waiting 24 hours in between each attempt) and it still isn't happening. The only options I haven't tried yet are buying Crytsa instead of the straight subscription (which I doubt will change anything) and using a different card. I only have a debit card myself, so I don't have many options in that regard.

Ugh, it's just so frustrating. The game is truly top notch, and I was really starting to get into it (after not being able to find an mmorpg that has been able to satiate my particular tastes for years) but the way they run the business side of their company is pathetic. And as for their Customer Service department, I'm not even sure why they have one -- it seems like they're unable to help you with almost anything.

Anyway, sorry for yet another rant, heh. I'll continue to keep my eye on the game to see if they ever get off their asses and fix this, but I'm not holding my breath at this point.

[Stompa]

:p

EDIT : was able to pay with the new Paypal option and so posted again once to say thankyou for fixing it.

[Seillan]

We know they've read this thread, they replied to it around 10 pages ago lol.

They said they were working to install a Paypal option ASAP. So they have already "talked the talk" and now we are waiting for them to "walk the walk."

In my small FFXI gamer group, only a handful of people, three have already lost access to their accounts since UltimateGameCard stopped running, they were paying for crysta with Paypal/UGC and now their crysta has expired. My own UGC/Paypal crysta expires in March. All three of my friends (and myself) have tried to pay using debit/credit cards and experienced Error Lockout problems on SEAMS site. So they have abandoned FFXI now.

How many people have stopped playing due to payment problems since the Click&Buy disaster? When at least four people I know quit the game due to Click&Buy's larcenous brigandry treatment of customers. How many more people have stopped playing in the years following C&B, due to SEAMS website Error Lockouts? How many more people have stopped playing since Paypal/UGC option expired?

My guess is that the answer is "quite a lot of people" have stopped playing FFXI in the last 2 years due to payment issues. And in the case of my friends, these were model players, money in the bank, valid cards, great in-game behaviour / obey the TOS etc. / no cheats / always helping new players etc. Those friends are gone from the game now because of C&B and SEAMS website payment problems, and because UGC/Paypal is finished.

This is my last post here on this forum, ever. I've played FFXI since 2004 and I have said its the best videogame ever made. I'd love to keep playing it, and I have money / valid bank cards / bank account / flawless Paypal history etc. There is no reason at all why SE doesn't accept my money from my UK bank, or the money from my half-dozen friends who no longer play the game due to SE randomly not accepting money from their valid EU/US/Canada bank accounts. Its a total mess, and with this sentence I wash my hands of the whole sorry affair. I'll take my money to other games where it is welcomed with open arms.

I was conflicted about liking your post since you said it will be your last, but given the circumstances, I can understand completely :(. This situation is frustrating enough for me and I'm still a relatively new player (well, I played pretty heavily at one point but it was around the release era.) For someone who's been as loyal to this company as you have, and a model customer for so many years to boot, I can imagine how big of an insult this is to you. To be locked out of something you've devoted so much time and effort to -- for no fault of your own -- is unacceptable, especially when they have the gall to try and pin it on us for "suspicious activity" or other such nonsense. Just thinking about it pisses me off, arrg.

Anyway, I enjoyed the few back & forths we had around here and I'd like to think that one day, when/if SE decides to get their sh*t together, we might have a few more. If not, I wish you the best and I hope you find another "home" that is just as fulfilling :).

[Alhanelem]

Maybe if we post this a few more times, they'll add some more payment options.

http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140616225721/fantendo/images/5/5f/Futurama-shut-up-and-take-my-money-card-34.jpg

[Grekumah]

Greetings, everyone,

You will be pleased to hear that PayPal is now available to use as a method of purchasing Crysta!

We understand that many of you have been waiting patiently to utilize this payment option and we wish to thank you for your patience while we worked to get it implemented.

[Alhanelem]

hey Grekumah, your post isn't showing up on the dev tracker here like it is on the other boards. Just thought you should know.

[Mnejing]

http://i61.tinypic.com/2gw98ww.jpg

Summarizes my feelings.

[Seillan]

Greetings, everyone,

You will be pleased to hear that PayPal is now available to use as a method of purchasing Crysta!

We understand that many of you have been waiting patiently to utilize this payment option and we wish to thank you for your patience while we worked to get it implemented.

Funny, I was just thinking about a possible PayPal implementation just yesterday (I figured that would be the choice.) I fear some irreparable damage has been done to the once very dedicated vets that were affected by this for so long, but at least now if they decide to put faith in you guys again, they have the option. I've been getting into other games lately so I'm not sure if/when I'll be coming back, but it's nice to know I won't be locked out of my account if I do.

[Jeanna]

Lol. Only 3.5 months late.

Too bad most everyone has moved on by now.

I've been locked out of my account since Oct 2. Maybe if you guys give me all trusts, random stuff etc I missed from the billion different short campaigns since I wasn't able to play during that time maybe I'll come back.

Edit: not to mention this doesn't fix the 401 etc problems to start with. Any plan on actually fixing that this century?

[Ris]

It's interesting how much more negative the tone here is, compared to the FFXIV forum...

While not realizing the implications of dropping their payment processor that handled paypal *is* a bit of an oversight... they probably added Paypal back as fast as they could. Keep in mind payment services aren't that trivial to get set up, there's a lot of requirements and review and potential for audits and things like that.

But, whatever else, at least it's an option again now.

[Seillan]

Lol. Only 3.5 months late.

Too bad most everyone has moved on by now.

I've been locked out of my account since Oct 2. Maybe if you guys give me all trusts, random stuff etc I missed from the billion different short campaigns since I wasn't able to play during that time maybe I'll come back.

Edit: not to mention this doesn't fix the 401 etc problems to start with. Any plan on actually fixing that this century?

Good point. I'm still pretty PO'ed that I was basically accused of "suspicious activity" with my own debit card -- the same one I had been using for months prior. I can only imagine how much of a slap in the face it was/is for those of you that have been loyal customers for so long.

[Seillan]

It's interesting how much more negative the tone here is, compared to the FFXIV forum...

While not realizing the implications of dropping their payment processor that handled paypal *is* a bit of an oversight... they probably added Paypal back as fast as they could. Keep in mind payment services aren't that trivial to get set up, there's a lot of requirements and review and potential for audits and things like that.

But, whatever else, at least it's an option again now.

If they hadn't taken away the third party option that was already there, people probably wouldn't have been nearly as pissed about it. As far as I'm concerned, SE brought this entirely on themselves and they deserve any lost business that comes from it.

Edit: And let's of course not forget about the people that had their accounts locked for upwards of 30 days because they had no warnings about repeated payment attempts. I wonder how many of those are still in effect...

[Jeanna]

It's interesting how much more negative the tone here is, compared to the FFXIV forum...


Don't get me wrong, it's nice they re-added Paypal after so long. It's still only a band-aid fix to a much, much larger problem.

Their payment system is still punitive and ridiculous beyond belief. Errors galore, with no explanation for those errors and the consequences involved with them. You can lock yourself out of your account for 30 days and not even know you're doing it. Stupid. NA support is completely useless and can't help or remove the blocks. Heck they can't even tell you how long the block is. The best they can do is guess.

Not to mention they removed paypal with zero notice in the first place. (Which is what I think upset people the most.. while I can't speak for most people I would have greatly preferred knowing, and I would've stocked up on max crysta).

Add in the domino effect where when a few people in a LS/group are unable to play for long periods of times, so their friends end up quitting or moving on too. Who wants to come back to a small, dying game like this after all their friends have moved on?

When you buy any game, even an MMO, it's pretty reasonable that one should be able to actually play it. Locking people out of an MMO for a month or months at a time is pretty shitty. People are gonna find other things to do with their time and likely aren't going to bother to come back when they find something else to fill their time with.

If I get bored enough I might play again but there's some pretty damn good reasons for people to be pretty bitter about this.

Edit: I really hope their paypal method isn't subject to the same amount of scrunity their credit card system is or people are just gonna continue to have the same problems.

PS: it looks like it's not se that actually added paypal, it was global collect. Which is probably what we were waiting so long for.

[Stompa]

Greetings, everyone,

You will be pleased to hear that PayPal is now available to use as a method of purchasing Crysta!

We understand that many of you have been waiting patiently to utilize this payment option and we wish to thank you for your patience while we worked to get it implemented.

Thankyou!

I just put 9999 crysta in my account, using the new Paypal option! It was very easy and simple, just clicked the PAYPAL button and was swiftly sent to my secure Paypal ID page, and the Crysta was up on SEAMS page in under a minute.

Excellant, thankyou very much for fixing this, SE.

Now to start messaging my friends to see if they want to come back to FFXI, now that they can pay for it again. I think most of my friends will come back, only a few of them made SE Voodoo Dolls and stuck lots of pins into them.

[Genoxd]

Greetings, everyone,

You will be pleased to hear that PayPal is now available to use as a method of purchasing Crysta!

We understand that many of you have been waiting patiently to utilize this payment option and we wish to thank you for your patience while we worked to get it implemented.

Fantastic, I'll assume since you're a global company that I am now able to use PayPal on my Japanese account so I don't have to go through the painful and expensive processor buying Webmoney right? Since you refuse to accept payment from other regions even though we live in a global economy and people are more mobile today that ever before.

J/K

Please fix the gaijin payment options.

[Camiie]

It's interesting how much more negative the tone here is, compared to the FFXIV forum...

It's well deserved, trust me.

[dasva]

Greetings, everyone,

You will be pleased to hear that PayPal is now available to use as a method of purchasing Crysta!

We understand that many of you have been waiting patiently to utilize this payment option and we wish to thank you for your patience while we worked to get it implemented.

Question though will this occasional give us that weird random lockouts that credit cards randomly will if you do something as simple using it twice in the same day?

[Crevox]

God guys, they fixed it, the least you could do is be positive and not whine even more about it.

[Demonjustin]

From what I understand, they added the old work around back, they didn't fix the issues people had as a whole. Paypal so far as I know has always been a work around for many and adding that back helps a ton, but it's not a true fix. That said... I don't know exactly, but~ yeah, even though they took forever I'll give them credit, they didn't just ignore the problem entirely and they finally fixed it.

[Alhanelem]

Lol. Only 3.5 months late.

Too bad most everyone has moved on by now.

I've been locked out of my account since Oct 2. Maybe if you guys give me all trusts, random stuff etc I missed from the billion different short campaigns since I wasn't able to play during that time maybe I'll come back.

Edit: not to mention this doesn't fix the 401 etc problems to start with. Any plan on actually fixing that this century?if you're not subbed how are you posting? Yes, the forum has cookies, but their expiry is pretty short. I was kicked off within days of a subscription lapse.

[Seillan]

if you're not subbed how are you posting? Yes, the forum has cookies, but their expiry is pretty short. I was kicked off within days of a subscription lapse.

I haven't been able to sub for close to a month and I can still post.

[bungiefanNA]

The negativity is because FFXIV is fairly young, FFXI isn't, and FFXIV at least has prepaid time cards, which FFXI doesn't. Many of the people affected by this in FFXI lost their only way to pay for the game, while FFXIV had a couple other ways.

As far as short forum cookies, they're not, just certain forum actions cause the server to renew the cookie, which fails if your sub is up. I was able to post for about a year with an inactive subscription by avoiding those actions, during my 2012-2013 break due to financial crisis.

PayPal isn't an option for Japanese accounts because they have prepaid WebMoney cards available all over their country. SE hasn't gotten with the times to expect people to move internationally. I had to fight for 8 months in 2011 to get a region change so I could use my account from JP launch with NA payment methods, sicne I moved and they locked out non-JP cards from processing on JP accounts. SuToCorp was getting to be too expensive with their profit markup and the exchange rate, and to use it for Crysta I would have had to register a false JP mailing address and risk an account ban if they noticed. The response was finally that they would do a region change once in the life of the account. Ugh, and the wife wants to move to Europe after she gets her college degree.

[Trumpy]

Ive been able to post without having an active acount til the last time in december. I had one of my two characters on my account active (not my main one) and suddenly everytime i opened the forums it forced me to the page to pick my character. right now i have both characters goin and cant switch back to my main character and its very annoying.

[Dragoy]

While this might not be entirely related to the issue people were describing here, it's rather similar, and since positive feedback is so rare to find, I'll write about a somewhat recent experience of mine here.

Firstly, I'm in the Europe, and secondly, I more than likely caused my 401 (and other) errors myself.

I've used a Visa Electron to buy Crysta (handled by Global Collect, if memory serves me right-like), and sometimes it would error out once or twice (perhaps I mistyped something). About two months ago, when it was doing that, it seemed to finally be a permanent issue for me as well. I decided to see if I can make the error change (I forget the other error message I got; it looked like the page did not load correctly, and I think it was telling me I had no permission to access something).

So I went and tried to pay repeatedly, without pause, for about twenty (20) times.

At some point, I went to look at my bank account, and just a day or few ago, the bank had taken its service fees... which had put me about 1 EUR below what I needed to pay for the crysta!

Oopsies ! !! !

I contacted the support, and within few days, the payment method (and the same card) worked again. I had to send a picture of an ID and the bank card as proof that I'm indeed the owner, or that I at least possess both of them...


I often read about the horror stories with regards to the SqEX customer support, but I can honestly say that I've had a few good ones myself!

It's unforgivable (to say the least) what others have had to go through (or not been getting through even).

I did make sure to point out that a more telling error message could be helpful, instead of just throwing a 401, without really saying what's going on... not that the customer support can affect any of that, I imagine.


Blubb!

[Teleste]

So this was originally caused by SE dropping PayPal support? Did I read that correctly?

[bungiefanNA]

Yes, when they dropped UltimatePay, the PayPal option went with it, becuase it was provided by UltimatePay. It took them several months to bring the option back under their own provision. Paired with SE's payment processor not being liked by some banks, many people couldn't pay at all during that time.

[BobbinT]

Still wish SE could introduce their own gametime card like XIV did. ^^;

[bungiefanNA]

They could, but they won't, because the price varies more than FFXIV. FFXIV has 4 subscription prices, depending on whether you buy 1 or 8 character slots, and whether you are Legacy or not. They only sell a card for the full subscription for non-Legacy pricing. FFXI has a variable fee for every amount of characters you could have $12.95-27.95, so 16 different fees. Since more people play multiple characters, there is no standard they could do to activate an account for everyone. They COULD just do Crysta cards to cover all of their games, like Steam, PSN, and Xbox Live do for their cards...

[BobbinT]

errr... I think it's kinda the same on both XI & XIV, legacies or not. ^^;

[Belmonts]

Bump, the history repeats itself...

I noticed SE changed its Credit Card/Crysta Buying system recently. And now the 401 error happened to me... I mean... omg...

Should I lose all hope of being able to pay you guys? I mean... how ridiculous does that sound in the first place. Again they may blame the bank but after struggling with SE payment site I made other purchases online on another sites and I have no problem whatsoever.

Hope the reps can tell us if they are addressing the issue because I'm sure I am not the only one with this issue atm

And no, I've dealt with SE customer service in the past and is futile, which is why I post a bump in here...

[Calipso]

They never did fix or address the 401 problem, all they did was re-add paypal as a payment option.

Knowing SE and especially at this point in the game, I wouldn't expect them to address or ever fix this issue. Or likely they thought it was working as intended and didn't think it needed fixing.

You should be able to add Crysta using Paypal. You won't get any errors with paypal. If for whatever reason you can't use Paypal then you're probably totally out of luck. Just read through this thread for tips (make sure you're inputting information EXACTLY etc etc) and don't spam your payment if you get 401s because you'll just lock yourself out longer. :( I was personally locked out of the game for something like 2.5-3 months before they finally re-added Paypal.

[Belmonts]

They never did fix or address the 401 problem, all they did was re-add paypal as a payment option.

Knowing SE and especially at this point in the game, I wouldn't expect them to address or ever fix this issue. Or likely they thought it was working as intended and didn't think it needed fixing.

You should be able to add Crysta using Paypal. You won't get any errors with paypal. If for whatever reason you can't use Paypal then you're probably totally out of luck. Just read through this thread for tips (make sure you're inputting information EXACTLY etc etc) and don't spam your payment if you get 401s because you'll just lock yourself out longer. :( I was personally locked out of the game for something like 2.5-3 months before they finally re-added Paypal.

Ugh... A man can dream, can't I? *sigh*

Anyways, I do have a Paypal account, but some years ago, because a messy, rushy registration from my part, the only CC I have was blocked by paypal, which is the same I use to buy crysta.

My only hope is to link my bank account directly to Paypal, and it will take from 3 to 5 days.

I hope I don't get any more crap in the meantime...

[Belmonts]

Really SE?? Really???

Totally different bank credit card, plenty of credit, now is not Visa but MasterCard and you guys still give me 401 error?

I'm sorry but you guys must do something about this new "ingenico" system, unless you don't want money, which it seems to be the whole discussion of this thread...

I'll wait 3-5 days to paypal gets my transfer so I can pay you.

Wow, just wow... We really like your game to keep on struggling like that...

Really hope you guys care and do something.

Thank you...

P.S. If we ever get a moderator invite to make a ticket to address this problem to SE customer service, please don't bother and read all this 20 pages thread to realize is pointless and futile.

[Belmonts]

Last update:

Well, I'm pretty much done for... The reason?? As I previously posted, I do not have a credit card since PayPal blocked mine long time ago.

My only hope was adding cash directly to my PayPal account so when I was about to pay for the Crysta you guys took the money.

What happens? Square Enix requested PayPal to only accept transactions if the PayPal account owner has a credit card linked to the account, you cannot use your balance, which is cash pretty much. (Yes, SE requested it, because depending if they ask it or not, some sites only takes your balance first or ask you what to do, but no... SE must ask you to use a credit card)

I mean, seriously.... *refrains from using profanity* what is wrong with you guys...

Totally unfair and uncool, I'm greatly disappointed and I'm locked out till this get fixed... So maybe I'm done... for the months to come.

An apology to my LS, I won't be able to log in for a long while.

[Catmato]

Have you tried just registering a payment method instead of trying to buy crysta?

[Alhanelem]

errr... I think it's kinda the same on both XI & XIV, legacies or not. ^^;
It's not the same, XIV has different price tiers, and doesn't have fees for multiple character slots. A time card for FFXI would have to be more like a gift card with a set value (probably equal to 2 months of subscribing with one character) in order for everyone to be able to use it as payment.

I think that's the exact reason FFXI never had time cards (Not even in Japan), because FFXI's fee structure more complex than most MMOs.

(For a short period of time though, SE did offer multiple-month subscription options for FFXI, but I cannot understand why this was a limitred time thing...)

That aside, having seen threads like this more than once makes it seem like I was fortunate to never have payment issues with FFXI...

[Belmonts]

Have you tried just registering a payment method instead of trying to buy crysta?

I tried with different bank credit cards, and with both I were able to pay other stuff online (just did it yesterday).

Final Update: One PayPal representative called me this morning, they were extremely helpful and they unblocked my credit card, I registered it and even I was able to use my balance instead of the card, so problem solved. Thank you, PayPal.

On the other hand, I really wish SE fix this new "Ingenico" system because, I'm 100% sure I'm not the only one who was suffering this.

Thanks for all your replies, Catmato, they helped.

[Alhanelem]

I tried with different bank credit cards, and with both I were able to pay other stuff online (just did it yesterday).

Final Update: One PayPal representative called me this morning, they were extremely helpful and they unblocked my credit card, I registered it and even I was able to use my balance instead of the card, so problem solved. Thank you, PayPal.

On the other hand, I really wish SE fix this new "Ingenico" system because, I'm 100% sure I'm not the only one who was suffering this.

Thanks for all your replies, Catmato, they helped.
I'm actually kind of impressed at your paypal experience. That goes far beyond what I typically expect of them (Which isn't much based on issues I've had while using Ebay). Maybe they're improving.

[Stompa]

I'm actually kind of impressed at your paypal experience. That goes far beyond what I typically expect of them (Which isn't much based on issues I've had while using Ebay). Maybe they're improving.

I've paid for Crysta using Paypal every single month since SE enabled this payment option. Payments are instant and reliable and secure. I consider SE adding the Paypal option as one of their finest QOL improvements since FFXI was launched.

My bank account and SE account are registered in the UK, where I am based and have my main home. But my job has global offices, Asia Africa Middle East etc. and in the past I often found myself trying to pay for FFXI while away from my home nation. This led to the card being rejected by Click&Buy on the POL site, and me being unable to pay for FFXI. Even after Click&Buy/POL ended, I still had trouble using my UK card for crysta payments while working abroad.

PAYPAL is global payment and reflects the global marketplace, and the global working patterns of modern adults. For this reason I applaud SE for accepting this payment, so that FFXI fans can continue to pay for and enjoy their favourite game while being away from their home nations.

[Alhanelem]

I've paid for Crysta using Paypal every single month since SE enabled this payment option. Payments are instant and reliable and secure. I consider SE adding the Paypal option as one of their finest QOL improvements since FFXI was launched.

It's not that I had issues with the payment system in general, it's that I had really poor experiences with paypal support. They had at one time introduced some sort of new account link function between them and ebay and when I went ot buy something they asked me about this, and I'm like sure, link the accounts. A payment for what I was purchasing went through without any confirmation or chance to choose the funding source like I usually do (When I thought I was just linking my account), and the payment went through on the wrong funding source so I had to arrange a refund with the seller and then pay the correct amount using the payment I intended to use. I tried to get help from paypal first and they didn't seem to have a clue what was going on. This was like a year ago or so. I haven't had major issues since, but that was a very frustrating experience, both for me and for the seller I was interacting with.

[Dihlyte]

I'm also now getting the 401 error.

It is not a major deal, but for a company that seems to be focused on making money, they sure do not like receiving money.

It would be nice if contacting support and telling them the issue, providing proper information, could easily resolve the issue, but it seems that isn't always the answer.

[Dragoy]

I'm also now getting the 401 error.

It is not a major deal, but for a company that seems to be focused on making money, they sure do not like receiving money.

It would be nice if contacting support and telling them the issue, providing proper information, could easily resolve the issue, but it seems that isn't always the answer.

This topic is quite well aged, so it might not be relevant to the the now (might of course still be related).

In any case, there was a mention of changes [1] that may or may not be relevant. They did state it would take place on April 23 2024 though, which is not here yet... but I do wonder if it might be related to that.

I've had my own share of them "not taking the money I try to throw at them", but this isn't one of those... yet.

Can only wish the bestest of luck!

1. http://www.playonline.com/ff11eu/polnews/news27172.shtml