Petition: clickandbuy the only way no,thanks.

[Arcon]

Looks like you guys can skip the 26 day countdown. They aren't going to do anything in time.

That's the same same reply they already gave us a while ago, which is basically their go-to response for people they don't wanna deal with at the time (or ever).

[Selamis]

Originally Posted by Bayohne
A: Square Enix has opted to employ an external company for the processing of payments to offer the highest level of security to customer transactions.

HORSECRAP, this is nothing about security to customer transactions, given the reputation Click and Buy has. Come on SE, your players/customers aren't stupid.

[RAIST]

We have added a few more articles to our Square Enix Support Centre and I wanted to make sure they were posted here as well to have a greater chance of exposure.


Q: Will FFXI/XIV users paying via C&B be subject to any additional administration or credit card usage charges?
A: As a FFXI/XIV subscription takes direct payments from a user's chosen payment method, it is not necessary to store funds in the ClickandBuy account. Therefore the charges outlined below will not be applicable to anybody simply using their C&B account to pay for their FINAL FANTASY XI or XIV subscription. Should a customer wish to use their ClickandBuy account for additional services, additional fees may be incurred. For more information on these, please refer to http://clickandbuy.com/GB_en/

Users may incur various charges when utilising a C&B account. These include but are not limited to the following:
- ClickandBuy charges a 'pre-loading' fee of 3.9% of any transaction into your ClickandBuy account when using a credit card.
- There is a handling fee charged for withdrawal of funds from a ClickandBuy account of £1.85/€1.85.
- If a ClickandBuy account has been inactive for 1 year and contains funds, a maintenance fee of £1.00/€1.00 may be charged.

Please note players paying for their FINAL FANTASY XI or XIV subscription in a currency other than EUR or GBP will be subject to a foreign exchange rate of 5.9% per transaction.


Q: Do Square Enix plan to make further payment providers available to customers?
A: While we don't have specific details to share at this time, we are continuing to look for ways to improve the payment processing options. We will continue to take all the feedback we receive as we strive to make the experience as user-friendly as possible for all of our customers going forward.


Q: Why is Crysta not available in all countries?
A: Crysta is restricted to certain EU territories due to legal and financial regulations. However Crysta may become available for additional regions in the future.


Q: Why are some countries not supported by ClickandBuy?
A: Restrictions are in place for countries with whom the EU are prevented from trading with through sanctions or to those where FINAL FANTASY XI or XIV is not supported. Any problems with ClickandBuy registration in supported countries should be escalated to ClickandBuy customer services at http://clickandbuy.com/GB_en/contact.html


Q: Why is Square Enix switching from the PlayOnline billing setup to Square Enix Account billing?
A: Square Enix has opted to employ an external company for the processing of payments to offer the highest level of security to customer transactions.

Still no acknowledgement of the fact that some people have had their currency method changed (mandatory switch to euro has resulted in up to roughly a 43% bump in the contracted price for some areas)

Still no acknowledgement of the discrimination against all non-JP regions.

And lastly, SECURITY????!!!!....did they REALLY just claim this change was due to SECURITY CONCERNS????!!! Then how in the h3ll can you justify storing the JP credit card information on your servers and no one elses???!!! You are STILL open to the SAME security issues regardless if it is JP, EU, or NA information stored on your servers. Regulations may be different in JP vs US or EU--but the ATTACK VECTORS REMAIN THE SAME REGARDLESS OF REGION.

Let me say it again for emphasis:

server security is NOT a regional variance--that is a UNIVERSAL TECHNOLOGY ISSUE.

WHY ARE DIFFERENT RULES APPIED TO ONLY THE JP REGION?




EPIC FAIL.



One more nail in the coffin..... 26 days and counting.

[Niyariko]

What is SE's address again? we need to pay them a visit

[Arcon]

What is SE's address again? we need to pay them a visit

Had to think of this:
http://bash.org/?577451

[RAIST]

more fuel to the fire showing SE just doesn't get it. Sent a message through SE's support portal over the non-JP regions being denied direct pay CC option while JP region still has it. Took them roughly a week to respond with this:

Dear Customer,

Regarding your request for billing support. Please find your answer below.

Square Enix Crysta

For more details regarding Crysta, please visit:
http://www.square-enix.com/na/account/crysta/
You can purchase Crysta using credit card or debit card via ClickandBuy International Ltd., or PayPal® or Ultimate Game Card® via PlaySpan, Inc.
Crysta can be used to pay for items such as:
Settling service fees for online game (e.g. FINAL FANTASY XIV)
Purchasing a Square Enix Security Token
To use Crysta to pay for a selected service, select ?Crysta? when asked to confirm your payment method.
Note: You must have a sufficient balance of Crysta on your account prior to attempting to pay for a service. If your balance is insufficient, you will not be able to complete the transaction.


Credit Card

Direct payment using credit card or debit card via ClickandBuy International Ltd. is available for some service. For more detail please visit:
http://www.square-enix.com/na/accoun...ta/charge.html
To use a credit card or debit card to pay for a selected service, select ?Credit Card/Debit Card via ClickandBuy account? when asked to confirm your payment method.
Note: In order to use a credit card or debit card, you will need to create a ClickandBuy account to complete your purchase.

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.

Nothing in this response addressed the actual complaint:

JP can register a CC directly with SE, and SE directly manages payment via that credit card. SE feels it is secure enough for them to extend the option to the JP region, and apparently does not feel it is at risk for sufficient liability to warrant denying this payment method to the JP region. For reasons unknown, they have decided not to extend this option to other regions. The only known factor for this is simply the fact these people live outside of the JP region.

Please, SE....just be honest and explain just why this decision was made. If it is a cost issue in maintaining the security, then let us know. If it is something like an issue with not being able to do the planned flat 30day on-demand billing cycle and would require you to continue the first of the month billing cycle that we've used for nearly a decade, or something else that may cause you to incure additional costs requiring you to raise our base subscription fee to $13.95 USD instead of $12.95, let us know.

If it is something that you are afraid to do for fear of loosing business, it may very well be something that we might be able to accept and together we can overcome the adversity and everybody wins in the long run. As it is right now, you are simply pushing long-term, faithful consumers out the door and potentially preventing any new customers from even stepping foot inside.

Please stop ignoring the core principle of doing business: the paying customer ultimately is your boss--without them, you can't pay your bills, or pay your employees. Essentially, we are partners in maintaining the FFXI service. Be up front with us. Let us have an open dialogue about it so we can come to a reasonable solution that accomodates all parties at risk.

Edit:
Before any one starts chiming in about they are a big comapany and are not obligated to communicate with their customers in such a way....technically that is true, but a company that truly values it's customers WILL put forth the effort when it is a matter that can have such an impact to that company's bottom line. Case in point, over a decade ago, Wal-Mart built a super Wal-Mart on the other side of town with the intention of moving the hometown Wal-Mart across town. The local communities were in an uproar. The hometown store was near the I-95/I-20 interchange and was the most convenient location for towns within about a 30-40 mile drive, moving to the new location would require driving all the way through Florence. Loosing the convenience was just not acceptable to the customers.

Ultimately what happened, was Wal-Mart setup a polling system within their registers. Every customer entered their zipcode while paying. They tracked the information for roughly 6 months and compiled the data. They took it all under advisement, and finally managed along with some pro-Walmart community groups to secure property near the hometown site and were able to build a second Super-Walmart just a few blocks away from the hometown store. So, now we have a Sam's Club and two Super-Walmarts in a small town that was originally slated for only one Sam's and one Super Walmart according to corporate standards (Florence does not meet the population/financial guidelines that flag an area for having 2 Super-Walmarts). It was only through the efforts to listen to their customerbase that a change was affected that went against the normal corporate policy in effect, and the community has benefitted. New shopping centers were built nearby (two in partnership with Walmart, I might add) that has brought in new businesses and provided better locations for local vendors to get more local traffic. In the end, both the company and community have benefitted from it. And it all started with the corporate decision to listen to their customers instead of the company line.

[tinydog]

If any additional fees are being added to my subscription cost through this new payment method, I'm cancelling.

[Xellith]

Square Enix has opted to employ an external company for the processing of payments to offer the highest level of security to customer transactions.

ROFL

Obviously SE has no idea what its doing.

[Dulcinea]

I am in the USA and just looked at my credit card account to pay it and found not just my normal monthly FFXI charge but a 2nd charge from Click & buy labelled "International Processing Fee"

[Octaviane]

Raist, I just love the canned response from SE. I think questions/complaints submitted are answered by 20th Century Automatons that have been refurbished/rescued from the scap heap and programmed with Auto-responses. We do know that someone is watching though since they nuked the "How much will SE lose" thread, no reason given.

Please, don't give us this story of "improved security", it's obvious from the many complaints that security is being compromised via C&B.

We are not stupid guys, get with the program, work through the weekend if you have to and have someone from SE, preferably the Director, give a clear response to your customers. We do understand that it might take a little time to get your eggs all in one basket, but please just do it. It's the right thing to do.