Terrible Payment System

[Chocobits]

So the users in the FFXI thread similar to this are getting hosed with lame answers apparently. We're still awaiting an official response from SE about alternatives to Click&Bankrupt or Crysfascism.

[Tifia]

So the users in the FFXI thread similar to this are getting hosed with lame answers apparently. We're still awaiting an official response from SE about alternatives to Click&Bankrupt or Crysfascism.

From what I've been reading through the FFXI thread, BG, and the like, a lot of players are seeing multiple, unexplained charges. Some are international fees. Some are new account fees (according to ClickandBuy). Some are account cancellation fees (again according to ClickandBuy). It's just...insane.

I'm not understanding how it's more "secure" to go through a third party system then to keep everything in house. I've worked for a large online retailer in their credit/debit verification department. I know how horrible a lot of these other companies are with handling customer data. Even PayPal. Don't get me started on PayPal. Though you sign an agreement with SE, ClickandBuy, PayPal, etc. have their own set of rules that can vastly differ from SE. A lot of these companies will sell your info, including card numbers. It's happened, a lot. I'm not saying that ClickandBuy does this, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. At least if everything is with SE, they have greater control over monitoring customer data and can provide real time responses in case something should happen. Where as if it's with a third party, who knows how many weeks it would take to be notified that your account as compromised. Unless you're Sony. >.>

Not to mention, from a cost perspective it's confusing. With the POL system having been in place for years, SE has easily recouped the cost of having their own merchant verification system. While the initial cost of setting up your own in-house system to communicate directly with banks is a little pricy, it pays off over time. Why? Because you're not losing money on every sale by giving a fraction of it to a third party company whom are processing the payments for you. Something like this works for home business that want to sell things on EBay. Not for companies as large as SE. I can only see it as losing money. Unless they're trying to completely cut entire departments, but even that wouldn't make up for the money being given to ClickandBuy for their services.

It's just mind boggling. It would be nice if I could get a straight answer from their customer service department, or a manager, or someone who knows that I'm speaking their jargon. It's ok to be straight with me. I'll respect an honest answer, even if I don't agree with it, over bull. It also doesn't help that their Japanese customers are still being allowed to have a direct payment to SE option. Everyone else is getting screwed. There's no logic behind that. Whatever "security" reasons they may have, you can't exclude certain regions/groups. It's either everyone has to be on the same system, or no one.

My hope is that SE will listen and stop the insanity before the month ends. Anyone who's currently playing FFXI has until August 31st to make the move or the account will be deactivated. And if SE doesn't budge, my other hope is that those people who have said "I'm no longer playing" actually keep their word. FFXI is a hard habit to break. But if enough of us say NO to SE, if we stand united and not make the billing move and allow our accounts to be inactive, SE will have to listen. I hope those people don't flake out and end up transferring their accounts. I know I won't be. We need to stick together with our resolve. If you said NO, then don't transfer the account.

Money talks. And if enough of us follow-through with our word to stop playing, they have to listen. Sadly it's never from a customer service perspective. It's always all about money.

I just wish we had known about this payment system before 14 was released. I would have never purchased my CE of the game. Not that I'm really playing it now, but that's a different story for another time.