Payment Method Registration Errors [Error Code 401 and 601]

[xRoar]

I've tried every way. Game card. Crysta. EVERYTHING. Stupid SE just doesn't want my money.

[Scrumba]

I played ffxi for almost a decade... I move to ffxiv and am treated like scum. This company is ridiculous. I will just copy and paste the whole conversation.

Agent Napoleon G: Hello and thank you for contacting SQUARE ENIX Customer Support. Just a few moments while I review your question, please.
Agent Napoleon G: Unfortunately, we do not white list accounts here.
You: Hi - My card details are in the united states and I am now living in the UK. My Sq. Enix account is in the US
You: I have tried ultimate game card, paypal, credit cards... how can I pay for my monthly fee?
You: I have tried boht us and uk cards as well
Agent Napoleon G: You would have to buy prepaid ultimate game cards.
You: I have done so
You: and that does not work either
Agent Napoleon G: They should work, as they are pre paid for already.
You: I have an ultimate game card number but it is being declined
Agent Napoleon G: Then you will have to contact UltimatePay directly.
You: I have called their support and they are saying it is a good card
Agent Napoleon G: Then I would not know why it is not working.
You: so there's nothing that can be done?
Agent Napoleon G: Unfortunately no.
You: that's ridiculous
Agent Napoleon G: Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
You: explain why my payment went through last month
Agent Napoleon G: I would not know.
You: something has changed on sq. enix's side that is not allowing my payment to go through
You: who would I contact to find this out
Agent Napoleon G: The system must not have noticed that you where in the UK.
Agent Napoleon G: Unfortunately, no one here would tell you anything different.
You: is there a way to transfer my character to the uk?
Agent Napoleon G: If adding Crysta to the account is not working, then you will have to contact UltimatePay.
Agent Napoleon G: No there is not.
You: I'm speechless.
You: Take care
Agent Napoleon G: Thank you for visiting the SQUARE ENIX Support Center! Take care and hope to see you online!
Agent Napoleon G has disconnected.

[Seiferikari]

Happened to me too. Different country region locked out. My country isn't in the selection to boot..

Previously I was paying my sub fine since Sept 2013 and account expired yesterday. After that it's just goes downhill all the way, credit card, crysta, ultimate game card, PayPal, gameroff (3rd party agent from my country), tech support chat. Non of them worked.

However SE said they will get back to me. Truthfully I don't have much hope considering the replies this thread is getting. Hope we will draw enough attention for them to do something about it.

MeanwhileI will be seeking put a ffxiv game card from the retail store to see of any of it work.

[Scrumba]

Got it resolved. Paybycash (ultimatepay) are awesome. I called, Jeanette from the service walked me right up to the point where I needed to add Crysta, she took over from there and I now have the funds over to Sq.

I really wish I didn't like ff so much. Square Enix have the most horrendous customer service, payment system and policies I've ever experienced.

Hopefully what I did can help others.

[Scrumba]

Here is the email I've sent to myself as a reminder every month of how to pay (how ridiculous that is...):

How to pay for ffxiv:
1. buy ultimate game card from pcgamesupply.com
2. try adding crysta
3. if doesn't work call paybycash.com and request they process

[Navaron]

I got this errors from February 2, due to this my card money is freeze and i lost 2 weeks of play.
Now they ask me a scan of my credit card and name of owner. Also the chat support center told me to send a scan.
Is it normal???? i mean can you Se lock my card??

I really need someone please to tell me if is safe to send this info

[Theorac]

Figured it was time to come back after the initial crowd had settled. Now I'm getting error 401 too when trying to register for automatic renewal. This is a rather ancient problem from when the game was released, so its disappointing to see that it is still not fixed. You would think that a bug free payment system would be rather high on the priority list. I'm reading that time cards don't seem to be working consistently,so I'm not buying one.

Trying again tomorrow, then its "See you sometime next month XIV!" or well D3 DLC ..

Good luck to anyone else who is facing the same problem!

[Scrumba]

Basically, I was told that they cannot handle my billing issue over email and that I would need to contact chat or phone support. Here's my response (note where they have miraculously kept the processing fees, but not allowed me to pay the monthly sub fee):

~~~

Don't worry about it... I've been in contact with your chat support and not only were they useless, but extremely rude and condescending. I have never dealt with such a horrible "customer service" department before. I really hope that I never need to contact the chat 'support' again.

I played FFXI for close to a decade and never had the billing issues I have now and never needed to contact 'support'. I know that if I ever have any issues in the future to the point of needing to contact support, I would rather cancel my account and never deal with Square Enix's horrible billing system or rude customer service again.

One thing I'd like to point out is the additional $10 that Square Enix have taken out of my account. For some reason you can keep the 'processing fees', but are unable to process a simple monthly subscription payment.

Now tell me how that makes sense?

Have a good day.

[Scrumba]

Dear Customer,

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

If you are receiving an error 601 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. If you wish to begin playing immediately, please choose a different payment option and payment method, available through the SQUARE ENIX Account Management System.

Thank you for contacting the SQUARE ENIX Support Center.


~~~~

After the above email, I write back to them explaining why the payments are being declined (due to fraud prevention, etc), but not understanding how the processing fees are going through. I also attached copies of my bank statements which show the processing fees from Square Enix are going through.

I then receive a response back from them saying that the issue cannot be handled over email and to contact chat support with yet another follow up email survey asking "How was our support?".

It's a vicious circle with them. I have this image of one person sitting at home playing Final Fantasy and watching movies, just cutting/pasting blanket replies to anyone who contacts their support.

Not worth the time or trouble.

[Niccolo83]

What about error code 406? I think it is different because I used both a gift card and a card that had proper account info and they were still denied with a 406 error. Both cards had enough funds. They still charged me the $1.00 fee, seven times over, despite not giving me access. All I wanted was a month so they had better not end up charging me for over six... this payment system is seriously messed up, I have not seen anything this bad in YEARS.