Non-Recurring Subscription Removed 'Temporary' - This needs an ETA for return

Feranth

Hello,

I was browsing on a tech website this morning when I saw someone complaining in The Elder scrolls Online topic about iDeal no longer being accepted. He ran into this problem when he tried to register the game box code and set up a subscription in order to claim his first 30 days. He contacted Customer Support and got the following back.

Hail and well met, Adventurer!

Thank you for contacting The Elder Scrolls Online Team.

I am sorry to inform you, that in effect from April 11th, Ideal, PaySafeCard, Webmoney, and Giropay were taken down as payment methods. This is a temporary procedure and in the meantime the alternatives are to use:
PayPal;
Credit Card;
Game Time Cards;
Thank you for your comprehension and support!

Now I've just checked my account management, and it seems to be even worse now. All non-recurring payment methods have been removed and the only way to pay for your subscription seems to be either recurring Credit Card Payments, PayPal or returning to the stone age of online gaming and getting a Game Time Card at a retailer. There's also the obvious problem of Game Time Cards no longer being restocked at most retailers a few months after release.

Now I currently have my own subscription running out in 49 days, so I'm still in the clear, but for people who just bought the game and are now registering their codes, this is a -huge- problem. In the US it might be standard fair to have a recurring game subscription, but in the EU, most people don't have a Credit Card nor do they have Paypal. In fact, in my country, 90% don't have either of the two and are completely reliant on iDeal. As such, 49 days is a long while but if this isn't returned before then, I won't be able to pay for the game any more and thus have to quit playing.

ZOS, I love the game and the service provided so far, but this needs to be announced publicly as soon as possible in a status message (in bold, screaming it out so no registering person who just bought the game can miss it) and also fixed as soon as possible. I searched the entire forum but there hasn't been one developer nor customer service representative who announced this. Every minute this issue is unresolved, there is the risk of creating tons of angry customers who aren't able to
register the game nor actually play the game, a game box they already paid for.

I hope a customer service representative either makes a status message out of this or responds to this topic (or both) because potential clients -need- to be informed of this.

Also, it's a very bad idea not to inform clients of an ETA for this to be returned. It is mentioned it is 'Temporary', but what is that? A day? A week? A month? Give us SMART (Specific, Measurable, Realistic, Time-Bound) information when this is going to be returned. I understand this information can't be given when it comes to actual game content, but this is a subscription system and there's bound to be a rough time-frame available when this will be returned.

Concluding, I hope there's going to be a reply to this topic or a status message which also includes an ETA for the return of this system. It is in the best interest of both you ZOS, as well as the players.

Sincerely yours.

KerinKor

Those payment methods are the ones where 'validation payments' were not being refunded, ie. requests to void the payment weren't being honoured, which caused many very-heated discussions here and I believe not a few legal headaches to Zenimax from odd things I've seen posted on the web: nothing specific but just vague hints.

See this post:

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/67461/bank-account-being-charged/p1

I'm not surprised Zenimax have removed them until they can sort out the problem those payment processors have with the concept of an authorization payment request.

Feranth

KerinKor wrote: »

Those payment methods are the ones where 'validation payments' were not being refunded, ie. requests to void the payment weren't being honoured, which caused many very-heated discussions here and I believe not a few legal headaches to Zenimax from odd things I've seen posted on the web: nothing specific but just vague hints.

I'm not surprised Zenimax have removed them until they can sort out the problem those payment processors have with the concept of an authorization payment request.

Of course, I can understand that completely. However, the problem is that these payment methods have been known since Pre-Orders went live, around the end of January. People expect to be able to play the game using these payment methods. If this is suddenly removed, without even a status update, well..people who are actually already playing will also be quite angry. =P

KerinKor

I'm not disagreeing with you, I was merely pointing out what I think is the reason for this, in case you weren't aware. because if that IS the case it may be some time before some or all come back.

torstenb16_ESO8

problem is, i went into the city buyed a paysafe card and when i came back, paysafe was gone, i have now more than 40 euros here i can kick into the trashcan, thats an abolute no go, that my 40 euros now lost. After the take out to pay with paysafe card, on the homepage there was a text file that you can pay with paysafe card, only the abbo was gone. And for workless people its an financiell disaster.........i cant make my half year abbo and had to chosse the more expensive gametime one,so i have to leave eso soon, after my playtime goes to zero.This is an absolute no go...........People will get arrested for that.So i want free time for that ***........

blackevil86

they don't care about people like us, they just want the cc subscribers to play for what, two months? instead of people that would have played for even 10 years or so. i am unable to play since i could not get PSC before they took it down. now i'm stuck with a game i don't even want anymore since i can not play, a PSC for 30eur that i will spend on some FTP crap probably, and a name to avoid in the future that is ZOS. they wont solve it just by giving me free time. i'm *** falling behind in the damn game, every day they take to 'evaluate'. and the worst part is that they don't even give a ***. been checking forums for some days now, sent some tickets, trying to get as much info as possible, but the sad truth is, i got more info from fellow players since ZOS have no time for us.
my guess is, they don't want a happy community, they just don't want to get sued, since all they care about atm is *** credit card issues, that would not even happen if they gave the 30 days WITHOUT requiring any damn subscription so they would have a whole month to evaluate whatever the *** they want, with only the bugs and gold sellers pissing off the players, which is quite a normal matter. the way it is going, they will have to shut down EU server, since it will be empty by the end of this or maybe next month.

deef85b16_ESO

Would like to see when iDeal is coming back, or even a direct bank transfer option if necessary. Because I don't own a CC, and will not merely for a game.

otomodachi

For the people who've been asking about refunds, behaviour like this (removing a widely known and previously announced method of payment) falls under the "misleading advertisement" header for the state of Maine, USA, where I live. So I get the frustration, but your only real options are seek another payment method or open a support ticket for a refund.

Randazzo

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

Below is an official statement we released about the different payment methods we offer, and some specific details about non-recurring options:

We care about our customers and have been upfront in informing everyone that The Elder Scrolls Online is a subscription game -- an online game requiring a paid subscription to play.

Every customer that purchases the game receives 30 days of play included. Upon registration, customers are required to choose a payment method for the subscription fee associated with game play beyond the first 30 days of service.

Customers who choose to pay for a subscription with a recurring payment method, such as a credit card, are advised they will not be charged until the first 30-days of use included with the purchase of the game expire. Further, they are informed that they can cancel their chosen payment method up until the first 30-days included with the purchase of the game expires.

In order to give our customers the most flexibility in how they pay for their subscription, we also offer non-recurring payment options, such as Webmoney and iDeal.
Customers choosing to use a non-recurring payment method for a one-time subscription purchase are advised they will be billed immediately for subscription and that their purchase is final. Customers who utilize these non-recurring payment methods will receive immediate access to the 30 days of use included with the purchase of the game plus the additional amount of time associated with the subscription plan they selected – e.g. 30, 90 or 180 days.

Even though we made clear how the non-recurring payment option worked, despite our caution, some didn't understand or were confused. Because this non-recurring payment option has caused some confusion, on a case by case basis, customers who have already made a subscription payment using GiroPay, WebMoney, iDeal or Paysafe prior to 11th April, and who are still playing Elder Scrolls Online within the 30 days of game time included with the initial purchase, may contact our customer support team and request a return of funds for the amount of the subscription payment.
We are currently re-evaluating the GiroPay, WebMoney, iDeal or Paysafe non-recurring payment methods and as such have removed them as a payment option for the time being.

This is from a thread in this very category.
It is cleverly disguised with the title "Official Statement on Payment Methods"

otomodachi

Randazzo wrote: »

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

Below is an official statement we released about the different payment methods we offer, and some specific details about non-recurring options:

We care about our customers and have been upfront in informing everyone that The Elder Scrolls Online is a subscription game -- an online game requiring a paid subscription to play.

Every customer that purchases the game receives 30 days of play included. Upon registration, customers are required to choose a payment method for the subscription fee associated with game play beyond the first 30 days of service.

Customers who choose to pay for a subscription with a recurring payment method, such as a credit card, are advised they will not be charged until the first 30-days of use included with the purchase of the game expire. Further, they are informed that they can cancel their chosen payment method up until the first 30-days included with the purchase of the game expires.

In order to give our customers the most flexibility in how they pay for their subscription, we also offer non-recurring payment options, such as Webmoney and iDeal.
Customers choosing to use a non-recurring payment method for a one-time subscription purchase are advised they will be billed immediately for subscription and that their purchase is final. Customers who utilize these non-recurring payment methods will receive immediate access to the 30 days of use included with the purchase of the game plus the additional amount of time associated with the subscription plan they selected – e.g. 30, 90 or 180 days.

Even though we made clear how the non-recurring payment option worked, despite our caution, some didn't understand or were confused. Because this non-recurring payment option has caused some confusion, on a case by case basis, customers who have already made a subscription payment using GiroPay, WebMoney, iDeal or Paysafe prior to 11th April, and who are still playing Elder Scrolls Online within the 30 days of game time included with the initial purchase, may contact our customer support team and request a return of funds for the amount of the subscription payment.
We are currently re-evaluating the GiroPay, WebMoney, iDeal or Paysafe non-recurring payment methods and as such have removed them as a payment option for the time being.

This is from a thread in this very category.
It is cleverly disguised with the title "Official Statement on Payment Methods"

It's funny that this VERY CLEAR statement says that this non-recurring methods offered (present tense) "In order to give our customers the most flexibility in how they pay for their subscription, we also offer non-recurring payment options, such as Webmoney and iDeal.
Customers choosing to use a non-recurring payment method for a one-time subscription purchase are advised they will be billed immediately for subscription and that their purchase is final. Customers who utilize these non-recurring payment methods will receive immediate access to the 30 days of use included with the purchase of the game plus the additional amount of time associated with the subscription plan they selected – e.g. 30, 90 or 180 days. "

and yet the GM the OP mentions apparently told him those're off the table. VERY CLEAR. IT IS THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE MISUNDERSTANDING.

Randazzo

"otomodachi wrote: »

and yet the GM the OP mentions apparently told him those're off the table. VERY CLEAR. IT IS THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE MISUNDERSTANDING.

DERP

We are currently re-evaluating the GiroPay, WebMoney, iDeal or Paysafe non-recurring payment methods and as such have removed them as a payment option for the time being.

otomodachi

Randazzo wrote: »

"otomodachi wrote: »

and yet the GM the OP mentions apparently told him those're off the table. VERY CLEAR. IT IS THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE MISUNDERSTANDING.

DERP

We are currently re-evaluating the GiroPay, WebMoney, iDeal or Paysafe non-recurring payment methods and as such have removed them as a payment option for the time being.

No, I get it. The statement says in two separate paragraphs that those methods are offered and not offered.

EDIT: That VERY CLEAR statement.