Payment rejected

Jannes · #1 03-25-2008, 04:51 PM

Hi

I just got an email stating that my 'account has been marked for a security verification' and that I need to pay using either 'bank transfer or Western Union'.

The stated ticket reference is JEL-2530136.

This creates a problem. I live in South Africa. To send money via bank transfer will take 4 weeks (and add $20 in bank charges) and the one branch of Western Union that I know of closed down a few months ago.
It would also mean that I will have to pay a year in advance and frankly I dont know yet if I would like to send $100 to somebody that considers me a security risk.

So is there any other way of resolving this problem? Is this because I live in South Africa or is it because I used PayPal to pay with?

I can give various references of other (US) service providers that I am currently using and is being paid on a monthly basis without any problems. Amongst them name.com and linode.com.

If this problem cannot be resolved I will have to go somewhere else for my hosting needs.

Regards
Jannes

gtgeorge · #2 03-25-2008, 05:21 PM

It would be best to contact sales[at]hostgator.com to resolve your billing issue.

Serra · #3 03-25-2008, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jannes

So is there any other way of resolving this problem? Is this because I live in South Africa or is it because I used PayPal to pay with?

Fraud risk is based on several factors, where you live is one of them. Because there is so much fraud in the hosting industry, they are often very picky with people from outside the US.

Its unfortunate, but that is just the way it is. There isn't much way around it, sales can give you any options available, but its likely that you'll have to jump through hoops to get hosting.

kmaw · #4 03-25-2008, 07:15 PM

Unluckily, it seems South Africa is one of the most difficult.

gtgeorge · #5 03-25-2008, 07:19 PM

Yea it does seem to be that way when actually it is Nigeria with the largest amount of fraud. So many confuse it as being South Africa

Jannes · #6 03-26-2008, 01:05 AM

Hi again

Its been 7 hours now since I have replied to the ticket, sending the text in the above posting as is. I am still awaiting an reply.

I am well aware of the perceived fraud risk due to physical location. That is in fact the first thing that went through my mind when I received the first email from HG.

It took PayPal more than a few years to 'clear' the country to receive payments. That is one of the reasons why I used PayPal to pay for this service because I thought that they had already cleared that hurdle for me. I normally just use my VISA card.

I will see if I can speed up the process of paying by wire somehow. My two main problems with that is the additional time and cost (4 weeks and $20 to clear the wired transfer) and then I actually would like to just try the service first.

Once I am happy that I can do what I want to do, I will gladly pay the $200 in advance for it. I will also then be moving my current active domains at Linode as well as my brothers domains at Godaddy to HG. I just want to see if works before I commit that kind of capital.

Anyway, any idea how long it takes HG to reply to these kind of tickets. I understand that it is nighttime in the US now, but I was under the impression it is a 24/7 service and it is over 7 hours now I have waited for a response.

Jannes · #7 03-26-2008, 01:24 AM

Well now I cant even get into the billing server to see how much a year is going to cost me. It seems that even that part of my account has been frozen.

I applied for a new password and used it about 10 sec after I received it and it just says 'Your login is incorrect. Please try again.' I cut and paste it from the email so I am pretty sure it is the correct password.

All this is driving me up the walls. I actualy wanted this server to be up by the weekend so I can start working on it.

Jannes

gtgeorge · #8 03-26-2008, 03:51 AM

Yea, I can imagine what it would be like being punished for the actions of your neighbors.

I am sure HG will respond to you but not sure if they are available in billing 24x7. The new ticket system has been pretty buggy and may be causing the troubles with logging in, but can't speak for HG.

Jannes · #9 03-26-2008, 08:24 AM

Hi there

I have had one reply to my ticket, stating exactly the same as the first email. So it would seem that in order to get hosting I will have to pay a year upfront and do so by Bank Wire transfer.

I posted an update to my ticket, asking

1) How much is a year up front. As I dont have access to https://secure.hostgator.com/billing/ anymore, I will need HG to forward me an invoice, to use at the bank to secure the wire transfer.

2) I see this as a trail, to see if HG can deliver on their promises (to date I have not been impressed). So If after a month I decide to close my account, will I get a refund? How will they send it to my, by wire?

This ticket update was posted 6 hours ago, however that was still nighttime in the US. To my knowledge it is now daytime, and 8AM in the morning on the West Coast, so I expect an answer anytime soon now...

Regards
Jannes

gtgeorge · #10 03-26-2008, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jannes

1) How much is a year up front. As I dont have access to https://secure.hostgator.com/billing/ anymore, I will need HG to forward me an invoice, to use at the bank to secure the wire transfer.

See: http://www.hostgator.com/shared.shtml if its shared hosting or http://www.hostgator.com/resellers.shtml if reseller and put your mouse on the price for the plan you selected. A pop up window will give you the monthly price if you buy 12 months etc. If you purchased a domain add that in. You may want to ask them to use the code "Lucky" to receive 20 % off to help with the extra fees

Quote:

2) I see this as a trail, to see if HG can deliver on their promises (to date I have not been impressed). So If after a month I decide to close my account, will I get a refund? How will they send it to my, by wire?

HG offers a 45 day money back guarantee. I would imagine it would come the same way as you paid. Only they will be able to say though.

Jannes · #11 03-27-2008, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

See: http://www.hostgator.com/shared.shtml if its shared hosting or http://www.hostgator.com/resellers.shtml if reseller and put your mouse on the price for the plan you selected. A pop up window will give you the monthly price if you buy 12 months etc. If you purchased a domain add that in. You may want to ask them to use the code "Lucky" to receive 20 % off to help with the extra fees

Unfortunately that wont work. If you think HG is a bit uptight about foreign payments you should try the South African Reserve Bank. The printed copy of the invoice that I finally got from the billing department almost didnt make the cut...

Anyway. I finally got my questions answered, about 13 hours later. It seems that my ticket got stuck in somebodies inbox. I have now made the transfer and it should clear by Monday. Friday would have been nice, but such is life.

At least the year plan works out about $30 cheaper, so I suppose it all cancel out.

Thanks for the help guys

Jannes