Curse

Antithesis · Jul 22, 2007, 11:53 AM // 11:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonesamurai

Yes its a pain in the ass for Aussies and Kiwis (*ducks and covers*), but instead fo screamign about it, anyone got any good ideas that could be passed onto NCSoft Europe?

Let us choose to pay in USD, simple. Almost every payment gateway in the world offers this option. Aussies are used to paying in USD on the web, we never pay in GPB.

We're 200 years past being a British penal colony so stop treating us like we're English - we're located closer to Asia / USA yet we get stooged on our pings and how much we're paying for the game by being lumped in with a country that is half a world away. There are many Aussie GW'ers, we should be recognised as a market in our own right.

Antithesis · Jul 22, 2007, 11:59 AM // 11:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by MirageMaster

I still dont like that americans pay less for ingame shop stuff.Its enough problem that i loose money when converting to euros from huf even though we are in the damn EU,no need to make it so easy for americans who get payed in a week what we get payed in 1 or 2 moths! GRRRRR!!!!!

Forget what i initially wrote, i re-read your post and if you're in a poorer EU country you're right.

pamelf · Jul 22, 2007, 03:33 PM // 15:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonesamurai

Yes its a pain in the ass for Aussies and Kiwis (*ducks and covers*), but instead fo screamign about it, anyone got any good ideas that could be passed onto NCSoft Europe? They do like feedback from their customers

We've given them feedback. We're not screaming, and the good idea is to simply change our currency. As I stated before, if we're being serviced by NCSoft EUROPE then they have the capabilities to charge us in Euro, since I'm pretty sure they don't charge all of Europe in GBP. The solution is simple, thus the only way to have this changed for us is for us to do the 'screaming' as you so foolishly put it.

I encourage all of you Aussies and Kiwi's reading this forum to submit your concerns to NCSoft. It's all well and good posting it here, but it is essential to go straight to the source if we want our voices heard.

psycore · Jul 23, 2007, 09:10 AM // 09:10

Exactly take this up with NC Europe, if you do nothing nothing will be done and nothing will eventuate.

Even if we cant do anything for GW:EN hopefully they will rectify this by the time GW2 comes out.

Sophitia Leafblade · Jul 23, 2007, 11:49 AM // 11:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antithesis

This has nothing to do with the USD to GBP to Euro exchange rate. This has to do with AUD to USD vs AUD to GBP and the pricing points NCSoft have set. Why is it 43% dearer to buy ArenaNet products in their online store for Aussies vs Yanks or Poms?

Give us (everyone) the option to pay in the currency of our choice, be it Euro, Pounds or USD and the problem is solved. If need be, force Aussies to pay in USD or Euro but FFS drop the GBP - we're tied to the value of the USD not England's over-inflated currency.

I do agree that an option for payment in whatever currency would be more fair when buying online items (since all ur buying is a code to access that content and involves no shipping or postage costs etc.) however in a fair world the price should be the same for all countrys. However the World isnt fair.

The reason your paying more (ie 43%) more isnt because the power of the pound, conversion rates or whatnot its simply because NC soft charges 43% more to any Uk customer (which unfortually you seem to have been grouped with) All Customers who pay in pounds are paying 43% more for the products, that includes all the Uk population. We all wish we could pay the Dollar price too since its alot cheaper, but unfortually we cant.

kenichiukiya · Jul 23, 2007, 12:41 PM // 12:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sophitia Leafblade

its simply because NC soft charges 43% more to any Uk customer (which unfortually you seem to have been grouped with)

That's exactly the problem there. We are NOT UK people...and Gaile said our server or products or watever is handled by NCSoft europe, but is it in UK?? If it's not in UK then I don't see the reason to charge us in Pounds. but oh well...I guess i should leave the rest of the argument to more able ppl...

Lonesamurai · Jul 23, 2007, 01:54 PM // 13:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenichiukiya

That's exactly the problem there. We are NOT UK people...and Gaile said our server or products or watever is handled by NCSoft europe, but is it in UK?? If it's not in UK then I don't see the reason to charge us in Pounds. but oh well...I guess i should leave the rest of the argument to more able ppl...

yes, Brighton, England

5 minutes walk from a really nice british beach too (and if you've never been to a british beach, your very lucky)

kenichiukiya · Jul 23, 2007, 02:00 PM // 14:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lonesamurai

yes, Brighton, England

5 minutes walk from a really nice british beach too (and if you've never been to a british beach, your very lucky)

Thanks for clearing that up. Weird, I'm in South Australia and there's a seaside area called Brighton as well

Xedu · Jul 23, 2007, 05:36 PM // 17:36

Not sure if this questions has been asked and answered by anyone as of yet; what about those who work for a government agency or global company that move to different countries every 2, 3 or 5 years?
From what I have read in the previous posts that if the current residence is Japan from there on even if your new home was Germany it would not matter the costs would be in the country you were in when you made the initial purchase from the store?
So originally you buy with credit card issued in Japan and then have moved on to Germany and wish to make a purchase with a card issued in Germany you would not be able to make a purchase, since you would have most likely cancelled the credit card from the previous residence and obtained a card from the new residence.
Or have I misunderstood and that the new card can be used and the charges would show up in the previous countries currency?

dsielschott · Jul 23, 2007, 05:44 PM // 17:44

just change the means in which you pay with.........the card that you used in New Zealand surely isnt the same as the one you use now which means you can/have to change all that information. If it is an American based bank account it should still be turned into the proper amount of american dollars. Which means your the currency exchange charge that A-net doesn't have to pay anymore will be dropped off of it.

and if they still think you are in New Zealand paying with New Zealand currency (whatever that may be now) that means you havent switched all of your accounts over because becoming a LEGAL resident means you get all new information and new accounts to transfer your old currency into. So this means 1. you are not a legal resident (which i believe is not the case) or 2. you have not yet transfered all of your paperwork to your new account and gotten issued a new card (which in turn will not make you pay that so called $15 more)

Onarik Amrak · Jul 25, 2007, 04:02 AM // 04:02

Wow, I just realised this has been for nothing because the store doesn't accept my credit card from Australia because I'm overseas (studying) until the end of the year.

I've got to say, they are doing a very good job at keeping people away from the online store.

pamelf · Jul 25, 2007, 07:01 AM // 07:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Onarik Amrak

Wow, I just realised this has been for nothing because the store doesn't accept my credit card from Australia because I'm overseas (studying) until the end of the year.

I've got to say, they are doing a very good job at keeping people away from the online store.

So, it registers you bought the game in Australia, so charges you GBP, but also recognises that you are not making your online purchase in Australia so won't accept your credit card? That is so many different kinds of stupid.

I've never thought poorly of Anet or NCsoft until this issue. Seriously, of all the cockups, this is the worst I've ever seen from any online gaming institution...

countesscorpula · Jul 25, 2007, 09:34 AM // 09:34

It's not too uncommon for overseas credit cards to be rejected. Around last Christmas I was in the liquer store picking up some spirits for a party. I still had my New Zealand Visa, and it had a balance of +80 NZD on it (meaning I had overpaid my last payment and the Visa owed me 80). The store's computer called the card up as "declined". Obviously not for bad credit.

I was talking to Visa about an unrelated matter today, and I mentioned the Xmas incident. The agent suggested it was likely a form of fraud protection taken by Visa - an odd purchase in a foreign country. Might not have anything in common with your situation, but it can happen. Perhaps when the computer makes the transaction it checks the IP address you are logging in from. Then compaires that location with the billing address for the credit card. If they aren't from the same general area (province/state/country) it might get flagged as potential fraud. The end result being a declined transaction. The source of the credit card refusal could have been at the Credit Card company's end, not A-Net/PlayNC. Unless you actually inquire with one of the two, it would be hard to guess where the problem starts.

Darkhorse · Jul 25, 2007, 11:50 AM // 11:50

Wouldn't be the first time something has been that badly overpriced, but it's unusual that it's actually cheaper to buy from retailers here, even with a 20% mark-up. With the exchange rate right now I had changed my mind on buying from the online store, but when I saw it was still trying to charge in Euros I changed my mind right back again.

Yet for some reason, American servers are the default for Guild Wars itself. Seems like NCSoft has been doing some switcheroo - they can't make up their mind on which part of the world Australasia isn't. Hell, what's the bet we'll be lumped with Asia for GW2?

leechazoid · Jul 25, 2007, 11:27 PM // 23:27

A few people asked me to provide an update on my attempt to get my region changed. Since it might conceivably help others I thought I should post my thoughts.

I have given up on this task for now for the following reasons:

1) My life is complicated;
2) In my case things will probably be eaiser for me to pursue later.

What follows is merely my take on the situation so it may not be 100% right. In my dealings with PlayNC they were polite enough and escalated my query quite a few times. I think polite persistance may result in a region change provided the following all match up:

1) Your address must be in the PlayNC Support region you want
2) Your credit card must match the country of your adress or be from an IP in that country (not sure which it is. It might be both)
3) Your IP of your log ons must match the country of your address

In putting together the above hypotheis I have examined the threads where people's credit cards are rejected as being foreign (ie - does not match one of the 3 hypothetical criteria above) and I have considered PlayNCs responses to my query (they cited an IP issue in my case).

If the above three things do match then I think anyone will have a good chance of a geting their account changed. Anyone with a complicated life where any one of these 3 do not match is going to face obstacles.

In my case I share my account with my wife. I am busy setting up shop in the US while my wife tidies up back in Australia. Guess who has time to play GW? My wife. Therefore the IP for the account in question does not match my address or credit card region so therefore I have an obstacle. In my case this will fix itself in time (I will either find a system and some time to log in over here or once she gets here it will be sorted). Until then, if either of us want to use the Guild Wars Store it will have to be the wife using our old Australian address, her Australian Credit Card, paying British Pounds and get properly gouged by the exchange rate. Not the best outcome but smeh. I am tired.

Gaile Gray · Jul 26, 2007, 02:10 AM // 02:10

I'm sorry for those of you undergoing difficulties. I wanted to share, though, that credit card fraud is a major issue with all on-line stores, and according to our Support Team, the percentage has risen in the Guild Wars or PlayNC Stores in recent weeks. Support is dealing with this in many ways, but please understand, when you're using credit cards from a different region, or when the particulars don't quite line up, it's only prudent for the company to examine the matter to try to avoid more fraudulent purchases, many of which end up then spamming "Buy my gold" ads in town, or running bots for gold to sell.

seut · Jul 26, 2007, 08:37 AM // 08:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaile Gray

I'm sorry for those of you undergoing difficulties. I wanted to share, though, that credit card fraud is a major issue with all on-line stores, and according to our Support Team, the percentage has risen in the Guild Wars or PlayNC Stores in recent weeks. Support is dealing with this in many ways, but please understand, when you're using credit cards from a different region, or when the particulars don't quite line up, it's only prudent for the company to examine the matter to try to avoid more fraudulent purchases, many of which end up then spamming "Buy my gold" ads in town, or running bots for gold to sell.

easy solution for our problems: don't do limited time only marketing stunts that are ingame shop exclusive..

Darkhorse · Jul 26, 2007, 08:39 AM // 08:39

Fair enough. I'll just stick with retailers that are a bit harder to rip off - despite the horror stories of delayed release in this part of the world I've always been able to track GW releases down several days in advance of the servers going online. Only exception to that was the Factions CE, where it took another week to get here because of global shortages. I should have waited a week so I could use the CE key though - didn't realize at the time that there was content specific to the Collectors' Edition. Ah well. Not going to make that mistake twice.

Anyway, I'll just have to pass on the bonus missions and fill the big space on the wall above the Nightfall map.

immortius · Jul 26, 2007, 08:52 AM // 08:52

Well, in my case, the first time I hit the submit button I got an error after a while. The second time I got a different error after a while. At that point I left the store and got back in, and found that it had registered that I had purchased it. Then when I checked my debit card record online I found my available balanced reduced by the 2 copies worth of the preorder. One of the orders has resolved itself into a transaction proper, but the other looks like it is still getting resolved one way or the other.

Anyway, my suggestion is that players should be automatically booted from the store if they get an error so that they can check whether the purchase went through or not.

pamelf · Jul 26, 2007, 01:23 PM // 13:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by seut

easy solution for our problems: don't do limited time only marketing stunts that are ingame shop exclusive..

Absolutely agreed. I think this is the main reason people are up in arms. There's something we can only get through this avenue, and yet it is so difficult for us.