Difference between revisions of "Linden Lab Official:Billing FAQ"

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==General billing issues ==
 
===I can't update my payment information===
Residents occasionally have trouble getting their billing agreements to update properly. This usually has something to do with the bank or card issuer.
 
If you're having trouble getting a billing agreement to update:
 
# Try another card.
# Wait a little while. It sometimes takes as much as 15 minutes (or as long as 30) to get approval back from your payment processor.
# Contact the card's issuer and verify that charges from Linden Lab are allowed.
# Contact us through the [http://secondlife.com/support Support Portal] or give the Billing team a call; to find out how, read the following Knowledge Base article: [[Linden Lab Official:Contacting Linden Lab Billing]].
 
;Have you had the problem described below?
 
Your credit card keeps failing. You've checked to insure the following information:
 
* Your card number is correct
* The CVV code entered is correct
* The card is not expired
* You're not at your limit
* You've also called your bank and they say your card is fine
 
But you still can't update your billing information successfully.
 
;What's the matter?
 
Linden Lab processes credit card charges using two processors:
 
# A domestic (U.S.-based) processor
# An internationally-based processor for our residents overseas
 
Some credit card companies default to automatically decline or hold for review international charges (or "online gaming" charges) as a safeguard against fraud. If you are located in the U.S., please try to delete and re-enter your payment method. This should make it go through the domestic processor, which diminishes the chances of your financial institution putting a hold on the transaction.
 
To check or correct this on your card, please contact your bank or credit card company. Ask to speak to someone in the Risk department and advise them that you wish to approve charges from Linden Research. Some companies' standard customer service departments may not have access to this information; their Risk departments should.
 
Once these holds are removed, you'll need to enter your credit card information into [http://secondlife.com/my/account/billing.php '''Update Billing Info'''] in [http://secondlife.com/my your Dashboard] (shown by clicking '''Account''' on the left) on the Second Life website once more. You should receive the message "Your information has been successfully updated".
 
If you receive an error message instead, please contact Linden Lab's Billing Support through the [http://secondlife.com/support/ Support Portal].
 
=== I'm having trouble paying—what's going to happen? ===
 
We attempt to bill your account for seven days from the first date of the billing failure (this is an automated process). If, at the end of that seven-day period, we're still unable to bill the balance due, we put your account on hold for an additional 30 days. During that 30-day timeframe, you can go to [https://secondlife.com/account your account page] and update your credit card information and manually push the charge through to immediately reactivate your account.
 
At any time, you can change your account status to Basic to keep it available to you at no charge. Please note that if you owned land, those charges are billed in arrears, so there may be one more payment due before fees cease to be incurred. All land owned and all land tier donations must be cleared to avoid additional fees.
 
===I paid US$ for something, but it's not showing up yet===
There are a few things related to Second Life that you need to pay for using US$. These things include:
 
* A [http://secure-web10.secondlife.com/whatis/plans.php Premium account]
* [http://secondlife.com/whatis/landpricing.php Land use tier]
 
When you've bought these items, you should be able to use them more or less instantly.
 
When something like your land fees are due, the charge is applied to your account. It may show as a negative balance until the next day, because the system hasn't processed it yet. In most cases, the charge is applied overnight in the form of payment on file.
 
If you're having problems that seem to indicate the system doesn't realize that you've paid for something, you should file a support ticket.
 
=== I get a "Not Authorized" message when entering billing information ===
 
The institution issuing the card you're trying to use has rejected the attempt to set up a payment agreement. You should contact the card's issuer to resolve this problem.
 
===Why was I charged $1.00 on my credit card?===
 
This is ''not'' an actual charge, but an authorization that we request from your credit card company.
 
Once the authorization is received, which confirms the account is valid, we then rescind the authorization.
 
At no time is the US$1.00 actually charged, though the authorization may appear on a credit card statement as such.
 
=== American Express ===
 
If you're an American Express customer, be happy: American Express is pretty vigilant about guarding your money.
 
If you're planning to purchase land or L$ through Linden Lab with an American Express card, you should first call American Express and authorize an open billing agreement with Linden Lab. Once American Express has enabled it, you should be able to use your American Express card to buy land or L$.
 
===Why was I billed an additional transaction fee?===
 
When payments are settled in a currency not native to your payment method, your bank may charge what is commonly called a "foreign transaction fee." This fee is not generated or collected by Linden Lab, and we can't control or cancel it.
 
If you're in the United States and are being charged the foreign transaction fee on your current credit card, you should try deleting and re-entering your current payment method at https://secondlife.com/account/billing.php. This process should stop the foreign transaction fees in most cases; if they continue, you should contact your financial institution to learn the details of your personal situation.
 
== PayPal ==
 
=== How do I setup payment with PayPal? ===
Follow these steps:
 
# Log in to your PayPal account.
# Click the '''My Account''' tab.
# Click the '''Profile''' subtab.
# Under the '''Financial Information''' section, click '''My preapproved payments'''.
# If you have any existing billing agreements with '''Linden Research''', select and cancel them.
# Go back to the '''Profile''' subtab again.
# Under the '''Account Information''' section, update your information where needed (your PayPal agreement may silently fail if your Second Life account lacks a billing address and email).
 
Then create the PayPal agreement with Linden Lab.
 
You must have funds available in your '''Primary''' funding source (PayPal balance) for any purchase to go through. If you do not have enough funds in your '''Primary''', the remaining balance will be drawn from your '''Secondary''' funding source (bank account or credit card).
 
{{KBnote| Regarding PayPal passwords and security: The page where you log into PayPal is a PayPal page. We do not receive this information; PayPal does.}}
 
=== Why is PayPal payment failing? ===
 
The cause may be the default monthly maximum limit of US$250.00 set by PayPal. To change it:
 
# Log into Paypal.
# Click the '''My Account''' tab.
# Click the '''Profile''' subtab.
# Under the '''Financial Information''' section, click '''Recurring payments dashboard'''.
# Click '''My preapproved payments''' page link.
# Click '''Linden Research''' from the Merchant list.
# In the '''Bill Term''' section, click '''Edit Billing Limit'''.
# Enter the total maximum dollar value you want to set.
# Click '''Save'''.
 
== LindeX™ Exchange ==
 
===I bought Linden Dollars (L$) but my balance hasn't updated===
If you bought Linden Dollars (L$) through the [https://secure-web10.secondlife.com/currency/ LindeX], they should show up in your balance more or less instantly. So if they don't appear instantly (or after a reasonable wait time), something may be wrong.
 
As a first step, you may want to check the [http://blog.secondlife.com/ Second Life Blog] to see if we're already aware of the problem and working to fix it. Chances are good that if it's something that affects a large number of Residents, we're already on it.
 
If it looks like a problem that only affects you, then open a support case.
 
===I was not charged what expected when I bought Linden Dollars (L$) ===
 
The rates quoted on the LindeX are approximate estimates, and not a guarantee of an exact transaction amount.
 
When a market order is placed, the order is filled with the lowest-priced L$ available at the time the order is placed. The market is very active, so an order seen as available might be gone by the time you place a new order.
 
If you'd like to purchase L$ at a specific price, consider placing a limit order.
 
===I can't buy anything on the LindeX because of billing and trading limits; what do I do?===
Please first visit [https://secondlife.com/currency/describe-limits.php this page] to check your limits and ensure that your difficulties are actually related to your billing and trading limits. Your level will be highlighted if you're logged in.
 
If this does appear to be the difficulty, you may request a review of your account to increase your limits by submitting a ticket.
 
* Premium account holders should select the '''Billing and L$''' ticket type, followed by the '''LindeX Tier Review''' billing type.
* Basic account holders should select the '''Special Questions - Basic account or Guest Login''' ticket type, followed by the '''LindeX Tier Review''' selection.
 
We'll review your request and get back to you within five business days.
 
===I can't tell how much L$ I have; it just says "Loading"===
 
Don't panic! If you just logged in and your L$ amount, shown in the upper-right corner of the screen, says "Loading", it just means your L$ balance hasn't been loaded yet and will eventually appear. Sometimes, this is due to server issues, when we're experiencing heavy load and the data can't be retrieved quickly.
 
Remember, while you wait inworld, you can also check your Linden Dollar balance on the [https://secondlife.com/account/ Your Account section of our website].
 
{{KBnote| This is different from your balance unexpectedly appearing as "L$0", which does in fact mean that all your L$ are gone. To prevent such an unfortunate incident from happening, please familiarize yourself with our [http://secondlife.com/corporate/tos.php Terms of Service] and [[Linden Lab Official:Sharing Second Life Accounts|don't share your account]].}}
 
'''Tips'''
 
If you have waited five full minutes and your L$ balance still reads as "Loading", you can try the following tricks to try to force your balance to appear:
 
* Try teleporting to another Region.
* Try logging out of Second Life, and then log back in, preferably in a different Region. Giving the viewer a second chance to load your information often resolves the problem.
* Ask a friend to pay you L$1. If you're really nice, give it back afterward!
* Try bulk uploading a single image, sound, or animation. Make sure only to try to upload one item! Each attempt costs you L$10.
Obviously we don't expect you to spend large sums of Linden dollars in order to find out how many you have; if your problem persists, you should file a help ticket via our [http://secondlife.com/support Support Portal].
 
=== Is it possible to view transactions older than 30 days? ===
It is not currently possible to view Linden dollar (L$) transactions older than 30 days. You ''can'' download all transactions in the past 30 days as an Excel spreadsheet for later reference. To download your transaction history:
 
# Go to https://secondlife.com/account/transactions.php
# In the '''From''' field, choose the ''earliest'' possible date
# Click the '''download''' button
# Save the .xls file to your hard drive
 
===See also===
* [https://secondlife.com/my/lindex/describe-limits.php? LindeX™ Exchange: Billing and Trading Limits]

Latest revision as of 15:17, 6 February 2012

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