Support:FAQ Sales
(Redirected from Newzbin:Payment FAQ)
[edit] Read Me First
Newzbin used to accept a variety of payment methods, including StormPay, MoneyBookers, PayPal, etc.
In the name of simplicity, we have phased out all of these payment methods. The only way to pay is via our direct card processing system. This is perfectly safe (read below) and we feel more than adequate for most of our users.
We are not planning on re-adding PayPal (or any of the other old payment systems,) mostly because they've either done us over by closing our accounts (and in cases, taking our money) or by causing us grief in other ways. Please stop asking us about this!
[edit] How to Pay
Newzbin are able to accept most standard credit and debit cards, with the current notable exceptions of American Express and Discover (we'll look into these in the future).
Credit cards generally have a start date and expiry date, but no issue number. Leave the issue number blank for these cards.
Debit cards generally have a start date and issue number, but no expiry date. Leave the expiry date as MM/YYYY (the default) if you do not have an expiry date. You must enter the issue number.
The CVV / CSC number is required for all cards. If your card does not have one, we cannot currently accept it for security reasons.
[edit] Security
Newzbin uses a certified SSL key to encrypt communications between you and our site. Ensure that the URL starts https://www.newzbin.com when you are making a payment. If you are using an insecure URL when you start to make a payment, you will be automatically changed to a secure one. (you can also use https for browsing the entire site, not just payments)
None of your card details are stored on our systems, at all, ever. They are not written to disk, even in a temporary file; they are only stored in memory for the amount of time it takes to get a response from the bank (saying accepted or declined).
For this reason, we cannot currently operate 'repeat payments'. However, our payment processor appears to have plans to do this for us - they will store the card details, and just re-charge it when you ask us to. This is something we're hoping to get activated in the second half of 2007.
This process happens on a machine that is not directly connected to the Internet; it uses a secure proxy (owned and operated by us, on the Newzbin network) to get a route to the processing bank. No other machine outside the Newzbin network has any way to open a connection back to this machine.
The only place you should enter your card details is on the secure card processing form. The URL to this form is (this is not a valid link, do not click it or use it): 'https://www.newzbin.com/secure/card/*transaction_id*' where transaction_id is a unique reference for every payment.
Verify that the URL looks like this when you are making a payment. It may either be www.newzbin.com or v3.newzbin.com - both are fine.
The transaction_id will always be of the form 1140462791-882559-46904 (3 numbers, separated by hyphens).
NEVER type your card number into an email, private message or support ticket to anyone on the Newzbin site, even if they ask you to!
Genuine Newzbin staff will never ask you for these details.
[edit] I used my credit card on Newzbin, and now the details have been stolen!
As already said, your card details are not stored at Newzbin. In order to steal card numbers as they pass through our systems, an attacker would be required to gain access to a secure gateway machine which is heavily ACLed through IP access lists. From there you need to find and get onto the backend processing machine, and then modify our system to give you the numbers as they pass through, all without us noticing.
We feel very confident that nobody is going to steal your card information from Newzbin. If you're still not convinced, talk to your bank. Please note that we have very little power to fix alleged stolen-card-numbers - if you're in the mindset that we've let someone have your credit card then there's really not a whole lot we can do about it. Speak to your bank and have them reverse the charges that have appeared.
[edit] Someone used my credit card on Newzbin, and it wasn't me!
So someone stole your card and used it here. Speak to your bank. Again this is not something a merchant can fix. Your bank will reverse the transactions. This is the entire point behind using a credit card - it's not your money, it's the bank's money, and you are fully protected against charges on it.
[edit] Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
[edit] After inputting my card details, I get 'System error'?
We realise that this is an odd error, but it roughly translates into 'Error in Card Details' - Check you are typing the card number correctly and that all of the other requested details are correct. If it persists raise a support ticket (don't include your card number please) and we'll try to find out what's wrong.
[edit] When trying to get to your secure payment page, it just hangs, and never loads!
It appears that this problem may be caused by using a Windows XP system that has not yet been upgraded to Service Pack 2. If this is the case, please upgrade your system to Service Pack 2 and ensure that it is also fully updated via Windows Update. This should (according to the few people that have encountered this problem) fix things and allow you to view the payment page normally. If for some reason you cannot access the page at all, please consider sending an Amazon.co.uk gift certificate instead
[edit] Why do I keep receiving the "CSC Not Matched", "CSC Not Valid" or "Denied" messages?
First of all, ensure that you are correctly entering the three digit security code from the back of your card (it is the last three digits located below the magnetic strip of your card).
If this still isn't working, then it is possible that your card issuer is denying the transaction and thus we cannot process your payment. Unfortunately, we aren't able to obtain a reason other than the one you are given, so you will have to ask your card issuer as to why the payment might not be working.
Aside from this, we suggest that you use another card or send an Amazon.co.uk gift certificate instead.
[edit] I tried to pay, but got a rejection/decline error, and yet I still seem to have been charged?
The first thing that happens when we ask the bank to make a charge to your card, is a 'pre-authorisation' is done to ensure you have sufficient funds on the card. These work even if you've entered the wrong CVV number. If, at this point, you have entered the wrong CVV number, the actual charge to the card will fail, but the pre-authorisation will remain.
A pre-authorisation is basically a 'lock' on an amount of money. They mean that you can't use that amount of money for anything else until the pre-auth expires (usually a week, can be up to 28 days).
Thus, if you enter the wrong CVV number (or the site tells you that you did, see below) you may see this pre-authorisation on your statement, but it will eventually disappear and you won't actually be charged anything.
[edit] How long does authorising a card, and adding credit, usually take?
Authorising a card usually takes between 5 and 60 seconds. Immediately after a card has been authorised and we have been informed by the bank that the funds have been successfully taken, your credit is applied there-and-then.
Upon being redirected from the secure payment form, back to the site, you should be presented with a green box informing you of the transaction's success. You'll also get a mail saying pretty much the same thing.
You should see the credit in your account a few seconds after that.
[edit] My card details have changed, what do I do?
Nothing - since we operate in a pre-pay fashion, you don't need to tell us about your old card expiring, or any new cards you get to replace one you've paid with here. We don't store your card details, so we don't have anything to update.
Simply use your new card details next time you run out of credit and would like to topup again.
[edit] VAT
[edit] Can I get a VAT receipt?
Yes - please open a v3 support ticket that has a Type of 'Sales' and a Title of 'VAT Receipt Required.'
Pretty soon we'll look at automating this so you can get one generated in seconds without waiting for an administrator.
[edit] I'm not in the EU. Can I get a VAT refund?
Please read Newzbin:The_VAT_Situation first. If you still want a VAT refund after reading this, then yes. Open a ticket.
[edit] What if I can't pay via card methods?
If you are unable to use our payment system for any reason, then you can either send us a Manual Bank Transfer, or you can pay via an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate. NO other methods are supported (e.g., PayPal). See details for each below:
[edit] Manual Bank Transfers
In order to send a manual bank transfer, please read and follow ALL of the following instructions:
- Because the transfers have to be manually processed, they take up our time. Because of this, it is more expensive than credit card topups - you will only be credited at the rate of £0.40 sterling per week, NOT £0.30 sterling. Thus, a £10.00 sterling transfer will get you 25 weeks of credit (though see the next point about charges).
- The amount we will credit you for is the amount we see arrive in our account, AFTER charges. Both your bank and our bank may make charges for you to do an international transfer (we're in the UK) and don't forget exchange rate fluctuations.
- Include your Newzbin username as the reference when making the payment. If you don't, you won't get any credit, because we won't know who made the payment!
- The minimum transfer we'd like you to make (obviously we can't technically enforce this, but if you transfer too little, it'll all disappear up the banks' asses) is £10.00 sterling. Feel free to make up to £40.00 sterling for 2 years credit or so.
- Our bank details: (let us know if your bank requires more than this)
Bank: HSBC
Sort Code: 40-31-05
Account Number: 71710974
IBAN: GB25MIDL40310571710974
Branch Identifier: MIDLGB2110K
- Allow 14 days from your transfer to credit being applied. After transferring, please raise a sales support ticket request it is assigned to Caesium. This will ensure your payment is credited as quickly as possible.
[edit] Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates
To purchase an Amazon.co.uk gift certificate; you will need to have an Amazon.co.uk account to do so. Please follow these rules when sending a certificate:
- Ensure that you're buying from Amazon.co.uk and NOT Amazon.com (we can't use the .com certificates). They use more details than we do.
- Specify enquiries[at]newzbin[dot]com as the recipient email (replacing [at] with @, [dot] with .)
- Please include YOUR Newzbin username in the 'from' or 'optional message' sections, so we know who it is from!
- Raise a sales support ticket, so our staff know that you have sent us one.
- Please note, it can take upto a week or longer for the gift certificate to be processed and the credit applied.
[edit] 16-week topups are tedious. How do I pay you once for the entire year and be done with it?
Unfortunately, the 16-week topup limit is a restriction currently being imposed by our credit card processor for chargeback liability reasons.
We can now offer UK customers the facility to topup for an entire year if they use a listed debit card (there are no chargeback liabilities associated with these debit cards) This applies only to Switch/Maestro and Solo. Unfortunately Visa Debit is still subject to chargebacks, and so is still limited to 16 weeks at this time.
If you're not in the UK, the only other possibility is a manual bank transfer. The v3 topup page has full details of this - http://v3.newzbin.com/account/topup/
[edit] Refunds
We review refunds on a per-case basis. Usually, we're happy to give you one within 14 days of your payment. Your full Transaction Number is required (it's in the format 1140462791-882559-46904 or similar) which you can include in a support ticket that has a Type of 'Sales' and a Title of 'Refund Request.' Refund requests without a Transaction Number in the mail will be ignored as we need the number to perform the refund.