credit card payment fails but card is good

This morning I got an email from VOIPO that said:

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This is a notice that a recent credit card payment we attempted on the card we have registered for you failed.

Invoice Date: 01/31/2011
Invoice No: XXXXXX
Amount: $XXXX USD
Status: Unpaid

You now need to login to your client area to pay the invoice manually. During the payment process you will be given the opportunity to change the card on record with us.

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The first thing I did was check with the credit card company to verify that the card was in good standing. It was. They also indicated that there was no indication that VOIPO had hit the card for the amount in question.

So - I went to my VOIPO cpanel and paid the bill manually with the credit card on file. No problems.

Quote:

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This is a payment receipt for Invoice XXXXXX sent on 01/31/2011

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It appears as if the automated billing to credit card option that I use didn't hit the card and then emailed me telling me that the card denied the charges.

I've submitted a ticket on this. It's the first time I've had this happen... but I was curious as to whether it had happened with anyone else.

Bill

Not at VoIPo, but in the past I've hit the issue where the card was renewed but the new expiration date and card "security code" had to be reentered in my account at the seller's secure web site.

In this case my card doesn't expire until 2014 so there hasn't been a change or renewal.

I've also had instances (not with Voipo) where a charge was declined for no apparent reason. In my situation, the card was declined despite plenty of available credit and no past-due issues, no recent changes. That charge did hit my card, because it showed up in my 'pending transactions' list with a status of declined. I never pursued an explanation, so I have no idea why any charge was declined.

Again, in my case the card company says Voipo never hit the card. I'm able to look at the records in my account with the credit card company and see every charge attempt that's made and the result of the attempt. There's nothing there regarding the "declined" charge.

I did get a response from support, and if I understood the explanation correctly a declination notice goes out if a charge attempt doesn't go through - regardless of the reason. This should be changed (IMO). If I had gotten an email from VOIPO saying something like "We tried to charge your card but our automated system was unable to process the transaction. Kindly login to your account and manually initiate payment by the due date. " I would have not jumped to the conclusion that there was something wrong with my card.

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Originally Posted by bwyatt

This should be changed (IMO). If I had gotten an email from VOIPO saying something like "We tried to charge your card but our automated system was unable to process the transaction. Kindly login to your account and manually initiate payment by the due date. " I would have not jumped to the conclusion that there was something wrong with my card.

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An absent follow-up alert from VoIPo (and other competitors) has been discussed in this forum in the past. It's far too easy to get a shut-off of VoIP service with no warnings, due to blame-game computer glitches.

I joined Voipo when I first learned about it... and I joined this forum about the same time. I noticed my posts show that I've been a member here for a year and a half now. I have 4 devices with Voipo, 6 phone numbers, a toll free line, and a fax line and I'm a happy camper. I love Voipo! That said, I would be one more dysfunctional character if my phones got cut off because of a "blame-game computer glitch." Maybe Voipo is old enough to consider a grace period for customers that have been with them from the beginning and have a stellar payment record. Point being... there should be something in the system to recognize that when a customer with a perfect payment history misses a payment. A computerized response saying your credit card denied payment when a computer glitch prevented it from going through is insulting and causes unnecesary stress. There ought to be a short grace period and the software should separate a declined payment from one that didn't go through and send a separate message representing the correct issue.

My opionion from a proud Voipo customer and reseller also.

I didn't see a threat to cut off your service...

I run an online store that has automated credit card processing. Once in a great while we see problems such as yours, where the processor declines the transaction but the bank has no record of it. We can never get to the bottom of it and simply have to try again, which usually works. This is what seemed to happen in your case. Don't blame VOIPo.

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Originally Posted by holmes4

I didn't see a threat to cut off your service...

I run an online store that has automated credit card processing. Once in a great while we see problems such as yours, where the processor declines the transaction but the bank has no record of it. We can never get to the bottom of it and simply have to try again, which usually works. This is what seemed to happen in your case. Don't blame VOIPo.

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Holmes: I didn't say there was a threat to cut off my service. Voipo's declination notice does say something to the effect that there is no grace period so payment needs to be made by the due date or service will be interrupted. And I'm not blaming Voipo for the payment not getting processed. I realize nothing is perfect. What I am attempting to do is offer a couple of constructive suggestions that - as a loyal customer - would appreciate.

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Originally Posted by bwyatt

... Voipo's declination notice does say something to the effect that there is >> no grace period << so payment needs to be made by the due date or service will be interrupted. ....

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So don't get caught in an expiration while on vacation or a long business trip, or a death in the family, etc.