Don't ever use Epassporte to buy anything online.

[woj]

100..........

[Ogix]

i never buy anything online.I can everything in the real world, right here right now.I nver mess with this crap

[Sarah - GTS]

The only complaints we have are that the wire fees are too expensive, we were quoted $30 by our rep over the phone and then when we went to transfer money it was $50... I would be willing to pay $30 but $50 is a bit much...

Makes it more difficult for us to access money when we like as I don't want to pay $200-300 per month just for epass to send me my own money. LOL!

DH

[Rand]

That's a VERY good reason to spend the money from a different account, if it were practical to do so. And it's one you must be painfully aware of, which makes your rhetorical question seem ironic if not outright funny.

Not at all.

What is being disucssed here is not the norm, but the exception.

There are over half a million eP accounts. The issue of funds being tied up due to denied transactions or merchants who don't know how to close a transaction do indeed happen, but this is an exception. Not the rule.

I use my eP account ALL the time and have *never* had the issue of having funds tied up due to the reasons described in this thread. This does happen or I wouldn't be here talking about it. But, as I have already described, eP didn't invent the pre-auth/settle scenario. I am just explaining to those who've experienced this the cause of their situation. Most CH's will not experience this issue as most merchants know how to close an auth.

ePassporte is a pre-paid Visa account, not a credit card. Think of it as a checking account with the spending capability of Visa.

[Kevin2]

So true... I have never had any problem with my ePassporte btw. And people in Australia will also agree with you

Yup I have never had a problem with mine in Australia

[SmokeyTheBear]

i never buy anything online.I can everything in the real world, right here right now.I nver mess with this crap

how do you buy your domains?

[Rand]

Do you have any plans to allow non-business accounts to be allowed to transfer money to business account? You can do business->non-business but not vice versa.

I explained earlier in this thread why eP doesn't allow this and the work-around.

See Post # 84.

Varius - Contact me directly if I can help you with this.

[llew]

My ePassporte card was declined several times because the card is not issued in US. Of course, the funds were still tied up for 30 days.

[Rand]

My ePassporte card was declined several times because the card is not issued in US. Of course, the funds were still tied up for 30 days.

Yeah... until the card associations come up with an MCC code for "the Internet" or at least catch up with the 21st century, this will happen on ocassion. Again, however, this is the exception, not the rule.

The merchant you were dealing with didn't scrub out ePassporte, they scubbed out foreigh BIN numbers, or regions.

[Varius]

I explained earlier in this thread why eP doesn't allow this and the work-around.

See Post # 84.

Varius - Contact me directly if I can help you with this.

That's what I get for not reading the thread in its entirety

Thanks, I don't actually need to do this, was just curious about it.

[Forkbeard]

Not at all.

What is being disucssed here is not the norm, but the exception.

There are over half a million eP accounts. The issue of funds being tied up due to denied transactions or merchants who don't know how to close a transaction do indeed happen, but this is an exception. Not the rule.

Of course. It's rare. But when it does happen, it hurts worse with Epassporte (a stored value product) than it does with a debit or credit product, because the person this happens to has to wait longer and or work harder to get things fixed. And that's why (to answer your question) someone might prefer to spend from another account, if it were easy-and-cheap.

And, of course, that difference between types of accounts is (as I learned in this thread from your explanations, and did not know before) the same reason that it's NOT easy-and-cheap for random poorly-verified account holders to dump big chunks of change from Epassporte into other accounts on short notice. You've explained that well. I'm not breaking your balls about it. It's just the way things are.

The only reason I spoke up here is that, rare or not, there is a reason for the preference some people have expressed here, and it struck me as funny for you to be inquiring what the reason would be after having explained it (and the reason it can't be readily satisfied) in great detail over many posts.

[Rand]

Of course. It's rare. But when it does happen, it hurts worse with Epassporte (a stored value product) than it does with a debit or credit product, because the person this happens to has to wait longer and or work harder to get things fixed.

Credit, debit, and pre-paid products have different attributes. eP offers features your bank doesn't and visa-versa. Know the rules and know how to use the tools to your benefit.

One reason it makes sense to spend with your eP account and keep a balance there is that it alleviates the very problem you are addressing. If you are an eP account holder with large sums of money in your account and some of that money gets tied up due to a faulty merchant transaction, you wouldn't notice it anymore than you would with a credit card since your balance is such that you have plenty of cushion.

And that's why (to answer your question) someone might prefer to spend from another account, ...

This might be true for people with small balances who are using nearly all of their open-to-buy (OTB) balance to make a purchase and the merchant incorrectly ties up thier funds. Yes, I'll go with that. -- It also happens on random Tuesdays when Mercury is in retrograde.

...it's NOT easy-and-cheap for random poorly-verified account holders to dump big chunks of change from Epassporte into other accounts on short notice.

You are absolutely right. And eP wouldn't be very responsible if they allowed anonymous people to accept funds instantly from anywhere on the planet and pull out large sums of cash instantly, now would they? In a perfect world where everyone was honest eP wouldn't need a risk management department. But, not in this lifetime. -- Sorry, I don't see this changing.

The only reason I spoke up here is that, rare or not, there is a reason for the preference some people have expressed here, and it struck me as funny for you to be inquiring what the reason would be after having explained it (and the reason it can't be readily satisfied) in great detail over many posts.

And I'll never board an aircraft again because they've been known to crash before and it can be terribly inconvenient.

The vast majority of the time things work pretty much the way they are supposed to. Once in a while they don't. That small percentage of unexpected occurences will not deter me me and quite frankly I think most people would agree. But if it's enough for you to withdraw from an otherwise positive experience, so be it.

With all due respect, really, I'm just trying to keep things in perspective here.

[(Gk)]

Rand do you know how long it takes for the risk management people to get back with a status on the epass non-business application? I had problems with epveriry and so I was asked to send extra information, which I sent by email with ALL the required scanned documents on 07-04-2005. People from customer services kept giving me random responses like "you must send the cover letter back with the required docs" "we didn't get your email" or "your information was forwarded to the right department". So, after a bunch of useless responses I decided to contact Amparo on ICQ yesterday and re-send all the info again by fax this time. Now I'm just curious how long it takes to get approved or declined. So far contacting cs@epass was very frustrating and kind of scary to be told that the sensitive information sent (like scanned copy of creditcard) was "forwarded to the right department" and at the same time you "didn't get the email". How is it possible?

[Rand]

Rand do you know how long it takes for the risk management people to get back with a status on the epass non-business application?

It should only be a 24 hour turn around as long as all requested documents were submitted, legible, and check out.

So far contacting cs@epass was very frustrating and kind of scary to be told that the sensitive information sent (like scanned copy of creditcard) was "forwarded to the right department" and at the same time you "didn't get the email". How is it possible?

It sounds like there was some confusion between the two departments. I know where part of this problem lies.

I'll get with Amparo and get the details from her and will see if I can help move this along for you.

[(Gk)]

Thanks for replying Rand.

I've faxed the docs to Amparo yesterday and asked her if it was readable, so I believe everything went fine. I'll be waiting for the status on this.

Thank you.

[After Shock Media]

Rand, what is the process for getting your load amount per day increased even if only temporary.
This 500.00 per day is driving me mad when I have to make a purchase of 2500.00
It will take me 6 full days just to load it.

[Rand]

Rand, what is the process for getting your load amount per day increased even if only temporary.
This 500.00 per day is driving me mad when I have to make a purchase of 2500.00
It will take me 6 full days just to load it.

You can make your requst to [email protected]. Tell them the load limit you would like to have and they will tell you if that is possible on your account.

I would also offer this suggestion. If you are they type of account holder that loads a lot of funds onto your account, perhpas you should consider a business account. There are no load fees on business accounts other than the cost of the wire. Something to consider.

[Rand]

Thanks rand. I will have them Fax it to you. I appreciate it.

Meta Ridley,

- Received the FAX from the merchant.
- Delivered it to eP Risk Mgmt.
- They have canceled the pending auth
- Your funds are now accessible.

I hope you'll continue to use ePassporte.

[Forkbeard]

Rand, I'm not quite sure why you're parroting back my own points at me as if you were arguing with me. Did you confuse me with one of your critics? In a thread where an attribute of your product has generated numerous complaints, you expressed puzzlement about why anyone would want a different (unobtainable) attribute that would (suprise!) offer a way to avoid having to deal with the offending attribute. That puzzlement stuck me as funny (since you know all about the offending attribute and the people who keep having trouble with it), and I said so. But I also said, repeatedly, that I understand why things are the way they are, that they are outside of your control, and that your product is nonetheless a good one with which I've had no problems. I'm not one of your critics here.

So why the aggressive recitation of my own points, in the tone of contradiction? It's not like your usual calm professional style (which by the way I greatly admire).

Credit, debit, and pre-paid products have different attributes. eP offers features your bank doesn't and visa-versa. Know the rules and know how to use the tools to your benefit.

Compare with my previous:

]I'm an Epassporte happy camper. Like a lot of services, it's useful for many things but not for everything.

This might be true for people with small balances who are using nearly all of their open-to-buy (OTB) balance to make a purchase and the merchant incorrectly ties up thier funds. Yes, I'll go with that. -- It also happens on random Tuesdays when Mercury is in retrograde.

Compare with my previous:

Of course. It's rare. ... The only reason I spoke up here is that, rare or not, there is a reason for the preference some people have expressed here.

You are absolutely right. And eP wouldn't be very responsible if they allowed anonymous people to accept funds instantly from anywhere on the planet and pull out large sums of cash instantly, now would they? In a perfect world where everyone was honest eP wouldn't need a risk management department. But, not in this lifetime. -- Sorry, I don't see this changing.

This one offended me, because you're arguing, with apparent sarcasm, against a stupid straw man I never brought up. Instead, I said:

And, of course, that difference between types of accounts is (as I learned in this thread from your explanations, and did not know before) the same reason that it's NOT easy-and-cheap for random poorly-verified account holders to dump big chunks of change from Epassporte into other accounts on short notice. You've explained that well. I'm not breaking your balls about it. It's just the way things are.

Did I say I wanted it to change? Did I criticise Epassporte for the way things are? I did not, and I'm baffled about where that disingenuous sarcasm came from.

And I'll never board an aircraft again because they've been known to crash before and it can be terribly inconvenient.

The vast majority of the time things work pretty much the way they are supposed to. Once in a while they don't. That small percentage of unexpected occurences will not deter me me and quite frankly I think most people would agree. But if it's enough for you to withdraw from an otherwise positive experience, so be it.

That's dishonest argumentation, Rand. I was explaining (since you pretended not to understand) why someone might want an easier way to get money from Epassporte. Remember? I spoke up when you asked "Why transfer the funds just to spend them from a different account?" I defy you to find anywhere in this thread where I've so much as hinted that these attributes of your product might lead me to stop using it. Remember? I said:

I myself have never had a serious difficulty or customer service problem, so I'm an Epassporte happy camper.

With all due respect, really, I'm just trying to keep things in perspective here.

Oddly enough, so was I. I thought you were letting your marketing function get a smidge ahead of your customer service function, so I called (politely, even with a bit of honest and respectful ass-kissing) bullshit on your pretending not to understand why somebody would want a certain feature. And somehow you wound up treating me like one of your spite-filled hateful trash-talking money-laundering scamming detractors. I dunno where the hell that came from, but whatever. I'm gonna assume you were having a bad day, and try to forget this thread ever existed.

Feh.

[Rand]

In a thread where an attribute of your product has generated numerous complaints, you expressed puzzlement about why anyone would want a different (unobtainable) attribute that would (suprise!) offer a way to avoid having to deal with the offending attribute. ... But I also said, repeatedly, that I understand why things are the way they are, that they are outside of your control, and that your product is nonetheless a good one with which I've had no problems. I'm not one of your critics here.

OK. I really don't want to continue going back and forth on this, but since you felt like I was mis-understanding you, let's clear the air.

This thread was about pending auth's. You suggest the solution to that is for cardholders to move their money out of eP to thier personal bank account and spend it from there. And yes, I see your point. But it is not the best solution as it actully promotes the very problem being addressed here. ePassporte is a business too. Of course eP would prefer that you use thier product as opposed to moving money out and using some other product or account. Keeping larger balances in your eP account also helps alleviate the very problem disucssed here by providing a cusion "if and ever" you have a merchant tie up your funds by mishandling an authorization.

I don't mean to come off like I'm coming at you, at all. I understand very well your point. I addressed specific things you posted for the benefit of anyone reading so that there would hopefully be no confusion.

[Forkbeard]

OK, that does clear the air. This begins to look like simple misunderstanding.

This thread was about pending auth's. You suggest the solution to that is for cardholders to move their money out of eP to thier personal bank account and spend it from there.

Except I never did suggest that. Lots of other folks suggested that. You asked "Why would they want to?" And I was just stunned that you would seem not to understand that desire, in a thread that was full of discussion of the reason. So I said, in effect, "well, if they could, it would get around the pending auth's problem. Which you know. But of course they can't do this, for the same reason the pending auth problem exists."

And yes, I see your point. But it is not the best solution as it actully promotes the very problem being addressed here.

Which I knew, and which I said, repeatedly.

ePassporte is a business too. Of course eP would prefer that you use thier product as opposed to moving money out and using some other product or account. Keeping larger balances in your eP account also helps alleviate the very problem disucssed here by providing a cusion "if and ever" you have a merchant tie up your funds by mishandling an authorization.

With all the respect in the world, let me suggest you might have said this in the first place, instead of acting like you didn't understand why people might want to move the money out.

And just to keep things in perspective, I'll say it again, because it's true -- I *love* my Epassporte card. I get my affiliate money faster and easier using it than by any other method. I'm a fan. I've never had a problem. You guys do good work. Keep it up!

No response needed, but you're welcome to the last word if you want it.

[Rand]

OK, that does clear the air. This begins to look like simple misunderstanding.

[Kimmykim]

The p2b thing is actually a simple one -- merchants have to be set up to receive ePassporte as a method of payment from ePassporte personal account holders. The API for this is called ePPurchase. There is a % involved, just like there would be in third party or merchant account processing, and most of the business account holders use eP for payouts, not incoming transactions. Without implementing the API, business account holders are allowed to receive money only from other business accounts.

Just thought I'd throw that in there. There are merchants who are set up to handle these types of transactions and they understand the difference in the fee structure.

[keyboard warrior]

How To Verify Your Bank Account

ePassporte has made two small credits into the bank account from which you are verifying. These credits should appear in your bank account in 2-4 business days.

____________________________________
That is real slow, most do it within miniutes!

[(Gk)]

Rand, thanks for the help... my epass account got approved today, I've checked for the visa card as well, any idea on how long it takes til the card arrive?

Thanks.

[Adult-biz]

Hi Rand, I have sent you an email a couple of minutes ago about an Epassporte question that I had.

I would appreciate your response to it.

Thanks.

[Rand]

How To Verify Your Bank Account

ePassporte has made two small credits into the bank account from which you are verifying. These credits should appear in your bank account in 2-4 business days.

____________________________________
That is real slow, most do it within miniutes!

Hey... if you can figure that one out, you'll really have something.

The ACH deposit system in this country doesn't operate in real time.

Solve that, and you could revolutionize the ACH system as we know it.

Made me think... I love how ePassporte can transfer payments instantly and be accessible globally when the banking system can not. (Sorry, I couldn't resist the plug).

[Rand]

Rand, thanks for the help... my epass account got approved today, I've checked for the visa card as well, any idea on how long it takes til the card arrive?

Thanks.

Right on! Glad to hear everything worked out.

As far as how long to get your card in Brazil? Not sure. US addresses get their card in about 7 business days +/- (It's been my experience, however, that the US mail has been slow lately).

If you need it very quickly, let me know asap and you can have your card sent UPS if you're willing to pay the cost.

[Rand]

Hi Rand, I have sent you an email a couple of minutes ago about an Epassporte question that I had.

I would appreciate your response to it.

Thanks.

I'll get back to you on that tomorrow.

[(Gk)]

Right on! Glad to hear everything worked out.

As far as how long to get your card in Brazil? Not sure. US addresses get their card in about 7 business days +/- (It's been my experience, however, that the US mail has been slow lately).

If you need it very quickly, let me know asap and you can have your card sent UPS if you're willing to pay the cost.

No worries, I was just curious concerning the card issuing factor. It should be arriving in about 10-15 days. Sounds ok.

Thanks again!

[Adult-biz]

I'll get back to you on that tomorrow.

I don`t appear to have had a reply from you yet and I sent you a follow-up several hours ago.

[MikeSmoke]

Hi Rand,

You can rationalize it all you want but if I need to transfer $1000 from epassporte to my checking account I shouldn't have to do it over a 4-8 day period in 4 separate transactions.

You know that is true. No need to spin it.

Exactly - and when I inquired about ways around it I was told I could move to a higher level account with a bunch of hurdles to jump - and then I could transfer $500 per day.
I had acquired an account because that's the way someone wanted to make a payment in the mid-four-figures range, then found out it would take me several weeks to get the money that was already sitting in MY account at $300 (with a service charge for each withdrawal) per day. And if I went out to the store an hour at 1pm on Tuesday but had gone out at 3pm on Monday, I couldn't withdraw any money on Tuesday - because it wasn't 24 hours yet. When I finally got all the money out, the card went into a drawer somewhere or other, where it resides permanently now.
I'm sure eP has convenient uses for some things - but transferring money sure ain't it.

[Adult-biz]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rand
I'll get back to you on that tomorrow.

I don`t appear to have had a reply from you yet and I sent you a follow-up several hours ago.

You still haven`t got back to me despite three emails being sent to you however you seem to be *available* to praise Epassporte in other threads (http://www.gfy.com/showthread.php?t=495900).

And you wonder why some people get frustrated at the often poor service.

Laughable.

[Adult-biz]

Rand, your role according to your profile is the Corporate Communications Director.

How many times do I have to email you or bump a thread to get an answer to my account issue?

[xxxice]

I called about uploading funds and said i made an error. I wanted to use my credit card instead of my bank account. Directly after I used my credit card. I called support and was told the charge to my bank account would be removed.

A few days later I called again to be sure. They said what the first person said was incorrect. I said well I was going on what the first person had said and they said well nothing we can do.

I was not happy that customer service did not know how to handle the situation. At least if i was told the first day that charge could not be taken back. My bank account would not have been overdrawn.

I attempted to talk to a supervisor and they like the other person put all the blame on me and not the customer service rep.

The $100 was my banks charges for the checks they had to cash with not enough funds.

My name is vanderweb at epassporte. I do use your service and love it. But being treated like i was in the wrong by customer service did not sit well.

Yes it was my error and I take the blame for it. But the customer service said it would be taken care of. Then later said I was crazy to think that they were going to fix the issue.

No answer here either

[Fizzgig]

I've never had problems but I think I'll be careful where I use it.

[Doctor Dre]

I've had problems using it as a virtual visa too ... fucking waste of time . I just waited the 30 days to get access to the money

[Rand]

Rand, your role according to your profile is the Corporate Communications Director.

How many times do I have to email you or bump a thread to get an answer to my account issue?

Sexus,

I can understand your frustration. To give you the benefit of a doubt, I've searched for your email and can not find it. Either I didn't receive it, or I didn't know it was you and forwarded it to another department.

Now, I would appreciate the same considersation. I don't normally spend my day reading GFY. So, bumping a thread is not the way to get my attention. Let's be clear on this point.

Pick up the phone and call ePassporte or resend your email to me. Rand @ ePassporte .com Put "ePassporte / GFY - Sexus" in the subject line and send your email from your ePassporte email address.

[Adult-biz]

Sexus,

I can understand your frustration. To give you the benefit of a doubt, I've searched for your email and can not find it. Either I didn't receive it, or I didn't know it was you and forwarded it to another department.

Now, I would appreciate the same considersation. I don't normally spend my day reading GFY. So, bumping a thread is not the way to get my attention. Let's be clear on this point.

Pick up the phone and call ePassporte or resend your email to me. Rand @ ePassporte .com Put "ePassporte / GFY - Sexus" in the subject line and send your email from your ePassporte email address.

Email sent.

Thank you.

[PhotoGreggXXX]

Rand, what is the process for getting your load amount per day increased even if only temporary.
This 500.00 per day is driving me mad when I have to make a purchase of 2500.00
It will take me 6 full days just to load it.

Same problem here, along with the limit on transactions per day. Whenevery I do a content special, folks have to pay over 3-4 days

[tranza]

Rand, not trying to stir shit, but I never got your reply about my 2 visa electron cards.

It's been over a week now and still no news...

[Rand]

No answer here either

Vanderweb - I was not party to your conversation with CS so I can't comment on it. But quite frankly, I don't see how eP can reverse this transaction.

[Rand]

Email sent.

Thank you.

Got it. First time I've ever seen it.

Will get back to you as soon as I can.

[Rand]

Rand, not trying to stir shit, but I never got your reply about my 2 visa electron cards.

It's been over a week now and still no news...

I handed that request over to eP tech.

I can not complete that request myself as it is a unique situation.

I will ask eP about it again tomorrow.

[Adult-biz]

Got it. First time I've ever seen it.

Will get back to you as soon as I can.

Appreciate it.

[tranza]

I handed that request over to eP tech.

I can not complete that request myself as it is a unique situation.

I will ask eP about it again tomorrow.

Ok, I understand you can't do it yourself.

Can I just ask you to send me the reply from the Tech department this time?

[tranza]

And thanks for you help!

[A™ Machine]

Rand,

I personally won't be using your service untill you have withdrawals to banks for non US users.
Are you planning to add this feature?
If yes when?

[JFK]

Just an FYI
http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showthread.php?t=496590

[pornguy]

I have used them on some small transactions. But never on anything big.