[Shenji]

i recently re activated my account around the 8th and i have now been billed for 2 months and i am not the only one too have add the problem this month my friend was also charged wrongfully , so if you are thinking of reactivating youre old account or restart playing be carefull as play online really wants too kill ffxi and is billing over charge , this is just a warning so they wont be ripping you off 2 weeks of play of ffxi = 34 dollars ? im sorry but ffxi is officially dead too me and heres too hoping play online never comes near our games again be carefull play online is as ignorant as ever

[_pops]

This has happened to me twice already when I reactivated my account. But only when I reactivated.
The rest of the months I was charged the $12.95

[Caidryn]

lol. This is the way it's always been, to let you know. It's best to start at the beginning of each month. The way it works is they charge you twice the first bill. They don't bill you until they take out the fees each month, and it's pay before you play, not after. So the first month, no matter how little you get out of it, you get charged for. And then the next month comes out at the same time. It's worked that way since release, actually. If you didn't notice, it's probably because most of the time when doing a fresh install they give you a month free.

[Punkrocker9385]

I was trying to get back into FFXI just to hang around on my old server till FFXIV comes out, but i cant even get play online to allow me to register, they keep telling me it might be because its too busy, but ive been trying for a few days now.....

Any of you have a clue whats up with this crap.. other than Play online is junk :P

This post has been edited by Punkrocker9385: 06 May 2010 - 11:23 AM

[Seneal]

I've recently made the same mistake. I reactivated my account on the 29th only to find out that I was being charged the whole month of January. There billing information page is blatantly confusing. It seemed to imply that I would be chaged 12.95/30 for each day up untill the first but that seems to only apply to new accounts. I tried to call customer service about the mistake but they were most unhelpful. After debating with a cs rep he finally agreed to put in a request for a refund only to recieve an email later the same day saying that after further review they denied the request. The whole experience really felt like they were telling me in the most politically correct way possible to go **** myself. I've been a long time Square Soft and Enix fanboi, between the two I own 3 dozen of their games, and after the FFXIV free trial was over it was my intention to subscribe to both games. I relize I messed up but I fail to see how nailing me over 12 bucks justifies losing me as a customer forever.

[LTEnnui]

Seneal - don't drop FFXI just because of the error ($13 isn't worth losing out on the experience). I've been playing for over 3 years now, and I have NEVER EVER had even a ~single~ issue with their billing system. Any time you start a free trial for the game or renew your account, MAKE SURE to do it on the 1st (or 2nd to be safe) of the month so that you get the maximum amount of playtime for your $$$.

Also note, if you ever have to take a break for a few months from the game, you have to cancel your character's Content ID, or they will ~continue~ to charge you monthly - they automatically let you keep playing until the month's end, then they give you 3 months to renew again before they possibly wipe the character data due to inactivity (though most often, that timer doesn't matter).

Simply learn from the mistake, then move on - I've been making it a point to try and spread this info everywhere I can, but once again: MAKE SURE you only renew/create a FFXI account after their billing period turns over at the beginning of a month!

[Kai]

They aren't ripping anyone off, that is the way Playonline has always been. If you reactivate your character on (lets say) January 13th, then you will be charged for January and Feburary because you played for part of January even if it was only a few days.

As other have said, its always best you reactivate an account right after they do the billing cycle on the 1st and 2nd to get the most out of the month. You will be charged regardless if you play for 3 weeks or 3 days.

I played FFXI for 6 years and they never messed up my payments, not even when I reactivated for a few months.

This post has been edited by Kai: 03 February 2011 - 01:01 PM

[_pops]

LTEnnui, on 03 February 2011 - 12:30 PM, said:

then they give you 3 months to renew again before they possibly wipe the character data due to inactivity (though most often, that timer doesn't matter).

They don't wipe characters anymore.

[Jackel]

-shuu-, on 03 February 2011 - 01:12 PM, said:

They don't wipe characters anymore.

^

I reactivated after nearly 18 months and was just fine. Also worth noting, my fee was prorated after a phone call to SE.

[LTEnnui]

-shuu-, on 03 February 2011 - 01:12 PM, said:

<br />They don't wipe characters anymore.<br />

I never got the memo, but that is good to keep in mind!

It is probably another ~important~ bit of information to mention that buying an expansion pack (like the Abyssea stuff) usually prompts SE to bill your credit card not at the exact moment you purchase the expansion, but on the 1st of the month when the billing system turns over - having recently purchased the last Abyssea pack, I was prepared ahead of time for the $23 bill (instead of the usual $13) that hit me a day or two ago....even though I bought it around January 1st.

[Kraggerin]

Shenji, on 05 May 2010 - 12:51 PM, said:

i recently re activated my account around the 8th and i have now been billed for 2 months and i am not the only one too have add the problem this month my friend was also charged wrongfully , so if you are thinking of reactivating youre old account or restart playing be carefull as play online really wants too kill ffxi and is billing over charge , this is just a warning so they wont be ripping you off 2 weeks of play of ffxi = 34 dollars ? im sorry but ffxi is officially dead too me and heres too hoping play online never comes near our games again be carefull play online is as ignorant as ever

If you've played FFXI for any amount of time this can't be news, for the last 6 years I've played I've seen posts like yours pretty much every month in places like Alla and KI.

SE's information is totally clear that this is how the billing system works, it's your fault if you didn't read it.

And you're throwing your rattle out of the pram and not playing again for a whole SEVEN DAYS that SE charged you that you didn't play.

Really?

Someone reactivation on the 29th maybe has a reason to feel annoyed, though again SE make it abundantly clear this will happen, but really, having a hissy fit over SEVEN DAYS is pretty sad.

This post has been edited by Kraggerin: 07 February 2011 - 02:51 AM

[Seneal]

Well I guess it's no wounder that companies pull such manipulative tactics when all the forum posters rush out to defend them. I was expecting mix feelings but holy **** you guys sound like SE spokesmen. (Are you on the payroll?) And by the way it was the 30th, I paid for 2 days, it's not like I missed a few days, I missed 93% of it. I already admitted I made a mistake so endlessly pointing out that it's my own fault is anything but helpful. Hustling has been around for ages but according to you guys if it's an old hustle then it's OK because I should have know better. Like people are suppose to remember screwy billing policies from a game they haven't touched in years. It's just an excuse to charge people fat reactivation fees. Hiding behind policy doesn't make things any better when that policy is messed up to begin with. That's what customer service is supposed to be for, to help with peoples mistakes and make them happy customers. Not to go ha ha, you didn't read the fine print sucker! (which is exactly what they did in a pc way) They didn't try to reach a compromise, or offer me some play time, or even stubbornly stick with the policy. Instead they offered a refund and changed their minds later the same day. I was adding to a post already made on the subject and wanted to point out how horribly their customer service handled things. If that counts as a hissy fit they I guess anything other then extreme company loyalty qualifies.

[LTEnnui]

Again, I've found the game too fun to get angry over that sort of thing - technically, they should refund your stuff if it was up to me. What sucks is that the billing stuff was a lot more clear back when the FFXI/POL manual was nice and thick (PS2 HDD Box).....it is harder to stumble upon this kind of info now that they've done away with it. The billing system they use ~can~ be annoying when you get hit with an extra charge, but it is also nice being able to grab an expansion and not need the cash on-hand until next month (if you want to get started early). It really goes both ways....

[nataku_0]

Punkrocker9385, on 06 May 2010 - 11:22 AM, said:

I was trying to get back into FFXI just to hang around on my old server till FFXIV comes out, but i cant even get play online to allow me to register, they keep telling me it might be because its too busy, but ive been trying for a few days now.....

Any of you have a clue whats up with this crap.. other than Play online is junk :P

Just thought you'd know that they only accept Matsercard and Visa, and then they only accept them if you have signed up for the securepayment (with mastercard its called securepay or something like that).

My CC came form my bank, so I had to go to my bank's website and sign up for it. It was instant, but you have to do that first.

[LTEnnui]

It should be worth pointing out that signing up for FFXI on a console (PS3/2 and Xbox) bypasses the need to do that extra credit card stuff - if you have an Xbox, it is generally worth it to own a cheap copy of FFXI for billing and achievement reasons.

[Cod Eye]

I fell in the trap before reading this post and rectivated on the 31st, and got billed for May and June, also my characters and mog house is all intact after more than 2 yrs away. Bought all the new expansions, still a little lost as to which direction i should be going. Tried fishing for a few hours and never skilled up once. Just got a couple of hq staffs, Jupitor and aquilla, a lot cheaper than they used to be a few years ago. And now I need to farm again to get my gil back.

[holyhunter94]

Shenji, on 05 May 2010 - 12:51 PM, said:

i recently re activated my account around the 8th and i have now been billed for 2 months and i am not the only one too have add the problem this month my friend was also charged wrongfully , so if you are thinking of reactivating youre old account or restart playing be carefull as play online really wants too kill ffxi and is billing over charge , this is just a warning so they wont be ripping you off 2 weeks of play of ffxi = 34 dollars ? im sorry but ffxi is officially dead too me and heres too hoping play online never comes near our games again be carefull play online is as ignorant as ever

Same thing happened to a friend of mine, he contacted SE, they returned his money in less than 2 days. Also, SE is done with PlayOnline, so no games will ever be supported by it.