Post your subscription problem here!

[TubaDiva]

If you have had/are having a technical problem getting your subscription or renewal handled in the system, you can report it here.

However, if you wish to handle this privately, you may send me an email: TubaDiva@aol.com. Please indicate in the title of your email that you're having this problem. I get a lot of email and these situations get first priority.

This is not the thread if you are having problems paying for your subscription: For that, please see here:

Make your "Pay my subscription fee" request here (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=245878)
>http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=245878

For more information on the promotional subscription offer currently running, please see here:

Super SDMB subscription special (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=309616)
>http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=309616

your humble TubaDiva

[hlanelee]

I know this is a hijack but how will I know when my subscription is up?

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I know this is a hijack but how will I know when my subscription is up?


Click on UserCP>paid subscriptions

It'll be on the right side

[hlanelee]

Click on UserCP>paid subscriptions

It'll be on the right side

Thanks Sky.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

I've been trying to subscribe on behalf of START .
Problems ensue.
What is the correct procedure?

[TubaDiva]

You need to get START to give you his password.
Then you sign in as START, click on "subscribe" in the blue band at the top of nearly every SDMB page, and follow the prompts.

Remember, if you use a credit card, it happens very quickly; if you use PayPal, it will take several days to process through (it's on PayPal's side, not ours).

It's not a very elegant procedure, but it works.

your humble TubaDiva

[Tapioca Dextrin]

Jerry sorted me out :)

[Bill H.]

Didn't see this thread. Just sent this email to Ed Zotti:

Hi Ed,

I’m “Bill H.” on SDMB. I suspect you’re not the right guy to send this to, but I’m not sure who is. Could you forward appropriately?

I tried extending my subscription on the web site, and had problems.

First bug: I used a credit card that has the expiration date 4/05. The subscription software believes (incorrectly) that this is an expired credit card and doesn’t bother verifying it. I realize this won’t impact most subscribers, but it may impact a few others besides myself and is probably easy to resolve.

Second (more important) bug: I entered the information for a second card, and was sent to a page completely blank except for the Straight Dope header at the top with the URL https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/sdmb/subscribe.bat. In another window, I checked my membership expiration date and saw it hadn’t changed. I clicked the refresh button in the first window, and got correct confirmation information. Now, my membership looks to be extended for one year. However, I don’t know if I was charged once or twice.

Thanks for looking into this.

Regards,
Bill

[TubaDiva]

Dear Bill:

I'll forward your description to Jerry.

It did take, however; your subscription expiration date is 04/28/2006.

your humble TubaDiva

[Critical Mass]

I had exactly the same experience as Bill H. describes. I was sent to a blank window with just the Straight Dope header at the top of the page.

Not wanting to risk being charged twice, I did not click refresh.

My expiry date still says 4-28-05.

I did not receive an email confirming the transaction.

Should the expiration date change right away? Should I get some indication that the transaction was a success? Was the transaction a success?

[TubaDiva]

I had exactly the same experience as Bill H. describes. I was sent to a blank window with just the Straight Dope header at the top of the page.

Not wanting to risk being charged twice, I did not click refresh.

My expiry date still says 4-28-05.

I did not receive an email confirming the transaction.

Should the expiration date change right away? Should I get some indication that the transaction was a success? Was the transaction a success?

Sounds like it didn't take. I'll have to refer this one to Jerry for more information.

Sorry for your inconvenience.

your humble TubaDiva

[Good Egg]

A wonderful poster paid for me to be charter. However, it still says Member. Should I take this to mean he used paypal and it won't show charter yet? Ifso, okay, I'm not in a hurry to see charter, as long as I am.

[TubaDiva]

I'm sorry, but the door has closed on "Charter Membership."

To have qualified for that, you would have had to be a subscribing member in that time period that ended in March of 2004, the original subscription drive.

Subscribing now only makes you a member . . . in good standing. Which we greatly appreciate, but we will not be making any more "Charter Members" . . . and have not for over a year.

your humble TubaDiva

[Good Egg]

Ah, my misunderstanding. As long as I'm a member, thats good. Thanks for clearing that up. :)

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Still can't log on....

TubaDiva, can you e-mail START, so we can confab on this?
I wanna figure out why this ain't workin....

[TubaDiva]

I sent START another email. Let's do discuss this. Y'all come get me when you're ready.

your humble TubaDiva

[GawnFishin']

I had the same problem as Bill H but I figured it would sort itself out in the rinse. I checked back later and my membership had not been renewed so I went through the process again and my membership was renewed for 1 year. I've just recieved my CC statement and I see that I have been charged twice though my membership still shows it as expiring next year '06 and no credit has been given for the second year. Could you look into this for me please. No biggy really let me know when you can.

[Magret]

Is there anything further on why it thinks credit cards which expire at the end of the month are already expired? Can that be sorted?

[jdavis]

Is there anything further on why it thinks credit cards which expire at the end of the month are already expired? Can that be sorted?

A correction is being worked on. It will probably be available before the end of today.

Edit: The correction is now in place and has been verified as working. 04/08/05 12:30 PM CDT.

[jdavis]

I had exactly the same experience as Bill H. describes. I was sent to a blank window with just the Straight Dope header at the top of the page.

Not wanting to risk being charged twice, I did not click refresh.

My expiry date still says 4-28-05.

I did not receive an email confirming the transaction.

Should the expiration date change right away? Should I get some indication that the transaction was a success? Was the transaction a success?

There was no record of a credit card transaction for you prior to 04/06/05. I'm assuming whatever you did before the 6th did not take and that you attempted re-subscription on the 6th which did take. We have record of a transaction for $7.48 and your subscription is now good until 04/28/06.

Thanks,

Jerry

[jdavis]

I had the same problem as Bill H but I figured it would sort itself out in the rinse. I checked back later and my membership had not been renewed so I went through the process again and my membership was renewed for 1 year. I've just recieved my CC statement and I see that I have been charged twice though my membership still shows it as expiring next year '06 and no credit has been given for the second year. Could you look into this for me please. No biggy really let me know when you can.

I've submitted a credit in the amount of $7.48 for the second transaction. It should appear on your statement in the next few days.

Jerry

[GawnFishin']

I've submitted a credit in the amount of $7.48 for the second transaction. It should appear on your statement in the next few days.

Jerry
Thanks, I would have been just as happy with being credited with another years subscription but whatever.

Once again thank you.

GF.

[jdavis]

Didn't see this thread. Just sent this email to Ed Zotti:

Hi Ed,

I’m “Bill H.” on SDMB. I suspect you’re not the right guy to send this to, but I’m not sure who is. Could you forward appropriately?

I tried extending my subscription on the web site, and had problems.

First bug: I used a credit card that has the expiration date 4/05. The subscription software believes (incorrectly) that this is an expired credit card and doesn’t bother verifying it. I realize this won’t impact most subscribers, but it may impact a few others besides myself and is probably easy to resolve.

Second (more important) bug: I entered the information for a second card, and was sent to a page completely blank except for the Straight Dope header at the top with the URL https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/sdmb/subscribe.bat. In another window, I checked my membership expiration date and saw it hadn’t changed. I clicked the refresh button in the first window, and got correct confirmation information. Now, my membership looks to be extended for one year. However, I don’t know if I was charged once or twice.

Thanks for looking into this.

Regards,
Bill

Hi Bill,

Sometimes the update to the SDMB subscription database times out just like a standard timeout when someone is trying to view a thread. We've made some changes to the subscription process to provide more information when this happens but we can't avoid it entirely. This is what happened to your first attempted transaction.

Unfortunately, you were charged twice but only the second transaction successfully updated your expiration date. I've submitted a credit in the amount of $7.48 which you should see in your account in the next few days.

Thanks,

Jerry

[6 6 6]

I just tried to subscribe and was sent to the dreaded blank page...
https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/sdmb/subscribe.bat

Still, this gives me a chance to try a first post to the Board. Sorry it has to be with a problem. :o

Any chance of a fix, please?

[TubaDiva]

Don't see anything on the subscription roster, so it looks like your subscription did not take.

Try waiting until after things quiet down a bit (like in the next couple of hours, perhaps) and try again.

Apparently at times of peak usage, subscriptions will time out just like board postings, and the task gets dropped by the server.

We apologize for your inconvenience.

your humble TubaDiva

[6 6 6]

Don't see anything on the subscription roster, so it looks like your subscription did not take.

Try waiting until after things quiet down a bit (like in the next couple of hours, perhaps) and try again.

Apparently at times of peak usage, subscriptions will time out just like board postings, and the task gets dropped by the server.

We apologize for your inconvenience.

your humble TubaDiva
Success! All seems OK now - everyone must be asleep on your side of the Atlantic.

Thanks.

[Critical Mass]

There was no record of a credit card transaction for you prior to 04/06/05. I'm assuming whatever you did before the 6th did not take and that you attempted re-subscription on the 6th which did take. We have record of a transaction for $7.48 and your subscription is now good until 04/28/06.

Thanks,

Jerry
Don't know if it made a difference, but the first failed attempt was using Firefox. I was succesful with the second attempt - that time I used IE.

Checked my statement. $7.48 was processed just once. ($9.33 Canadian if you're interested).

Thanks for your help.

[Bill H.]

jdavis wrote
Unfortunately, you were charged twice but only the second transaction successfully updated your expiration date. I've submitted a credit in the amount of $7.48 which you should see in your account in the next few days.
Thanks, Jerry.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Both sides logging out did not help.

I'm fresh out of ideas. :confused: :( :confused: :(

[TubaDiva]

Okay, I need to talk off the board to both you and START.

Please send me an email: TubaDiva@aol.com.

Let's try to find some time when all of us are online at the same time and we can look at the situation in real time.

your humble TubaDiva

[Kat]

Second (more important) bug: I entered the information for a second card, and was sent to a page completely blank except for the Straight Dope header at the top with the URL https://securesite.chireader.com/cgi-bin/sdmb/subscribe.bat. In another window, I checked my membership expiration date and saw it hadn’t changed. I clicked the refresh button in the first window, and got correct confirmation information. Now, my membership looks to be extended for one year. However, I don’t know if I was charged once or twice.

I just tried subscribing, and ended up on the same blank page with teh SD header, too and still have a 4/28/2005 expiration date. I have not yet tried again, should I do so and then just watch for double billing?

[TubaDiva]

Exactly so, Kat. Try to pick a time that's not so busy . . . lemme see what's going on right now . . .526 Users Online (321 members and 205 guests) . . . well, that's not so bad . . .

Good luck. If you get billed twice, let us know.

your humble TubaDiva

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

START is hard to get ahold of.

[TubaDiva]

Just sent him another email.

your humble TubaDiva

[Balthisar]

Ach! I'm trying to re-subscribe before I forget, and there's no CC option at all! All I get is:

To pay for your subscription, please click the order button next to your preferred payment method and follow the instructions on the following page.
Subscription: Straight Dope Board Membership
Cost: $7.48
Payment is also accepted using PayPal.

There's a link to PayPal, but there are NO buttons ANYWHERE for my preferred payment method!

Thanks.

[Balthisar]

For the record, I tried it in IE, also. I.e., in IE in addtion to Firefox. No-go de todo.

[MLS]

I just tried and got the same problem reported by Balthisar. I don't have a paypal account and don't wish to get one. But the page does not give me a credit card option.

[Random]

Ditto. I've e-mailed Tuba.

[TubaDiva]

I have referred this to the techs, it's going to be tomorrow morning before they even see it, I'm afraid, but they will know about it soonest.

your humble TubaDiva

[WonK]

Hi,

I was invited onboard by a correspondent named Selkie. My understanding is that she covered my membership for the first year. I have registered, and changed my password. Tonight's the first time I tried posting on the board. However I still get the following message whenever i try to post:

Your guest membership on the Straight Dope Message Board expires on April 10, 2005. To become a subscriber and avoid seeing this screen again, click here. To continue without subscribing, click here.

Please contact me and let me know if I did anything wrong when I signed on.

WonK

[TubaDiva]

Did they use PayPal? It takes a few days for PayPal to process these transactions and they might well hold up your posting privileges.

Please ask your friend to send me an email at TubaDiva@aol.com detailing the situation and I'll get started on sorting it out. I need all the particulars, please.

your humble TubaDiva

[WonK]

Thanks... it's been almost a week and I'm still getting that message, however.... I'll ask my friend to write you.

[TubaDiva]

Please do, and we'll see about getting this straightened out soonest.

Sorry you're having problems.

your humble TubaDiva

[WonK]

Please do, and we'll see about getting this straightened out soonest. Sorry you're having problems.

your humble TubaDiva

Hi,

Just received an email from my friend: she confirmed that she paid for the account. The symbol by my username is still green, indicating "guest status" (I guess), I cannot edit my posts, nor do i get an an icon indicating that I can report problem posts, so I assume I'm still not "a member" yet.

WonK

[WonK]

Hi,

Just received an email from my friend: she confirmed that she paid for the account. The symbol by my username is still green, indicating "guest status" (I guess), I cannot edit my posts, nor do i get an an icon indicating that I can report problem posts, so I assume I'm still not "a member" yet.

WonK


Recieved a confirmation # SDMB2005041722093105236701 - as well, but as before the system still reads me as a guest.

[TubaDiva]

Try clearing your cache and signing in again; everything appears to be in order and your subscription is in effect.

your humble TubaDiva

PS The green dot means you're signed in to the board.

[Spatial Rift 47]

I just rejoined the boards after a 4 year sabbatical. You may remember me from such handles as Admiral Borg. Anyway, I purchased a 1 year membership at the as-promised reduced rate of $9.95. I want to take Ed Zotti up on his offer of a 2nd year at the same price, but the price listed for a renewal in the Control Panel is $14.95. What am I missing here?

[TubaDiva]

Not sure you're missing anything . . . did you use PayPal? There's a several-day lag there . . . it's on PayPal's end. I do not currently see you in the subscription list.

I'm kicking this over to Jerry for vertification and correction as needed.

your humble TubaDiva

[TubaDiva]

Okay, Spatial, got you all straightened out now.

Friends, if you want to use another screen name on the SDMB, don't just start another registration, email an administrator. It's one screen name to a customer, period. We'll work with you and most of the time you can get what you want and we'll all be happy, but it really goes best when we change your existing name. We don't appreciate it when people abandon old screen names and start new ones all by themselves.

your humble TubaDiva

[BiblioCat]

Tuba, thanks for your reply in the other (now closed) thread. I did get a reply, but it was delivered to my spam folder for some reason - because of the word 'dope' maybe? :p
Anyway, I did get confirmation. I have bitch-slapped my spam folder ("Straight Dope stuff is not spam!") and all is well with the world.
Thanks again. Have some chocolate on me.

[InkBlot]

I've made comment of my issue here. (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6107859&postcount=21) In a nutshell: I thought I had "on or before" today to resubscribe at the discount (as mentioned in Ed's post), and to keep my Charter status, not just before. I resubscribed regardless, and could forgive the extra fee this time, but if the discount will apply to Charter Members in perpetuity, well...I'm a bit concerned.

Thank you for your time.


InkBlot
:eek:

[TubaDiva]

You did have "on or before." You had until 12 noon CDT Thursday April 28th.

I'm sorry you didn't get in before the cutoff.

However, it is possible all is not lost. Please watch the board for more information.

your humble TubaDiva

[Ed Zotti]

I thought I had "on or before" today to resubscribe at the discount (as mentioned in Ed's post), and to keep my Charter status, not just before. I resubscribed regardless, and could forgive the extra fee this time, but if the discount will apply to Charter Members in perpetuity, well...I'm a bit concerned.Please see this thread. (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=314377)

[InkBlot]

My goodness...I've been noticed by both TubaDiva and Ed Zotti in the same thread!



And I'm not banned!!


*checks status*
Yep, not banned. This is, however, the closest brush I've ever had with the administrators of this board. It's a bit stressful, I feel like I registered a complaint, and I hate to complain and...and...I'll just go back to a nice, safe corner now, like MPSIMS or something...

Thank you all..

InkBlot (Hi, Ed!)
:eek:

[pullin]

just a test post. Just renewed successfully (finally). Weird probs with one c-card.

[ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies]

I just re-upped and it cost me $14 and change. So does this mean I've lost my beloved charter status (and price) for all eternity?

*chin quivering* :(

[TubaDiva]

I'm afraid so; Jerry says he's not doing any more changes.

I'm sorry.

your humble TubaDiva