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Dark Orbit Billing Nightmare. This should be illegal.
JFY I am starting to feel like BigPoint Billing is out to get me !
I guess they did not take very well to my praises of their unique brand of support.
On the 22nd I tried to log into my Dark Orbit Account and got a message stating that I had an outstanding balance and unless I paid 111.37 to their bank via a wrie transfer my account would stay suspended, they would “ release my account” for that price.
Below is my MasterCard statement, I’ve added some notes to give you a feel of the timeline and balance of events.
4/2/2010 12:56:56 PM CASH MONEY 574 OTTAWA Advance Limit $179.50 $179.50 ($2.00) Card Loaded // this is my initial deposit
4/2/2010 12:56:56 PM Direct Cash Prepaid. Calgary Card Fee $0.00 $0.00 ($7.50) Monthly Fee // their fee so now I have 170.00
4/4/2010 5:48:06 PM WWW.BIGPOINT.COM HAMBURG Purchase Advance ($104.80) $0.00 $0.00 Declined // wrong postal code entered
4/4/2010 5:59:44 PM WWW.BIGPOINT.COM HAMBURG Purchase Advance ($104.80) $0.00 $0.00 Declined // again
at this point I went back to the store and was to return to see the manager that afternnon I think I attempted a transaction about 4 of 5 times the night before during MHH but when I got back home I tried it again and I had neglected a number in my postal code.
4/5/2010 8:18:15 AM WWW.BIGPOINT.COM HAMBURG Purchase Advance ($104.80) ($104.02) ($0.50) Approved
I figured out what I did wrong as you can see above, transaction id T125857755, so 170.00 -104.52 total leaves 65.48 correct? ( BTW this is the only time I received a confirmation on purchase from the company )
4/9/2010 9:34:21 AM CASH MONEY 574 OTTAWA Advance Limit $162.00 $162.00 ($2.00) Card Loaded //
deposit 160 + 65.48 = 225.48 unless my math is very bad .Notice the time of that deposit on the 9th please and you will see why I am not a happy camper
4/9/2010 3:43:14 PM WWW.BIGPOINT.COM HAMBURG Purchase Advance ($104.54) ($103.88) ($0.50) Approved //
This is the date in question 103.88 + 50 = 104.33 225.48-104.33 = 121.15 this is the balance after the transaction in question! Why was this cancelled ? but just in case I'm wrong and it was the next one then
4/11/2010 4:19:22 PM WWW.BIGPOINT.COM HAMBURG Purchase Advance ($104.32) ($19.06) ($0.50) Approved //
So Bigpoint got 19, 06 for some reason, this is my fault ? anyway 121.15 - 19.56 = 101.59
4/16/2010 1:16:55 AM WWW.BIGPOINT.COM HAMBURG Purchase Advance ($99.99) ($103.88) ($2.25) Forced Post //
Now the above is what I think is the problem because 103.88 + 2.25 = 106.13 so 101.59 - 106.13 = $-4.54
4/17/2010 11:32:26 AM CASH MONEY 574 OTTAWA Advance Limit $165.00 $165.00 ($2.00) Card Loaded
New deposit
then I made 3 more purchases
So now tell me why the 19.06 surcharge, why did they not take the whole balance on the 11th ? Clearly the funds where there. and why charge me another 103.88 on top of the 19.06 ? see 103.88 - 19.06 = 84.82 and that should have been the charge. I thought by providing support with the statement they could shed some light on this but instead I got the following which doesnt correspond at all with my statement from MasterCard.
T127916679 [protected]:05:32 17, 99 Rabate package
T127916398 [protected]:04:11 29, 99 USD
T127915913 [protected]:01:31 99, 99 USD
T126935460 [protected]:19:19 99, 99 USD
T126535474 [protected]:43:07 99, 99 USD Canceled
T125857755 [protected]:17:31 99, 99 USD
T125738856 [protected]:59:05 99, 99 USD Error
T125737551 [protected]:50:23 99, 99 USD Error
T125737388 [protected]:49:22 99, 99 USD Error
T125736994 [protected]:47:01 99, 99 USD Error
T125736755 [protected]:45:27 99, 99 USD Error
Why does this show the 9th is a problem ? while my statement shows in was the two afterwards that are the culprits.
This is why I request someone from billing or a manager to contact me. But nothing so far.
As for billing support well I made the grave error of reporting the card as a VISA instead of a MasterCard and when I realized I closed the ticket and tried creating another I got the oops message
Haven’t been able to create another since and the ticket shows closed so. I found myself back here. Believe me I was hoping I wouldn’t have to go through this again. Feels like I’m being extorted here. 3rd time that billing is giving me issues.
Now if that transaction was cancelled then why isn’t it reflected in my account ?
It was taken out after all !
They suspended my account but hey! For $111.37 I can get it back ! For 4.54, I think this is a bit of an overkill for someone who has continued to support this site since joining in the past 2 months. And no, I dont feel like the error is mine here. since I was charged 122.94CDN for 99.99 USD. My job was done, the funds were there, it’s a freaken prepaid card !
Had the price been adjusted accordingly the funds would have been available on the 16th as well.
And doesn’t a prepaid card mean just that ! If the funds aren’t there does the transaction still go through? Since when ? do you know how much money I can save doing that !
I still don’t know what the 19.06 is for BTW and neither does Mastercard .
And no one from BigPoint will talk to me !
Believe it or not I got the card exclusively for Dark Orbit.
I have a feeling I will be telling his horror story for years to come
My family member still play by the way, they are addicted. Until they meet Billing Support that is .
That will leave the most unpleasant taste in anyone’s mouth.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
For US players you can file any legal actions in san francisco county. Good luck with your legal persuits
"16 GOVERNING LAW
These Terms of Use shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. You expressly agree that the exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or dispute under the Terms of Use and or your use of the Site resides in the federal or state courts located in the State of California, County of San Francisco, and you further expressly agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purpose of litigating any such claim or action.
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Etienne Belmar is the most obnoxious and ignorant individuals I have ever had the misfortune to come across, I too have had dealings with this so called support manager from Dark Orbit, and found him to be extremely unpleasant and especially uncaring as they come.
Dark Orbit have no interest in complaints, as can be seen by the thousands of posts on various internet forums, their in chat admins are also power hungry people, who have access to various account details which they pass onto their friends (for hacking purposes), and regularly cheat whilst acting as in game admin, they are also logged into various chat systems, skype etc, and send messages to their in game mates/clans etc and give them info on where enemy clans, users are - ever wondered how come so many enemy ships suddenly appear and get you/your clan?
If you wanna share your own experience with DO and BP, pls join this News Group:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/BigPointProblems/?yguid=449436926
The data you entered does not match. Please check your entries and make sure all data you entered is correct. [The entered data is correct and is secured in my transaction code] prior to transmitting a request to the Click and Buy ssl client employed thru/by Bigpoint
I am VERY HOT and this message will go to support, including this thread link http://en.board.bigpoint.com/darkorbit/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=54 ... your ssl to click and buy is inoperative ... This post will be in twitter and on Facebook as well ... and now it is going to the FTC and the FCC
I have done a screen shot here as well and did a C&P of the post and now Support will hear from me ... I demand an investigation on the banking system employed in/thru Bigpoint Head-Quarters located here in the States and that abroad in the UK ... I see my virtual funds being being depleted on a daily basis . I believe this company is a terrorist funding organization and banking and coding along with those employed are thieves
I've had a similar problem with the company, threatening to press charges etc, I'd like to see them go for it, my Lawyer would slaughter them, anyway the money is already out of my account, they have no case, I had a bad feeling from the start, [censor] it.
Wish I had listened to my gut. W/e, you win and lose I guess.
Oscar Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
this is what happens when you as a cleint speak your mind out and you get treated with no respect..abuse of authority..
my account was suspended for this
in Dark Orbit.
this is what i wrote after spending lots of money on this game for 46 months..i like the game but the service you buy is defective and if you are paying for a service you should get a good service and have the right to demand better quality of the product you buy.! this was my email sent
The game i was playing at 9:30 Mexico pacific time..i had my 50% experience booster, i was using and spending money on buying elite missles with sepron, i was down to 2 clones (KRISTALLON)in spanish in galaxi gate gamma i believe i am not sure which galaxi gate for i was just so happy i was going to finish the kristallons and it disconected..?and i was at an internet cafe especialized in gaming online..this is not right..this is the 12th time it happens in 40 months..i need you to give me back my galaxi gate starting off with the 2 clones that were left and my 50%booster still on for this..i dont want to hear that it was the cookies, the browsing history...boloni..i paid for a service and it has flaws..time 9:30 Mexican Pacific time.
This was thier answer
Thanks for your question. My name is Etienne Belmar and I'll be your contact person for this process.
>
> This is the second time from what I see that you are suspended for sending insults and violating the T&Cs of our games. I don´t care how upset you are, you send insults and violated the contract you have with us!
>
> Your account is now suspended permanently for these violations!
>
> I hope I was able to help you with your problem/question and wish you lots of fun playing the game!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Etienne Belmar
>
> --
> Bigpoint Support
for using boloni?
I'm still more and more suspicious, that German provider of Dark Orbit fy Bigpoint GmbH runs a large internet fraud. I paid them more then 100 EUR in total and after I wrote about technical problems with ship control in chat, I was banned immediately in chat and then in game as well after I noticed ambiguous and faulty rules and about rude language, spamming, sexual taunt, abuse and insulting often seen in chat (of course children can join that "trash talk" without any problems, and they pay BigPoint even for this!)... Can anybody stop them in these criminal activities?
My personal experience with this "game" is described in details here:
http://vlado-ba-sk.angelfire.com