Payment Issues

My former credit card expired in September and my bank sent me a new card for the coming three years well before the expiration date.

As the conscientious customer I am I immediately wanted to update my billing information with Linden Lab so that I wouldn't run into any problems with money in-world or tier payments for Southern Charm.

I am experienced in filling out forms of all sorts and foresaw no problems with doing this. It was easy enough to remove the old credit card, but when I got to the point where I wanted to plug in my new card there was no option to do that. The only option that was apparent seemed to be the PayPal. I did not want to use that option as I am at war with PayPal at the moment for their support of certain hate-groups.

Being a Premium Customer in SecondLife, I contacted the live support chat and was soon taken care of by a charming person with an exotic name that I cannot remember. I described my problem to him/her and together we tried to figure out a solution by looking at the form. Neither of us could find an easy or obvious way to add a new credit card to my account.

After a few minutes my support-person came up with the brilliant idea that I should log into SecondLife and try to buy L$ (the currency used in-world). When I followed the advice a form came up that allowed me to submit my new credit card information and get new L$. Mission accomplished both of us thought.

However, a few days later I received an e-mail from Linden Lab informing me with the following content. (Click to enlarge)

The e-mail is very friendly and understanding but obviously the information I had supplied once before was not enough it seems. 

Following the instructions I had soon added the new information and could authorize payment of the  tier I was due the next day. I also got an immediate confirmation that my debt had been payed in full and that my account status should now be active.

For some reason I cannot understand, it appears you must supply the same information for different uses with Linden Lab, one for buying currency in-world and another for paying tier. I don't know yet if Linden Lab needs the same information again for the yearly payment of my Premium Account.

It seems to me that Linden Lab should make it easier for the customers who are willing to pay for their services to do so without having to contact support or getting an e-mail about being late with payment.

P.S. And now I have started thinking I must have done something wrong when I removed the old credit card, but I cannot remember - and if the user makes mistakes wouldn't the payment system make allowances for that and let us easily correct the mistakes we make?

PayPal Update - Drops 4 Hate Groups

Many SecondLife residents use the excellent services of PayPal to securely transfer money in to or out of SecondLife. 

In a post a few days ago I urged you to join in a petition to ask PayPal to stop serving ten anti-LGBT hate groups; Tell PayPal: Stop supporting hate groups.

PayPal has now stopped it´s service to four of the ten groups, but let´s keep up the pressure until they drop all ten. 

If you haven't done so earlier please go to the post I link to above for all the necessary information and the link to the site with the petition.

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Ten Extremist Sites Served by PayPal

Abiding Truth Ministries (International) Extremist group that makes the outrageous claim that “the Nazi Party was entirely controlled by militaristic homosexuals.”

New Generation Ministries (Latvia/International) Extremist church based in Latvia with branches in 15 different countries. The church's members have been tied to the homophobic murder of Satendar Singh. In one video, at an anti-LGBT rally, church leader Alexy Ledyaev says, “homosexuals are not happy or spiritual people, because they were molested and abused in their childhoods, but that does not give them the right to abuse and rape others!”

Noua Dreaptă (Romania/Balkans) Ultra-nationalist group that has been linked to organizing demonstrations and planning violent attacks on Pride celebrations in Romania and Moldova. 

Truth in Action Ministries (formally Coral Ridge) (United States) Extremist church that spreads anti-LGBT lies such as “bible-believing Christians would quickly find themselves unwelcome in Barney Frank’s new pansexual, cross-dressing military.” 

Dove World Outreach Ministries (United States) Infamous "Burn the Quran" hate church whose pastor preaches that “homosexuality makes God throw up.” 

Julio Severo's Last Days Watchman Site (US/Brazil) Brazilian anti-LGBT leader and writer/ideologue who fled Brazil after LGBT activists brought a lawsuit against him for incitement of hatred. Julio regularly repeats the lie that 10% of gay people are pedophiles, and goes further to say that most gay men “drink urine, swallow feces and experience rectal traumas on a regular basis”, while they are “drunk, stoned or in orgies.” 

Faithful Word Baptist Church (United States) This church's Pastor Steven L. Anderson has described gays as “sodomites” who “recruit through rape” and “recruit through molestation.”

Family Research Institute (United States) Known for saying that gay people are predatory and diseased perverts who victimize children.

Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (United States) This group claims homosexuality is a “lethal behavior addiction,” a “dangerous” practice that is “neither normal nor benign.”

American Society for the Defense of Tradition Family and Property (International) International Catholic extremist group originating in Brazil and with active branches in Argentina and the United States. They are known for organizing homophobic rallies all over the United States and buying advertising asking people to “join the Crusade” of “conscientious resistance” to “the homosexual ‘moral revolution.’”

Tell PayPal: Stop Supporting Hate Groups!

PayPal officially states that its users “may not use the PayPal service for activities that [...] promote hate, violence, racial intolerance” but PayPal has become a favorite payment service for anti-LGBT extremists all over the world.

Thanks to PayPal, it's easier than ever to send and receive money across currencies and continents - but it is also PayPal's responsibility to make sure this technology doesn't fall in the wrong hands. Anti-LGBT extremists all over the world are currently using PayPal to fund raise for their dangerous cause.

Not only is it against PayPal's rules to promote promote "hate, violence, [and] racial intolerance," hate groups also damage PayPal's brand and credibility.

We ask that PayPal join the fight against online hate and immediately shut down the accounts of anti-LGBT extremist groups using the service. PayPal must act immediately to shut down their accounts and ban all sites that promote anti-LGBT hate.

I would like to encourage all LGBT people, and all our heterosexually challenged friends, to sign the petition against the hate trade here PayPal, End the Online Hate Trade. You also have the possibility to tell PayPal why you are taking this action.