Newbie Problems with Money and Name Change

[Yara Crisp]

I created an account yesterday (4/23/20), but did not realize a "username" is really the name your character would be given. So, wanting to give my character a better name, I have been trying ever since to pay to change it. I do have a premiere account which is part of the initial set up, and then did the Tilia stuff on my account payment info page. I also associated a payment credit card and when that didn't work, tried associating my paypal account, which also didn't work. What seems to be happening, is the system is charging my card, and then immediately taking the charge back off the card. Then it gives me an error message. I can't buy lindens (can you not do that in the first few days?), I can't change my name (same thing, is there a time limit involved, or a restriction keeping me from doing it for a few days?), and if I hadn't made the darn thing a premiere account I would just delete it and start again but am told that will result in the money they charged me being lost and not refunded. It did let me get a house, oddly. But now I'm stuck and I put in a ticket but the system doesn't seem to think I did - any point in putting in another one? A friend of mine sent me some lindens (I paid her with a check), but I can't do that forever. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

[AdminGirl]

If you're keen on getting started on an account with the name you actually want to use (and assuming you're not interested in having a last name), you can just create a new account, while you wait on support to resolve the payment issues you are having on this account. That is unless you've already started buying things using this account. If that's the case, submit another support ticket. There should be a ticket number once it's submitted.

 

ETA: What I'm trying to say is, if you're ok with not having a last name, you can pick the name of your choice for free when you sign up, so it might be cheaper for you to just create a new one instead of paying USD 40 to change a name. In terms of the premium account you currently have, you can just transfer the lindens you get as stipend to your new account. However, starting a new account might not be a good idea if you've already bought stuff like clothes and other gear that are non-transferrable.

Edited April 23, 2020 by AdminGirl

[MayaSmit]

Ugh, that sucks. Hope they resolve this quickly for you @happycaroline! Also hoping other aspects of your introduction to SL are going more smoothly  

[Yara Crisp]

thanks MayaSmit. Admin, I will re-submit my ticket if I continue to not find any evidence they saw or received the first one. Its just very disappointing, but then again, I'm not usually locked in my home for a month! Can you spell boredom? C-O-R-O-N-A....

[AdminGirl]

12 minutes ago, happycaroline said:

thanks MayaSmit. Admin, I will re-submit my ticket if I continue to not find any evidence they saw or received the first one. Its just very disappointing, but then again, I'm not usually locked in my home for a month! Can you spell boredom? C-O-R-O-N-A....

Aw good luck! Know what you mean!

[MoiraKathleen]

1 hour ago, happycaroline said:

. What seems to be happening, is the system is charging my card, and then immediately taking the charge back off the card. Then it gives me an error message.

When you add a payment method (credit card or PayPal) a tiny transaction (usually $1 USD) is made and then immediately reversed to verify that the payment process is working correctly.  Do you recall what the error message was?  

Prepaid credit cards generally do not work.  A PayPal account needs to be a verified PayPal account - which is something done on the PayPal side.  If your PayPal account is not verified, you can log into your PayPal account and search for how to verify it within PayPal. 

I am curious though that the payment for premium was able to be processed without you having a valid payment method.

This Knowledge Base article

has info about which credit cards are generally accepted, setting up a payment method with PayPal, as well as a common issues and frequently asked questions section.  It also has the phone numbers and business hours for contacting Linden Billing Support.  

Once you get the payment method issue straightened out, you will be able to purchase L$'s.  There isn't a waiting period for purchasing, but there is a smaller limit of how much can be purchased within the first 30 days.

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

[LittleMe Jewell]

Odd that your Premium payment went through, but not other stuff.  Anyway, contact Billing:

Please note that phone support is for billing issues only.  If you're having technical issues, please contact our technical support team.    
Billing support phone numbers
Toll-Free (US/Canada): 800.294.1067
Long-Distance: 703.286.6277
Our Billing team is available from 9am to 6pm EST(6am to 3pm PST), Monday through Friday.
 

Also, if you are Premium, you can use Live Chat for stuff and often get faster results than with Support Tickets:

Start Live Chat: https://support.secondlife.com/start-chat/
    Live Chat is available 9am to 6pm EST(6am to 3pm PST) every day.
 

[Lindal Kidd]

The intricacies of the Linden Lab payment system do take some getting used to.

The others have pretty much answered your questions, but (as I so often do!) I'll summarize.

1. Your payment method must be a valid major CREDIT CARD.  LL does not accept most prepaid or debit cards.
2. The $1 in-and-out transactions you saw are a way that many companies use to test that a particular payment method is valid.  So, that's normal behavior.
3. You can also use a VERIFIED PayPal or Skrill account.  "Verified" means the account is backed up by a RL bank account or a credit card.  You do this on the PayPal site, and the process can take several days while transactions are verified.  If you use this method, I also recommend transferring enough money from your backup funding source to your PayPal account to cover your transactions with LL.
4. When you first set up a payment method with LL, there are rather strict limits on how much you can spend. In the first week, you're limited to spending $30 USD.  After that, it goes up to $300 per month for a couple of months.  After two months, your limit goes up to $2,000.  Since you're a Premium member, this is a bit less confining than it would be otherwise, because you'll be getting a $L300 per week stipend, beginning next Tuesday.
5. "happycaroline" is actually not a bad name...I like it!  But you have a couple of ways of dealing with it.  One method costs you nothing...just add a Display Name.  This can be any collection of letters, numbers, spaces, even special characters and fonts (but I recommend sticking to letters).  Other people will still be able to see your username, if they want, but most people will address you by your Display Name.  You can also purchase a new name, and it may consist of a last name from a list of available last names, plus any first name you wish, provided that combination is not already taken.  This'll cost you $40.
6. You could also create a second account, an "alt".  Choose a username you like better.  (Important: skip the step where they offer you a Premium membership!!!) If you go this route, keep the "happycaroline" account until a few days before your Premium account is due to expire and get billed for another period (that could be monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on which Premium plan you chose.)  That way, you can continue to collect the $L300 weekly stipend, the $L1,000 45-day bonus, and have the use of your Linden Home (for both accounts!).  Then, a few days before your renewal date, abandon your home, and downgrade the account to a free Basic account.  Transfer all the $L you've collected over to your alt account, if you haven't done that as you went along.  You see, this way you get to enjoy the benefits of your Premium status, but also get to have an account with the name you prefer.
7. The Knowledge Base has a lot of very helpful articles.  Find them under the Help > Knowledge Base link at the top of your Dashboard page.

Edited April 23, 2020 by Lindal Kidd

[Yara Crisp]

Lindall Kidd - Thank you so much for the information. After going through your list, I think that what is wrong is this: " In the first week, you're limited to spending $30 USD." Changing the name was over that, although I did try later to get an amount under that, but to no avail. Who knows how mucked up my account was by then, with me trying all kinds of solutions and dollar amounts to buy lindens. SL billing had no clue and turned me over to SL security, and those guys are saying they have no clue why, but surmised I am somehow a "marked"  account and I will have to wait 14 days before they can do anything or I can do anything. IF it does not resolve, they will cancel the account and "consider" refunding me the step back from Primary. So I guess I just wait, create a freebie alt and explore in my ever so attractive newbie outfit. A free tablet, who knew 😉  !  Thank you all for helping! Nice to know you are here.