DDO and "Unauthorized Regions"

[ThreeFinger]

** edited:

I apologize for the double post. My connection to DDO Forums was stalled and I clicked the "submit" button twice.


This has probably been discussed ad nauseum but I'd like to describe my experience. I play from a South Korean IP address. It's obvious that DDO/Turbine are detecting where you're connecting from. What puzzles me is why they would deem some regions "unauthorized". I received the following error when trying to make an in-game TP purchase.

"We are sorry, we were unable to successfully process this credit card transaction. You are attempting to process this transaction from an unauthorized region. Please try another payment method. [Payment Error 6]"

It took me a lot of work to actually make it to this stage. It seems that this IP filtering prevents you from even initially registering a credit card with the system. I had to remote-login to a relative's computer in the US and add my credit card from there. My credit card has a US billing address.

So, the question is, if some regions are considered "unauthorized" then why let us play the game from them if you're going to restrict accepting payments from us?

[ThreeFinger]

Well, Turbine got back to me and said they'd be happy to take my order via e-mail (or telephone, but that's just archaic). It just seems odd for an Internet-based enterprise, which has constructed an in-game store, to either restrict purchases (based on some type of commerce policy) or not be able to add exceptions for players in "unauthorized regions". Again, it begs the question, "if I'm in an unauthorized region, then why let me log into the game in the first place? You either authorize me to play the game and spend money, or not."

[Victorie]

We don't restrict login access from any region. We do currently have some regional payment restrictions. This may change in the future.

We have recently added some new payment methods for points purchases that may assist players in regions that may experience difficulty with standard US payment options. These include Visa Electron and Boku (cell phone payments). We are also investigating other payment options, some which will be available for most geographic locations.

[dacrow]

Dear Turbine,
i'm dutch and just found out on the paybycash site that im currently living in an unauthorized region. there wasnt anything on the news here about this, probably because our governement is trying to cover up this shamefull situation. i would like to ask some more details about my predicament, if i may:
- is there any health risks involved in living in an U-region?
- are U-regions such as the netherlands at risk of being also thrown out of the United Nations and other organisations as well?
- can i still freely travel to and from authorised regions?
- is the free world (and or Turbine) planning to come and help us in these desparate times?

excuse my poor english, my education was probably also unauthorised

[Missing_Minds]

I play from a South Korean IP address.

*snip*

My credit card has a US billing address.

This is why you are having the hard time. If your IP does not match the local of the billing address, it is rejected.

In the cases of credit card fraud, Turbine is more stringent in its checks than so many other places of business. This is done to protect the consumer against theft.

People on travel in the US have this same issue.