Basilisk use Plimus to process payments :-(

[Dave B]

It may be that Plimus just hate me, but I've bought digitally distributed downloads from GamersGate, Telltale Games, Steam, Big Fish etc. etc. without a problem. I've also bought loads of one-offs from smaller companies.

But sites that use Plimus behind the scenes just mess me around. First it was the Blackwell Legacy, now it's Eschalon: Book 1.

Here's what their last e-mail said to me:

Thank you for submitting your order for Eschalon: Book I-Windows Download using Plimus. Your order is currently being reviewed by our staff for quality purposes, this process is usually completed within a few minutes, however, please allow up to 12 hours to hear back from us.

"Quality purposes"? Nobody delays a customer order for Quality purposes! Delay for fraud prevention, address issues or staffing issues by all means, but please Plimus, while it's reasonable enough in the internet age to treat your customers as fraudsters and thieves until you know better, it's another to treat them like idiots.

One of the attractions of a digital download is you expect to get it shortly after ordering. I was looking for something to occupy this weekend and instead of a weekend's dungeon diving, I get Plimus Pain. In case you're wondering, yes, the 12 hours mark has passed with no future contact from them.

I played the demo, so I expect to enjoy the full game. However, don't expect me to buy the sequel if I see Plimus anywhere in the checkout proceess!

Daft thing is, if I was a pirate and didn't want to pay for the game, I'd be enjoying Eschalon goodness as we speak.

[BasiliskWrangler]

There should be a phone number as well that you can call to speed up the process.

I know that Plimus has caused some grief for people, but they put a lot of effort into protecting people (such as yourself, Dave B) from illegal use of stolen credit card numbers.

[Scryler]

I had a bit of a problem with the email required. I couldn't use Yahoo or Gmail. Don't use email through my internet provider (lost the password), so had to use my work email, which is not the best of choices, IMO.

I use Yahoo as a catch-all email service. I use Gmail for family, close friends, etc. I guess I need to find out what my internet provider email password is, so I can start using it with Plimus. I'd rather use Yahoo.

[Dave B]

I know that Plimus has caused some grief for people, but they put a lot of effort into protecting people (such as yourself, Dave B) from illegal use of stolen credit card numbers.

Technically they're protecting everyone but me - either I'm who I say am I (and I'm therefore entitled to use that number), or I'm a criminal (and I'd like them to let me capitalized on my theft). Either way they're not helping me. (I can't find the right smillie, so if anyone is wondering, yes I am joking! Also, if they are protecting me from illegal use of stolen credit card numbers, do I need to find somebody else to protect me from legal use of stolen credit card numbers? )

I have tried all their support links from the e-mail they sent me confirming the order yesterday, plus the one I found on their website. Like many modern sites, no phone number was in attendance.

Anyway, life's too short and so's this weekend. I've no time left to play Eschalon even if it turned up now. Nor do I want to spent the rest of today in a huff. I'll going to leave it until next weekend and if it turns out that Plimus debited my card without proving the goods again, I'll let VISA know. I hear they take a dim view of that and I like the poetic justice involved in Plimus having to prove they're an upstanding citizen instead of me . To be fair though, last time around Plimus refunded my money quickly and automatically.

(BTW, in case it wasn't clear from the original post, I used all real e-mail and phone numbers. I know that there isn't a problem with the e-mail address I gave them as I revieced the order acknowlegment on it. Just to be safe, I did check my junk mail in case they used a different source address to follow up)

[macdude22]

I've seen a lot of folks use Kagi, and I've never had an issue purchasing from developers who use Kagi.

[Dave B]

FYI, I've received my download link. I installed to verify it works, and am happy to let you know all that crunchy tile-based Eschalon goodness is now mine!

...

Whatcha mean I can't play a Night-elf Mohawk?

[Randomizer]

I never got a reply to an email sent to Plimus and it's been over 8 months. Luckily I was able to get my download without needing a reply from them to my email.

I've searched their site and could never find an 800 number. They really don't want to be contacted except to send money.

[recluse]

I once had a problem and they took most of the week to answer. Then it was basically "can't help you, ask somebody else." Thanks for nothin' creeps.

[nottorp]

Speaking of which... although i didn't have a problem when downloading from Plimus, i didn't see at any point during the purchase that they were going to charge me VAT. I'm not even sure they should, because they're certainly not located in my country and as far as i know sales abroad are exempt from VAT across the EU.

But that's a question for my accountant, however they should have said they will charge it. I might have not had enough funds on my card to cover it and gotten branded as a thief by their extensive protection process?

[BasiliskWrangler]

The other two big order processing services out there are BMT Micro and Share*it. Anyone care to share their opinions on those services? We will probably keep Plimus for our primary order processor, but I can see that we will need a secondary service in the future for people who are against Plimus's customer fraud protection policies.

[BasiliskWrangler]

[edit]

Posted here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2111