Re: Problems paying for GUADEC without a PayPal account

[Bram Senders <guadec2005 spacelabs nl>]

On Sun, 2005-05-01 at 21:08 +0200, guadec2005 spacelabs nl wrote:
> Hello there,
> 
> I am having some problems paying for our GUADEC registration.  The
> GUADEC registration site clearly states "You do not need a Paypal
> account to pay with Paypal."  Now I'm trying to pay by credit card
> (without having a PayPal account).  Just when I think I'm done paying
> (after the page where I fill in my credit card details and the like), I
> get a fat notice from the PayPal site stating:
> 
>   "Based on the details of your transaction, you will need to sign up
>   for a PayPal account and enroll in the Expanded Use Program to
>   complete this payment. Once enrollment is complete, you can return to
>   the merchant's site to initiate this payment again. Please provide the
>   information requested below and click 'Save Information' to sign up."
> 
> I gave up trying to pay then, since there is clearly something going
> very wrong when one party (the GUADEC site) says I do not need an
> account, while the other party (PayPal) does not let me pay without one.
> 
> If anyone can help me with this problem, or explain what is going on,
> please reply soon, as I'm still trying to get some places for the youth
> hostel (which apparently will not be available anymore after today).

I just bit the bullet and tried registering with PayPal anyway.  This
provided some information as to why I couldn't finish my transaction,
which isn't explained on the GUADEC site or (stupidly enough) in the
message I received above.

The actual reason is that PayPal has a sending limit of EUR 750 per
user.  As soon as you exceed that limit for the total amount of money
you have ever sent, you cannot send any more money.  Since we want to go
to GUADEC with eleven people, this limit is too low.

To alleviate this, you have to enroll in PayPal's "Expanded Use
Program", which is done by sending $1.95 to some bank account of theirs
and waiting for a code you get on your credit card receipt.

Of course, all of this is not possible anymore (provided I would even
_want_ to jump through hoops to complete this objectionable act of
having to send money to some third party I never wanted to do business
with in the first place) by May 1 (which is now yesterday), which means
we probably cannot register for the youth hostel anymore.  Thank you
PayPal.

I would strongly suggest some option (like bank transfer) to register
for GUADEC without using PayPal.

Bram Senders