BuySnus: Payment declined Refused by acquirer

[Cenex]

I've always ordered from BuySnus no problem. This time I go to order, put in my password for Verified by Visa, and I get the error message "Payment declined Refused by acquirer." I have no idea what is going on, so I try again. Then I get a call from my dad (my bank account is connected to my parents) telling me he received an alert for a purchase from a cigar shop in Sweden. Needless to say I was a little embarrassed.

Anyway, does anyone have an idea why this is suddenly happening now? And why my parents are getting the alert? I presume either they or the bank set up some international purchase protection sometime between now and my last order a couple months ago.

[lxskllr]

Sounds like your parents are the primary account holders, so they'll get any alerts. Your hypothesis sounds as good as any, but the only way to know for sure is to talk to your parents. The bank may tell you, but if you aren't the primary account holder, I'd consider that a breach of security, and I'd close my accounts with them.

[SnusoMatic]

a couple years ago i had that happen to me. i switch bank accounts and my new one would not let me use it there. Since I had other options I never tried to get to the bottom of it. I talked to the guy at buysnus and he said it meant my bank account turned it down. I knew I had money in the account so I asked the bank and they said that my card was not valid in certain countries... or something to that effect..it's been a while and i can't quote you what was said now. It could be that your card can't be used for tobacco charges. Maybe the address you used for shipping don't match the card but i think if that was the case you would have gotten a different error message. If you really want to find out why you will have to call the bank and ask.

bottom line, your bank won't allow the charge for some reason.

At first I thought buysnus was turning me down but that much I am absolutely sure is not the case.

[Cenex]

Yeah, I figured it was the bank turning it down since my parents received an alert I just don't understand why it starts now after ordering from them for 3 years. As for shipping addresses I've never had an issue with them not matching the billing address. In fact, I've had orders shipped to 5 different locations, none of which were the billing address.

In any case I'm reliant on my parents for money if I need it as I go through college so I suppose ordering from Sweden is out of the question for the time being. They are anti-tobacco and would certainly not be happy seeing me spending it on snus. I found a rather crappy gas station that carries 3 varieties of General portions which are surprisingly fresh and refrigerated, but I'll miss having my variety and stark snus

[Duff338]

The account holder needs to speak to the bank and tell them to allow the sale. After this it will go through. My bank does this sometimes other times it does not. I have no idea why they only flag it sometimes.

[postjack]

Duff has the right of it. You might have to call your bank beforehand and let them know you are about to do an international charge.

[voodooman]

ran into this a while ago. my bank would stop any charge from sweeden. they claimed there was a "high rate of fraud" on such transactions and banned the whole country. i couldn't even get them to allow it if i pre-approved the transaction.
if this is your case, make it clear why, and tell them to f**k themselves. take your money elsewhere.

[Sato]

Working on this myself, ideally I want to find a prepaid card that will work internationally so the bank will quit being involved.

[Skell18]

Working on this myself, ideally I want to find a prepaid card that will work internationally so the bank will quit being involved.

Was just going to suggest get a pre-paid credit card and problem solved

[PipenSnus]

I've had the same problem, and have resorted to using wire transfers, which is complex, annoying and adds to the expense. My credit union claims the fault lies with Visa, Inc., which has banned transactions to Sweden, Japan and several other countries, due to the aforementioned "high rates of fraud."

When I mentioned the problem to a clerk at my local B&M tobacconist, he claimed that the ban was due to the fact that the Wall Street bankers doing shady transactions were stashing their ill-gotten gains in banks in the banned countries. But I have no idea whether his claim is true or false.

[whalen]

Here is the drill for my Visa. Call them, tell them I am making a purchase from Makewebo, give them the total, and make the purchase.

[Sato]

Just wanted to update here and let you know that the OKPay prepaid Mastercard worked just fine for me at BuySnus without calling ahead or anything.

[Cenex]

I've had the same problem, and have resorted to using wire transfers, which is complex, annoying and adds to the expense. My credit union claims the fault lies with Visa, Inc., which has banned transactions to Sweden, Japan and several other countries, due to the aforementioned "high rates of fraud."

When I mentioned the problem to a clerk at my local B&M tobacconist, he claimed that the ban was due to the fact that the Wall Street bankers doing shady transactions were stashing their ill-gotten gains in banks in the banned countries. But I have no idea whether his claim is true or false.

No kidding? So Visa is the culprit here? I told this to my friend who is doing research in Finland. He just told me his Visa was declined during a visit to Sweden.

[Thunder_Snus]

The prepaid card isnt a bad idea. A lot of paranoid people do this with their insurance when they pay on a monthly automatic withdrawal from a credit card. They will literally go into a walmart at 11:50 10 minutes before the card will be charged to add funds onto it to avoid any kind of theft. So the card will have a 0 balance on it besides for 10 minute intervals during each month.

I believe the prepaid cards have a purchase fee of like 3 or 5 bucks and there may be a small fee to reload it but i'd say the charge is worth it to avoid having to jump through hoops.

[Cenex]

The prepaid card isnt a bad idea. A lot of paranoid people do this with their insurance when they pay on a monthly automatic withdrawal from a credit card. They will literally go into a walmart at 11:50 10 minutes before the card will be charged to add funds onto it to avoid any kind of theft. So the card will have a 0 balance on it besides for 10 minute intervals during each month.

I believe the prepaid cards have a purchase fee of like 3 or 5 bucks and there may be a small fee to reload it but i'd say the charge is worth it to avoid having to jump through hoops.

The problem is most prepaid cards like Wal-Mart ones cannot be used internationally.