credit card decline because name is not katakana

[alphanumeric]

this one is rich

i was all stoked about winning my first yahoo auction, getting that japanese keitai that my wife can use in the states... and so i'm filling out my credit card info yahoo auction, click submit...

BEEP! error! credit card name must be typed in katakana!

okay.... let's try this again, type my name in katakana, click submit, goes through on to the confirmation page this time... well, that's better i'm thinking... click confirm...

BEEP! Your card has been declined! Please use a different card!

well no shit it's been declined - my name is not katakana.

now i got an outstanding auction payment due and i can't pay because my fucked credit card company can't read katakana and apparently yahoo auction can't read roman characters.

[Kuang_Grade]

There are agents in Japan who will do your bidding and shipping to the US for you for a fee, although since you've already bid they may not be as useful

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10907

http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16301

[Greji]

BEEP! Your card has been declined! Please use a different card!

well no shit it's been declined - my name is not katakana.

I got by once on a site using hiragana, not katakana for my name and putting the English in the furigana section. Don't know if it will work for the auction site, but might be worth the try.

[IkemenTommy]

That happened to me when I ordered shit from Uniqlo. All I had to do was called their complaint department and they straightened it out for me. It's all good.

[alphanumeric]

yahoo was useless, saying that i fucked myself because i agreed to their terms of agreement, which apparently say i bunch of crap like i must have residence status in japan, speak japanese, and, if paying by credit card, must have a japanese credit card.

for one of the most respected exporters of high technology, i sometimes get the impression that japan would rather again be a stark isolationist than do business with "outsiders"

i had friend pay it for me. now i got figure out how to mail her cash back...

[madfuku]

[FG Lurker]

Maybe the process I went through is new, but part of the registration process you have to enter a japanese credit card with your name on it for address verification I assume.

You only have to do this to sell now, not to buy. It was a double-edged sword for Yahoo really. Requiring people to provide a credit card for verification helped keep the number of "itazura" bids down, but it also made it harder for people to sign up. Fewer members = fewer bidders = lower selling prices = less profit for Yahoo...

Then they send you a welcome kit by certified mail (you have to show ID and sign for it) containing a code you have to type into the website to fully activate the account.

They still send a sealed postcard out for address verification for people who want a selling account.

At least they almost let you pay by credit card, it has been my experience that most sellers in Japan don't want to use credit cards and prefer using bank transfer. Which is irritating IMHO as it reduces consumer protection.

Yahoo charges 5% if you want to use a credit card for something over 10,000yen. Under 10,000yen is still expensive, but is a flat fee I think instead of the 5%.

Regarding consumer protection, I could be wrong but I think it is pretty tough to dispute charges with a Japanese credit card company. Not like home where disputes are often quite easy.