Before starting my hosting business, I searched for domain name suppliers who would accept money orders, as I do not have a credit card. 10-domains said to contact them for alternate methods of payment, so I did.

In my email I indicated that I was from Canada, was starting a hosting business and supplying my customers with their domains, could not pay by credit card, and wished to pay by money order.

They replied, saying that was fine, and giving me a form to download, fill out, and print to order the domains for my customers. The order form said to send the payment to Parava Networks, but I just assumed that 10-domains was a reseller or something.

To get my business online sooner, I paid a friend to use his credit card to pay for my business domains, and sent him a money order for it, which he has since received and cashed. (Obviously he did that only as a favour, and I do not want to route ALL my domain payments through him, since it is not a business for him and he would not be able to claim the expense against the income. It was agreed to be one time only.)

So, I printed and sent the order for my customers' domain names, paying with a US-dollar money order from Canada Post.

Three domain name orders went through at the second week of April, and those domains are now owned by the customers, though I am still listed as the billing contact.

Last week I got another customer, I sent 10-domains another money order, then two days after I mailed the second money order I received an email from Parava saying that they could not cash the first one and how was I going to pay for the domains which are already registered.

Since when is a money order NOT the equivalent of cash? Since when does a bank not accept money?

So, I wrote back, asking what exactly the problem was, saying that I had enquired before choosing them as my supplier if they accepted money orders. I asked if it was company policy or a bank problem, and also what their bank was. If I know what their bank is I may be able to help at this end. I also enquired as to why the domain names had been registered if they could not cash the money order.

They wrote back, saying that because it was Canadian they could not accept it, and would only accept a money order from a US source, such as Western Union, and that they had registered the domains "in good faith."

I wrote back saying that I could certainly process future money orders through a different channel, but that dealing with the two I sent already would be an additional hassle and expense and might take some time to process.

I did not hear a reply for two days.

I wrote back again asking if they could cash the two money orders I have already sent, elsewhere than their bank, such as at a money mart or something.

Obviously, to give another payment for something I've already paid for, they would have to return the money orders, I would have to get a refund from Canada Post if they haven't been cashed, then I would have to go buy another money order and mail it to them. This whole process would probably take quite a bit of time, which would be a hassle for both of us.

They wrote back... saying that they do not have "time to go to a mart," and asking me to send a second payment BEFORE I receive the original money orders back.

I really don't know how to deal with the demand that I send a SECOND payment before I am sure the first did not go through, which I can only do if they send the originals back. I hope they are legit but it seems odd in the first place that a bank would not accept a money order. Money orders are supposed to be the equivalent of cash.

This situation is really beginning to smell off... help?

Does anyone have experience with them to suggest that it would be safe for me to send a second payment before receiving the first one back? That really doesn't feel right. (I wouldn't even do that for a friend unless I knew without any doubt that it had not been cashed.)

Sent two emails to 10-domains support email yesterday, both of which bounced.

But today I received an email from Parava saying that they've sent the money orders back.

Will let you guys know how it goes, though I still don't know how any financial institution can not cash a money order just because it's from Canada Post. *Shrug*

I get the occasional money order from Canada. My credit union had to send them off for processing and then took a hefty fee. I shopped around a bit and found that most banks in my town do not handle foreign currency or money orders. In fact, the local Western Union would not cash a Canadian Western Union money order. I ended up opening a small account at a bank that would handle foreign currency and money orders.

DStar

I think you may be being a little hard on the company - although they should not have agreed in the first place.

As has been pointed out a foreign money order can cost an arm and a leg to process, this is because unles you have a foreign account the money order has to be manually re submitted back to the issuing bank for processing along with the associated costs.

To not release an already sent money order would be a normal sound commercial decision as it is proof of purchase even though it cannot be cashed - if they send them back then they have little or no confirmation of the original order being genuine.

Not your fault either just a lack of good communication as i see it.

It's not foriegn currency! It was in US dollars, and was sent to a US company. I have never had a problem before and have been sending money orders to the US for two years now.

My Canadian bank cashes US dollar money orders after a 15-day wait but doesn't charge a fee for it.

Anyway, Parava sent the money orders back, and now are saying that they will suspend my account unless I pay within 72 hours of yesterday. I only received the refund from the post office today, and it takes a week to mail a money order...

They said to use Western Union. I hope that means they can cash Canadian US-Dollar Western Union money orders. I hope there is such a thing, as I couldn't find any information on their website.

DragonStar,

Our bank charges a $25 fee to change Canadian Money Orders. The note was for only $30, so there is no way we were going to accept it.

You have been using our services without payment, we usually do not do this. We do not even activate accounts until checks or money orders clear but in your case we did.

Not only that, the reason why we offer this low pricing is because the clients sign up online, in your case, since you sent in a check, we had to do the work for you and sign you up manually ourselves.

Now you place a negative post regarding our service?

You could have sent payment right away after we notified you we could not accept Canadian Money Orders, but no, you insisted the you needed to get a refund before sending payment.

You have used our service for free for 2 months, yet you still complain.

Thank you.

$10-Domains.com Support

Originally posted by 10-Domains
DragonStar,

Our bank charges a $25 fee to change Canadian Money Orders. The note was for only $30, so there is no way we were going to accept it.

I can understand that much better now, thank you. It makes more sense than "we cannot cash it" without any other explanation. Anyone would do the same in that circumstance.

You have been using our services without payment, we usually do not do this. We do not even activate accounts until checks or money orders clear but in your case we did.

I know, and I am truly sorry that this misunderstanding occurred in the first place.

Not only that, the reason why we offer this low pricing is because the clients sign up online, in your case, since you sent in a check, we had to do the work for you and sign you up manually ourselves.

I was also not aware of that until you just posted it.

Now you place a negative post regarding our service?

You could have sent payment right away after we notified you we could not accept Canadian Money Orders, but no, you insisted the you needed to get a refund before sending payment.

In a situation like this, you (obviously) do not trust me that you will receive payment, and I was not able to trust that you hadn't cashed it. People do need to be careful when dealing with companies over the internet. I hope that after this we will both have a better idea of each other's trustworthiness, and can go forward into a better business relationship. I am sorry to have misjudged you through my caution.

You have used our service for free for 2 months, yet you still complain.

It will be two month on June 8th, by which time you should receive paymnt once you actually tell me what kind of money order I need to buy to send you. It takes approximately a week to mail something to you, threats of suspension are not going to change that. The longer you take to not tell me exactly what to buy to pay you, the longer the payment will take to get there.

Will a US-dollar money order from the Canadian branch of Western Union do the trick? (As certain people in this thread state that they have had difficulty with those as well.)

Would your bank accept a business cheque drawn in US funds on my TD Canada Trust business bank account?

Or, my friend will be back in town in a couple of days and I can pay her to use her credit card to pay this debt. If we can find something else that will work for new accounts while I am waiting to get a credit card that would be appreciated.

I hope to get a credit card soon, however I would have to switch banks to do so, and I am waiting for my birth certificate to arrive. I am hoping that the bank will allow me to open an account and then show them the certificate once I get it, normally it is a requirement. Otherwise it may take up to 8 weeks for the certificate to arrive.

Thank you,
DragonStar Networks

This is paid and done, however I have chosen a new supplier for future business. Just figured I'd post the result.