ProZ.com frequently asked questions

1 - Billing and payment: general

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1.1 - How much does membership cost?

See membership types and service packages options, their prices and benefits here.

Local payment options are available in some countries, where residents have the option to purchase membership packages in their local currency. Note that not all membership options will be available via local payment. If your country has local payment options available, you will see a link to Make local payment.

1.2 - How can I pay for membership?

You may pay for your membership with one of the following methods:

• Credit Card
  
• Paypal
  
• Skrill
  
• 2Checkout
  
• Skrill
  
• TransferWise
  
• Wire Transfer
  
• Check or Money Order
  
• Wallet credit
  

1. Go to the Membership page
   
2. Click the Purchase now button below your chosen membership package
   
3. Follow the instructions on subsequent pages to pay for your membership
   

1.3 - Will my payment be secure? Is my credit card information safe?

Yes. Payments are processed securely by Paypal or other well-established 3rd-party processor —this happens behind the scenes and it is not necessary that you have a PayPal account. Credit card data is not held or stored by ProZ.com.

1.4 - If I renew my membership before it expires, what happens with my renewal date?

Every time you manually renew your membership, we add that time to the time that you have in your current membership. For example, if your membership expires in three months and you buy another membership for one year, your renewal date will be in 15 months.

If you are subscribed to an automatic renewal, you don't need to worry about your renewal date, as it will be updated automatically once the payment is made.

1.5 - Why does ProZ.com sometimes charge VAT tax on memberships purchased from within the EU?

This information only affects members in Europe.
If, when purchasing a membership from within the European Union and the United Kingdom, a user does not supply a VAT number which can be verified online, ProZ.com is obliged by law to collect VAT tax against the purchase made, according to the VAT rate applicable in the country of the purchaser. If a VAT number is supplied, no VAT tax is charged.

For those desiring more details: In July of 2003, the EU entered into effect a directive obliging non-EU suppliers of digital services to collect VAT tax on sales made to individuals (not businesses) living in the EU countries. ProZ.com reports and remits VAT taxes it collects to the German tax authority, under the provisions of the Special Scheme for non-EU Businesses Providing Electronically Supplied Services to EU Consumers. For more information, see the EU Directive relating to VAT on digital services, here.

1.6 - What if I decide that I am not satisfied with my membership —can I get a refund?

Yes. When you purchase your Standard membership, you can request a full refund for up to 30 days. Full refunds are only available for your first purchase.

For the Standard service package, ProZ.com offers a full satisfaction guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with your ProZ.com membership, submit a support request. A prorated refund corresponding to the remaining months will be issued, less any payment fees that have been charged. Prorated refunds may not be available on purchases of the Plus service package and Premium monthly option.

Note that refunds for payments made by credit card, Skrill, or PayPal will be processed using the method that was originally used to make payment, —credit card payments are refunded to the paying credit card, Skrill payments are refunded to the paying Skrill account, etc. Due to high transfer fees, users who pay via wire transfer (either locally or to ProZ.com's bank in the U.S.) will be asked to provide an alternate refund method —in this case, either PayPal or Skrill. ProZ.com may also provide refunds via check for those users residing in the United States.

1.7 - Should I submit a chargeback or dispute in order to receive a refund for my membership payment or other purchases I made on the site?

No. The appropriate channel to request refunds for purchases made to ProZ.com is by submitting a support request.

1.8 - Your fee is too high for translators in my country.

According to data available from members and renewal rates, ProZ.com membership is a smart investment for a professional translator anywhere in the world. Taking just one aspect of membership —meeting clients— nearly 90% of members report a positive return on their investment in just the first year (over 40% in the first three months). As a result, ProZ.com has significant member bases not only in Western Europe and North America, but also in Eastern Europe, Latin America and elsewhere throughout the world.

That said, local payment options are available in some countries, where residents have the option to purchase membership packages in their local currency. Note that not all membership options will be available via local payment. If your country has local payment options available, you will see a link to Make local payment.

1.9 - Where can I find my invoice for purchase made on the site?

You can find all your invoices related with purchases made on ProZ.com via your Profile wallet.

1.10 - I need my invoice in French/German for tax purposes.

ProZ.com emails you an invoice at the time of your purchase. That is the only invoice we send. We are sorry, but we don't translate, send hard copies, or stamp the invoice in any way.

If you need your billing information edited for tax purposes, however, please submit a support request detailing the exact information that you need on your invoice, and the ProZ.com team will be happy to help.

1.11 - Could I submit a payment via TransferWise or MoneyGram?

If you would like to submit a payment via TransferWise or MoneyGram, please direct the payment using these bank details:

Receiver's City and State: Syracuse, NY 13202
Bank Name: J.P. Morgan Chase
Bank Routing Number: 022300173
Bank Account Number: 483500460665
Account holder: ProZ.com

Then, submit a support request stating this payment has been sent, with all corresponding transaction details. ProZ.com staff will verify receipt of payment and grant your membership.

Please note that ProZ.com staff must manually grant your membership. Because of this, we ask that you use these payment methods as a secondary option for submitting payments to ProZ.com. Recommended payment methods include credit card (directly on ProZ.com, or using 2checkout.com) and PayPal.

Additional services may allow payment through bank transfer. If so, these same instructions should apply. Please check with your service provider and be sure to confirm receipt with ProZ.com staff.

1.12 - How can I pay for training sessions, webinars and conferences?

Make sure you are logged in to the site and visit the page for the training session, webinar or conference which you wish to book. Prices and payment information will be shown on the page. Various payment methods are accepted, including

• credit card
  
• PayPal transfer
  
• Moneybookers transfer
  
• wire transfer to a dedicated account
  

1.13 - I'd like to purchase my membership in my local currency. Can I do so through any of the payment methods available?

No. To pay in your local currency first check if there is a local payment contact in your country and follow the payment instructions described in the Local payment page. If there is no local payment contact in your country, then you can pay for your membership using the online payment methods available in the Membership page.

1.14 - Can I also renew my current ProZ.com membership via local payment?

Yes, all types of ProZ.com memberships may be renewed through ProZ.com local payment contacts.

1.15 - What type of membership can I buy via a ProZ.com local payment contact?

The only professional membership service package that can be purchased via all local payment contacts is the Standard package.

1.16 - Why are membership prices in USD only?

In 2016, along with the introduction of the ProZ.com Plus service package for members, some changes and simplifications were made in membership and membership pricing. Overall pricing was reduced, standardized, and set in USD (if you previously paid in EUR, for example, the new USD pricing is such that you are actually paying less per year, even after exchanges and fees). Membership options such as partial memberships and six-month memberships were deprecated, in favor of a subscription model.

1.17 - I made a purchase and it seems I was charged twice. What should I do?

If you were charged twice for a site purchase, submit a support request before contacting your credit card company or your merchant account. The ProZ.com team will confirm the duplicate payment and issue a refund, if necessary. If you have already contacted your credit card company, or your merchant account, if possible, please contact them again to have any chargeback or unauthorized complaint removed, so ProZ.com can handle the refund via our online support system and not incur a fee on our end nor yours as well.

1.18 - I followed the steps online to renew/purchase membership via wire transfer. Is this online form binding?

No. Membership payments via bank transfer are completed and processed once the payment is received (i.e. the form obtained online does not constitute payment and it is not binding).

2 - How can I pay in my local currency?

ProZ.com offers the option to purchase membership in local currency for some countries. Check the Local payment page for information on the local payment procedure in your country.

3 - I have a wallet balance. Can I pay for membership using the money in my wallet?

Yes. If you have a balance in your wallet, when you go through the payment steps beginning here, you will be offered the option to pay using the balance contained in your wallet.

4 - I'm in the EU. Do I have to pay VAT?

If you live outside the EU, or if you live in the EU and have a VAT number, no, you don't have to pay VAT. If you live in the EU but do not have VAT number, yes.

4.1 - Why does ProZ.com collect VAT? The company is not based in the EU.

Even though ProZ.com is not based in the EU, as a company selling a digital service consumed in the EU, ProZ.com is obligated by the EU to collect VAT at the national rate of the consumer, and to remit all VAT collected to a single EU country in a quarterly basis —ProZ.com remits to Germany.

For more information, see the EU Directive relating to VAT on digital services
entered into force on 1 July 2003, here.

4.2 - How can I verify ProZ.com's participation in the special scheme VAT on e-Services?

Please refer to this document to confirm ProZ.com's participation in the special scheme for the taxation of non-EU businesses which provide electronically supplied services to EU consumers. This form may be used by EU residents for tax purposes.

4.3 - In my case, the fees seem to add up during purchase. How can I avoid extra charges like VAT or payment fees?

To avoid a VAT charge, supply your VAT number during the upgrade process —this relieves us of the obligation to collect VAT tax from you. This option is presented during the course of the purchase process.

5 - Payment by credit card

5.1 - I am trying to upgrade, but ProZ.com's credit card processor will not accept my CVV2 number. What to do?

• If you are using a Visa, Mastercard, or Discover card, the CVV2 is a 3 digit number that appears on the back of your card.
  
• If you are using an American Express card, the verification number is a 4 digit number that appears on the front of your card, above and either on the left or right of the card number.
  
• If your card does not have a verification number, try another card or enter the number 000.
  

5.2 - I am unable to pay by credit card via ProZ.com's credit card processor. Is there another credit card payment option?

If you continue to have trouble paying by credit card via ProZ.com's credit card processor, you may wish to try using PayPal instead. PayPal allows buyers in many countries to pay by credit card without requiring them to have a PayPal account.

5.3 - Your credit card processor cancelled my payment on the basis of my country of residence. What are my options?

Apologies for the inconvenience; ProZ.com does not have full control of the risk management policies of third-party processors. Please consider making payment using another payment method. We will work with you on this to make sure you do not pay more as a result of this inconvenience.

5.4 - How can I change the currency of my credit card payment at 2checkout?

ProZ.com's credit card processor, 2checkout, attempts to guess the local currency of the buyer and defaults to charging in that currency. To change the currency in which to make your credit card payment, select the appropriate option from the drop-down menu labeled currency.

5.5 - I received a 10417, 10505, or 10745 error message from PayPal. What is it?

• PayPal says the most likely cause for the 10417 error is that the method of payment chosen at PayPal's website did not succeed, usually because the credit card did not receive bank authorization. You may want to consider another payment method, such as 2checkout.
  
• If you receive a 10505 error message, it means that you have a problem with the AVS (address verification system). PayPal requires that you use the same address that is on record with the credit card being used.
  
• The 10745 error is also related to address. The application requires not your current address but the billing address of you credit card. The address entered when making payment must match the billing address of the payment method.
  

5.6 - I received a 10754 error message from 2checkout. What is it?

As per 2checkout's explanation of the issue, when orders are being processed, the transaction goes like this:

1. 2checkout's server contacts the credit card company server and informs card # *** wants to buy something for $25.00 USD.
   
2. The credit card company confirms that the card number is valid, and reserves the funds so that they are available for the transaction. The charge isn't made yet.
   
3. 2checkout's server contacts the credit card company and verifies the information (address, phone number, CVV2, etc.).
   
4. The credit card company then confirms that all the information is valid.
   
5. 2checkout's server contacts the credit card company and confirms the charge.
   
6. The credit card company then issues the charge and sends confirmation.
   

5.7 - I received a 15005 error message. What is it?

Although marked as not required, sometimes credit cards or PayPal require complete information in the address and state fields that appear in the billing page. This error message is related to those fields. If you didn't enter any information in those fields, please, enter the same information in those fields that you have in your credit card or PayPal account and try again.

5.8 - Can I use my American Express for payments?

Yes. You can use your American Express credit card to submit any payment. However, note that AmEx payments are only possible in USD as PayPal, which handles direct credit card payments, does not accept AmEx payments in EUR from some countries.

5.9 - Can I pay using somebody else's credit card?

Yes. To submit payment using somebody else's credit card, just login to your account and follow the payment steps. Make sure that all of the billing information you enter matches the billing info of the card being used. Note that you will not be able to apply for identity verification if you pay using a credit card that does not carry your name.

5.10 - After changing my credit card would I need to register the new one with Proz.com to pay for membership?

Please note that you do not need to register your credit card, you just need to enter the correct credit card information in the payment process.

6 - Payment by PayPal

6.1 - Why is PayPal asking me for a credit card to purchase my membership?

The PayPal form requests that you add, update or confirm your debit or credit card because, if the funds already existing in your PayPal account do not match the amount to be charged, there needs to be a card attached to it in order for the system to charge the difference. This does not mean that ProZ.com will charge your card, the cost of the membership will be charged to your PayPal account, and the funds in your account will be used first, according to PayPal's usual criteria.

However, if you do not have a credit card that you can associate to your PayPal account, you can make a direct PayPal transfer to [email protected] and we will process your payment manually. After you have issued your payment, please submit a support request and provide your PayPal email address, transaction ID, date and amount paid so that we can locate your payment and manually process your purchase. Please, take into account that this may take a longer time than using the automatized form.

6.2 - My membership was automatically renewed and my PayPal account debited. Why?

If you were automatically charged for ProZ.com membership in your PayPal account, this means that you have subscribed to automatic renewal. If your automatic renewal is made through the ProZ.com system, you will be able to cancel it from your Membership Management page, which you can access from the home menu at the upper right corner of every page.

If, on the other hand, you created an automatic PayPal subscription, this has to be cancelled from PayPal. To confirm that you have a PayPal subscription with ProZ.com, check your ProZ.com https://www.proz.com/manage-membershipprofile wallet. If a membership subscription has been made, the following item will be listed in your wallet:

Purchase: ProZ.com professional membership (auto-renewed yearly)

If you want to cancel your PayPal subscription, simply follow the steps described this FAQ. To receive a refund for the last payment debited from your PayPal account, simply submit a support request.

6.3 - I've made a PayPal subscription payment. How do I cancel my subscription?

If you have signed up for a recurring PayPal membership subscription and wish to cancel the subscription, you may do so from your PayPal account.

• Log in to your PayPal account.
  
• Click the Profile icon, next to Log out.
  
• Click Pre-approved Payments.
  
• Select the payment, and then click Cancel.
  

6.4 - Can I use PayPal if I do not have a credit card?

PayPal policy concerning third-party payments states that a credit card is required, so that if when renewal takes place there are insufficient funds, it can cover for the payment.

For more information on PayPal policy, visit PayPal's FAQs section.

6.5 - I received a notification indicating that my subscription in PayPal has been canceled, but I did not request this cancelation? What should I do?

Please check with PayPal to see if there are sufficient funds remaining in your PayPal account as this might have been the reason why your subscription was canceled.

6.6 - My subscription has been canceled. Does this mean that my membership in ProZ.com has been canceled too?

No. Canceling your subscription from Paypal and terminating your ProZ.com membership are two different things. To cancel your subscription you should follow the steps described in this FAQ. To end your membership at ProZ.com please submit a support request.

6.7 - I have canceled my auto-renewed subscription but I would like to create a new one again. How can I do this?

If you would like to create a subscription again, you should click on the Purchase now button at the Membership. Your auto-renewal date will be the same of your purchase.

6.8 - My auto-renewed subscription was canceled. What will happen now?

Canceling your auto-renewed subscription will prevent your membership from being automatically renewed on the renewal date. If you would like to renew your membership, you will have to go through the renewal steps described in the Membership page.

6.9 - I was automatically charged twice for membership in a short period of time. What should I do? Should I submit a chargeback with my credit card company?

If your membership was renewed automatically more than once within a very short period of time, it is possible that you may have inadvertently subscribed to the automatic payment method more than once. If this the case, please do not contact your credit card company nor your merchant account before submitting a support request to ProZ.com. Once we have received your request, we'll be able to notify you if you need to contact either the processor or credit card company. Be assured that if you were charged twice, ProZ.com will immediate refund you the amount back to your account. Please submit a support request to allow us to look further into this matter.

If you have already contacted your credit card company, or your merchant account, if possible, please contact them again to have any chargeback or unauthorized complaint removed so ProZ.com can handle the refund via our online support system and not incur a fee on our end nor yours as well.

7 - Payment by Skrill

7.1 - Does ProZ.com accept payments via Skrill?

As of June 2020, ProZ.com is now accepting payments via Skrill. Please, submit a support request so that ProZ.com staff can help with your Skrill payment options for membership, training, CAT tools, etc.

8 - Payment by wire transfer

8.1 - How can I pay by wire transfer?

Please go to the Membership and follow the payment steps for the type of membership you wish to purchase. From the payment method selection page, choose Other payment options and then select Wire Transfer. Click Next to receive your confirmation invoice and detailed account information, and instructions on how to make the wire transfer. You should allow up to two weeks for your wire transfer to be fully processed.