Another message which the PRO has asked list administrators to circulate, in
order to excuse their abysmal performance over the 1901 Census on-line launch
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We are aware that some people have encountered difficulties when using
credit cards on the 1901 Census website. We wish to offer the following
reassurance on our mechanism for debiting credit cards.
No charge is applied by us unless and until a service has completed
successfully. If you have entered your card details and you have not then
been able to use any chargeable services, you will not be charged. If you
have successfully used chargeable services then the accumulated charge will
be shown on your screen.
When your session is closed the total charge is then sent to your card
provider for settlement. A session is normally closed after 48 hours but,
due to the high demand levels, we have extended this temporarily to 96 hours
so no sessions have been closed at this time.
Some users have contacted their credit card providers and been told that
charges have already been earmarked against their accounts. These represent
amounts which have been authorised but not yet charged. If you have entered
your card details for authorisation more than once, it is possible that you
might have several "earmarked" amounts. These may remain on your account
for several days but, if no matching settlement charge is received, then
they are removed. Your card provider will be able to give you further
assurance on this.
For enquiries about specific credit card sessions, contact the Census
Helpdesk on +44 (0)1684 585298/9 or by e-mail at
support(a)censushelpdesk.co.uk.
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Regards
Alwyn