is there a safe way to pay over the net?

[LinuxNewbie]

i can register for a game server for only 5 dollars per month from a guy i know and he's already hosting 6 other game servers so i know he really does do what you pay him for.

my question is if there is a way to pay without any sort of automatic withdrawl system from a bank account or on a credit card. quite a few of my friends get jerked around by companies who charge too much or charge after service has been cut off and refuse to undo the charge.
is there any way i can pay for an internet service withou automatic withdrawl or credit card charges?

Are you not able to contact him and ask him if you can pay via Money Order?

[LinuxNewbie]

seems a bit wasteful since money orders cost 15 dollars to start out with

i guess it's better to be safe than screwed around by internet guys though

You can get a money order for under a dollar at the Post office. If you're in the US.

[LinuxNewbie]

not around my post office. here, they cost 15 bucks here

Well, since you feel pretty comfortable with sending the guy your money for the server service, then I'd just open up a personal PayPal account using your banking account. I have a personal and business account with them and haven't had any problem. That's not to say others haven't, though.

There's a member here named "Damon B" who is a PayPal Customer Rep.. He posts alot in the General Discussion & Buyers Guidance forum and if you have any specific PayPal questions, I believe you can email or PM him - look for his name in the Members area.

I think that would proll be the cheapest way for you to go.

[LinuxNewbie]

i just thought of something.

open a new account and keep a small amount of cash in it such as 50 dollars or less then setup paypal on it, at most he could screw me out of 50 bucks.

thanks for your help
brainstorming session over

Personally, I would not keep any money in a PayPal account... I'd just transact the amount of funds needed at the time, only.

** Ohhh.. you mean the bank account.. yeah, keep the minimum amount needed to keep the account open, watch out for bank fees. That should it.


Good luck

[Martoch]

Originally posted by Socalgal
Personally, I would not keep any money in a PayPal account... I'd just transact the amount of funds needed at the time, only.

Exactly Socal...that's where a lot of people are getting "screwed" when their account is frozen. Why keep money there anyway? Download those dollars to your REAL bank account!

[SickPup404]

One other option is to use one of the "one-time" CC numbers. I just got a notice from Citibank (I think) that they offer credit card numbers for online purchases that can only be used once.