Can't subscribe "not a valid payment method for a SOE customer in the United States."

I am trying to resubscribe to Vanguard. The card I had used for payment previously has expired and when I try to add a new one as a new payment source I get the following error: "The payment method you are trying to use is not a valid payment method for a SOE customer in the United States." This happens no matter what card I use, credit or debit, Visa or Mastercard. I managed to get a month's worth of gametime by having a friend in the US buy one of those cards, but I don't want to be doing that every time I want to subscribe. I have a support ticket open about it, the reference number is 120804-000261. When that hadn't been replied to for several days I tried a live chat support, and the reference number for that support ticket is 120807-001022. Here are some excerpts from my live support chat.

Him: Ok so right now SOE is in a huge transition of al our EU players to ProSieben. As of current we are not accepting EU credit/debit cards. As of now the option you have available to you would be a time card, Now we do not physically sell them in EU, but you can buy them online:

http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Gam...=soe+game+card"

Me:but I thought that Vanguard wasn't included in the ProSieben publishing deal?
Him: Not yet, but it is getting ready to move, that is why our billing for them is "offline" for European players.

Is Vanguard moving over to ProSieben or what? If not, why can't I use a non-US credit or debit card in order to subscribe? I'm sorry but having to buy a time card abroad every time I want to subscribe isn't practical or acceptable, and now that Vanguard has gone Free to Play subscribing this way makes you lose out on the 500 a month Station Cash included in the subscription.
I'm not sure what looking at the account will do - mine is set to a UK account (I'm from the UK so that is correct) according to this service rep, and to my account page, and to the prices shown in GBP when I try and subscribe.
Could somebody take a look at one or both of my support tickets please and offer me some support that doesn't amount to "here's a really incovenient workaround, sorry I can't be of more help"?

I have just tried again to resubscribe, this time using the Upgrade Now! button on the new Vanguard website (http://www.vanguardthegame.com/free.vm) and I get the exact same error.

I have just now discovered that I'm not even able to purchase Station Cash, not even when I try to use Paypal. I get the exact same error: "The payment method you are trying to use is not a valid payment method for a SOE customer in the United States. Please check the knowledge base for more information or contact Customer Support for assistance."
This occurs whether I try to purchase the cash on the website or in-game in Vanguard.
SOE, I am trying to give you money and I am unable to. That is very bad for your business.
This is not an issue isolated to just myself, there is another Vanguard player from Europe who is unable to give you money - both for a subscription or for Station Cash. You need to resolve this soon or you are going to have a lot of upset European customers and lose a lot of revenue, and potentially some of your playerbase.

Edit: This post came across a bit rude because of my frustration, and I just realised that I got a very nice reply from TSR-AlexS to the private message I sent him - he is looking into my support ticket and this issue. I apologise for the rudeness, but the point still stands: If Vanguard is not going to be a ProSiebenSat game like we are led to believe, but European players are unable to pay for subscriptions or station cash with SOE then revenue will be lost and players will be lost. I hope you guys can resolve this quickly.

I'm pasting this here just to keep the thread updated and also for information purposes for anyone having the same problem who finds the thread either by checking the forums or by googling the error message.
I received an update on my support ticket yesterday, it said the following:

Hello,

This is a mass email. I just wanted to update you and let you know that we have been working on this issue, and believe we are close to a solution. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have some good news, but it's hard to say. I'll let you know as soon as there is any news, but if you need anything in the mean time, go ahead and update this ticket and someone will answer as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.


Thank You,

Sorry Tufty, we've been swamped with lots of emails due to all the new transitions including Planetside2 Beta, Proseiben issues, and Vanguard going free to play. I will be reviewing your ticket soon so please check for an update. Thank you very much for your patience and understanding.

TSR-AlexS wrote:

Thanks for the reply AlexS. I have just had a second mass update on my support ticket regarding this issue. It is pasted below:

"Hello,

This is a mass email. At this time we believe we have repaired the functionality for you to be able to top up your Station Cash balance through your Steam Wallet. Also, you should be able to get game cards to work on your account if you have them. You will still be unable to place a credit card on the account, which you would need to purchase a membership. If that is what you need, and you have Station Cash, please update this ticket, and we'll see if we can find a workaround to get the Station Cash removed and give you membership time. Again, we apologize for the inconvenience.

If you are in need of any kind of further assistance, please let us know.

Thank You,"

As you can see, this is not in any way a solution for a Vanguard subscriber. I am not trying to top up Station Cash using Steam Wallet - I am not trying to play DC Universe Online. I am still unable to add a credit card to my account as stated (is this in particular EVER going to be resolved for European customers?) either for subscription purposes or for buying Station Cash. In addition, I am still unable to purchase Station Cash using Paypal. I get the same error as before.
The suggested workaround: using Station Cash in order to get membership time is both still impossible because I cannot buy Station Cash, and not a good solution at all. Those who can actually subscribe to the game that they want to pay for get 500 Station Cash with their subscription. So my solution is to buy 1000 SC (£8 worth, the same as a monthly subscription) which I can't even do anyway, and then have it removed from my account in order to give me a month's gametime whereas people who aren't having this problem pay that same amount for their monthly subscrription time AND get 500 SC.
Am I to take the above communication as an "all fixed!" solution because it definitely is not for somebody trying to play Vanguard. I understand that there is a lot going on at SOE at the moment but I don't consider this issue resolved.

I had the same problem, I was trying to take out the 12 month sub but got that error. I asked a GM in game and was told that P7S1 was now dealing with EU accounts and I had to speak to them about it. There isn't a Vanguard section on P7S1 website yet though.

First time I have ever wanted to sub to a game and can't give them my money, so for me, I'll guess I'll stay as F2P now as I wanted to sub with SOE as I trust them alot more than I do the other company.

*Note...the GM in game was as helpful as they could be, just nothing they could do anymore with the transfer already in motion.

A member of the support team has since informed me that a workaround has been put in place and it seems to be working now - I was able to add my debit card as a payment method to my account.
Even though VG is being transferred we should apparently still choose to play through SOE and on the US servers if we wish, using our existing accounts. That, combined with the workaround, means everything should be fine now for existing European customers.