Nintendo

Around this time of year, Nintendo Online account demands payment for a year of service. As usual, we try to pay to give them business.

Last year we ran into a credit card issue where I had to change the credit card on file. It took a month for me to be able to use a credit card with their system. This year, we tried changing the credit card again to be able to pay. 5 days later after we called, still no response, no email, nothing.

I called. I was directed to buy gift cards and an online voucher for the account. We had already done this because we were directed to so by technical support. BTW, we did all of this last year as well.

You cannot use gift cards because after you enter the number, it prompts you to add a CC number for reoccuring payment. And because it wasn't accepting CCs, there is no way to be able to pay for your Nintendo Online account. The staff are only given talking points and there is nobody higher that you can go to. You just have to keep haning up until you get someone who can help.

I finally had to resort to saying that I was going to go to social media to see if anyone else was experiencing the issues and say that I was going to post my experience. All of a sudden, my problem could be fixed. I sat there dumbfounded. After 5 phone calls over a period of days, it took me saying that I would post on social media to get them to fix it.

Prior to that, I was getting a complete run around. There is something really stinking with the way that Nintendo build the backend of the Switch. I'm not going to go into conjecture on what it is, but it seems like a small team works on this and the people fielding the calls give people the run around. It's pathetic for a billion dollar company to have these problems.

They kept telling me it was my credit cards!

For 2 years! I could see it if it was the first time, but we ran into the same issue last year.

There was fraud on my credit card. So, I had to dispute charges on the card to get it closed and get a new card issued.

I went into my Nintendo account to change the card number to be able to renew my Nintendo Switch Online Family membership. First, I found out there was a ban on my account, due to the disputed charge of a whopping $34.99. I was also banned from entering a different card in place of the old one to be able to renew my membership for the year. So, I called, but little did I know that it would be 1 of about 50 times that I have had to call.

Each time, technical support would tell me a different story, some people flat out lied, and some people literally hung up. The technical support that is not equipped to do their jobs and they do not know what to do when someone asks questions that are not in their manual. Their manual is where their "skills" end. I don't even know if these people have even seen a Switch, that is how bad it is.

I do not think that they have a proper understanding of the pay system and different methods of payment. You'd think that people that were helping others would want to understand how things work and you would think that Nintendo would want to educate their tech support team on the flows, processes, and errors. There should be use cases/diagrams, etc. From my perspective, there is a huge gap between what is given to technical support and what is going on in the backend.

I got the ban lifted on my account and I was told that I was good to put in another card and renew. I tried that, I got the same error code. I was told to try eshop gift cards. I thought great, I have enough gift card amount, but when you try to pay for it with gift cards, it also asks you to input a credit card number so that they can set up recurring payments on a yearly basis.

I got an error when I tried to use the gift cards because it still wouldn't accept any credit card that I put in. You would think that support would know this, but they don't. They obviously have no Product people because a Product person would sit and think through every type of scenario and flow and they should test for it. Also, they could use that documentation to be able to educate tech support on what is going on in this instance.

Nobody could answer what was going on! I was told that it could take a couple of days. I finally called so many times they kicked me to a supervisor. The supervisor told me that it would take 30-45 days to resolve.

Differing stories every time. Each time that I called people would ask for different information. Sometimes I would call and have to give the same information over and over and over again. It was like they weren't documenting ANYTHING.

Today, I get an email that everything is resolved and they were going to close out the issue on their end. I call to find out if both issues were resolved or just the one. I give the case number. I get asked what is going on.

I said, I just gave you the case number and wanted to see if both issues were resolved. It doesn't get anymore basic.
The other thing - if the automated phone system asks you to input your case # to be routed to a supervisor, why are people asked the case number again? Also, each time that you call, the person has to put you on hold for at least 5 minutes to review your case. Not one call of mine out of the 50 calls were less than 30-45 minutes.

At one time I was on the phone for 110 minutes!
I have always been a Nintendo fan. I have had everything that they have created from the beginning. But what I am finding is that their backend services for the Switch seem antequated and it seems like only a select few have access to it. This is a huge problem.

There is such a gap between technical support to supervisors to the people who are actually doing the work. It also seems like their support/ticketing system is awful. I surely hope that the Switch 2 doesn't inherit these really poorly designed systems. Either they were built without a lot of thought, or they are just so old that they can't be worked with.

Either way - the customers, technical support, supervisors, etc., and everyone in between are having to pay the price because of bad design and plain greed for not wanting to make things better.

Shame on the execs at Nintendo.
I feel like a broken record today saying this - but I think that Nintendo should open up it's work policy to allow remote working and expand it's talent pool. Maybe broaden their horizons and be more diverse, rather than just hiring people in the pacific northwest.

Dear Nintendo professionals, good afternoon.

I am still unable to use any credit card on my Nintendo account. I have opened accounts in other countries where I have residency and bank accounts with cards issued by those countries, and in none of them am I allowed to make purchases.

I have bank accounts and Nintendo accounts in the USA, Brazil, and Argentina, and in none of them can I use any credit card.

I have tried dozens of cards, cancelled and requested new cards from banks, tried single-use or fixed-use virtual cards, tried physical cards, and so far, nothing.

Not only have you not solved the problem, but you also do not provide any explanation. You don't tell me if something might be wrong, you don't tell me if you simply don't allow me to use them because you don't like me, you don't tell me if it's prejudice against me, you don't tell me anything. You don't provide any decent contact channel, you don't care about customers who want to spend money with your company.

Do you realize this? I am trying to spend my money on your company and you won't let me do that.

What a complete disregard, it's lamentable. I await any explanation that is minimally plausible.

I can only conclude that Nintendo has some prejudiced reason for preventing me from spending my money on their company, because it is not possible that a world leader in games and technology cannot simply provide a coherent explanation of why they don't allow me to use any credit card.

This is a consumer disregard.

I have provided the console serial number, all the details of the dozens of cards I tried to use, account information, everything, and incredibly these incredible professionals responded to me as follows: "we cannot help you with this issue. We cannot share any more information,"... Can't you even say why you won't let me buy from your company?

Is that what you're going to tell me? It must be something prejudiced against me, it can only be.