Account Changes (LL Blog)

[Ailsa Muliaina]

I only kept a dollar balance to cover tier/premium, so I'll just cash out anything I have before August 1st and see how much info Tilia wants to verify my ID for future cash outs. There's a limit to the hoops I'm willing to jump through for SL cash outs. The inactivity fee isn't going to affect me, but I still think it's a pretty crappy thing to do. But with LL it's not really a surprise to see changes like that.

 

[Sid]

 

[Kalel]

so if you have money in this account when it goes inactive after 12 months.. it will take your money month 13 onward til it reaches zero... as long as there is nothing sitting in this account nothing will happen when it goes inactive.

i don't fully understand why it's such a big deal... just like maintaining a bank account or reward system account...(rewards point vanish after a year... bank accounts accrues fees for going dormant and eventually turned over to the state treasure after 3-5 years)

this is just LL is letting someone else take care of the paperwork so they don't have to. (and we have to follow their rules.)

this account only hold Virtual USD or tokens... so either keep it in Linden form or Withdraw... Keep your account tidy like a functioning adult and don't let it go Dormant.

Pulled from Tilia:

3.4. Fees
You agree to pay the applicable fees listed on our Fee Schedule published on the Website (”Fees”) for use of the Tilia Services. All Fees are charged at the time we process a transaction and are applied to the payment method you select. We reserve the right to change our Fees upon thirty (30) days’ advance notice. By continuing to use the Tilia Service after a change in the Fees, you hereby agree to such change. All Fees, charges, and payments collected or paid through the Payment Services are denominated in US dollars.



If you have funds in your Stored Value Balance and have not made any transfers to or from or otherwise accessed your Stored Value Balance for a period of twelve (12) months, your Stored Value Balance will be deemed an “Inactive Account.” Other forms of access besides a transfer include, for example, a balance inquiry or accessing your Account. Unless prohibited by applicable law, we reserve the right to deduct from any Stored Value Balance that is an Inactive Account a fee in the amount of the lower of (i) the amount set forth in our Fee Schedule or (ii) the balance of funds in the Inactive Account (the “Inactivity Fee”). The Inactivity Fee will be charged each successive month for as long as the Stored Value Balance is an Inactive Account.

We will provide you notice, in the form of an email to the email address you have registered with us at least three (3) days before any Inactivity Fee is deducted from your Inactive Account.

We will deduct an Inactivity Fee from your Stored Value Balance each month until one of the following events occurs:

1. you make a transfer of funds into or out of, or otherwise access, your Stored Value Balance, such that it is no longer an Inactive Account; or
2. the balance of your Inactive Account reaches zero; or
3. you process a credit from your Stored Value Balance to a permitted account as described in Section 3.3.3 above.

For avoidance of doubt, you may process a credit or make payments to the relevant Provider out of your Stored Value Balance at any time, even if your Stored Value Balance is an Inactive Account.

 

[Beebo Brink]

This is basically my question. I never cash out but do sell L$ to cover my yearly sub.

As far as I can tell from what I've read, selling Lindens doesn't qualify as a "processed credit" transaction. You only need to provide the ID information to request that your USD balance is sent to you. Doesn't apply if you just let the USD sit in your account.

To avoid the inactivity fee, sell your Lindens close to the date your Premium fee is due, and don't keep an USD balance beyond what you need for that withdrawal.

Now I can go back to ignoring SL.

 

[Cristiano]

I'm confused on why this change is such a big deal - at some point in the past to continue cashing out I had to provide a copy of my driver's license. How is this different?

 

[Beebo Brink]

I'm confused on why this change is such a big deal - at some point in the past to continue cashing out I had to provide a copy of my driver's license. How is this different?

It's not really, but LL has knack for making simple things seem more complex than they are so people are confused.

Probably the biggest misinterpretation I've seen is that people who sell Lindens and keep USD in their account think that this is a credit processing transaction that requires identification, which would be a major change. As far as I can tell, that's not the case. People who are pulling money out of SL and taking it home already do this, so again, no real change.

And if you're selling Lindens to pay for Premium, you're going to avoid the activity fee just by this single transaction.

 

[Amity Slade]

Linden Lab, via Second Life, has been in the banking business while evading banking regulation for almost two decades. It's a feat that they got away with it for so long. Haven't they boasted that Second Life has a half-billion USD per year economy? Sooner or later that will be regulated, and it's honestly coming much later than sooner.

 

[Kalel]

It's not really, but LL has knack for making simple things seem more complex than they are so people are confused.

Probably the biggest misinterpretation I've seen is that people who sell Lindens and keep USD in their account think that this is a credit processing transaction that requires identification, which would be a major change. As far as I can tell, that's not the case. People who are pulling money out of SL and taking it home already do this, so again, no real change.

this could easily be step one in setting the ground work. its possible in the near future LL will make everything go through Tila.


"To post credit" or "process a credit" i think was tilas terminology... whoever wrote the orginal article didn't really take into consideration the meaning.. and of course people don't read... so all hell broke loose for no reason..

 

[Blaise Glendevon]

That doesn't change a heck of a lot.
I have a ton of alts.
If each one of them is assigned a mandatory Tilia account, then I have to make a point of logging in each one, or risk getting charged a fee for NOT using their service.

Fuck that -right in the damned ear.
And fuck Linden Lab as well -unless there's changes July 31st is my last day on the platform.

That is not what is being proposed.

 

[Blaise Glendevon]

Each Month??!!!!!! So LL slowly suck you dry if you don't use the account? Fuck...

That's standard practice for any kind of gift card, pre-paid gift debit card, or store credit in the US.

 

[Kara Spengler]

That doesn't change a heck of a lot.
I have a ton of alts.
If each one of them is assigned a mandatory Tilia account, then I have to make a point of logging in each one, or risk getting charged a fee for NOT using their service.

Fuck that -right in the damned ear.
And fuck Linden Lab as well -unless there's changes July 31st is my last day on the platform.

Same here, I have testing alts I have completely forgotten about.

 

[Kara Spengler]

Inactivity fees? WTF?

 

[Noodles]

Speaking of Alts, it almost would be more convenient if you could associate alts all on one payment account.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Inactivity fees? WTF?

If your testing alts don't have a USD balance, this doesn't apply to them.

Just chill out, everyone. The people who are most enraged by these changes are not even affected by them.

 

[Ailsa Muliaina]

Just noticed this here in the discussion thread on official forums:

I have already provided my personal info to Linden Lab in the past. Do I need to provide it again? Many of us have already provided such ID information for verification, are we exempt from having to provide it again because the information is already on record?

In general, most Residents will not need to resubmit the information if it has been previously provided. However, there may be some instances where Tilia may need to collect and verify the documentation again.

So with a bit of luck, maybe some of us won't have to re-verify ID. I'm still cashing out before 1st August just in case, but hopefully we won't need to re-send documents.

 

[Kara Spengler]

If your testing alts don't have a USD balance, this doesn't apply to them.

Just chill out, everyone. The people who are most enraged by these changes are not even affected by them.

What about premium accounts if we do not log in for a year though?

 

[Romana]

My understanding is that this appears to only affect residents that cash out. But then this made me wonder:



So, if I don't have a history of cashing out and I never intend to, why would a Tilia account be automatically associated my SL account? Another resident pointed out in the officials forums that the purchase of lindens is already powered by Tilia and has been or some time. That suggests my SL account is already associated with a Tilia account.

This article says that it's a move to comply with tightened United States regulations set up to combat fraud, laundering and terrorism financing. And although it's uncomfortable to have to submit personal documents to LL, it probably won't affect most residents in any major way. To me, it just has that Big Brother air to it and I really wish LL would learn to communicate better with the residents.

I've purchased lindens but I haven't gotten any emails about Tilla, or anything else besides the premium fee change and some new "perk.
Of course, I haven't bought lindens in quite some time; haven't needed to since I sold my old land.

 

[Wesleytron]

What about premium accounts if we do not log in for a year though?

If your premium account has any USD in the account, when the time comes to renew your premium membership, LL will automatically take what it can from your USD balance to cover that cost. That will no doubt be seen as activity on your account and therefore the 'inactivity fee' will not apply.

If after a year of inactivity there is no USD in your account, the 'inactivity fee' will not apply. It only applies to USD left sitting idle in an account that has seen no activity within a year.

 

[Beebo Brink]

What about premium accounts if we do not log in for a year though?

If you have a Premium account with a USD balance, then at the very least, once a year, LL will apply that balance toward your annual fee. I'm pretty sure that counts as a transaction, so you're good for another year. If you're worried about it, don't leave a large USD balance stagnating in your account. Either cash out or spend it on Lindens. Only leave enough USD to cover your Premium fee.

ETA: Wesleytron and I posted almost simultaneously. Same message. This isn't a big deal.

ETA2: You really have to wonder why users are leaving large piles of USD stagnating in accounts. If you've got US$100 sitting in your SL account for years, ffs why? I'm really curious.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Meanwhile, it wouldn't surprise me if hundreds, if not thousands, of users who have left SL for good, also abandoned a few stray USD. Not enough money to cash out, too much trouble to buy Lindens and throw them at someone, so they just walked away from their 50 cents or $1.75 or $5 and never gave it another thought.

LL now has a way to recover those funds, which aren't doing anyone any good. After a year of inactivity, and an email warning of impending fees, LL starts nibbling away at these old balances. I say more power to them.