Q: My credit card is perfectly good but has been rejected. Why is this?

There can be a multitude of reasons for this, some of which, unfortunately, do not make much sense. Please bear in mind that Project Pee has no participation or control over the processing of credit cards for recurring subscriptions - this is handled on our behalf by CCBill. All personal information is processed by CCBill and not ourselves and we are not privy to your credit card or personal details.

A1: In the first instance, make sure that you have completed the join-up form correctly:

• You must use your correct name as shown on your card, not a nickname or your username.

• The address provided must be the one that matches your card details. For instance, if your card bill is sent to your office address, that is the address that you must enter on the form.

• Make sure that you select the correct country. For example, if you leave the country box as United States and enter a UK postcode the system will reject your form.

• Make sure that you select the correct type of credit card and complete the details carefully, including the expiry date and the CVV2 number.

A2: Unfortunately, not all card issuers are fully integrated into the international internet transaction system. This is especially true of small independent banks that are common in some countries, Germany and Italy in particular. Also cards issued in parts of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union often cannot be processed. Please contact your bank to check whether your card should work for internet transactions or not. If your bank cannot issue you with a card that can be used to make purchases on the internet, perhaps you may wish to consider applying for another card with another bank that does offer this facility, or check to see whether you can use one of our alternative subscription methods.

A3: Cards can be rejected because of previous activity on your card. For example, if there have been previous claims of misuse or if you have asked the card issuer to refund charges. In these cases the card is blocked and is unlikely to be accepted again for this type of Internet purchase. Cards can also be rejected if they have been used several times for subscriptions over a short period. In this case your card will probably be accepted a few hours later or the next day.

A4: Internet transaction processing systems are a relatively immature type of technology, and are extremely complex behind the scenes. No system is perfect, especially ones such as these, and as a result cards can be rejected for none of the above reasons - the system just seems to take a temporary "dislike" to a particular card. Again, in these cases the card will probably be accepted the next day.

Above all, we would like to emphasise that it is not Project Pee that has declined your membership; we welcome new members, but have to operate within the constraints of the card processing system, over which we have no direct control.