I am trying to renew a subscription for a magazine published in India,
by clicking a link in the renewal email sent to me for a friend who has
neither pc nor smartphone.
I know the email is genuine as I set up the original subscription a year
ago.
When I click on the link, the process begins with all the correct data -
address, telephone email but when I get to the final step I get the
message 'Access denied'

I have contacted the publisher and in his reply is this:
We request you to kindly clear the cookies and caches in your web
browser and try with alternate web browser with foreign Ip web address
to make the payment.

I have carried out the clearing of cookies and cache using both Chrome
and Edge, but with no success.

I don't understand 'try with foreign Ip address'
I am in the UK

Help please
--
Jim the Geordie

Jim the Geordie wrote:

> I don't understand 'try with foreign Ip address'

I think they're suggesting a VPN, easiest one to try is possibly the one
built into Opera

<https://www.opera.com/features/free-vpn>

In article <l1kpsvFmqnU2@mid.individual.net>, usenet@andyburns.uk
says...
>
> Jim the Geordie wrote:
>
> > I don't understand 'try with foreign Ip address'
>
> I think they're suggesting a VPN, easiest one to try is possibly the one
> built into Opera
>
> <https://www.opera.com/features/free-vpn>

Just tried that.
No difference.
If it helps - in all three browsers the drop down menu for Debit/Credit
Cards does not open - indeed if I click on it, the 'Pay Now' button
disappears
FWIW I deactivated all adblockers.

--
Jim the Geordie

On 1/27/2024 11:38 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
> Jim the Geordie wrote:
>
>> I don't understand 'try with foreign Ip address'
>
> I think they're suggesting a VPN, easiest one to try is possibly the one built into Opera
>
> <https://www.opera.com/features/free-vpn>

But won't that be detected somewhere else ?

I don't think usage of a geo-locating payment processor,
ensures the credit card company will "let a charge in India pass".

There could be "multiple gates to jump over".

Maybe you could phone your credit card company and tell
them "I will be making a payment to IndiaTimes in the
next ten minutes". Then when you VPN into that foreign
site, that will grease enough wheels for it to work.

*******

If a payment is denied, the order can "remain in motion",
so DONT fill in the web site details a second time,
or you will be charged twice. Ask me how I figured this out :-/

At the current time, it may be sufficient to phone the
credit card company and tell them of your payment plans,
and THEN the order that was denied, will magically move
forward and payment will be made without you seeing
that the payment was made. Then you'll need to figure out
a way to verify the payment was made. and WITHOUT filling
in the order a second time.

This is BOMB SQUAD material. That's what friction-free
commerce is all about -- it's a chess game and you are
the loser.

Maybe you would keep the credit card company support
on the phone for a few seconds, to see if the foreign
site pushes through the order immediately after the
barrier to payment is removed.

Paul

Jim the Geordie wrote:

> Andy Burns wrote:
>
>> <https://www.opera.com/features/free-vpn>
>
> Just tried that.
> No difference.

Did opera have an option to use an Indian IP addr?

Jim the Geordie wrote:
> I am trying to renew a subscription for a magazine published in India,
> by clicking a link in the renewal email sent to me for a friend who has
> neither pc nor smartphone.
> I know the email is genuine as I set up the original subscription a year
> ago.

When you sent up your original order, was it on the same IP address you
are now using?? I wonder if it is looking for the same sending
location? I can take a laptop to a different location and security
questions are asked because they detect I am communicating from a
different location.

> When I click on the link, the process begins with all the correct data -
> address, telephone email but when I get to the final step I get the
> message 'Access denied'
>
> I have contacted the publisher and in his reply is this:
> We request you to kindly clear the cookies and caches in your web
> browser and try with alternate web browser with foreign Ip web address
> to make the payment.
>
> I have carried out the clearing of cookies and cache using both Chrome
> and Edge, but with no success.
>
> I don't understand 'try with foreign Ip address'
> I am in the UK
>
> Help please
>

Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

> I am trying to renew a subscription for a magazine published in India,
> by clicking a link in the renewal email sent to me for a friend who has
> neither pc nor smartphone.
> I know the email is genuine as I set up the original subscription a year
> ago.
> When I click on the link, the process begins with all the correct data -
> address, telephone email but when I get to the final step I get the
> message 'Access denied'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geo-blocking

Others have mentioned using a VPN to circumvent geo blocking, but that
only works if the exit node of the VPN is within the region allowed by
the web site. Exiting the VPN in another blocked region still gets you
geo blocked.

> I have contacted the publisher and in his reply is this:
> We request you to kindly clear the cookies and caches in your web
> browser and try with alternate web browser with foreign Ip web address
> to make the payment.

This India publisher only accepts subscriptions via Internet? They have
no way to phone in an order, or to accept paper renews, like those
postcards shoved in a magazine that manage to survive postal delivery
but fall out when you read it?

I have hit sites that won't work with Firefox despite creating a new
profile, so no config changes, no about:config tweaks, and no add-ons.
I've had to use Chrome, but eventually got rid of it (and all the
remnant files and registry entries) to use MS Edge after they switched
from their EdgeHTML and J8 script interpreter to using the Blink
rendering engine and Javascript interpreter in Chrome (so MS Edge became
MS Edge-C). You are posting in a Windows 10 newsgroup, so supposedly
that is the OS under which you are running some web browser to connect
to the publisher's site, and that means you have MS Edge-C available.
Try it instead of whatever web browser you are using now.

We also don't know what version of which web browser you tried. Using
the User-Agent header to detect the client got deprecated a while ago,
but it is still often used by sites trying to tell which client you used
to connect to their site. You could changing User-Agent in your web
browser (using about:config in Firefox, or an add-on to select different
UA strings), but that won't magically embue an old web browser with
features available in later versions of the web browser. Rather than
test on the User-Agent header, the recommended method is to test on
features in the client to see if it will sufficiently support the web
site. For many sites, they want you to visit using a web browser within
its last 3 major versions to ensure yours will support their site.

You are posting in a Win10 newsgroup, so perhaps that is the same OS you
are running a web browser to visit the India site. If so, you should
have available MS Edge-C to try rather than whatever web browser you are
now trying to use.

Does your credit card company let you log into your account to see
transactions? Do they show rejected transactions? Could be the payment
process at the site is getting rejected the payment request, or isn't
getting a completed transaction. Since you are not in India when you
connect with your IP address elsewhere, you might have to call your
credit card company to get a temporary lenience to allow an
international transaction (as mentioned by Paul). When I have car
repairs over $1500, I have to call the card company to get a temporary
lenience to exceed the per-charge max for my account, and tell them how
long the lenience should survive, like 2 days to ensure I'm covered when
I go back the next day to make payment when it was refused the day
before when I was at the car shop. The India magazine probably doesn't
hit a per-charge safety max, but it may hit an out-of-bounds
transaction. The card company has safeties in attempting to bar
unauthorized transactions.

Jim the Geordie wrote:
> I am trying to renew a subscription for a magazine published in India,
> by clicking a link in the renewal email sent to me for a friend who has
> neither pc nor smartphone.
> I know the email is genuine as I set up the original subscription a year
> ago.
> When I click on the link, the process begins with all the correct data -
> address, telephone email but when I get to the final step I get the
> message 'Access denied'
>
> I have contacted the publisher and in his reply is this:
> We request you to kindly clear the cookies and caches in your web
> browser and try with alternate web browser with foreign Ip web address
> to make the payment.
>
> I have carried out the clearing of cookies and cache using both Chrome
> and Edge, but with no success.
>
> I don't understand 'try with foreign Ip address'
> I am in the UK
>
> Help please

The card Processing company (not the card issuing company) may be
denying your card because it is not registered as originating in India.
Does your friend have any trustworthy friends in India that could buy
the subscription for him?

Paul in Houston TX <Paul@Houston.Texas> wrote:

> Jim the Geordie wrote:
>> I am trying to renew a subscription for a magazine published in India,
>> by clicking a link in the renewal email sent to me for a friend who has
>> neither pc nor smartphone.
>> I know the email is genuine as I set up the original subscription a year
>> ago.
>> When I click on the link, the process begins with all the correct data -
>> address, telephone email but when I get to the final step I get the
>> message 'Access denied'
>>
>> I have contacted the publisher and in his reply is this:
>> We request you to kindly clear the cookies and caches in your web
>> browser and try with alternate web browser with foreign Ip web address
>> to make the payment.
>>
>> I have carried out the clearing of cookies and cache using both Chrome
>> and Edge, but with no success.
>>
>> I don't understand 'try with foreign Ip address'
>> I am in the UK
>>
>> Help please
>
> The card Processing company (not the card issuing company) may be
> denying your card because it is not registered as originating in India.
> Does your friend have any trustworthy friends in India that could buy
> the subscription for him?

His Indian friend doesn't have a computer or smartphone? Be unusual
that someone getting magazine subcriptions does not have a phone at all
to call the magazine's subscription office, or can find a phone
available elsewhere to call in for a subscription.

In article <i8i4wl5vi22b$.dlg@v.nguard.lh>, V@nguard.LH says...
>
> Paul in Houston TX <Paul@Houston.Texas> wrote:
>
> > Jim the Geordie wrote:
> >> I am trying to renew a subscription for a magazine published in India,
> >> by clicking a link in the renewal email sent to me for a friend who has
> >> neither pc nor smartphone.
> >> I know the email is genuine as I set up the original subscription a year
> >> ago.
> >> When I click on the link, the process begins with all the correct data -
> >> address, telephone email but when I get to the final step I get the
> >> message 'Access denied'
> >>
> >> I have contacted the publisher and in his reply is this:
> >> We request you to kindly clear the cookies and caches in your web
> >> browser and try with alternate web browser with foreign Ip web address
> >> to make the payment.
> >>
> >> I have carried out the clearing of cookies and cache using both Chrome
> >> and Edge, but with no success.
> >>
> >> I don't understand 'try with foreign Ip address'
> >> I am in the UK
> >>
> >> Help please
> >
> > The card Processing company (not the card issuing company) may be
> > denying your card because it is not registered as originating in India.
> > Does your friend have any trustworthy friends in India that could buy
> > the subscription for him?
>
> His Indian friend doesn't have a computer or smartphone? Be unusual
> that someone getting magazine subcriptions does not have a phone at all
> to call the magazine's subscription office, or can find a phone
> available elsewhere to call in for a subscription.

My English friend does not have a pc or smartphone.
Not sure he has any Indian friends

--
Jim the Geordie

> Jim the Geordie wrote:
>
>> My English friend does not have a pc or smartphone.
>> Not sure he has any Indian friends

English. Does that mean he is a Brit, American, Aussie, or what?

Regardless of ethnicity, your friend can't find a phone? Doesn't need
to be a smartphone. A dumb phone will work to call in a subscription.
A payphone would work. A phone at his workplace. A phone at a local
bar. How about his non-Indian friends? This friend has no means of
electronic communications? Just his mouth? How about him/her visiting
a local store to buy a pre-paid smartphone?

I take it you do the ordering because your non-Indian friend in India
doesn't have a credit card. How about he/she gets a pre-paid card? Or
a debit card from his bank?

What is the name of the India magazine (the URL to their web site)?

In article <1nqucy3f5jc6g.dlg@v.nguard.lh>, V@nguard.LH says...
>
> > Jim the Geordie wrote:
> >
> >> My English friend does not have a pc or smartphone.
> >> Not sure he has any Indian friends
>
> English. Does that mean he is a Brit, American, Aussie, or what?

He is ENGLISH. I am ENGLISH. We both live in a country called ENGLAND!
>
> Regardless of ethnicity, your friend can't find a phone? Doesn't need
> to be a smartphone. A dumb phone will work to call in a subscription.
> A payphone would work. A phone at his workplace. A phone at a local
> bar. How about his non-Indian friends? This friend has no means of
> electronic communications? Just his mouth? How about him/her visiting
> a local store to buy a pre-paid smartphone?

He does not want a snartphone. You might be surprised at the number of
prople, particularly elderly who don't want a smartphone. (Fear of the
unknown I surmise) Which is why he wants me to do this AND the fact that
the renewal came to my address, as that's where I originally signed up
on.
>
> I take it you do the ordering because your non-Indian friend in India

There is NO _non-English_ friend in India

> doesn't have a credit card. How about he/she gets a pre-paid card? Or
> a debit card from his bank?
>
Yes he has a debit card but I cannot get to the point on the webpage
where I can enter it

> What is the name of the India magazine (the URL to their web site)?

https://www.thehindu.com/
The magazine in question is called FRONTLINE (their capitals not mine)

--
Jim the Geordie

Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

> In article <1nqucy3f5jc6g.dlg@v.nguard.lh>, V@nguard.LH says...
>>
>>> Jim the Geordie wrote:
>>>
>>>> My English friend does not have a pc or smartphone.
>>>> Not sure he has any Indian friends
>>
>> English. Does that mean he is a Brit, American, Aussie, or what?
>
> He is ENGLISH. I am ENGLISH. We both live in a country called ENGLAND!

So you and your friend are Brits. To non-Brits, English is a language
common in multiple countries.

>> Regardless of ethnicity, your friend can't find a phone? Doesn't need
>> to be a smartphone. A dumb phone will work to call in a subscription.
>> A payphone would work. A phone at his workplace. A phone at a local
>> bar. How about his non-Indian friends? This friend has no means of
>> electronic communications? Just his mouth? How about him/her visiting
>> a local store to buy a pre-paid smartphone?
>
> He does not want a snartphone.

I already said "doesn't need to be a smartphone".

> You might be surprised at the number of prople, particularly elderly
> who don't want a smartphone.

Your friend fears a dumb cellular phone, too? My mother-in-law lives in
a retirement community, and there are lots of old farts there using dump
cellular phones.

Afraid of landline phones, too? While I have smartphones, I also have
dumb phones to carry when doing labor, like mowing the lawn, digging a
trench for French drains, reroofing, putting up gutters, carpentry, auto
repair, etc, or anywhere I don't want to imperil my expensive
smartphones. I also have a landline at home (not old POTS, but a
digital channel via interior POTS attached to cable modem to my ISP's
voice service). Even after having my ISP's digital voice service, I
still had POTS for many overlapped years. My neighbors have phones.
There are lots of places with landline phones. Availability might be
sparse if your friend lives out in the boonies. Even in the boonies,
aren't there landline phones at the railroad stations?

My elderly mother didn't want a smartphone, but she could still manage
using a dumb phone, and landline phones whether they used POTS, VOIP, or
digital (she didn't know the difference).

> the renewal came to my address, as that's where I originally signed up
> on.

Is the renewal much cheaper than a new subscription?

>> What is the name of the India magazine (the URL to their web site)?
>
> https://www.thehindu.com/
> The magazine in question is called FRONTLINE (their capitals not mine)

Call the 800 number posted at the top of:

https://pay.hindu.com/esubspay/

to phone in a subscription. You could try their e-mail at
customercare@thehindu.co.in but I suspect a phone call will be easier,
especially since your prior [e-mail] contact with them gave you a
gobblety gook response.

When I go to:

https://pay.hindu.com/esubspay/Subscription

and click on "The Hindu", a page comes up saying "Thank you for your
interest in The Hindu. Regret that we do not have a subscription offer
for this edition/location." It looks like they employ geo-fencing.
Maybe their regional wall wasn't up a year ago when you started the
prior subscription. There is a "Here" link to submit a request to their
news agents which goes to:

https://forms.thehindu.co.in/kyr/

but I'd try their 800 number first. Besides your friend's card number,
you should have ready the name on the card, expiration date, and the CVV
number. The same info needed when making any phone or online order.

In article <MPG.401f4001c79554b49896e7@paganini.bofh.team>, Jim the Geordie
wrote...
>
> I am trying to renew a subscription for a magazine published in India,
> by clicking a link in the renewal email sent to me for a friend who has
> neither pc nor smartphone.
> I know the email is genuine as I set up the original subscription a year
> ago.
> When I click on the link, the process begins with all the correct data -
> address, telephone email but when I get to the final step I get the
> message 'Access denied'
>
> I have contacted the publisher and in his reply is this:
> We request you to kindly clear the cookies and caches in your web
> browser and try with alternate web browser with foreign Ip web address
> to make the payment.
>
> I have carried out the clearing of cookies and cache using both Chrome
> and Edge, but with no success.
>
> I don't understand 'try with foreign Ip address'
> I am in the UK
>
> Help please

"Access Denied" suggests to me that an attempt is being made to read or write a
location and that it is failing because of a permissions issue. I'd have
thought a declined transaction would be signalled with a more appropriate error
message. So maybe there's a glitch in the client-side code, the server-side
code, or you're being denied a download of some component due to localisation
or language?

If you're using a standard common browser, I'd think the responsibility for
fixing this is firmly with the publisher.

It's a long shot, but if you navigate to the start of the process, then tap F12
to bring up the Development Tools window, then follow the steps as before you
*might* see an indication in the DT window where the problem lies. You're very
unlikely to 'damage' anything (though if you very aggressively fool around with
the locally running code you might just manage to order 100 subscriptions).
Look for Errors in the Console - though lots of websites that appear to run
correctly still have errors detected.

--

Phil, London

On Sun, 28 Jan 2024 09:52:08 -0000, Jim the Geordie <jim@jimXscott.co.uk> wrote:

>In article <1nqucy3f5jc6g.dlg@v.nguard.lh>, V@nguard.LH says...
>>
>> > Jim the Geordie wrote:
>> >
>> >> My English friend does not have a pc or smartphone.
>> >> Not sure he has any Indian friends
>>
>> English. Does that mean he is a Brit, American, Aussie, or what?
>
>He is ENGLISH. I am ENGLISH. We both live in a country called ENGLAND!

It would have been interesting to see how you get on after following the advice
from Andy Burns to use a VPN and *select an exit node in India*. I saw that you
tried to use a VPN but I didn't see any mention of where your exit node was
located. I may have missed it.

Jim the Geordie wrote:
> In article <1nqucy3f5jc6g.dlg@v.nguard.lh>, V@nguard.LH says...
>>
>>> Jim the Geordie wrote:
>>>
>>>> My English friend does not have a pc or smartphone.
>>>> Not sure he has any Indian friends
>>
>> English. Does that mean he is a Brit, American, Aussie, or what?
>
> He is ENGLISH. I am ENGLISH. We both live in a country called ENGLAND!
>>
>> Regardless of ethnicity, your friend can't find a phone? Doesn't need
>> to be a smartphone. A dumb phone will work to call in a subscription.
>> A payphone would work. A phone at his workplace. A phone at a local
>> bar. How about his non-Indian friends? This friend has no means of
>> electronic communications? Just his mouth? How about him/her visiting
>> a local store to buy a pre-paid smartphone?
>
> He does not want a snartphone. You might be surprised at the number of
> prople, particularly elderly who don't want a smartphone. (Fear of the
> unknown I surmise) Which is why he wants me to do this AND the fact that
> the renewal came to my address, as that's where I originally signed up
> on.
>>
>> I take it you do the ordering because your non-Indian friend in India
>
> There is NO _non-English_ friend in India
>
>> doesn't have a credit card. How about he/she gets a pre-paid card? Or
>> a debit card from his bank?
>>
> Yes he has a debit card but I cannot get to the point on the webpage
> where I can enter it
>
>> What is the name of the India magazine (the URL to their web site)?
>
> https://www.thehindu.com/
> The magazine in question is called FRONTLINE (their capitals not mine)

I entered a fake email address and was taken to the payment page.
I did not try to enter card numbers; however, it asked for payment in
USD. It knows I am USA and probably where in my neighborhood, too.
What currency type does it ask of you?

On 28/01/2024 09:52, Jim the Geordie wrote:
>
> Yes he has a debit card but I cannot get to the point on the webpage
> where I can enter it
>

Probably they don't accept debit cards. Some UK banks may not allow
direct foreign payments for security reasons. They don't seem to accept
PayPal so you are stuck. Either use a credit card or simply browse their
website and read 5 items at a time and then clear the cookies and change
the IP address and read another 5 items. You can continue doing this and
even create pdf files for offline reading.