michael
Kiva Supporter
Glen Allen, VA
Gender: 
Posts: 273
The camera adds 10 pounds. 8 cameras are on me.
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« on: March 28, 2007, 07:12:18 AM » |
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I am an newbie but I immediately saw the inherent value in this. So I signed up, selected four applicants, saw them in my "Basket" and Checked Out using Paypal. Paypal sent an email receipt. So far so good, right? This wasn't for major cash, but I want to take it slow until I feel more comfortable with the org's integrity, etc.
So anyway, Paypal has taken the funds from AMEX. But now I can find no reference to my activity on the Kiva site.... Basket empty, Portfolio empty, etc. It's as if I were still merely signed up and screening profiles without having funded anything.
So is there someplace to see which loans have been made using (in part) my funds? I did not write down the applicants' names, I assumed they'd show up in the portfolio section.
I've used that site's contact address but assume they are swamped. Any suggestions? Am I looking in the wrong places? Or does this black hole really exist until eventual repayment by the borrowers? Or does it take days / weeks for the site to update my activity?
Thanks for any reply.
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« Last Edit: April 30, 2007, 02:08:55 PM by michael »
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Kivafriends.org scrambled and respelled is "Risk And Forgive." Of course, it also can be respelled "Asked For Virgin" and "Darer of Vikings" and even "Vinegar For Kids" but those are a lot less interesting.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Smack a man upside the head with a fish and you have his complete attention.
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Joe
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« Reply To This #1 on: March 28, 2007, 08:41:44 AM » |
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Welcome to the forum, Michael! And thanks for signing up at Kiva.
When did you make the loans? I've had multiple loans at once take a little while to show up on my portfolio. Not sure if it's a little glitch or something but eventually they would show up after a few hours. If you did it today then hopefully your activity is displaying on your portfolio by now, if not very soon.
Also, did you get any confirmation e-mails from Kiva? They usually send out thank you messages for each business you lend to separately from the PayPal confirmation. The subject line of those is usually Your Name, thanks from Kiva and contains information about your loans.
Kiva is good about replying to e-mails so you'll get a response soon.
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Joe
Administrator
KivaFriends.org
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Julia
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« Reply To This #2 on: March 28, 2007, 09:23:20 AM » |
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All of my loans showed up right away in my portfolio (which doesn't mean there isn't a glitch sometimes and I have been lucky). Do you have two accounts perhaps?
I would contact Kiva about it today if its still not there.
They are great about responding, even though there are so few of them. (I think there are only 7 people in the office?)
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I get up in the morning determined to both change the world and to have one hell of a good time. Sometimes, this makes planning the day difficult.
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michael
Kiva Supporter
Glen Allen, VA
Gender:
Posts: 273
The camera adds 10 pounds. 8 cameras are on me.
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« Reply To This #3 on: March 28, 2007, 09:44:51 AM » |
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hmm..... well, it has only been about 24 hours. Perhaps they got buried by responses to the NYT article, etc. I'll wait until tomorrow to bother the staff again - maybe they'll catch up with new business or reply to my email from yesterday afternoon. But it does raise a little concern to hear that I should have received four emails yesterday from them (one from each loan.) The only thing I actually got was a registration confirmation from the site. I'd hat eto think the money is just "spinning in infinity" between Paypal and Kiva.
It's good to hear that there are others here who have been involved with Kiva for a while - helps to allay any concerns.
Tomorrow, then.......
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Kivafriends.org scrambled and respelled is "Risk And Forgive." Of course, it also can be respelled "Asked For Virgin" and "Darer of Vikings" and even "Vinegar For Kids" but those are a lot less interesting.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Smack a man upside the head with a fish and you have his complete attention.
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Joe
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« Reply To This #4 on: March 28, 2007, 11:02:02 AM » |
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I've gotten into the habit of lending to one business at a time since those show up instantly. If I'm doing more than one, I'll fund one then go back to the site and start the process again for the other. Back in January I did 2 at once and I think only one showed up instantly on my portfolio. The other took about a little while but it eventually showed up.
I'm sure Kiva will track things down for you, Michael. It's a growing but small operation that does have the occasional glitch. The last one I remember was the broken HTML codes on lender pages. They just fixed that.
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Joe
Administrator
KivaFriends.org
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randulo
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« Reply To This #5 on: March 28, 2007, 01:25:57 PM » |
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I'm sure Kiva will track things down for you, Michael. It's a growing but small operation that does have the occasional glitch. The last one I remember was the broken HTML codes on lender pages. They just fixed that.
The Kiva site has been very slow serving for the past several hours (perhaps the NYT article caused this?) There is a real explosion in this field, finally something good comes out a Internet buzz! Snakes on a Plane didn't do it for me  |
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optimistic.bob
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« Reply To This #6 on: March 28, 2007, 01:56:30 PM » |
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I read on the Yahoo forum that they had done $78K in loans within hours of the NYT article. That is 3120 loans of $25. Wow!
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Joe
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« Reply To This #7 on: March 28, 2007, 02:50:08 PM » |
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That is great to hear! By the way, the graphic on the site has updated. They are now at...  |
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Joe
Administrator
KivaFriends.org
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michael
Kiva Supporter
Glen Allen, VA
Gender:
Posts: 273
The camera adds 10 pounds. 8 cameras are on me.
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« Reply To This #8 on: March 29, 2007, 06:40:13 PM » |
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Update: After a third email to Kiva, this one today, I got a name and a number from Kiva and spoke to Anushka, the poor soul that is handling all their email. Apparently, they got swamped this week. Anyway, they have notice that my money got there (they show my account with a positive balance) but have not received the actual transfer from Paypal (in another place they show me as a zero balance account). Anushka is at a loss to explain this. None of my funds were credited to the borrowers since the money, um, never arrived. But it left my credit card, so it arrived but they don't see it so it didn't arrive but.......... So Kiva is looking into it. In the meantime, the money is in limbo. I told her that I'd give it two weeks before I challenged the charge and simply started over. She was not pleased with this "final solution" but was professional in her promise to resolve it and get back to me. So I am not really participating yet. You may now begin to shun me.  |
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Kivafriends.org scrambled and respelled is "Risk And Forgive." Of course, it also can be respelled "Asked For Virgin" and "Darer of Vikings" and even "Vinegar For Kids" but those are a lot less interesting.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Smack a man upside the head with a fish and you have his complete attention.
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optimistic.bob
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« Reply To This #9 on: March 30, 2007, 06:28:50 AM » |
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I have had issues with PayPal payments at Kiva and other more commercial ventures. In two instances here, I saw funds in my portfolio but PayPal wasn't charging to my cc, as I had instructed, (or thought I had) but rather doing a bank electronic fund transfer so Kiva was really left waiting for PayPal to clear funds. With the millions of transactions through PayPal and the thousands through Kiva I guess we could expect some glitches. Welcome to the forum - if you continue to be as positive and supportive as your posts suggest - you are surely a Kiva friend.
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michael
Kiva Supporter
Glen Allen, VA
Gender:
Posts: 273
The camera adds 10 pounds. 8 cameras are on me.
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« Reply To This #10 on: April 03, 2007, 05:26:54 PM » |
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Midweek update. Nothing has changed as yet. I still await some change on the website to show that Kiva has the cash so I can lend it.  I will wait til late NEXT week to bug Anushka again. Until then, my C-note hangs in limbo. Start the party without me folks, I'll catch up. |
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Kivafriends.org scrambled and respelled is "Risk And Forgive." Of course, it also can be respelled "Asked For Virgin" and "Darer of Vikings" and even "Vinegar For Kids" but those are a lot less interesting.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Smack a man upside the head with a fish and you have his complete attention.
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Joe
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« Reply To This #11 on: April 04, 2007, 01:52:13 PM » |
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There are plenty of drinks at the party with your name on them, Michael. I hope they take care of this for you soon. Thanks for continuing to give Kiva a chance despite what happened. Hopefully it's not happening often. I'd hate to think some people tossing their hands up and walking away if their money hung in limbo.
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Joe
Administrator
KivaFriends.org
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michael
Kiva Supporter
Glen Allen, VA
Gender:
Posts: 273
The camera adds 10 pounds. 8 cameras are on me.
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« Reply To This #12 on: April 10, 2007, 10:04:04 AM » |
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Midweek update..... Sent another email to Anushka on Friday, no reply as yet. I am afraid that at the end of this week I am going to have to challenge the credit card transaction and punt. As much as I like the idea of Kiva and microlending, the firm's lack of response or resolution to a customer problem speaks louder than its marketing efforts. It's been two weeks since I made my payment and twelve days since I spoke to Anushka, and no one there seems concerned that it is showing up on their system as received but not credited to my portfolio.
I know each of you has had a good experience with Kiva, and I wish I could say the same. In three or four days if I hear nothing and see nothing on My Portfolio, I'll know it wasn't meant to be.
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Kivafriends.org scrambled and respelled is "Risk And Forgive." Of course, it also can be respelled "Asked For Virgin" and "Darer of Vikings" and even "Vinegar For Kids" but those are a lot less interesting.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Smack a man upside the head with a fish and you have his complete attention.
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Fred
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« Reply To This #13 on: April 10, 2007, 11:50:31 AM » |
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Michael,
I'm really sorry about your problem and I can understand your frustration. But please don't think that no one at Kiva cares. The fact is, they are snowed under.
I had the opposite problem. I'd never used PayPal, so I signed up with them so I could loan to Kiva. Over the next few days I made sereval individual loans, rather than several together in a basket. Being new to PayPal, all of those transactions raised a flag, and PayPal froze my account until they could verify I was legitamate.
PayPal said they would send a letter to my address, with a code, so I could reactivate my PayPal account. For some reason, it took several of weeks for me to get the letter. Meanwhile, since PayPal hadn't received a response from me, they credited all of my Kiva payments back to my credit card.
So for about 2 months, my Kiva portfolio showed I had lots of loans that I'd never actually funded. It took Kiva 2 months to sort it out and rebill me, and that was after I contacted them. By then, being ok in PayPal's system, I made one large payment to cover them all. Since then, I haven't had any other problems. Please don't give up!
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Ramón
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« Reply To This #14 on: April 10, 2007, 12:58:08 PM » |
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Michael, sorry I didn't read your message before. I just PM'd you with the contact information of Fiona Ramsey, who is Kiva's operations manager. She should be able to resolve this for you...
Thanks,
Ramon
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"pecuniam do mutuam, ergo sum"
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michael
Kiva Supporter
Glen Allen, VA
Gender:
Posts: 273
The camera adds 10 pounds. 8 cameras are on me.
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« Reply To This #15 on: April 19, 2007, 07:40:56 AM » |
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Midweek update.... Next week it will be a whole month since I sent money to Kiva thru Paypal and since it was received by Kiva but not made available to make loans with. I emailed Fiona (thanks for the assist, Ramon!) last Friday. No response. Called Kiva yesterday, Fiona was out for the day. Will try again today. Will also try Anushka again today if Fiona is still out. After today, I am on vacation for 10 days. I am entertaining wagers and giving great odds to anyone here who believes Kiva will do anything to address the issue in my absence unless I call to harrass them from Key West. Slightly less odds but still taking bets as to whether calling them from Key West will even do any good. Talk to you folks when I get back. |
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Kivafriends.org scrambled and respelled is "Risk And Forgive." Of course, it also can be respelled "Asked For Virgin" and "Darer of Vikings" and even "Vinegar For Kids" but those are a lot less interesting.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Smack a man upside the head with a fish and you have his complete attention.
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michael
Kiva Supporter
Glen Allen, VA
Gender:
Posts: 273
The camera adds 10 pounds. 8 cameras are on me.
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« Reply To This #16 on: April 30, 2007, 02:13:59 PM » |
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Guess who has money to lend? ME!!!!!!!!!!!
I got a very nice email from Anushka today with a resolution. While a month-plus really IS too long to resolve a technical issue, it is time to let it pass and make some loans.
So look out, folks, there's a fat man getting ready to jump into the pool!
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Kivafriends.org scrambled and respelled is "Risk And Forgive." Of course, it also can be respelled "Asked For Virgin" and "Darer of Vikings" and even "Vinegar For Kids" but those are a lot less interesting.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Smack a man upside the head with a fish and you have his complete attention.
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Ramón
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« Reply To This #17 on: April 30, 2007, 03:17:37 PM » |
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Good to hear that it *finally* worked out! Please let us know who you are going to lend to in a follow-up post...
Maybe some people will feel enticed to match your investment!
--Ramon
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"pecuniam do mutuam, ergo sum"
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Julia
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« Reply To This #18 on: April 30, 2007, 03:44:06 PM » |
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Yah, I'm so glad Micheal.
I'll match your loan if you want.
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I get up in the morning determined to both change the world and to have one hell of a good time. Sometimes, this makes planning the day difficult.
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michael
Kiva Supporter
Glen Allen, VA
Gender:
Posts: 273
The camera adds 10 pounds. 8 cameras are on me.
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« Reply To This #19 on: April 30, 2007, 05:18:07 PM » |
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« Last Edit: May 01, 2007, 08:08:03 AM by michael »
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Kivafriends.org scrambled and respelled is "Risk And Forgive." Of course, it also can be respelled "Asked For Virgin" and "Darer of Vikings" and even "Vinegar For Kids" but those are a lot less interesting.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Smack a man upside the head with a fish and you have his complete attention.
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Julia
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« Reply To This #20 on: May 01, 2007, 12:22:21 PM » |
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Wow, they went fast. I didn't get in. What was I doing? Sleeping? Planning a WAY COOL JUNE 6th event at the Santa Monica Pier for all KIVA enthusiasts?
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I get up in the morning determined to both change the world and to have one hell of a good time. Sometimes, this makes planning the day difficult.
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Wood Fairy Glenda
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« Reply To This #21 on: May 01, 2007, 01:46:36 PM » |
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Note to Julia - I had the same experience, but the one I had really wanted (Bolivia) had someone give up on what was in their basket, so I had a second chance.
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Wood Fairy Glenda
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Marley
Kiva Supporter
Saint George, VT
Gender: 
Posts: 26
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« Reply To This #22 on: May 01, 2007, 06:03:59 PM » |
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Congratulations on finally being able to make your loans! I would have been incredibly frustrated if I'd had your experience.
I made my first loans about a month ago. Now I'm excited to see if there are repayments made soon.
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