Caribou Help / FAQ
Please look for your question among the >200 questions in our FAQ before emailing us. Caribou aims to be 100% self-service. This helps keep our services affordable.
To use this Help Tree, choose the appropriate category and subcategories. If you are unable to find your question, use the Contact Us form located in the leaves of this tree. Thank you for your help.
Questions & Answers:
How do I pay? (Instructions for PayPal / Credit Card / Cheque / Transfer)
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How do I pay? (Instructions for PayPal / Credit Card / Cheque / Transfer)
Answer:
Please keep in mind all prices are in Canadian Dollars (CAD). We offer several payment options:
- Paypal
- Credit Card
- Cheque
- E-Transfer within Canada
- International E-Transfer
- Paypal or Credit Card
When you go to the Checkout page of the Online Shop, you click on the icons in the upper-right corner either for Paypal or one of the Credit cards. When you click on a credit card option it will open a new window where you can enter your credit card information and then click on 'Pay Now' to process the transaction. - Cheque
When you go to the Checkout page of the Online Shop, select ‘Cheque (+$5)’, and fill in your information, then click Pay by Selected Method to generate your Invoice. Save the Invoice and make a note of the Invoice Number. Caribou Coordinators can access this Invoice in their account under 'Online Shop Invoices'. Use the information on the invoice to create and send a cheque to us at our mailing address, below. A $5 fee plus any applicable taxes is included on the invoice. - E-Transfer Within Canada
When you go to the Checkout page of the Online Shop, select ‘E-Transfer Within Canada’, and fill in your information, then click Pay by Selected Method to generate your Invoice. Save the Invoice and make a note of the Invoice Number. Caribou Coordinators can access this Invoice in their account under 'Online Shop Invoices'. A $5 fee plus any applicable taxes is included on the invoice. Use the information on the invoice to send an e-transfer from a Canadian bank [email protected], attaching the invoice or the invoice number. - International E-Transfer
When you go to the Checkout page of the Online Shop, select ‘International E-Transfer’, and fill in your information, then click Pay by Selected Method to generate your Invoice. Save the Invoice and make a note of the Invoice Number. Caribou Coordinators can access this Invoice in their account under 'Online Shop Invoices'. A $20 fee plus any applicable taxes is included on the invoice. Use the information on the invoice to send an e-transfer from your bank to [email protected], attaching the invoice or the invoice number.
- Caribou Contests
- 2 McDonagh Crescent
- Thorold, Ontario, Canada
- L2V 4C3
I cannot pay through PayPal.
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I cannot pay through PayPal.
Answer:
Paypal does not offer its services to all countries. Please first make sure that your country has access to Paypal’s services.
If PayPal is not working, try the following in this order:- Try a different browser or computer.
- Try a different credit card.
- Send us a cheque – if it will not arrive in time, Contact Us and we will give you access before the payment arrives.
- Payment Action of Order is temporarily unavailable. Please try later or use other Payment Action.
- Order total is missing.
- The currencies of the shopping cart amounts must be the same.
- Item total is invalid.
- Shipping total is invalid.
- Handling total is invalid.
- Tax total is invalid.
- Invoice ID value exceeds maximum allowable length.
- We can’t process this transaction because you have not accepted your billing agreement.
- We can’t process this transaction because your billing agreement is disabled or inactive.
- This card has expired. Enter a valid date.
- The CSC is invalid. Enter a valid 3-4 digit code.
- AVS returned a response value of N. Your merchant account provider doesn’t accept this value. Contact them for a list of accepted codes.
- We can’t process this transaction. Contact PayPal Customer Service.
- This card expiration date is invalid. Enter a valid 2-digit month and a 4-digit year (MM/YYYY).
- You must submit a buyer IP with each API call.
- We don’t support this card. Select another one.
- You selected an unsupported value field.
- Enter the buyer's first name.
- Enter the buyer's last name.
- Billing address is missing. Enter the correct information.
- The city in the billing address is missing. Enter the correct information.
- The state in the billing address is missing. Enter the correct information.
- The country in the billing address is missing. Enter the correct information.
- The zip code in the billing address is missing. Enter the correct information.
- The card field is empty. Enter a valid card number.
- The total and item amounts don’t match. Re-enter the information.
- The card number is invalid. Enter a valid 14-15 digit number without dashes or spaces.
- We can’t process your transaction right now. Try again later.
- You entered an amount of zero. Enter a valid amount.
- We don’t support this currency code. Re-enter the correct information.
- The card type or card number is invalid. Re-enter the correct information.
- You already tied this invoice ID to another transaction. By default, invoice IDs are unique. To change this setting, log in to PayPal and go to Payment receiving preferences on the Profile page or contact Customer Service for more information.
- Your country filter declined this transaction. Log in to PayPal and change your risk settings.
- Your maximum amount filter declined this transaction. Log in to PayPal and change your risk settings.
- We’ve declined this transaction. Contact Customer Service for more information.
- You entered an invalid address. Re-enter the information.
- The card is restricted. Contact PayPal Customer Service.
- You entered an invalid email address. Re-enter the information.
- We couldn’t authorize this card. Try another card.
How will I know when Caribou has received my cheque?
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How will I know when Caribou has received my cheque?
Answer:
Once we have received the cheque and processed the purchase, a confirmation email will be sent to the email you provided in the Online Shop. However, you will not receive a second confirmation email if we lent the payment while the cheque was being delivered. If this is the case, we will let you know if we do not receive the cheque.
I want to send another cheque but cannot pay another cheque handling fee.
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I want to send another cheque but cannot pay another cheque handling fee.
Answer:
You do not have to pay a second cheque handling fee. Simply do the following:- correct the invoice with a pen by crossing out the cheque handling fee
- recalculate HST
- send a cheque for the reduced total, including a written note that this is the 2nd cheque that you send this year and therefore you cannot pay a second cheque handling fee.
Our cheque might not reach Caribou in time before the next contest.
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Our cheque might not reach Caribou in time before the next contest.
Answer:
If the next contest is the October contest, do not worry as participation is free for all levels. If your cheque is payment for later contests, or you are waiting for the payment to be processed to receive your access codes, Contact Us.
How can I get a receipt for my payment?
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How can I get a receipt for my payment?
Answer:
When you pay by credit card or PayPal, you should receive a confirmation of payment page that you can save for your records. If you missed it, or if you paid by cheque and want an invoice, Contact Us.
I want to buy X individual access codes. Do I have to purchase each one separately?
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I want to buy X individual access codes. Do I have to purchase each one separately?
Answer:
It is possible to purchase multiples of a product. This is easier with a Coordinator account:
If you are signed in as a Caribou Coordinator, when you follow the prompts in the Online Shop, you will be asked whether your purchase is for students who :
- 1) already have access codes : In this case you will be given a list of students registered to your Coordinator account, and you put a checkmark in the boxes of students you are making a purchase for. Then, when you click on an item in the Shop you select again which students this item is for.
2) do not have access codes yet : In this case you will be asked to specify the number of students. Then, when you click on an item in the Shop you select which students this item is for. You can even input the student names if you like, but this is optional (when the student signs in to write a contest their name and access code will be associated)
If there are few students, normally you can simply make several individual purchases. If you are paying for many individual students and would rather pay for all of them at once, there are currently 2 ways to complete such a purchase without a Coordinator account:
- Your students’ Caribou Coordinator (e.g. teacher) makes the invoice for you and gives you the invoice number so that you can enter it any pay for it by card or by cheque (in this case they must click ‘pay by cheque’). Your students’ Caribou Coordinator must have checked the box ‘Allow Third Party Payments’ in their account.
- You make a separate invoice for each access code purchased, but pay by cheque. Simply adjust the amount payable to the correct amount + HST, making a note for the number of individual codes you are purchasing. When we process the payment we will put the correct number of credits on your child(ren)’s Coordinator’s account.
My payment seemed to go through but I have not received confirmation.
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My payment seemed to go through but I have not received confirmation.
Answer:
It has happened, albeit rarely, where PayPal lags and payments are not communicated to the seller (Caribou) right away. Please wait a couple hours if possible to see if this is the issue. If it is not possible to wait, for example you need the purchase (school pass/ access codes) right away for a non-free contest, then Contact Us.
If you made a purchase multiple times because you thought it did not go through, or if you are not sure if your purchase went through, please Contact Us with details of your payment (email used, time, day, associated access code, product purchased) so we can refund you.
How do I get an invoice?
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How do I get an invoice?
Answer:
You can generate an invoice in the Online Shop. It will include our and your mailing addresses, the products to be purchased, and any applicable taxes or fees. In general, follow these steps to create and pay for an invoice:
- 1) Go to the Online Shop.
- 2) Click on the bottom button "Make a Purchase/ Get an Invoice".
- 3) Log in as Coordinator or Someone Else. For "Do you already have an Invoice Number...?" say 'No'
- 4) Select the options that best fit your situation (whether the purchase is for students or a whole school, whether they have access codes already or not, and so on)
- 5) Click on the product you would like to purchase > if necessary, select the students it is for > Add to Cart > Return to Shop if necessary to add other products > click on Cart > review purchase summary > click on Checkout / Create Invoice
- 6) Jot down the invoice number and pay with your preferred payment method: card/paypal, cheque, or e-transfer.
- 7) When you click on a credit card option it will open a new window where you can enter your credit card information and then click on 'Pay Now' to process the transaction. To pay by cheque or e-transfer, select your payment method and follow any instructions on screen. Then, click on Pay by Selected Method to generate the Invoice.
- Caribou Coordinators can access all the Invoices generated for their account when signed in on the page ‘Online Shop Invoices’.
I already have an invoice number. How do I pay for it?
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I already have an invoice number. How do I pay for it?
Answer:
An invoice number is a 9-digit number assigned when you generate an invoice in the Online Shop. You cannot re-use an invoice to make the same purchase more than once.
Here is how you can pay for an invoice:- 1) Go to the Online Shop.
- 2) Click on the bottom button "Make a Purchase/ Get an Invoice".
- 3) Log in as Coordinator or as Someone Else. For "Do you already have an Invoice Number...?" say 'Yes'.
- 4) Enter the invoice number. Review your purchase, then click on Checkout.
- 6) Pay with your preferred payment method: card/paypal, cheque, or e-transfer.
- 7) When you click on a credit card option it will open a new window where you can enter your credit card information and then click on 'Pay Now' to process the transaction. To pay by cheque or e-transfer, select the payment method and follow the instructions on screen, then click Pay by Selected Method to generate the Invoice.
I already generated an invoice, but I lost the number before I could pay.
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I already generated an invoice, but I lost the number before I could pay.
Answer:
Just create another invoice, we do not mind if there are unused invoices.
I am making the same purchase as last year. Can I re-use the invoice?
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I am making the same purchase as last year. Can I re-use the invoice?
Answer:
No, each invoice is tied to the year it was created for in our system. Please make another invoice in the Online Shop.
Can I pay over the phone?
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Can I pay over the phone?
Answer:
No, we do not handle payments over the phone. Please see the FAQ item ‘How do I pay? (Instructions for PayPal / Credit Card / Cheque / Transfer)’ for detailed instructions for each available payment method.
Was my payment for invoice XXXXXXXXX received?
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Was my payment for invoice XXXXXXXXX received?
Answer:
1) First, please log in to your account : if your payment was processed, you should have access to your products when you log in and see them under View Purchases.
- If your purchase was made for a Student account, sign into that Student account to access the purchase.
- If your purchase was made for a Coordinator account, sign into that Coordinator account to access the purchase.
- If your purchase was made for a School, then you can sign into either a Coordinator or Student account to access that purchase.
2) Please also check the bank account that was used to make the purchase: if payment was received, an amount should be debited for CARIBOU CONTESTS.
3) Please check your inbox for a confirmation email. If you purchased a new Access Code, it will be in this confirmation email. It is possible you did not receive the confirmation email if:- the email address you used was incorrect
- it was sent to your email’s spam folder or rejected. Please check whether this is the case, and add “@cariboutests.com” to your email whitelist.
If we received your payment, but you do not have access to your product, please Contact Us via email, giving as much information about your purchase as possible (e.g. invoice number, the payment date, payment method).
If in your bank account the payment was not debited, or you are unable to access that bank account (e.g. school account), please try the following first.
- For payments made by cheque: If your payment has not been received yet, but the next contest is a paid contest (November-May) and your cheque might not arrive on time, then please Contact Us so we can lend you payment in the meantime.
- For payments made by transfer: If you have not already done so, please remember to send an email to [email protected] with your invoice number so we can properly process your purchase.
- For payments made by card: It is rare but possible that there is a lag in our online payment system. Please wait a couple hours to see if the payment goes through. If not, your payment was probably unsuccessful. Please try again.
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