Money: Avoiding Duplicate Payments When Communication Fails
  
PSS ID Number: Q148300
Article last modified on 08-19-1998
 
WINDOWS:3.0,3.0a,4.0,4.0a,5.0,98,99
 
WINDOWS
 

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The information in this article applies to:
 
 - Microsoft Money 99
 - Microsoft Money 98
 - Microsoft Money version 5.0 for Windows 95
 - Microsoft Money versions 4.0 and 4.0a for Windows 95
 - Microsoft Money versions 3.0, 3.0a
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SUMMARY
=======
 
If you receive a communication error during a call to Online Services,
Microsoft Money prompts you to complete the call with a message that
concludes with one of the following:
 
   Do you want to complete the call now?
 
   -or-
 
   Do you want to complete the communication now?
 
If you are sending electronic payment instructions in the call, you
should determine if Money has sent the instructions to Online
Services before troubleshooting the cause of the communications error.
 
If the instructions have been sent, you should contact your online
service provider (your bank or the online service company) to determine
if they have received the instructions and have scheduled the payments.
This step is required to make sure that you do not send duplicate
electronic payment instructions to Online Services.
 
MORE INFORMATION
================
 
Determining If Transaction Was Sent
-----------------------------------
 
If you receive a communication error, or an online session fails during
or after the sending stage, determine if Money has marked the payments
as sent.
 
In the Account Register, select the Epay transaction in question. If
Money considers the payment as sent, the fields in the transaction are
inactive and cannot be edited. If you can still edit the fields in the
transaction, you can safely allow Money to try to complete the call.
 
If you cannot edit the fields, you need to contact your online service
provider to determine if they received the electronic payment
instructions.
 
Provider Received the Instructions
----------------------------------
 
If your provider received the instructions and scheduled the
payments, follow these steps:
 
1. Ask for the check numbers that they assigned to each payment.
 
2. Ask the online service provider to delete any duplicate payments.
 
3. Delete the communication files that Money created.
 
4. Delete the Epay transactions from your Account Register.
 
5. Manually enter the payments with the check numbers you obtained from
   Online Services.
 
For more information about how to accomplish this task, see the
"Deleting Communication Files" section near the end of this article.
 
IMPORTANT:
 
Deleting the communication files and deleting the Epay transactions
in the Account Register are both essential to prevent the instructions
from being sent again.
 
Online Services Has Not Received the Instructions
-------------------------------------------------
 
If Online Services has not received the instructions, you can have
Money try to complete the call.
 
Often, lowering the baud rate (choosing a lower modem speed) allows you
to make a successful connection. For additional information about
completing calls, please see the following articles in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
 
   ARTICLE-ID: Q141867
   TITLE     : Money 4.0 FastTips: Communications Questions & Answers
 
   ARTICLE-ID: Q138455
   TITLE     : Troubleshooting Windows 95 Communication Problems
 
   ARTICLE-ID: Q141837
   TITLE     : Money 3.0 FastTips: Communications Questions & Answers
 
   ARTICLE-ID: Q121221
   TITLE     : Money: Modem Troubleshooting Guide for Windows 3.x
 
   ARTICLE-ID: Q123287
   TITLE     : Money: Err Msg: "A Communications Error Occurred..."
 
Deleting Communication Files
----------------------------
 
When you initiate an Online session, Money creates two files
 
   <File name>.npc and <File name>.npd
 
   or
 
   <File name>.ofd and <File name>.ofe
 
   or
 
   <File name>.vsa and <File name>.vsb
 
where <File name> is your Money data file name, usually My Money or
Msmoney.
 
Money 3.0 creates the files:
 
   <File name>.snd
   <File name>.rcv.
 
When a communication session fails, Money is in a communication
recovery state and these files remain on your hard disk. To clear the
communication recovery state so that you can continue, remove these
files.
 
Use the Windows Explorer or File Manager to search for and delete
these files. For more information about how to perform these tasks in
Windows, see your Windows printed documentation or online Help.
 
For additional information, please see the following article in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base:
 
   ARTICLE-ID: Q128924
   TITLE     : Money: Err Msg: A Prior On-Line Communication Was
               Interrupted
 
Deleting Epay Transactions
--------------------------
 
To delete a transaction from the account register, follow these steps:
 
1. In the Account Register, select the transaction.
 
2. On the Edit Menu, click Delete or Delete Transaction.
 
3. If you are asked to verify that you want to delete the transaction,
   click Yes.
 
4. Manually enter the transaction again. Include the check number
   assigned by Online Services.
 
NOTE: If you need to inquire about this payment in the future, you will
need to send General Purpose mail to Online Services. For additional
information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
 
   ARTICLE-ID: Q142768
   TITLE     : Money: How to Cancel Apays, Epays and Send Bank Letter
 
   ARTICLE-ID: Q142804
   TITLE     : Money: Inquiring On a Payment Made by Online Bill
               Payment
 
   ARTICLE-ID: Q142769
   TITLE     : Money 3.0: How to Cancel Apays, Epays and Send Bank Letter
 
Additional query words: 97 6.0 7.0 w_money overpay duplicates again
repeatedly repeated overpaid communication error dolly
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Keywords          : kberrmsg kbdta kbonline 
Version           : WINDOWS:3.0,3.0a,4.0,4.0a,5.0,98,99
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb
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Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1998.