When checkout fails or a paid item stays locked, first establish what happened to the original payment. Then check the customer's account and the item they bought.
If money may already have moved, do not ask the customer to pay again until you have checked that payment. Keep the receipt or transaction reference, even if the checkout page closed or showed an error.
Start with the existing payment
- Ask for the page or product, approximate payment time, amount and currency, payment method, and receipt or transaction reference.
- Open Monetization → Transactions → Transactions. Search by the Cedros transaction ID or Resource value, which identifies the product or page.
- Clear Search and Method if necessary, and check other pages of results. Search does not match customer email addresses or the separate Provider reference.
- Compare the record with the customer's receipt. For a card payment, also check the matching provider record; for crypto, check the original transaction.
- Note whether the result is Complete, Pending confirmation, Failed, or Refunded before choosing the next step.
If the list failed to load, previously displayed rows may be stale. Reload and wait for a successful load. An empty list or zero summary after an error is not proof that no payment exists. See Reviewing payments and orders.
Checkout does not open
Check that the customer is on the published product or content page. For paid articles or media, have them sign in to their customer account and reopen that page.
Read the displayed error before retrying. If checkout reports an unavailable payment service, missing configuration, or missing checkout link, ask your administrator to check the payment setup and that specific purchase flow. Enabling a payment method does not guarantee that every page supports it.
For card setup problems, follow Connecting Stripe. If checkout reports an unsafe redirect, give the error and page address to your administrator; do not ask the customer to bypass it or use an unverified payment link.
After a confirmed setup correction, retry from the original purchase page only after checking that the previous attempt did not complete.
A payment method is missing or the amount is wrong
Check the product, selected option, quantity, currency, and any discount before the customer approves payment. For a subscription, check the billing interval as well. If the displayed offer is wrong, correct the setup before proceeding.
A method must be configured, allowed for the customer's location, and supported by that checkout. Ask your administrator to check Pay hub → Availability and its country preview. Do not change a country rule simply to work around a failed payment. See Controlling payment methods by country.
For crypto, confirm the configured network, token, receiving wallet, and the wallet's own approval details. A connected wallet alone does not confirm payment. See Accepting supported crypto payments.
If the site offers Credits, that means a private site account balance. Card payments are shown separately as Card or Stripe. The customer must have the appropriate balance and use a checkout that supports it.
Payment is pending, failed, or missing after checkout
- Pending confirmation: reopen or refresh the existing record and compare it with the provider or wallet transaction. Keep investigating that payment if its outcome is still uncertain.
- Failed, but the customer reports a charge: match the exact reference with the provider before suggesting another attempt. The on-screen failure alone does not settle what happened to the money.
- The provider confirms payment, but Cedros does not: give your administrator the Cedros and provider references so they can check payment updates and reconcile the records.
A return to the site, a success message, or a receipt must still be matched to the intended purchase. If the page closed before confirmation, retain the original reference rather than starting a new payment to see whether it works.
For an uncertain crypto payment or tip, check the original transaction and receiving wallet before sending again. Do not use a separate transfer to compensate for a payment whose outcome is unknown.
Payment is complete but access is missing
- Confirm that the customer is signed in to the same customer account used for the purchase. An administrator's account is not a substitute for this check.
- Match the completed payment to the exact product, article, file, or plan the customer is trying to open.
- For subscription access, check that the required plan is currently valid and covers that item. An old successful payment does not by itself prove current subscription access.
- Reopen the original page while signed in. If access is still missing, ask your administrator to check the purchase-to-account link and the access rule before requesting another payment.
Articles: paid article checkout does not reliably unlock the full post. Keep affected articles free while your administrator resolves access, and review any existing purchases with the customer. Do not ask them to pay again. See Understanding article access settings.
Images, videos, and downloads: the current built-in media checkout can leave a payment unconnected to the reader's account. Ask your administrator to match the payment and reader to the required product or access entitlement. A tip does not unlock paid media. See Accepting tips and monetizing media.
For physical goods, compare payment with your fulfillment and shipping records. A Complete payment status does not confirm that an order has shipped or arrived.
Content is visible without the expected purchase
For an article, check whether the reader has subscriber access or a remaining free-read allowance. A free preview also differs from access to the whole article.
For media, check the file's Access rule and the shared Gated media defaults. Only an Active individual rule enforces its restriction; a Draft, Disabled, or Archived rule does not. A selected preview may remain public even when the original is locked.
Test using an account without access, and check both the page and the original file link. Keep shared access settings unchanged while investigating an individual customer's problem: changing them can affect other customers and existing content.
A refund is pending or the customer still sees a charge
Check the refund record separately from the original payment. A partial refund leaves part of the payment in place, and an unresolved refund is not a confirmed refund.
If Cedros says to resume the same refund, investigate that request instead of creating another payout. If it says the refund was reversed, review the provider's record before telling the customer it completed. Follow Processing refunds.
Do not use Refund as a troubleshooting step for missing access. Establish the payment and access facts first, then agree on the appropriate resolution.
Send a useful support request
Include:
- The page address and the product, article, file, or plan involved.
- The transaction or receipt reference, plus the provider reference if available.
- The approximate time, payment method, amount, currency, and visible status.
- Whether the customer is signed in, and what they expected to open or receive.
- The exact error and which checks you have already completed.
Use your usual support channel for customer account details. Never include full card details, passwords, wallet recovery phrases, or private keys. See Getting help and reporting a problem.