Answers to some frequently occurring contact us questions
From the CouchSurfing Wiki, an informal workspace which anyone can edit.
Answers to some common Contact Us Questions on CouchSurfing.
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Verifications
Location change
Question: The Region, State or City has been for some reason changed from "XXX" to 'XXX'... and I can NOT verify. What do I do?
OR: I am verified and I need to change my address to a new location
Answer: Verification Level 1:
- SITUATION: You have started the Verification process and are
currently Verified at Level 1:*
Visit this URL to unlock your name and address, edit your location or/and Name and then you'll need to lock your name and address again when you're done: http://www.couchsurfing.com/verification.html?step=1
Verification Level 2 or 3:
- SITUATION: You are a verified member Level 3 and want to change your address:*
Visit this page and follow the easy and clear instructions: http://www.couchsurfing.com/verification_new_address.html
hope this helps
if not please check this page: http://www.couchsurfing.com/faq_edit_location.html
CS is free - Why verify?
Question: I thought CS was free. Could somebody inform me about paying for Couchsurfing? I was never told people have to pay for being registered....
Answer: CouchSurfing is FREE. You are always welcome to use the site for free. The money from the verification process is used for
- Safety issues
- The costs of the servers that are running a website and
- To support all the collective volunteers who give so much of their time to improve the site for others.
If you cannot afford to get verified, please feel free to use the site as any other member. We are working on a way to make it easier for people to get verified when it is not affordable.
Different name on Credit Card than on CS
Question: I am trying to verify my couch surfing account. However my couch surfing name is "Joe Smith", but my credit card it is "Joe David Smith ". Will this work??
Answer: Normally your full name does not matter when verifying on couchsurfing. As long as your first and last name matches your credit card, it should work. However, if you want to unlock your name and change it please access Step 1 of the Verification process.
Letter mailing status
Question: I have done the step of the verification process but every time I click on step 3 it says that the letter has not been mailed yet...
Answer: You have finished step 2 and you are waiting in queue for a verification letter. This takes 4 to 6 weeks but we are currently working to significantly reduce this time. You can find more information about the status of your verification by clicking on the verification lock image on your profile. If you haven't received the letter within 6 weeks please contact CouchSurfing and we will be glad to help you further.
Full name & privacy
Question: I am trying to get the 2nd verification but then I have to have my last name in my profile. But I don’t want my last name to be included in my profile name, is there a solution to this?
Answer: First you will need to unlock your name by going to this link. http://www.couchsurfing.com/verification.html?step=1
Fill in your real first name and real last name as it is.
After you update your profile, log out. This is very important. Once you log in again you can continue with verification.
Then go to profile, edit profile, privacy. Click yes on hide name, only your user name will show after this.
Mismatching locked name
Question: I already locked my name on my profile and realize it doesn’t match my credit card
Answer: First you will need to unlock your name by going to Step 1 of the Verification process.
You can leave “XXX” as your first name and enter “XXXX” as your real first name.
After you update your profile, log out. This is very important. Once you log in again you can continue with verification.
Username instead of real name showing up on verification step 2
Question: I updated my Profile and my user name showed up as my real name on Step 2 of the Verification page.
Answser: First of all once you update your profile and lock in your real name, you need to log out and then log back in again for the change to take place. You should be able to continue verification from there.
Error with verification step 2
Question: I keep getting an error message when I try Step 2 of the Verification process. (Usually with Internet Explorer, but has been known with other browsers as well)
Answer: First, when using Internet Explorer you must lower your security settings. Also try deleting your cookies. Then try verifying through Step 2 again. This has worked for others. If that doesn't work try using Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Netscape or some other browser. You might need to download these to your computer. Try again with one of those browsers, it should work if IE doesn't.
This message could also be activated by a firewall. Try changing your firewall to allow all contact with couchsurfing.com or disable it for verification and then turn it on again when you are finished
Verification Letter Delays
Question: I was just wondering when I would be verified. We have not received a confirmation code letter in the mail yet. Thank you for your help.
Answer: I have not found your letter in my files, which means you are waiting in Queue for your letter to be generated. This takes 4 to 6 weeks. If you don't have it in 6 weeks from payment date, please contact http://www.couchsurfing.com/contact.html
They work with verifications and will find your letter.
USD $25 is too much
Question: I want to be verified but I am unable to afford US $25. Could you please help?
Answer: Couchsurfing.com is working on a way to verify members that cannot afford the $25.00 USD through a complicated process sorting out countries with a lower income index. Until this is done, lock in your name and address, so you will be verified to level #1. This is the first step, and then make new friends through couchsurfing and your new friends will give you references. This is the best thing next to being verified to level #3. CouchSurfing is run on verifications and donations, but until we can find a way for you to donate less money for verification please use the site for free. Enjoy couchsurfing for what it is meant to be.
I have no bank account or any credit cards
Question: I have a small problem with the verification process. I do not have a bank account or any credit cards. I actually do not care for either. Is there any way that I can get verification without those two things?
Answer: CouchSurfing.com is working on a way to verify members that live in the US or Canada and don't have a credit card. Until this is done, lock in your name and address, so you will be verified to level #1. This is the first step, and then make new friends through couchsurfing and your new friends will give you references. This is the best thing next to being verified to level #3. CouchSurfing is run on verifications and donations, but until we can find a way for you to donate money without a credit card for verification please use the site for free. Enjoy couchsurfing for what it is meant to be.
Changing address when verified on level 1
Visit this page to unlock your name and address, edit your location or/and Name and then you'll need to lock your name and address again when you're done.
Changing address when verified on level 3
Visit this page and follow the easy and clear instructions.
If this doesn't help, please check this page
Verification without credit card
You can become verified at Level 1 without a credit card. It's easy and it's free! Visit this page.
We are currently looking for some ways to help members in a situation like yours. In the meantime, the best way to become a trustworthy member is to make CS friends, host/surf someone's couch, get some references and maybe even get vouched for!
Verification with CC - Address different from physical address
This is no problem as long as your name on CS matches the name on your card. We want the letter to go to your physical address.
Rules for verification
Here is the information that members can read when they go through step one:
"From here you can lock your name and contact information. Check that it is the same as it appears on your credit card. Your name MUST match your credit card's billing address for verification to work properly. Your credit card billing address can be different from your physical address. We will verify your mailing address later in this process.
Is this your name and mailing address? Your name MUST be exactly as it appears on your credit card statement. Your address must be able to receive the verification letter when we mail it to you."
Here is what they can read when they go through step two:
"ADDRESS VERIFICATION: The next part of the verification process involves making a charge to your credit card. The use of this is two fold. First, we verify your name. Second, we recoup some of the costs associated with creating and maintaining CouchSurfing.com... which we can assure you is a lot of cash out of our own pockets!
So, we're offing you this 'special' and completely optional opportunity to give back to this community and also to help us focus on the website more (especially if we can spend 100% of our time focused on making CouchSurfing work for you!
I LIVE IN A DIFFERENT PLACE THAN MY PROFILE ADDRESS!?!
We can still accommodate this. Make sure that your locked address is set to your mailing address where you receive postal mail. When you get to the credit card portal page, you can set the address to your credit card's billing address. The only thing that MUST match your CS profile is your name. We will later be mailing your verification letter to your CS profile address."
Locations
Last login location is incorrect
The "Last login at or near" item in your profile is determined by your internet service provider and how they route their internet traffic. This automatic login location detection is not 100% accurate. It almost always gets the country and state/province correct, but it sometimes has difficulty pinpointing the exact city.
My city is not in the system
- My city (e.g. New York City) is not in your system. What can I do?
Here's what you do:
- Go to a search engine (like Google or Yahoo)
- Type this: latitude longitude New York City
- Find the info: Lat/Long of NYC is 40°43′N 74°00′W)
When you have this info let us know and we can get that town into our system for you and other members to use. Be sure to include a webpage link where he can quickly double-check it's accuracy (like New York).
Miscellaneous Geographical Bug
- My city doesn't exist / is assigned to wrong state / Serbia is in fact a separate country
ADDITIONAL NOTE! - Certain areas of the site are incorrect and we are currently working on fixing them. Most problem we are having are Spain and Western Australia. Thanks for your patience! You can help out by listing any incorrect locations you're aware of on the Wrong locations page.
Changing Address
Q: I moved and I want to change my address to my new one, but the system won't let me change it. Why?
A: Please visit this link that will explain all the mysteries of Editing your Location! http://www.couchsurfing.com/faq_edit_location.html
Languages, Translations
What happened with the French translation???
Translations were offline for quite a while since June 2006 but they are now back again. If the site has not been fully translated into your language (or even at all), and you'd like to help with translating, please contact KAOXONI, the translations coordinator to get her to include you in the appropriate group here.
I can't select my language from the list of spoken languages
For missing languages, please see our list of Missing languages and add to it if your language is not listed there. Any real languages (sorry, not including Klingon or Perl ;) will be added on a regular basis.
Groups and meetings
Getting too much mail from CS groups
Please go and update your group settings on the page of each group you find on this page. Go to each individual group and choose "My group settings". You should see a dropdown menu with the following text:
Set Digests and messaging to
- Daily digests = get max one emails per day from that group, should help tons
- Weekly digests = 1 email/WEEK
- Monthly digests = 1 email/MONTH
- No communication = no emails will be sent to your personal inbox, but are still part of the group (and can post to it too)
How do I leave a group
Browse to the group page, click on the button "my group settings" and click again for "leave group".
Creating meetings
You can create a meeting here.
When the meeting is created, you are able to send a message to the people in a group that you are subscribed to. The meeting message will have to be approved by an admin before it will go out to the community you choose.
Sending meeting messages
There is an option after you create the meeting, which I see you already have set up - to send an email to a group of people. You can send it to any of the groups you belong to, or to a recent Couchsearch search that you've done. After you write the email to send, it must be apprved by an admin who will let it proceed as a mass email to a group (it must be approved to be sure you are sending it to a group of relevant people, such as people in the area of your meeting) - that might take up to 24 hours.
I want to send this message out to everyone in...
We prefer that people send individual emails and couchsurf requests on CouchSurfing, as that maintains the level of personal interaction that we are hoping to promote through this project. It may take longer, but you're bound to get better results!
The sole way we currently support mass emailing between members is when a couchsurfer wants to set up a meeting. Here's how you do that:
- Create a meeting in the Meetings page (see Meeting HOWTO for more instructions if you need them).
- You can now send messages to specified groups of results of CouchSearch, or from a group or groups that you are a member of.
- An Admin needs to approve your meeting message.
Reporting Spammers
Q: I've received an email from this member (xyz) asking me money/to marry or whatever. I just thought I'd let you know!
A: Please use the "report as spam" button that you can find at the bottom right of the email.
Admins will automatically be notified and they will investigate and take the appropriate measures so that it does not happen! Thanks for letting us know about this!
Message counter
There is a bug in our message counter - all the messages you send & receive are actually going through the system, but sometimes it the system tells you that someone has sent you other emails. This is not the case though - the emails are going through the system :)
Can't delete deleted messages
The system retains all "deleted" messages & saved messages for security purposes, so they are not deletable. It's good for if you want to save some, but not all, messages between you & other people so that you can search more easily, but in case you delete a message that you need to refer to sometime later, it will remain on file.
Replied to percentage
The only emails which count are the Couchsurf requests which are sent though the Couch Info section of your profile. Yours says 0% - are you sure you replied to an official Couchsurf request? Try going back through your emails & looking for the person or people who requested your couch. You can see if you responded through that system by hitting reply to the actual request. If not (& even if that time has passed) respond to them, even if it's just to say hi, & the system should update. If NOT, please let us know & we will report it as a bug.
Passwords
Retrieving password
Go to the login page and click on the link to retrieve your password, above your username. Enter either your email address or your username and "retrieve password". The system will send an email to the address on file. Click the link to reset your password, it will bring you to another CS page where you will repeat the procecss, and the server will send a new temporary password to your email address.
Changing password
All you have to do is edit your password in your profile on this page
User account and profile issues
Vouching
Vouching system was started from scratch after CS crash this summer. The new system, devised in order to strengthen the integrity of CouchSurfing Vouching and to draw attention to the seriousness of vouching, was developed at the CouchSurfing Collective in Montreal. The first CouchSurfers to be vouched for were the Administrators of CouchSurfing, who then vouched for their trustworthy friends. In the new system, you need three vouches before you can start vouching yourself (this is a security measure to preserve the integrity of vouching).
You can find more information about vouching on this page.
Why do I need to upload a photo?
Well, you don't HAVE to post a photo, but we would love it if you did! I see you just joined, so I'll explain why:
The strength of our system depends on members being as open and upfront as possible with other members. If you fill out your profile fully, and post even 1 or 2 pictures of yourself, people will be more likely to host you or want to be hosted by you - because they will be able to figure out (especially from what you say in your profile) if you're someone they would get along with. If you don't have any digital pictures of yoursef, that's OK - you can post it when you get one - maybe for now you have another picture, perhaps of a place you've visited, that you'd like to post on your profile?
So, no, you don't have to post a photo, but we encourage you to, & definitely encrouage you to fill out your profile as well as you can.
Reference not showing on profile
There was a bug in the system where some users were not able to see references left for them in their profile. This should have been fixed by now. If you're still experiencing reference problem please let us know as this might be a bug in the system.
Changing username
You can now go and change your username on this page but keep in mind, you can only do it once every three months.
If you need to change it more often, please contact us again and an Admin will take care of your situation.
For security reasons, the original username will be archived in the database.
Changing Password
Go to profile edit page, scroll down to the Password and Confirm Password Fields and type in your new password.
Hiding Real Name
Q: I don't want other users to see my real name. What can I do?
A: Visit the page linked below and enable the *Hide Name* field so that it's Yes. http://www.couchsurfing.com/editprofile.html?edit=privacy
Couchsurfing as a Family
Q: Hi! we are a family of 4, I was wondering if you guys offered an exchange for families, as we have a cottage, and home in the city, and we can't really afford hotels, and we would all enjoy traveling, visiting and (Gawd I wish your fantastic idea existed when I was in my 20s')
A: You don't have to exchange anything in order to surf a couch!!! There are families on CS:
Profile Not Updating
Q: I just edited my profile but the changes won't appear!
A: You simply have to refresh your browser, press F5!!
Friend links
The friends links were ruined in the crash so we updated them to make them stronger. Here is some info for you: http://www.couchsurfing.com/connections.html?explain=1
Vouching
We updated our vouching system after the crash to make it stronger, see this page
Uploading Pictures
Q: I don't seem to be able to upload a picture... Seems I do everything right, but when it's supposed to be confirmed, the field where the picture should appear is blank.
A: You might need to first resize the photo before uploading. How big is the one you're uploading? Anything under 1MB should upload ok. If it's closer to 250K or less, that'll work even better!
Also, if you try to upload pictures directly from a digital camera, there's a good chance it won't work. The best solution is to save your pictures on your computer in a jpeg format, then download them on your profile!
Can I remove a positive reference that I dislike?
Q: Is there any way to remove a positive reference that I dislike? I understand that it might not be possible with negative references, because of safety issues but for positive references it would be good if it was possible.
Chat
New member not being able to log in to chat
Our chat server is separate from the main server so it might take a couple of nights for the two servers to get synchronized. Please try again tomorrow and get back to us if you still can't access the chat room. You can also update your chat server username and password by clicking on the link on the chat page.
Miscellanous
Media Reports
Came across an article / newsreport / radio show about Couchsurfing? Please post your articles in this group: Media Reports group
Members of the Press
Please get in touch with Media Coordinator MrRico or other Admins
Data Security
Q: Is CouchSurfing a secure site? I don't see the usual https:// to indicate this. I'm sure there are other ways of indicating security that I'm not aware of. For this reason I am a bit weary of completing the verification process and disclosing my credit card details to you. Can you help me?
A: Indeed, the safety and security issues are a major concern for Members, but also for the Founders. Once you start doing the verification process, you will notice that at the bottom of your screen (right side), a lock will appear. That means that all the information that you send is processed through a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) server, even if the https:// does not appear on the address. I hope this information helped clarify your doubts (if not, feel free to contact us again)!
Have a Great Idea?
Came up with a great idea on how to improve CouchSurfing? Please join the Brainstorm Group.
Found a Bug?
Here's what you can do:
- Join the Cockroach group
- Post to Cockroach group without joining it
- Report a bug into our bugtracker (more suitable for technically inclined people).
- Create an account in the Bug Tracker
- Check out the Bug reporting guide for more information
I'm new... how do I start "surfing"?
Let's say you plan to stay some days in Paris. You click on 'CouchSearch' and enter the relevent information like, country (France) and the city (Paris). That's it! Click on 'search' and some 300 members will show up. Look through some profiles till you find someone who's interesting and doesn't look like a mass murderer :-)
In each profile above the main picture is a button labeled 'CouchSurf with X'. Click on it and write a nice e-mail to this person asking for the couch. Give as much info as you can - like the arrival and departure date, how many people you're travelling with and maybe even a reason why you want to stay with this particular member.
Click on 'send' and wait for the invitation. That's it! :-) Easy, isn't it?
Just consider that people in big cities like Paris, London, New York etc. sometimes get flooded by requests. So you highten your chances on getting a couch by having a completly filled out profile, pictures of you (where one can see that YOU aren't a mass murderer) and maybe even starting the verification process.
Need More Information?
Visit these pages to get some fun information, tips, FAQ on CouchSurfing. Don't be afraid to browse trough the site, getting *lost* in it is the best way to learn!
tips brought to you by couchsurfers.
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