revise ads and alerts

cron/client.cron.js

@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
  *                  - expireUserTiers       (cron/jobs/expire_user_tiers.cron.js)
  *                  - taskDueSoon           (cron/jobs/task_due_soon.cron.js)
  *                  - expireAdvertisements  (cron/jobs/expire_advertisements.cron.js) — plain
+ *                  - failStalePayments     (cron/jobs/fail_stale_payments.cron.js) — plain
  *
  * Author: Kenneth Obsequio (@lash0000)
  * Date Created: Jun. 17, 2026
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@ const issueCertificates    = require('./jobs/issue_certificates.cron');
 const expireUserTiers      = require('./jobs/expire_user_tiers.cron');
 const taskDueSoon          = require('./jobs/task_due_soon.cron');
 const expireAdvertisements = require('./jobs/expire_advertisements.cron');
+const failStalePayments    = require('./jobs/fail_stale_payments.cron');
 const { startSettingsBackedJobs } = require('./cronRegistry.util');
 
 // ─── Registry — add future client-side cron jobs here ────────────────────────
@@ -41,6 +43,7 @@ const settingsBackedJobs = [
 // Plain hardcoded-schedule jobs (not tied to any notification setting).
 const plainJobs = [
     expireAdvertisements,
+    failStalePayments,
 ];
 
 // ─── Boot all registered client-side jobs ─────────────────────────────────────

cron/jobs/fail_stale_payments.cron.js

@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+/***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************
+ * File Name    : fail_stale_payments.cron.js
+ * Type         : Cron Job
+ * Description  : Marks abandoned checkout attempts as 'failed' instead of
+ *                leaving them stuck on 'pending' forever.
+ *
+ *                A payment/purchase row is created as 'pending' the moment
+ *                PayPal's create-order call succeeds (createOrder / createCourseOrder),
+ *                before the buyer ever reaches PayPal's approval page. If PayPal's
+ *                own hosted checkout then fails to load ("Things don't appear to
+ *                be working at the moment") or the buyer just abandons the tab,
+ *                the browser never gets redirected back to our return_url/cancel_url —
+ *                so captureOrder/cancelOrder is never called, and the row sits as
+ *                'pending' indefinitely even though no money ever moved.
+ *
+ *                This job sweeps 'pending' rows older than STALE_MINUTES and
+ *                marks them 'failed', so payment history correctly reflects
+ *                that nothing was charged, instead of silently doing nothing.
+ *
+ * Schedule     : Every 10 minutes ("*\/10 * * * *"). Registered by cron/client.cron.js.
+ *
+ * Author: Kenneth Obsequio (@lash0000)
+ * Date Created: Aug. 3, 2026
+ ***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************/
+'use strict';
+
+const { Op } = require('sequelize');
+const mdl_Payments       = require('../../models/tiers/payments.mdl');
+const mdl_CoursePurchase = require('../../models/courses/course_purchases.mdl');
+
+const STALE_MINUTES = 30;
+
+async function run() {
+    const cutoff = new Date(Date.now() - STALE_MINUTES * 60_000);
+
+    try {
+        const stalePayments = await mdl_Payments.findAll({
+            where: { status: 'pending', createdAt: { [Op.lt]: cutoff } },
+        });
+
+        for (const payment of stalePayments) {
+            await payment.update({
+                status:           'failed',
+                provider_payload: {
+                    ...payment.provider_payload,
+                    failed_reason:    'abandoned_checkout',
+                    marked_failed_at: new Date().toISOString(),
+                },
+            });
+        }
+
+        if (stalePayments.length) {
+            console.log(`[CRON][FAIL STALE PAYMENTS] Marked ${stalePayments.length} abandoned tier payment(s) as failed.`);
+        }
+    } catch (err) {
+        console.error('[CRON][FAIL STALE PAYMENTS] Failed sweeping payments:', err);
+    }
+
+    try {
+        const stalePurchases = await mdl_CoursePurchase.findAll({
+            where: { status: 'pending', createdAt: { [Op.lt]: cutoff } },
+        });
+
+        for (const purchase of stalePurchases) {
+            await purchase.update({
+                status:           'failed',
+                provider_payload: {
+                    ...purchase.provider_payload,
+                    failed_reason:    'abandoned_checkout',
+                    marked_failed_at: new Date().toISOString(),
+                },
+            });
+        }
+
+        if (stalePurchases.length) {
+            console.log(`[CRON][FAIL STALE PAYMENTS] Marked ${stalePurchases.length} abandoned course purchase(s) as failed.`);
+        }
+    } catch (err) {
+        console.error('[CRON][FAIL STALE PAYMENTS] Failed sweeping course purchases:', err);
+    }
+}
+
+module.exports = {
+    name:     'failStalePayments',
+    schedule: '*/10 * * * *',
+    run,
+};