Buying via the website only - wont take phone orders?

John_P

I just saw a good dronin some speakers but thought I'd ring to double check the stock and delivery times.    
The chap on the phone seemed helpful and genuine but said they only take orders via the website and can't take orders over the phone
.
I haven't come across that before and described to him a similar value order I placed with a music shop a couple of weeks ago over the phone but he said the banks won't allow it and it's more secure via the website. 

I'm looking at www.theaudioworksuk.com if anyone has used them before. 

probebly fine but it feels about odd. 

fretmeister

I prefer that to be honest.

If the shop is legit there is less change of some Saturday only employee wandering off with your card number

John_P

fretmeister said:

I prefer that to be honest.

If the shop is legit there is less change of some Saturday only employee wandering off with your card number

Yes it makes sense - I've often thought someone could just use the numbers you have read out to order things themselves, I've never heard of a shop insisting on it though. 

joneve

It's probably because they use a 3rd party merchant through their website, so don't have to deal with or be responsible for storing the card details themselves. With PCI compliance being so strict nowadays, people are trying to get away from having to store the info themselves. 

joneve

Either that or it's a massive scam

John_P

joneve said:

It's probably because they use a 3rd party merchant through their website, so don't have to deal with or be responsible for storing the card details themselves. With PCI compliance being so strict nowadays, people are trying to get away from having to store the info themselves. 

He mentioned PCI as a reason, sounds like he's right and we can expect to see more shops moving that way.   

midlifecrisis

ive found this is the case with a lot of suppliers, not just music related

Sporky

It's probably also less effort than a manual order over the phone - if you order on line it goes straight into their systems.

Fretwired

Very common .. I can't think of anyone who has taken my card details over the phone. It protects both the buyer and the seller.

Funkfingers

Also, any text box spelling errors will be entirely your own fault.

Lestratcaster

I too prefer to just pay online, hate talking to people on the phone in general but also want a written confirmation of the transaction. Usually if you purchase online an email confirmation gets sent with an invoice. I do alot of string orders online and don't really need to talk to someone each month or two.

gavin_axecaster

joneve said:

It's probably because they use a 3rd party merchant through their website, so don't have to deal with or be responsible for storing the card details themselves. With PCI compliance being so strict nowadays, people are trying to get away from having to store the info themselves. 

I would think this is spot on.
I don't take phone orders, mainly because I do not want the responsibility of having customers' card details. I made this decision before the more stringent PCI compliance came in.
Depending on your site setup it can also be a right PITA to do manual orders - after taking payment I have to manually produce the invoice and manually adjusting stock levels.
Much easier to only accept online orders.

John_P

On a similar note I tried to order some gear from cpc earlier today and the web page seemed to hang at the final stage.  
I load another tab with the cpc site and it says down for maintenance. 
No problem I'll order elsewhere - but after I that 5 mins later an email confirmation appears from cpc - It still has a spinning cog on their order page as if it's processing.  
Rang them and tried to cancel but she thinks it's gone through and I have to send them back - avoiding hassles like that is why it's sometimes better talking to a person.  

Modulus_Amps

this is normal, if he was to take over the phone orders he would need to have processes in place to ensure that card details are not leaked/lost/stolen etc etc. basically it is easier to comply with the legislation by just not accepting phone card transactions

professorben

Mate, send me your card details mate and I'll get it sorted for you mate ok mate?