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Carphone Warehouse failed 'Internal Security Check'
Hey folks
Just wondering if anyone has had experience dealing with this kind of issue as the customer reps I have spoken too havn't been too useful.
Basically I am trying to pick up a new phone, got my heart set on a particular model which Carphone Warehouse have a deal on (£19.50/month with no upfront). I've decided to just go for that as it is about the same cost over 24months as purchasing the phone+sim only contract. However I have had no end of problems trying to get my order to go through.
Firstly I went into my local store, the sales guy in their was really useful, performed a credit check which came up green & plugged all my details in. The problem occured when he tried to take a chip and pin £1 charge from my card for 'security reasons'. It knocked him back for no reason claiming an 'internal security error'. He called up his supervisor who was no help at all. He said there was nothing further he could do as their internal security was flagging up my card.
So the same day I decide to order online, it looks as if the order has gone through without a hitch but about 3 hours later I get another email telling me my order has been canceled and to call a number. After calling the number to day I got to the same point, credit check passed fine. They go to take the 'security payment' first on my visa debit bank card, which gets declined for 'security reasons'. He offered to try another card so I gave him the numbers for my mastercard credit card which came up with the same issue. He said he had never seen that happen before & called his supervisor over. Phone supervisor said my card doesn't match the details they have for me on their system, we then double check the details, which are correct. He then claims that the details held by my bank could be incorrect which I dismiss because it is 2 of my cards including a bank card ive been using with no problems for ~6 years. All the lad on the phone could tell me to do was to wait 2-3 weeks then try and place an order again as there is nothing they can do if there automated system says no.
What I seriously don't get is how can I pass a credit check with the given details then fail their security check? The lad in the store said the only thing he thinks could cause that is if I had defrauded carphone warehouse itself in the past, which I havn't (first time customer). I have checked today, Carphone Warehouse have succesfully taken payment of £1, and £0.01 from my debit bank account and £0.01 from my credit card.
Just wondering if anyone could suggest what to do next? I'm half tempted just to buy the phone outright on amazon & run a sim only deal but I would much rather take advantage of the carphone offer thats on (for January only I think).
CAE
Just wondering if anyone has had experience dealing with this kind of issue as the customer reps I have spoken too havn't been too useful.
Basically I am trying to pick up a new phone, got my heart set on a particular model which Carphone Warehouse have a deal on (£19.50/month with no upfront). I've decided to just go for that as it is about the same cost over 24months as purchasing the phone+sim only contract. However I have had no end of problems trying to get my order to go through.
Firstly I went into my local store, the sales guy in their was really useful, performed a credit check which came up green & plugged all my details in. The problem occured when he tried to take a chip and pin £1 charge from my card for 'security reasons'. It knocked him back for no reason claiming an 'internal security error'. He called up his supervisor who was no help at all. He said there was nothing further he could do as their internal security was flagging up my card.
So the same day I decide to order online, it looks as if the order has gone through without a hitch but about 3 hours later I get another email telling me my order has been canceled and to call a number. After calling the number to day I got to the same point, credit check passed fine. They go to take the 'security payment' first on my visa debit bank card, which gets declined for 'security reasons'. He offered to try another card so I gave him the numbers for my mastercard credit card which came up with the same issue. He said he had never seen that happen before & called his supervisor over. Phone supervisor said my card doesn't match the details they have for me on their system, we then double check the details, which are correct. He then claims that the details held by my bank could be incorrect which I dismiss because it is 2 of my cards including a bank card ive been using with no problems for ~6 years. All the lad on the phone could tell me to do was to wait 2-3 weeks then try and place an order again as there is nothing they can do if there automated system says no.
What I seriously don't get is how can I pass a credit check with the given details then fail their security check? The lad in the store said the only thing he thinks could cause that is if I had defrauded carphone warehouse itself in the past, which I havn't (first time customer). I have checked today, Carphone Warehouse have succesfully taken payment of £1, and £0.01 from my debit bank account and £0.01 from my credit card.
Just wondering if anyone could suggest what to do next? I'm half tempted just to buy the phone outright on amazon & run a sim only deal but I would much rather take advantage of the carphone offer thats on (for January only I think).
CAE
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Comments
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Have you had any other contracts via CPW companies? If so, they have arbitrary rules about how many contracts they allow in a given period. I have known customers be declined for that reason, though personally I've always got round that with them.0
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Nope, niether I, nor anyone at my address holds any contracts through CPW. I am going to go into my bank during the week and see if the format they hold my address in is the exact same that CPW is entering, had someone suggest this might be the issue.
It is a right pain in the !!!, why can't they just take a scan of a utility bill as proof of address like everybody else. It just seems nuts theres no human override to a evidently non-functioning system.0 -
Nope, niether I, nor anyone at my address holds any contracts through CPW. I am going to go into my bank during the week and see if the format they hold my address in is the exact same that CPW is entering, had someone suggest this might be the issue.
It is a right pain in the !!!, why can't they just take a scan of a utility bill as proof of address like everybody else. It just seems nuts theres no human override to a evidently non-functioning system.
Some companies will also turn it down if the name on the card is the least bit different, ie initials rather than full name.0 -
Because paperwork like that is easily faked by fraudsters.Why can't they just take a scan of a utility bill as proof of address like everybody else.
The system is designed to spot patterns of fraud. If store staff could override the system there would be no point in having the system. The system works on many factors, not just the address - but do check exactly what address and date of birth your bank has stored.It just seems nuts theres no human override to a evidently non-functioning system.0 -
It just seems nuts theres no human override to a evidently non-functioning system.
As above , it's anti fraud. You don't put in that kind of system and then let people override it! What would be the point?
I used to work as a fraud investigator for one of the networks. There's no way to teach shop staff how to spot a faked ID or bills. They don't get the training or have the time.0 -
My wife has just failed the same 'internal security check' using carphone warehouse's online site called mobiles.co.uk. Again they could give no reasons or help when we phoned. She has an excellent credit record but is a US citizen and so is not on the electoral roll. She has however lived here for 14 years and never had a problem like this.
It does seem very strange that there is no way of finding out why you failed and possibly correct it. It could also possibly be seen as discriminatory if it is based on electroral roll.
regards0 -
It's up to you to work out why you failed and fix it, if it is fixable.
If they told everyone why they failed, it wouldn't be a very good anti-fraud system.0 -
Not being on the electoral roll is a ticket for decline with most lenders. It's not discriminatory in the slightest in the way suggested - just risk assessment.0
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Not being on the electoral role is a ticket for decline with most lenders.
electoral roll0 -
Issue resolved. Basically my bank's record of my address was held in a wierd format. I had them update my details in a different format that was more similar to the format given by a post code search. 24 hours later (time period advised by the bank for them to update my details) I attempted to place another order with CPW and it appears to have gone through (just recieved my shipping confirmation).
Again my above point stands about a human override, any sort of human operator would have been able to determine that my address was leading to the same place but just being shown in a different manner. I am not saying that any service staff should be able to do it but surely trained supervisory staff should be able to have some ability to even look into these issues.
Anywho thanks for the advice everyone, I am happy to say its all resolved now
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