Delivery to Alternative Address

ThemeOne

I had a very strange experience with an online retailer mandmdirect.com which has left me mystified.

I placed an order with them online and requested a different delivery address from the billing address.

They called me back and said they had problems processing the order, and how long had I lived at my billing address. I answered 19 years. Then they said they still had a problem as they "couldn't get a match" with the Electoral Roll.

I asked them what didn't match and they said your date of birth.

I've been on the Electoral Roll for years at that address, so no idea what the problem would be. I didn't even know the Electoral Roll contained date of birth, but if it does there's no reason it should be wrong (though I don't know how to check). They said they had to do these checks as delivery was to a different address, and there was no way round it, so I cancelled the order.

I have had items delivered to alternative addresses via other online retailers without any problems.

Can anyone explain this?

Chappaz

Online orders with the delivery address being different to the billing address can present a much higher risk of fraud.

Obviously, someone who has something delivered to the billing address on their card is much more likely to be genuine. But someone with a different delivery address could be using someone else's card.

It's up to the retailers whether they want to investigate or not, but you'll find that those who put in extra checks tend to experience the highest number of fraudulent purchases. Some retailers are hit by a lot more than others depending on the value and usability of the items they sell.

ThemeOne

Yes I can see that, though am still puzzled why I failed their checks.

StopIt

ThemeOne wrote: »

I had a very strange experience with an online retailer mandmdirect.com which has left me mystified.

I placed an order with them online and requested a different delivery address from the billing address.

They called me back and said they had problems processing the order, and how long had I lived at my billing address. I answered 19 years. Then they said they still had a problem as they "couldn't get a match" with the Electoral Roll.

I asked them what didn't match and they said your date of birth.

I've been on the Electoral Roll for years at that address, so no idea what the problem would be. I didn't even know the Electoral Roll contained date of birth, but if it does there's no reason it should be wrong (though I don't know how to check). They said they had to do these checks as delivery was to a different address, and there was no way round it, so I cancelled the order.

I have had items delivered to alternative addresses via other online retailers without any problems.

Can anyone explain this?

My Amex (Via Lloyds) doesn't allow deliveries to alternate addresses at all from painful experience!


I have had similar issues before and a workaround is PayPal. I have registered my work address as an address on my PayPal account and when using sites with this security measure, use PayPal to pay as it tells the retailer that you're sending the item to a "Verified" address.


A bit of a weird one to be Electoral Roll checked for an online order, but hey ho. The opposite of this I suppose has to be the long river in South America, which allows you to send orders to any random place you like.

sargeantsalt

Their T&C allows them to do a hard credit check if you order a pair of socks. You most likely now have a failed credit application on your file.

ThemeOne

sargeantsalt wrote: »

Their T&C allows them to do a hard credit check if you order a pair of socks. You most likely now have a failed credit application on your file.

I will look up how to check my credit file, and if you're right I'll complain to this company, as there's no way I should have failed any credit check.

Arleen

sargeantsalt wrote: »

Their T&C allows them to do a hard credit check if you order a pair of socks. You most likely now have a failed credit application on your file.

And cows go meow.

OP: you may want to fetch copies of your credit file from the holy trinity (equifax, experian and callcredit) and make sure that they have correct address and electoral roll details. It may have been wrong for years but you simply didn't know as it didn't affect you. If that is the case, it's a matter of single call/letter to straighten it out.

GingerBob_3

The delivery company is lying. Date of birth is not registered on the Electoral Roll, and it's no business of theirs how long you've lived there - and it's irrelevant. And anyway, why should this company know your DoB? I always give a fake DoB to merchants if they are brazen enough to ask for it - it's good DP practice to do so. You did the right thing in cancelling the order.

ThemeOne

GingerBob wrote: »

The delivery company is lying. Date of birth is not registered on the Electoral Roll, and it's no business of theirs how long you've lived there - and it's irrelevant. And anyway, why should this company know your DoB? I always give a fake DoB to merchants if they are brazen enough to ask for it - it's good DP practice to do so. You did the right thing in cancelling the order.

That was how I felt, and I bought a better value item next day in a local shop so their loss and my gain. I was left wondering how much business mandmdirect lose due to what seem to be over-zealous or poorly conducted credit checks.

I will check my credit file anyway - thanks for the advice.