Edison

Just got off the phone with a CSR at Buy.com because I keep having an order come up credit verification needed. I asked what they were doing since the item didn't come out for a month and I didn't think they charged me until the item shipped.

It is there policy to place a hold on the purchase amount then send the charge through when the item is released. So basically I see it as they're charging me as soon as I order the product regardless when it ships. True I don't have to pay interest on the amount because it actually hasn't been charged yet, but it is unavailable for use.

So if you have a $200 limit charge card and ordered 15 movies for $200 to be released 2 months from now, you card would unusable for those two months. That sucks..

Are there other dealers that do this too? I know some will place a $1.00 or $2.00 charge to verify the card but never heard of anyone holding the amount until release.

djones6746

This is a common practice by most online retailers...they automatically obtain authorization once you submit an order...as far as putting a hold for that amount on your credit card??? I guess you would need to contact each individual retailer to find out but the answer is probably yes!!!

Charlie Goose

Yes, most online retailers will place a hold on the entire amount of your order. So, be careful with your credit or debit card, if you don't keep accurate records, you may go over your limit or bounce a check. Don't expect the retailer to be responsible for any penalties, they won't pay it, nor should they.

pinky

Express.com doesn't put a hold on your cc. Not even a dollar

Timber

I figured this out a couple of weeks ago when I overdrafted amy account a few times (used a check card). It was a large order and I didnt' think I would be charged until it shipped but they hold the whole amount. Moral of the story is that when placing big orders from now on I'll have to use a credit card.

bigal

They can't put a "hold" on your account for two months. When you place the order they will authorize a sale on your credit card to make sure you have given them a real account. If that authorization is not finalized within about a week it expires. So, yes, for that time your credit limit is affected. What I hate is when a place authorizes for the full amount and then two days later when they ship authorize and finalize a whole new order so your credit is hit twice until the first authorization expires. Drinks.com did this to me. Can't blame a business for wanting to make sure the info you gave is good. I blame the credit card companies for not giving a business a way of verifing an account without actually authorizing a sale.

For this reason you need to be careful when using a debit card for gas purchases at the pump. Most stations authorize for $30 then finalize with the actual amount you pump. So if you only buy $10 you'll have $20 frozen in your checking account for about a week. To get around this just pay inside.

[This message has been edited by bigal (edited August 10, 2000).]

TomMiller

"I blame the credit card companies for not giving a business a way of verifing an account without actually authorizing a sale."

They have created a way. It is a piece of cake to verify a credit card number. I worked retail a few years ago, and used to do this all the time when people submitted a credit card as a second form of ID on a check.

But it isn't enough for an online retailer to know that an account is valid when you place an order. They want to put a hold on that amount of credit, so that their order won't get bounced due to insufficient credit when the get the products for shipping. I can see how this would be a problem with bank cards, but they are a bad idea anyway - cut them up.

If you are close enough to your limit on a credit card that reserving some of your limit for a DVD purchase is going to kick you over your limit, you are precisely the type of person that this process was created for.

Running your sale through a second time, and allowing the previous reservation to expire with time, on the other hand, is just sloppy business practice. Blame the retailer.

brez

When you place an order with Buy.com they will get an authorization for the amount of the purchase (this is a normal process for on-line retailors). This authorization will use up some of your available credit until the actual charge comes through or about 10 days if the charge does not come through.

Each time a shipment is made Buy.com and most others will send the charge for the shipment through and get a new authorization for the remainder of the order, starting the process over again. If more than 1 shipment is made for an order the same day they will summarize them into 1 transaction.

The retailor needs to have an authorization number for each charge they put through so they will not be stuck if the charge exceeds your credit limit. They could bypass getting the authorization (and save a few cents) but if the credit card company rejected the charge when they tried to put it through they would be stuck. As long as they have an authorization they are covered.

Mike

bigal

quote:<HR>Originally posted by TomMiller:
They have created a way. It is a piece of cake to verify a credit card number. I worked retail a few years ago, and used to do this all the time when people submitted a credit card as a second form of ID on a check.<HR>

Tom, I was referring to sites that put a $1.00 authorization on your account to verify that it is indeed a valid account. Carclub, for instance, does that when you sign up. If there's a way to do that with out an authorization then shame on the retailers.

I agree that it usually isn't much of a problem for CC accounts, but for debit cards, web certificates and the like you often don't have that "cushion" to give to authorizations that won't be finalized.