Anyone run into this when ordering an Axe-Fx III ?

[Dunconia]

Why would you instigate him like that?

I work in Technology at one of the largest credit card processors in North America. Cliff is right. Identity theft and credit card fraud are rampant. The fraud we see is greater than 10%, but a sizable portion of the fraud is detected and prevented by our fraud detection systems. Enhanced due diligence like this is only going to become more prevalent. We also have features that are active in our product development pipeline to further enhance the security of cards.

I had my debit card number stolen in December. They ran it about 25 to 30 times at ATMs in Atlanta and withdrew about $1400. I still had the card on me. No idea how some of this stuff happens.

 

[FrankenStrat]

I had my debit card number stolen in December. They ran it about 25 to 30 times at ATMs in Atlanta and withdrew about $1400. I still had the card on me. No idea how some of this stuff happens.

I know how they do it, but won’t discuss it publicly so as to not spread the know-how.

We had a crime syndicate do a similar scam involving gift cards. We detected it in less than 10 minutes. In that time they had hit us for just under $20,000,000.

Imagine if when your card started displaying unusual usage patterns (I assume you do not run around Atlanta making frequent, small atm withdrawals), your card locked and your issuer pushed a notification to an app on your phone asking for your approval of the transactions. The fraud you experienced could have been limited to a considerably smaller amount. Less exposure for you, less risk for the issuer and processor.

 

[nicolasrivera]

I'm disappointed and a bit irritated right now and just wondering if anyone else has gotten this email when ordering an Axe FX III.



I personally find this a bit of a problem on a number of levels. I'm not too fond of the idea of a company having a photo of my face on file forever just so they may bestow upon me the privilege of giving them a bunch of money for their product for just one. They also seem to have an issue with the only address I've used since 2012...

Has anyone else had to do this? I haven't as of yet. Honestly beyond the first numbered request I don't think I'll be complying even if it means I don't get my gear.

After spending almost 800$ in Cabpack and plugging with out any of this, when i wanted to buy the X-Load i was issue the same requirements and it didn't felt good, to this day it still does not feel good, even a good long time forum member contacted me offering buying it for me as he is not or was not faced at the time with such requirements ( thanks man) which i politely declined as i didn't felt spending my money the way those requirements made me feel.

I´m still buying cabpacks and now there is a waiting time for the order to be processed. To be completely honest it just makes me feel that i don't want to spend any more money here, but when you are faced with fraud this is what happens and i understand it. I deal with fraud and extortion every week in my job.

What ever a company needs to do to protect them selves from this is unfortunate and a necessity, like it or not its getting a bit worst every year.

Cheers.

 

[lscottk]

I've purchased two versions of cablab, multiple cab packs, an AX2, an AX8, and recently (about a month ago) an AXiii and an FC-6. Even though I am a long time customer with the same address that I had in 2011 when I bought my AX2, it never crossed my mind to take issue whenI pput in my order for the AxeFXIII and the sales person wanted to verify that I am who I say I am. I actually appreciate that they go the extra mile to make sure that a criminal is not using my information for nefarious purposes.

That being said, I agree with the original poster about protecting my personal information. I didn't feel comfortable sending verification via email. So I just called and spoke to the person in shipping/sales. He was completely awesome and gave me the same great service that I have received every time that I have contacted Fractal Audio.

To me its similar to when I pick up my kid from after school care. If the counselor is new and doesn't know me and asks me for my ID I don't complain. I'm grateful because that person is making sure that my son is safe. I'll admit that at times I have gotten mildly annoyed when my son is standing right next to me and he clearly knows who I am. And then I remember that they're just taking care of my son and making sure he's safe.

Comparing my my son's safety to credit card fraud is not an apples to apples comparison. But it does illustrate the point that, while something might be an annoyance or inconvenience, if it is serving a higher good it's much easier to accept.

In this case I support Fractal's efforts to protect themselves and their customers even though it was a bit inconvenient. Better the minor inconvenience of confirming my identity than raising prices to cover loss from fraud. Or just as bad, someone using my hard earned money to buy something that I didn't want to buy.

Of course this is just my opinion. YMMV

 

[wcfieldskx]

I understand Fractal's position on this and wanting to protect themselves and their customers. No chance I would be sending a picture of myself with my ID through email though. Never ever heard of anyone asking for verification that way.

 

[Dunconia]

I know how they do it, but won’t discuss it publicly so as to not spread the know-how.

We had a crime syndicate do a similar scam involving gift cards. We detected it in less than 10 minutes. In that time they had hit us for just under $20,000,000.

Imagine if when your card started displaying unusual usage patterns (I assume you do not run around Atlanta making frequent, small atm withdrawals), your card locked and your issuer pushed a notification to an app on your phone asking for your approval of the transactions. The fraud you experienced could have been limited to a considerably smaller amount. Less exposure for you, less risk for the issuer and processor.

Nope. The bank couldn’t believe it didn’t get caught. I caught it by checking my account. It went on for about 3 days.

 

[jon]

Why would you instigate him like that?

I work in Technology at one of the largest credit card processors in North America. Cliff is right. Identity theft and credit card fraud are rampant. The fraud we see is greater than 10%, but a sizable portion of the fraud is detected and prevented by our fraud detection systems. Enhanced due diligence like this is only going to become more prevalent. We also have features that are active in our product development pipeline to further enhance the security of cards.

I understand Fractal's position on this and wanting to protect themselves and their customers. No chance I would be sending a picture of myself with my ID through email though. Never ever heard of anyone asking for verification that way.

Sadly, these things are now becoming the norm. I too am a privacy nut and dislike these things GREATLY, but it's becoming needed for security.

That being said, there are only two companies I would allow this, FAS is one of them.

So incredibly sad that a small company is subjected such a high level of fraud, I feel it for FAS

 

[reclavea]

I’m sorry, dude, but those guys kind of went out of their way to deviate from their policy. That’s a rare thing. I bet Randell Smith wouldn’t have personally got involved in your situation. I get what you are saying and I’ve been frustrated before over someone trying to copy my ID.

I wanted a Mesa Amp since 1978!

When I was finally able to order my first Mesa amp (Mark III) back in 1986 eight years later, they wanted to put me hold as the phone lines were full...& I was calling overseas! ...Immediately they got Randall Smith on the line with me!! And I was like ...wow I’m getting the Royal treatment! And he laughed! “....what can I do for you?”

It was a great conversation with exchanges with tech insight and questions!!

After finalizing the details of my order he also emphasized that my Mark III will blow everything away on this side of the planet!

He was not kidding!!! Understatement! I was from then on hooked on Simul-Class!!

It took 3 months or so to build and ship to me at that time.

Great human being and much humility!

I’ll never forget that experience!

 

[Dunconia]

I wanted a Mesa Amp since 1978!

When I was finally able to order my first Mesa amp (Mark III) back in 1986 eight years later, they wanted to put me hold as the phone lines were full...& I was calling overseas! ...Immediately they got Randall Smith on the line with me!! And I was like ...wow I’m getting the Royal treatment! And he laughed! “....what can I do for you?”

It was a great conversation with exchanges with tech insight and questions!!

After finalizing the details of my order he also emphasized that my Mark III will blow everything away on this side of the planet!

He was not kidding!!! Understatement! I was from then on hooked on Simul-Class!!

It took 3 months or so to build and ship to me at that time.

Great human being and much humility!

I’ll never forget that experience!

That’s awesome! Not really the same thing but my dad had an hour and a half conversation a couple months ago with Hartley Peavy. Included a conversation about how difficult Eddie Van Halen is to work with. Lol

 

[Doug Notter]

Both packages arrived today, right on schedule.

All I've done with it so far is plug it into my Mac and run it through my DAW (Logic Pro X). I have a little 8ch mixer on the way so I can set it up to hear it direct to my monitors as well but it won't be here for a few days still. I need to get some cables to run the expression pedals so I haven't used those yet. Note: Slick packaging on those pedals, fractal.

Just plugging straight into it with my Les Paul and cycling through the presets everything sounds pretty good without any editing at all yet. I'm getting ready to install the software now. The "Eruption" preset is the one that got me stuck for about an hour though. Good God.

Just wanted to finish off the thread. It's here safe and sound and I'm a happy customer. Order with confidence if anyone else is reading this thread in the future with any concerns.

 

[BaronVonGrim]

I have hs8's.... they're fine... but when I want to crank it up... it's not enough.

 

[Don Watters]

Whatever. I've never been treated like this as a customer and I'm not appreciating it at all.

Still waiting for the phone call.

I know that this will be used to rail against me, but I had a similar experience with Fractal Customer Service, when I ordered my Axe FX III. Although my credit info and shipping worked just fine. When I called to alter the shipping (I travel a lot), I was treated poorly, and then reacted just as poorly, and decided it wasn’t worth dealing with Fractal. I went to reverb.com and found a used Axe FX III, ordered it and never looked back. I’ve had it for about 8 months now, without issue. Mistakes on all sides, and I do take some blame for not reacting in the way I could’ve, but my experience with Fractal CS/sales was not even a below average experience...it was just plain bad. Ironically, my experience started with M@, which was just awesome...because he took care of me, beyond expectations. Not trying to relive it, but I think it’s a little unfair to have group think where we collectively rail against folks for having a particular experience. The fraud protection (I work for one of the largest e-commerce sites in the world and work directly on fraud detection and protection) shouldn’t be used as a crutch to put a full stop on a purchase. It should be used to help guide a more selective approach. In this case, it’s my personal opinion, that both sides need to be a little more flexible in how it’s handled.

 

[FrankenStrat]

@Don Watters, I don’t know man. I have had nothing but awesome experiences dealing with Fractal Staff. Did not have this particular identity verification issue, but had an issue with my Axe III shipment. They went way above and beyond... on a Saturday morning... before 7am... when FAS was closed for a holiday weekend.

You really should read the OPs last post though:

...
Just wanted to finish off the thread. It's here safe and sound and I'm a happy customer. Order with confidence if anyone else is reading this thread in the future with any concerns.

You posted after his last post. That is what may get you grief here if anything does. You could be interpreted as trying to stir the pot due to your own sour grapes, given the OP has clearly reached resolution and is happy.

 

[JoKeR III]

I know that this will be used to rail against me, but I had a similar experience with Fractal Customer Service, when I ordered my Axe FX III. Although my credit info and shipping worked just fine. When I called to alter the shipping (I travel a lot), I was treated poorly, and then reacted just as poorly, and decided it wasn’t worth dealing with Fractal. I went to reverb.com and found a used Axe FX III, ordered it and never looked back. I’ve had it for about 8 months now, without issue. Mistakes on all sides, and I do take some blame for not reacting in the way I could’ve, but my experience with Fractal CS/sales was not even a below average experience...it was just plain bad. Ironically, my experience started with M@, which was just awesome...because he took care of me, beyond expectations. Not trying to relive it, but I think it’s a little unfair to have group think where we collectively rail against folks for having a particular experience. The fraud protection (I work for one of the largest e-commerce sites in the world and work directly on fraud detection and protection) shouldn’t be used as a crutch to put a full stop on a purchase. It should be used to help guide a more selective approach. In this case, it’s my personal opinion, that both sides need to be a little more flexible in how it’s handled.

People have bad days, including those who more often than not provide excellent customer service. It's not an excuse, just reality; we're all human. That said, perception dictates reality and not having the whole story begs the question - what really happened.

I've been on the "service" side of customer service for years and have had more than my fair share of "the customer is always right" arguments when someone wants something that is clearly against company policy or out of the realm of reasonableness. The ones that seem to be the most belligerent are those who are "experts" in a given field. They "know" how simple their request is and don't understand why the company won't do what they're asking. They are usually the ones who have a bad experience because they won't accept a "no" answer, no matter how it's explained.

All it does is create a perfect storm for a bad experience when all that is needed is for the "expert" to take a moment and use their experience to put themselves in the company's shoes and see things from their perspective - one of protecting themselves and the customer. Policies and procedures only work if they're used and enforced. Asking a company to violate either of those typically doesn't end well if a customer is going to insist on getting their way.

 

[Doug Notter]

When I called to alter the shipping (I travel a lot), I was treated poorly, and then reacted just as poorly, and decided it wasn’t worth dealing with Fractal.

Just FYI, changing the shipping destination while the package is in transit is apparently one of the methods the fraudsters use pretty commonly. Not implying anything on you here at all. I was simply informed that it happens a lot and sets off red flags. Sometimes we do things as consumers that look suspicious without knowing it.

Business's have to protect themselves and so do we consumers. My aggravation was coming from my perception of our digital communication and as soon as we had a phone conversation it was worked out in a mutually agreeable manner within a few minutes. Technology got us into this mess and I'm sure it will get us out of it sooner or later. Until then this sort of thing is something we're all going to have to deal with from time to time. I don't know that there's any perfect solution right now.