The long wait and the sales department

T

the1969huff

Member
Hi! I just registered in the forum, but have been following it for almost a year.

So, after waiting for six months, I finally got pulled out the waiting list for the Axe-Fx II.

I ordered it, and now the sales department (Ms D) says that I have a 'fraud score' under they threshold.

It is kind of annoying, and I tried giving them the information to prove that that spanish credit card is mine. If this keeps going this way I am going to end up sending a copy of my credit card statement.

I don't know if anybody has been in this situation; but after so much wait, I hope that the outcome is positive.

It is funny, considering that is quite an expensive item... but I guess that that's how the market, and I guess that Fractal is getting used to the admiration of many followers and a huge demand. (just looking at the price of the unit on ebay is a significant clue)

I just hope they're not pushing away discounted units in favor of regular orders...

Well, salud!
 
Due to fraud attempts they have to take extra measures to ensure stuff is genuine. There is no conspiracy.
 
I'm not clear on how your "fraud score" has anything to do with the popularity of the AxeFX II or the current selling price on Ebay or the admiration people have for Fractal Audio????? How are you relating these things?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like your place on the waiting list came up, you placed your order......but your "fraud score" raised a red flag and they are holding up your order to verify that your credit card is indeed yours and that everything is valid and legal? Your post suggests that you may have to provide Fractal Audio with a copy of your credit card statement and that could take care of the problem?

If all you have to do is show them a copy of your credit card statement then this sounds like a pretty simple issue to resolve. I'm not understanding how you are relating this easily solved problem to all these other issues that you are alluding to in your post? Are you suggesting that Fractal Audio is making up this "fraud score" issue as an excuse to cancel your order so that they can sell your waiting list unit to a non waiting list person for a higher price?

p
 
No no no, don't take me wrong, I don't say that there is a conspiracy or the situation is intended... it is not the first time that something like that happens with that card (in about 10% of the online purchases, actually).

I was just commenting my situation, no trolling intended, and no criticism intended (though I may now criticize the response time of the SD). It wasn't either a positive nor negative comment- it was just what it is. Not every message has an ulterior intention. Mine was simply to state my concern with the purchase.

And the admiration and product success comment (that I'm positive it is deserved) was related to 'how long was the wait in the list'. Also, business that have less success with products than the expected -and therefore have a bigger stock- tend to be more desperate to sell them, usually circumventing those measures or answering the client more promptly. I reckon that the sales department right now has an overload of work...
 
So now you are saying that the sales department has been slow in responding to you? You never said that in your initial post. Your initital post said that your spot on the waiting list came up, you placed your order and then because of this fraud score issue you are being required to show some proof that the card is valid. You stated that a credit card statement should solve the problem and since that is a very simple thing to do it seems like this problem could be easily resolved. Your post also went on to comment on the popularity of the AxeFx and Ebay prices and then you went on to say "I just hope they're not pushing away discounted units in favor of regular orders".............which implied in a more than subtle way that you thought something wasn't on the up and up. You obviously put all these different issues in the same post for a reason, as if they had something to do with one another.

So is your problem that the sales department isn't responding to you?
 
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They have answered, and the purchase was cancelled :(. In all honesty, it didn't take very long -the sales department is relatively efficient as far as I've seen. The credit card statement solution was something that I just came up with, but apparently it is not a plausible solution. I tried again (the whole purchase), and shit, the euro is falling, now I'm paying more!! :( Let's see if this time works.

Saying that "I just hope they're not pushing away discounted units in favor of regular orders" is not assuming that they're doing so. It is just hoping that they're not doing so. I assume they don't do so. Maybe you see some evil implications in that sentence -and that's why you're defending an invisible cause. I just see a thought there. A thought that I'm not going to defend, but a thought I had. Maybe it wasn't right to put it like that, but, am I not entitled to express my concerns and all their implications, even if they're unlikely?

Nah, the post was just a way to vent my frustrations... but apparently I came to the worst place to do so. So basically, nevermind. I don't see much debate here (neither was much debate in the first place, I should have vented'em into a blog or something).
 
I don't mind if you vent..........I don't even mind if you outright complain! I was just (and still am to be honest) trying to understand what exactly you are venting or complaining about???? Your first post said that your order was being held up and then went on to imply that the popularity of the AxeFX and inflated ebay prices could have something to do with Fractal Audio holding up your order in favor of selling higher priced non discount units..........then you went back on those suggestions in your second post and said that you've had this problem before with your card, and instead suggested that the problem had to do with the sales department not responding promptly...................but then in your third post you go back on that as well and say that the sales department was efficient (but if I'm reading right you are apparently unhappy about the Euro falling).

So no, I'm not defending any cause, invisible or otherwise. I've simply asked for clarification on each of your posts cause I honestly wasn't understanding the problem..................and I'm still not understanding. Your first two posts seemed to express some sort of frustration with Fractal Audio, but I honestly can't figure out what they did to cause this frustration and since you keep changing your story it has become more confusing with each of your posts. If Fractal Audio did something wrong then you should say it in plain and simple language so that everyone can understand. No one will call you a troll if you have an honest complaint.

p
 
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I don't think giving additional details is changing the story. I didn't contradict myself (though a biased analysis may give that impression). Again, "I may criticize the response time of the SD" is a sentence that may fall under the scrutiny of the reader. 'I may' because it had been a day... is that more than the average response time of sales departments in the US? less? I don't know. 'I may' but I won't- if they answer me soon enough. Just projecting the 'anxiety'.

Anyway, I liked your point about being precise and expressing in a simple way the frustrations around the subject (with additional information within parentheses and brackets):

- 5 months waiting rendered me 'anxious' and expectant on the purchase.
- The purchase problems because of the freakin' card and Fractal's security policy (well, I don't think that they can even choose it -I would infer that that policy is established by the "credit card processing provider". I would say it also has to do with the size of the company... I never had a problem with online payments to bigger companies, but small ones may be more pressured to further examination of online payments). [Which arises other concerns about why I don't have a credit card from the US and the catch-22 of credit history, but that's another story]
- Trying to solve it, and waiting hours in between responses. (again, I think that this response time is quite understandable, in DS average terms)
- Those responses being not favorable -and all the additional data given, worthless.
- Being unable to solve it, just "try again".
- Losing money and time in the ordeal. (well, that term is a bit exagerated)
- Not being sure if I will get it.

As you see, my speech can't be perceived as criticism to Fractal -because I can't openly complain about things that may be external and not related to any Fractal's decision. Well, maybe if they had a different business model... they would be more effective with, i.e. exports. But it is not my intention to be a "keyboard director".

If it isn't clear now, then I am sorry. It may be due to my lousy grasp of english as a non-native speaker.

PS: To me, it seems as if we were trying to create polemic out of nothing. In the end, it is just a purchase.
 
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Hey man, I don't think any of us wanted to put you on the spot or anything, but there's nothing wrong with fractal's policies and business model, matter of fact I admire these things about them! But to address your statements, fractal, just like any other company is trying to minimize fraud, and maybe there's something wrong with your card or rating. I also ran into some issues when i got my first axe, and I think I ended up using another card or something. Not that my rating was bad or anything, but it was something with me being a non-US citizen or something like that, I can't remember really. Either way, the issue was resolved quickly and professionally, and I think they will treat you the same. So no worries, no conspiracy, and no need to make fractal look bad. Good luck with your purchase man! ;)
 
F.A.S. is on the up and up. Totally legit and loved by many.
Try contacting them through support.
 
Thanks Jon... I didn't intend to make Fractal look bad. I don't think that I have that power though... specially in this forum -with all FA's devotees (I may become one, actually ;D) nobody has that power (well, maybe Cliff could :D).

So far, what I consider admirable in Fractal is mostly related to the engineering of the Axe-Fx... I'm not sure about other departments- I don't have enough information to judge as of now.

Well, I'll keep you updated on the purchase!

PS: I already contacted the bank, but they just told me that the operations were approved... so it is blocked 'in the other side'...
 
Well contact fractal about alternative payment options? Or try another card? I'm sure they'll be glad to help you....
 
So far, I ordered it again with the same card. I changed the format of the billing address and other fields just in case the score is determined automatically. Basically, I removed prefixes (like 'CL' for 'street', the phone international code...) and replaced some data. If that doesn't work, then I'll try asking for other options... but I don't have other available credit cards. So if that happens, I will start asking things like if they accept checks and so... :|
 
Okay, color me confused, so excuse any errors.

The OP is attempting to purchase an Axe Fx II?
The OP is in Europe, or, "not USA"?
The OP is attempting to purchase through Fractal directly?
If it is yes to those three, then.. uh.. of course the order is declined.
If the OP is visiting the States and attempting to use a card with no valid address here, then.. uh.. yeah, declined.

If I missed something, then perhaps outlining the situation might help. The OP states that English is not their primary language, and does not state any third party dealer (Tone Merchants in the USA, G66 in Europe, etc), and is, in fact, citing Fractal directly, and stating "credit card" being *declined*. It took reading a few posts to collect all of that information, so, once again, I could be completely wrong/confused.

The OP does state, later, "Nah, the post was just a way to vent my frustrations..." This is fine, of course, but it does leave readers a bit confused I think, especially as to what is being vented about.

An example of a post that might help, if help is what the OP is after (if it is simply venting, then cool!):
1) Got coupon. Finally! 5 months of waiting, the day is finally here!
2) Place order, use my credit card.
3) Order cancelled, not sure why.
4) Try order again, same result.
Oh- and I live in Denmark, but my credit card still has my old address in Norway, so that could be it. Stupid credit card companies.

Sorry again if I got everything all mucked up. This is like a mystery on TV now, so I am actually interested in finding out what (really) happened.
 
The OP (me) is attempting to purchase an Axe-Fx II, he is in the US, buying directly through Fractal, but with a credit card from a different country, though the shipping is within the US.

You basically got it right, but I'm at the Step 4 in your list, and I hope this time works. Now the euro dropped even more so in the authorization I can see a higher price in EUR than days ago.

And the murderer was the butler... :D
 
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Also, I want to be clear in that the last year I have been buying a lot of stuff from other online stores, with a shipping address to the US -and that card with the billing address outside of the US, and it is usually not a problem.
 
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