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I knew right away this would not be a good call...
Me: "Thank you for calling _____, this is CurlyLocks, how may I help you?"
SC: "Yeah, can you tell me if the account is an individual or company account?"
Me: (hmm, THE account, shall I just pick one at random from the tens of thousands of accounts in our files?) After a bit of questioning I determine that he is calling regarding an existing account, and he does in fact have an account number. I pull it up.
SC: "My brother placed an order and I'm his business partner and I want to know if it's a company account."
M: Ok for security purposes can you verify the name on the account, address, etc.
"Well, it looks like it was set up as an individual account."
SC: "But it has the company name on it!"
Me: "Yes, it has your brother's name as well as the company name, but it was set up as an individual account. When we set up a new account the agent determines this information from the customer."
SC: "Why is it an individual account, the company's name is on it?"
Me: "We ask the customer if he will individually be responsible for paying it, and if so it's an individual account. If the company will be paying for it, we mark it as a company account. Some people do put their company's name on the account even if they are paying for in individually."
We then have this same conversation two more times. Finally,
SC: "Can I make an order and put in on my brother's acccount?"
Me: "Well, since it's marked as his individual account, you would have to get your brother to call us and authorize you to order on his account. If you like, I can set up a company account for you, or your own individual account." After more discussion, he decides he wants to set up an individual account for himself. It takes him awhile to get his info together, as he claims that "OH MY GOD, my brother left the home office a mess! I just flew back in from our world headquarters in Detroit, MI."
I set it up, and ask him for the first item number. The number he gives me is for a really nice leather briefcase, over $200. My scammer alert starts to go off. He then adds several more items, making the order total over $425. With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I ask "What kind of credit card will be using today?"
SC: "OH MY GOD (each time he screams this it's as though the Apocalpyse were nigh), you want a credit card?"
Me: "Yes, we do ask that our first-time customers use a credit card."
SC: (putters about, again informing me that he's just flown in from world headquarters in Detroit, MI). "I don't think I have my credit card with me."
Me: "If you like, I can put this order on hold for you for 24-48 hrs and you can call us back when you have your credit card information."
SC: "Can I be billed for this?" (surprise, surprise, what took you so long?)
Me: "Yes, we can invoice you; all orders are subject to credit approval."
SC: (hemming and hawing) "Can my brother order this on his account and be billed for it?"
Me: "He can do that if he likes; again, all orders are subject to credit approval."
SC: "Even though he's already ordered from you?"
Me: "Yes, every order is subject to credit approval."
We then have this conversation 2 more times.
SC: "Can you just bill me on my account?"
Me: "Yes, we can do that. You will receive this order in 7-10 days, pending credit approval." (making sure I note in his account that I informed him of this)
Anyone want to take bets on whether this order goes through or not?
By the way, we actually recently had such a bad problem with a scammer that for a few days every single order from the state of Mississippi had to be put on a fraud hold. The good thing about it is that we changed our verification policies so that the customer has to verify the address to us, which is really how it should have been all along.
Me: "Thank you for calling _____, this is CurlyLocks, how may I help you?"
SC: "Yeah, can you tell me if the account is an individual or company account?"
Me: (hmm, THE account, shall I just pick one at random from the tens of thousands of accounts in our files?) After a bit of questioning I determine that he is calling regarding an existing account, and he does in fact have an account number. I pull it up.
SC: "My brother placed an order and I'm his business partner and I want to know if it's a company account."
M: Ok for security purposes can you verify the name on the account, address, etc.
"Well, it looks like it was set up as an individual account."
SC: "But it has the company name on it!"
Me: "Yes, it has your brother's name as well as the company name, but it was set up as an individual account. When we set up a new account the agent determines this information from the customer."
SC: "Why is it an individual account, the company's name is on it?"
Me: "We ask the customer if he will individually be responsible for paying it, and if so it's an individual account. If the company will be paying for it, we mark it as a company account. Some people do put their company's name on the account even if they are paying for in individually."
We then have this same conversation two more times. Finally,
SC: "Can I make an order and put in on my brother's acccount?"
Me: "Well, since it's marked as his individual account, you would have to get your brother to call us and authorize you to order on his account. If you like, I can set up a company account for you, or your own individual account." After more discussion, he decides he wants to set up an individual account for himself. It takes him awhile to get his info together, as he claims that "OH MY GOD, my brother left the home office a mess! I just flew back in from our world headquarters in Detroit, MI."
I set it up, and ask him for the first item number. The number he gives me is for a really nice leather briefcase, over $200. My scammer alert starts to go off. He then adds several more items, making the order total over $425. With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I ask "What kind of credit card will be using today?"
SC: "OH MY GOD (each time he screams this it's as though the Apocalpyse were nigh), you want a credit card?"
Me: "Yes, we do ask that our first-time customers use a credit card."
SC: (putters about, again informing me that he's just flown in from world headquarters in Detroit, MI). "I don't think I have my credit card with me."
Me: "If you like, I can put this order on hold for you for 24-48 hrs and you can call us back when you have your credit card information."
SC: "Can I be billed for this?" (surprise, surprise, what took you so long?)
Me: "Yes, we can invoice you; all orders are subject to credit approval."
SC: (hemming and hawing) "Can my brother order this on his account and be billed for it?"
Me: "He can do that if he likes; again, all orders are subject to credit approval."
SC: "Even though he's already ordered from you?"
Me: "Yes, every order is subject to credit approval."
We then have this conversation 2 more times.
SC: "Can you just bill me on my account?"
Me: "Yes, we can do that. You will receive this order in 7-10 days, pending credit approval." (making sure I note in his account that I informed him of this)
Anyone want to take bets on whether this order goes through or not?
By the way, we actually recently had such a bad problem with a scammer that for a few days every single order from the state of Mississippi had to be put on a fraud hold. The good thing about it is that we changed our verification policies so that the customer has to verify the address to us, which is really how it should have been all along.
(sorry if there are any Detroit residents here)
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