# Amazon Question (the online store) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 13, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885 "2008-08-13T20:10:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/1 "2008-08-13T20:10:01Z")
Not sure where to put this one. Daughter has ordered her books for college online from Amazon. They are going on her credit card (in her name) but being shipped to her grandparent’s address near her school. Thing is, for one of the orders she made a mistake and put her grandpa’s name and addy on the BILLING info. Apparently this order has already (in the space of the 20 minutes it took her to figure this out) enter the shoot, so to speak, and Amazon won’t let her change it. We have clicked through to all the “help” there is, but most of that seems to be directed at incorrect shipping addy or wrong item picked. There is no “live line” (there used to be) for us to call that I can find. Has anyone ever had this happen to them? What happen on the credit card end? She is thinking of re-ordering this lot, but we’re not sure the order will even go through, given the incorrect name on the credit card portion. Sorry to bore you all with this, but this one has me 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/2 "2008-08-13T20:15:53Z")
I think you are saying that the billing address was entered incorrectly, but the shipping address was entered correctly (in other words, the package will go where you want it to go). If so, it sounds like the order processed fine and you have nothing to worry about. I am surprised - they should do address verification on the credit card based on the billing address - if that was incorrect the card transaction should have been declined. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/3 "2008-08-13T20:19:46Z")
That is what we’re hoping happened. We’re hoping for a notice from Amazon saying that this order couldn’t be processed, but so far, nothing. It’s a bit weird and worrisome, since they should be checking addy and name with credit card info. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/4 "2008-08-13T20:23:16Z")
I did the same thing once, when ordering a gift for my son. The order was billed to me, so everything was okay. For future reference, here’s Amazon’s customer service number – 1.800.201.7575. I just dialed it and it works. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/5 "2008-08-13T20:33:07Z")
I think if the card transaction was going to be declined, it would have been declined when you submitted the order. In other words, you would have got some sort of “order declined” message. The fact that the order went through probably means it is fine. I cannot see why they would only send the credit card transaction later and then try to revert the placed order. I work in the card processing industry and am fairly familiar with this functionality. Amazon should send a subset of the address information you entered as the billing address to your credit card company, which is responsible for comparing this against the values on record and providing the result. It is technically possible that your credit card company or bank isn’t doing this check or Amazon isn’t sending this information. Weird, but technically possible. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/6 "2008-08-13T20:47:15Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] I did the same thing once, when ordering a gift for my son. The order was billed to me, so everything was okay. For future reference, here’s Amazon’s customer service number – 1.800.201.7575. I just dialed it and it works. [/QUOTE] Fantastic! Where did you dig that up? I have written it down for future reference. We’ll be calling (actually I making Daughter call) once she’s done running. I find it disheartening that Amazon or Visa didn’t flag this one order–the name is not even Daughter’s last name (this grandpa is my father)! Kinda freaky… Thanks for all the input–the Dope has never let me down yet. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/7 "2008-08-13T20:51:34Z")
I haven’t ordered from Amazon lately, but there was a time when I was having a problem getting my credit card info accepted. The order would process fine on the site, but then I would get an e-mail from Amazon saying that my order was being delayed because the billing address did not match my credit card records. IIRC sometimes these notices did not come until hours after I had placed the order. The notice would include a link to an Amazon page where I could enter another credit card or correct the information on the order (and, yes, I did verify that it was Amazon, and not a phishing attempt). At times I would have to cancel the credit card I had originally used, then re-enter _the identical information_ as if it were a different card in order to get them to finish processing the order. At least once I had to do this three times for the same order, however. I think I finally called their customer service number to report this problem, but they weren’t very helpful. Eventually the problem seemed to go away, and I didn’t have any trouble with the last few orders I placed. But for a while I was ready to give up completely on trying to order anything from Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/8 "2008-08-13T20:55:05Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] Fantastic! Where did you dig that up? I have written it down for future reference. We’ll be calling (actually I making Daughter call) once she’s done running. [/QUOTE] Google. But only because I remembered an old thread where a Doper had the number. If not for that thread, I wouldn’t have known Amazon even **had** a number. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/9 "2008-08-13T21:04:17Z")
See if this is still in service: > **[The Amazon Customer Service Phone Number](http://amazoncustomerservice.blogspot.com/2007/12/8.html)** > > 8.23.2007 Looking for the Amazon.com customer service phone number? Wait! Before you read any more, I wanted to let you know that I've bee... ---
**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/10 "2008-08-13T22:23:54Z")
You don’t need the super-secret customer service number. Go to your account, click on the “Help Department” link at the bottom, click on the “Contact Us” link on the right. It will ask if you want phone, IM, or email contact. If you request phone, it will have you type your phone number in, and your phone will ring in about ten seconds. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/11 "2008-08-14T01:04:57Z")
[QUOTE=mischievous] You don’t need the super-secret customer service number. Go to your account, click on the “Help Department” link at the bottom, click on the “Contact Us” link on the right. It will ask if you want phone, IM, or email contact. If you request phone, it will have you type your phone number in, and your phone will ring in about ten seconds. [/QUOTE] Wow. :eek: Will do so tomorrow. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/12 "2008-08-14T02:30:55Z")
Does grandpa live in the same zip code as her billing address? There’s different levels of AVS (address verification) that companies can choose to use - sometimes it’s just zip code. Just a WAG tho…looks like you have gotten plenty of good info 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-question-the-online-store/459885/13 "2008-08-14T02:35:27Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Does grandpa live in the same zip code as her billing address? There’s different levels of AVS (address verification) that companies can choose to use - sometimes it’s just zip code. Just a WAG tho..looks like you have gotten plenty of good info 🙂 [/QUOTE] Nope. We’re in Cecil territory and grandpa is in Massachusetts.