Let me start out by saying this is possible fraud, not confirmed at this point.
I am a developer that has integrated Google Checkout with a shopping cart at bowlingball.com. I have used Google Checkout to make business purchases in the past and really like the service.
I decided to open a personal account and make a purchase from Buy.com. The fact they are offering $10 off is a no brainer for the product I wanted to buy.
The purchase was flawless, and I received my emails as expected. My order was placed at 7:09 AM.
At 10:30 AM I received an automated email that my order had been canceled. There was no reason given, so I proceeded to send them an email to get clarification. If I had received an explanation to begin with, it would have saved a step.
The response I received follows:
We apologize that Google Checkout was unable to process your order.
Google Checkout tried to authorize funds from your credit card for payment; however, the authorization for payment failed. As a result, Google asked us to cancel this order. Please verify your credit card information with Google Checkout and place a new order. This should correct the authorization issue. For further information, please contact Google Customer Support at:
Now I know for a fact that Google Checkout tries to authorize funds, and if unsuccessful, THEY contact the customer to let them make any changes that will correct the order. If this is not done within 3 days, then Google Checkout cancels the order, and not the merchant.
I am still waiting for a response to this situation. I would love any feedback that someone may have.
2 replies on “buy.com commits possible fraud, negative press”
As an update, buy.com has called me back and is insisting that Google Canceled my order. I am going to contact Google Checkout next. This is why I was adamant about saying possibly and not being accusatory.
Just to follow up, it appears that this was not a problem with BUY.COM.
I have used Google Checkout through work and decided to open a personal account for this purchase. Google Checkout looked at this as the same person and canceled the order.
I blamed BUY.COM because I never heard from Google Checkout that my order was canceled. Which is odd, Google always seems to stay on top of communication.
My apologies to BUY.COM. I have placed a new order and will use them again in the future.