Placing an order with Spruce

Richard

Richard

Final Approach
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Ack...city life
I made an over-the-phone purchase from Aircraft Spruce & Specialty using a credit card. The transaction was typical until the nice lady told me to call the 1-800 number on the back of my card to notify my bank of the transaction. She said I must supply merchant name and shipping address to my bank. She also said I must do this before Spruce calls my bank otherwise the bank will not have that information to give to Spruce and Spruce will cancel the order. So I did.

My bank asked me why the heck am I giving them a shipping address. I said because the merchant told me to or they will cancel my order. The bank relented and took the information. Then, my bank told me that after I recieve my order from Spruce I must call the bank to change the address back to my normal billing address. Huh?, says I. The bank explained that they had to change my billing address to match the shipping address to enter it into their computer.

Yes, the shipping address is different than the billing address. I've never before experience such wierdness placing an order with Spruce.
 
I don’t believe it but they must not have a sold to: and a ship to: section on the order form. That sounds very strange. I bet she did not know what she was doing.
 
Weird. Never had a problem with them ordering over the internet.
 
I give my alternate shipping address to the bank, but they CAN have multiple valid addresses. Sometimes a merchant will ask if the address is OK with the CC bank. I've had some, like the wunnerful electronic shops in Brooklyn hold my order until they talk to me without even seeing if it would go through.

You gotta understand that there are fine folks in prison who have nothing but time trying to order stuff on stolen credit cards to be shipped to their friends. I don't mean they go to prison afterwards. I mean they do the fraud using the phones INSIDE the prison.
 
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I have never had that problem with shipping stuff to a different address and I do that all the time. I have even done that with AC Spruce without going through what they made you do.
 
Mike, I understand what you say. Until we take away all the luxuries of prison life we'll be at risk. I just have never before experienced such requests from Spruce or any other merchant. Like Scott, I too have regularly had stuff shipped to different address over the years, especially to project sites. I know my bank, as example, changes security requirements from time to time, but this was just weird.
 
Had the same issue a week or two ago with them. AMEX took the info without any problems. They said "Oh yeah, we just put that here in the side column and it will be a-ok.
 
Had a company I ordered from call me today and say the bank verified my credit card billing address ZIP CODE was correct but not the address. I asked them to check again for flipped digits, etc. and they said they would, and did, and still did not get them to jive.

Never had that happen with any other company, never get bills to other than that address and ZIP CODE, so told them to go ahead and cancel the whole order right now, thanks, good-bye.
 
They have been updating their web page, and I have been having problems ordering

Today I switched to Wicks Aircraft, until the spruce problems are solved.
 
I had the exact same thing happen with another California based firm the other day. It is an auto performance parts company I have ordered from before, using the exact same CC, had to call and change the address on the card or they would not ship.
Don
 
Here is the deal, merchants as well as merchant services (credit card processing companies) such as Spruce have a choice as to allow for different shipping address or not, based on billing address. Currently they have their system set up to ship to only billing addresses.

The reason for this is fraud protection. You have no idea how much fraud is out there especially in aviation pilot supplies.

As it does create problems for customers, pilot shops have to protect themselves.
Richard said:
I made an over-the-phone purchase from Aircraft Spruce & Specialty using a credit card. The transaction was typical until the nice lady told me to call the 1-800 number on the back of my card to notify my bank of the transaction. She said I must supply merchant name and shipping address to my bank. She also said I must do this before Spruce calls my bank otherwise the bank will not have that information to give to Spruce and Spruce will cancel the order. So I did.

My bank asked me why the heck am I giving them a shipping address. I said because the merchant told me to or they will cancel my order. The bank relented and took the information. Then, my bank told me that after I recieve my order from Spruce I must call the bank to change the address back to my normal billing address. Huh?, says I. The bank explained that they had to change my billing address to match the shipping address to enter it into their computer.

Yes, the shipping address is different than the billing address. I've never before experience such wierdness placing an order with Spruce.
Click to expand...
 
Now I'm hot! I just got a call from Spruce advising they can only ship to my CC billing address. I'm currently waiting for the supe to call me back to explain why.


Tom, it seems the issue is deeper than Spruce updating their web page. They say they can only ship to billing address because of possible fraud. I told them I've never had such a problem with any other vendor or merchant, that one simple phone call to my bank would resolve all issues. The CSR supe told me the GM told the sales mgr they cannot ship across state lines (billing and shipping addresses are in different states) due to potential for fraud.

I reminded her I have provided Spruce all contact information for my bank and I have also provided Spruce with my CC account information. To me, it would be a simple matter of Spruce calling my bank who will verify my identity. So far, this seems to have fallen on deaf ears at Spruce.

I'm currently awaiting a call back from Sales Mgr to exercise one more option to have this order shipped to me....

Still waiting. So far, I've had 6 conversations with four different people at Spruce, not counting the initial phone call placing my order. It seems no one there has any authority to act outside their box.
 
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all this time Richard, i thought i had a cloud that followed me around, but im starting to realize the cloud was only there because i was going to see you.
you my friend have some strange luck.
 
Michael said:
all this time Richard, i thought i had a cloud that followed me around, but im starting to realize the cloud was only there because i was going to see you.
you my friend have some strange luck.
Click to expand...
Aint it the truth! But if I relied on luck I would have been ashes long ago.

This is how I think of it: my burden is great because I must have some pretty big shoulders. I mean, we have been promised to not be saddled with more than we can endure. Sometimes I wish I had less capacity, as if that makes sense.

Pretty funny, Michael.
 
Weird. I had them ship to my office with no issues. My credit card billing address is NOT my office address.
 
N2212R said:
Weird. I had them ship to my office with no issues. My credit card billing address is NOT my office address.
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Spruce's issue is the billing and shipping addresses are in two different states. Heck, I've had things shipped to many states and even countries without such problems. As late as last week even.

Still waitng for Spruce to call me. I guess I should exhale now....
 
Two different states? Well that can't ever happen.

You know. It's not like a lot of people working in NYC live in CT or NJ...and everybody who works in DC lives there, too.
 
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To be fair I should add this. I just hung up with the sales manager. I called him because I was done waiting for him to return my call.

He said he needs an actual check from my account in his hands. I offered to provide account and routing information over the phone but he said that's not good enough. After he recieves me check he'll ship to PHX, AZ as I originally instructed. I'm out the door right now to overnight him a check, but it being Friday I have little hope it will arrive at Spruce before Mon or even Tues.

He also said this is because this is a first time order with them! He said he has no records of previous orders I've made with Spruce. So I guess Tom is right, it is a records/webpage updating problem. Michael, thanks for pointing out my brand of luck to me.
 
I've bought a LOT of stuff from them since I've been building an
airplane. However .. I've also had good luck with Wicks and Chief.

Today however I tried to order from Spruce and after the order
was all complete .. THEN they say it's backordered. So I emailed
back to cancel it. Ordered it from Chief.
 
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