When I tried to buy a couple of Bioloid kits (c 2000 us) a couple weeks after the tank came through RS.CA started up with the “must supply faxes of bills and/or bank statements” for the order to be shipped. Paying a 2nd time by direct wire was also suggested as allowing the order to complete.

After I complained to Paypal last Nov RS.CA cancelled the order. For some reason the payment was returned in USD despite originally being in AUD. Someone kept the 10% diff, and it wasn’t me. :{

All according to RS’ standard business practices, a company rep has assured me.

Although both transactions with Robotshop.ca were via Paypal, I may have also supplied my credit card details to their web page while I was signing up for a customer account.

Since I’d told the credit people about all this, I guess they were quick off the mark to spot personal shopping on the card within driving distance of the business HQ in suburban Montreal.

But it may all just be co-incidence…

The bank says the amounts will be refunded to the Montreal-based businesses scammed, and I’m not liable.

Luckily I have a 2nd card connected to Paypal and also for daily use, so business will proceed as normal.

In ~30 years of credit card use and ~5 of internet shopping, this is the first credit card fraud I’ve had. So I guess I’ve been lucky.

The Robotship people turned out to be the most troublesome to deal with.

I told them at all times I was perfectly willing to wait for them to verify my payment had been finally completed.

This was never enough for them. At various points they’d indicated the payment had cleared as far as Paypal and their bank were concerned. But it was not enough.

Since I was outside N America my Paypal had an "unverified address". Amusingly, so does Robotshop itself, as I pointed out to them by emailing their own Paypal info as visible to me.

Not only did the non-US address spark off requests for typical "phishing" information — they wanted specifically banking account hard copy — but information that would not end up telling them what they claimed they needed the information for. There is a business bank account attached to the Paypal account, but they didn’t want to see that. They apparently wanted listings from my personal account to "verify my home address".

I pointed my personal bank account is not related to either Paypal or the credit card attached to the Paypal account, nor does it have the same address attached to it as the Paypal account, nor is it my "home address".

Since I’d already done 1 prev transaction with Robotshop and had prepaid and signed for the package on delivery to the Paypal address, I would have thougt the "address" issue would be settled as far reasonable entities were concened.

They also indicated at one point I should send a 2nd payment-in-full in cash if I wanted the order to proceed quickly.

But I’ve dealt with people that demand cash upfront before an order will even be processed, let alone for something I’d already paid in full several weeks’ previously.

I was also surprised Robotshop could not resolve their concerns any other way apart from phishing.  For example, I offered to supply the names of other companies I’d done business with. I indicated I had a good Ebay record they could check online. And I also indicated the order could be split up if the total amount-at-risk (?) was too large for them in one shot. (I was going to have to pay individually for each item in the order anyway, according to the company policy).

None of these things was taken up, and Robotshop offered no solution apart from wanting to see hard copies of my bank accounts.

As the problem dragged out for 6-8 weeks or more I put in complaints (about the phishing) to Roboshop’s nearby provincial consumer office, Paypal, my credit card company and bank.

After I kicked up a fuss about supplying random bank statements, Robotshop *appeared* to be ready to just wait for the money to clear before shipping my order.

But at some point after I compalined to Paypal they claimed my transaction was holding up their business and they cancelled the order without notice and ended up witholding about 10% of the initial payment.

No other company I’ve every dealt with has come anywhere close to this extended foolishness.

In a couple of cases orders had to be cancelled because advertised products (but for which the order was initially accepted — saying something about the inefficiency of some operations) were found to be no longer available. In such cases expenses related to the cancellation of the transaction were met by the company.

Robotshop reps have said a couple of times the (mis)handling of my business  conforms with their now-standard (the explanation for the extra payments and hard copy changed from "expediting" to "requirement" to "long-standing practice" over the 8 weeks, so we can suspect policy-on-the-fly) business practices.

So the company is far more than just "cautious about international transactions". As I say, I’ve dealt with > 25 other companies in the same amounts as the Robotshop order. But Robotshop are the only one from the 25+ that has failed so spectacularly, wasting 8 weeks and costing me 200 usd.

 An old Arabic saying says "a thief suspects the honesty of others".

I’ve recently noticed Robotshop has apparently landed some US DoD contract. No doubt that will be handled better by them.

Or maybe not.

I’ve left all the emails on my own business web page as a warning to others.

I suspected it wouldn’t be long… 

In 5 years of doing business on the net only 1 company has claimed it was "standard practice" to send photocopies of personal bills and bank statements to "verify my address" so an order could be shipped. 

So what are the odds someone was using my credit card to do a little mother’s day shopping in Montreal (not much of a stone’s throw from Boisbriand — 30 mins driving time according to Google maps) over the weekend?

 From the pattern of usage, the card people say it’s bound to be a local group. If the crims had international connections purchases would have been made in the right country and, typically, for larger amounts.

Having been "sensitised" to the possibility, the Quebec police are allegedly already on the job. Since it isn’t the 1950s and it isn’t the Mounties, I’m not holding my breath for any result.

It sounds as if someone threw your highly important documents into a bin or something and then someone found it. Or do you think it was the actual guys you bought the product from?? I assume your bank will refund everything?

Funnily enough I am currently watching ‘Insight’ on SBS at the moment. Tonights episode is on identity fraud of all things

Good luck with the investigation!