Mike S.
Strange policies about personal information
I made a purchase of four hard drives on their website and paid with a card. Card was charged, and the charge showed on my account the next day. They emailed asking me for a picture of my ID with the credit card with the number redacted except last four digits. They claimed my address was "unverified" and that this has something to do with them not usually shipping to private residences. I offered to give them a business address to ship to, but they insisted on the ID/card picture. I sent them a color scan with the ID number redacted, but name and address visible. They claimed the scan was unreadable and asked for "vivid" photos. When I did not provide more personal information, they cancelled the order and refunded the payment. Cancellation and refund were an acceptable solution. However, I would not consider this a good experience. The request for a photo of an ID is unusual and unnecessarily invasive. There is zero reason for a business to ask for this kind of private information for a sub-$300 purchase of an item that is not specially regulated by law. Especially if the request is made after payment already cleared. The stated reason for it does not sound believable. There are all kinds of options to ensure delivery to the correct person, like requiring a signature on delivery. Address verification is also something payment processors do. This policy is not articulated during the ordering process and is not mentioned in their FAQ. The communication with the company could use more clarity in general. Ideally, if there really is a business need to do some sort of verification, the company should find more modern and secure ways than emailing personal identifying information with the only guarantee of security being an assurance to “take the security and privacy of your data very seriously”.