richms: Generally when I am ordering online I consider it finalized as soon as I put my details in and the money has gone from my visa.

I don't think that businesses should be allowed to add their own hoops to jump thru after the fact.

Passport number is often used as a "security question" on places that have a forgotten password feature. I guess people that are foolish enough to give out their personal information to a business are also going to have put their real passport number into the forgotten password questions.