I just had the most unbelievable experience with PB Tech. I know they seem to be the go-to outfit for many geeks here, but I will never deal with them again. I find their behaviour outrageous and unfathomable for a company that has to sell stuff to people in order to survive.

So I placed an order and supplied all the requested information. I got to the payment page and filled in my credit card details. I completed the order and received a confirmation email. So far so good.

But then I was told I had to have my payment ‘authorised’. I am not a regular customer and I don’t want to register. I just want to make a one-off purchase, like I do all the time from other sites.

I followed the link to the authorisation page, only to learn that I was expected to contact my bank, ask them for the payment details, and relay that information back to PB Tech! Or, I could also send them a copy of my Internet banking transaction page!

What the f*** is this all about? They claim it is fraud prevention. I think it is the most outrageous ridiculous BS I have ever encountered with any company. As I told them in my very angry email, I am not a trained animal that jumps through hoops. I think their demands are ludicrous. So does everyone else I have told this to. No other web site I have ever done business with requires this sort of thing. 

They act like they are doing me a favour by selling me stuff. They are not. I am doing them a favour by giving them my money so they can get paid. If they want to protect against fraud that is fine and good, but they are trying to make it into my problem and as far as I am concerned they can go stuff themselves! There are plenty of other places happy to sell me the same item without all the nonsense.

I cancelled my order and demanded the return of my payment. So far I have not heard back from them again. 

No doubt some will pile on here with all kinds of explanations for their actions and proclamations about how unreasonable I am being, but I honestly don’t see it that way. I know credit card fraud is  a real problem, but that is an issue for the credit card companies. No-one appointed PB Tech sheriff, and if they want to stay in business, they might start by treating their customers with a little more respect and common sense. In the meantime, I will be taking my money elsewhere.