I purchased the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet the other day from their web site, and when I finished the transaction on the web site, I was told I needed to call customer service about an issue with my credit card. I thought it was strange, and there must be some sort of authorization issue, so I hit the back button and resubmitted the order again (I know – never do this).

Same result. Well, it was about 3am, so I decided to wait until the next day. In the meantime, I checked my online banking account and discovered I had two pre-auths on my account for the purchases. What this means is that the transactions went through, were approved, and they merely had to do a final authorization when they shipped the product(s), and to them, it is a done deal and the credit card is good.

So, the next day, I called Nokias customer service to get the orders straightened out and ended up going through an unbelievable credit card “security” test, where they asked me several questions “all from available public sources” about addresses I previously lived, relatives, etc. Must have taken 10-20 minutes. Keep in mind that the card was already approved. Very disconcerting.

It was not until I received the order confirmation that I discovered that Lets Talk was the company fulfilling the order. Lets Talk is a subcontractor that sells cell phones and related accessories for other companies such as Alltel, and I have experienced their contempt for customers before. The problem is, they are a contract fulfillment company and most users have no idea they are not talking to Nokia, Alltel, or whoever. I wonder if Alltel and Nokia have any idea that their customers are subjected to such an ordeal just to order a $399 product?

I’m sure some Harvard MBA in operations or whatever justifies this treatment to prevent fraud, but it is simply over the top. I understand the information they asked is indeed available publicly (with credit agencies and other sources) but I doubt the average Joe knows this, and there must be several orders lost from law-abiding citizens that have no tolerance for this kind of treatment, or indeed, embarrassment from being treated as some sort of credit card thief. In fact, I will not order online or over the phone from Nokia again, and I quit ordering from Alltel the first time I came across Lets Talk.

Lets Talk needs to be reigned in, guys. Alltel? Nokia? Listening?

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