New purchasing agent - why the delay?

[Blakjack]

I guess this is my first purchase since Matrix went from Digital River to Plimus. I just hit submit for a digital download purchase on both Distant Worlds, and the expansion Return of the Shakturi.

For many years and quite a few Matrix titles, when purchasing through Digital River the transaction was practically instantaneous and I was able to start downloading in very short order. Now, with Plimus I've received messages for both transactions saying "my order is being reviewed and could take up to 12 hours" Huh? WTF?

Please advise as to what the problem here is. I may need or want to reconsider this purchase.

Blakjack

[Erik Rutins]

Hi Blakjack,

This is not typical, but a small number of orders do go to review. It's an anti-fraud check and usually things like using a fake phone number or ordering from an IP that's a different location from your stated country, putting in information that differs from that reported by your credit card or paypal, etc. will set it off. Usually these orders are reviewed and cleared within an hour, at which point the download link is sent out. Unfortunately, the internet is a bit of an interesting place, so these anti-fraud checks are necessary to protect against its less scrupulous denizens.

If you e-mail me at erikr@matrixgames.com, I can check on your order and get it cleared immediately.

Regards,

- Erik

[Blakjack]

Hi Erik,
Email sent to your box per your instruction.

Thanks again,

Blakjack

[Muzrub]

Hi Erik,

My order also went into the review process which was rather annoying- but the thing I have found most annoying is within 12-24 hours of buying War in the East I have received countless emails (spam) using my name!

I hate to this never happens ever, never say never or in some cases ever- but its so rare in my case I can only conclude that my information was passed on after the purchase (not by matrix but by the Plimus group).

Also in Australia we are on the do not call list (no phone sales)- within the same period after the purchase we have received over 10-20 calls from overseas marketers! (I used my phone number during the purchase of War in the East)

Normally we receive NO phone calls - now we have them all the time since the purchase!

Can you look into this!

cheers

jamie

[Erik Rutins]

Hi Jamie,

I can guarantee that was NOT us (or Plimus). Your information is kept completely confidential and not shared with anyone. We only use it to process the order, period.

Regards,

- Erik

[Blakjack]

Erik,
I just sent you another email.  The problem is on Plimus' end.  I called customer service for my credit card, and they show both transactions going through tonight successfully.

[Erik Rutins]

Hi Blakjack,

Thanks, I have asked them to clear your order ASAP, hopefully you will hear back very soon.

Regards,

- Erik

[ilovestrategy]

I'm gonna come out and say it. Reading Erik's responses confirms why I love Matrix. Matrix rocks. 

[Blakjack]

It is now 8:05am Eastern time in the US.  My order was placed via the online store and Plimus at 9:12:pm last night.  As shown in this thread and emails exchanged, the delay and/or problem lies with Plimus, and not with my credit card, which shows both purchases successfully processed when placed yesterday evening. 

If I do not receive confirmation that the purchase was successful and receive the download link by 9:12am this morning, I intend to cancel this order.  I know you did your best Erik, but this is totally ridiculous.  This saddens me greatly that I may not be able to purchase any more Matrix titles due to this method. 

Were I to list out the Matrix titles I have purchased from you guys, the list would scroll for quite a while.  Is this how loyal customers with a years-long relationship are treated?

Blakjack

I'm just gonna go ahead and do it.  The Matrix titles I currently own include:

Armada 2526, Battlefield Academy, Close Combat: Cross of Iron, Commander: Europe at War, Crown of Glory, Forge of Freedom, Fortress Europe: The Liberation of France, Gary Grigby's Eagle Day to Bombing the Reich, Horse and Musket volume1: Frederick the Great, Korsun Pocket, Korsun Pocket: Across the Dnepr, Norm Koger's The Operational Art of War 3, Operation Barbarossa: The Struggle for Russia, Panzer Command: Kharkov, Panzer Command: Winter Storm, Reach for the Stars, Starships Unlimited: Divided Galaxies, Supremacy, The Operational Art of War: A Century of Warfare, War Between the States, War in the Pacific, War in the Pacific: Admiral's Edition, War Plan Orange: Dreadnoughts in the Pacific.

[Blakjack]

I just received the download link for Distant Worlds.  Nothing yet on the expansion Return of the Shakturi.

[Erik Rutins]

Hi Blakjack,

I agree this is taking too long - you will get both links momentarily I'm certain, but I'm also taking your order to Plimus to find out why it was not cleared overnight. We were promised that manual review would not take this long to clear.

Regards,

- Erik

[Blakjack]

Still no download link for the expansion.

[Erik Rutins]

Just confirmed that both your orders were cleared. Our apologies for the delay, we're following up with the store today to make sure they improve on the review time.

Regards,

- Erik

[Blakjack]

Download link for the expansion has been received. Thanks Erik.

[e_barkmann]

Also in Australia we are on the do not call list (no phone sales)- within the same period after the purchase we have received over 10-20 calls from overseas marketers! (I used my phone number during the purchase of War in the East)

check to make sure your do not call register number is still valid, it expires every 2 yrs from memory

[Oliver Heindorf]

Erik, I bought The longest day about 3 days ago ( cant remember it exactly, was it 5 ?? ) and I had NO problems at all. DL and the entire order was done and nice. DL was ok by 300k/sec.
Still long to have the complete game here on the PC but hey, thinking 10 yeras back with 4k/sec with a modem makes me a happy camper.

Just for you for information to know that it works nice here.

[Lützow]

Obviously it works for the majority, but I never saw so many complains posted before Matrix changed their contractor. Plimus should revise their policy and bring it in line with other distributors. It has to be good enough if purchaser and cc/account owner matches and the payment get confirmed. Everything else is of no concern for digital purchases. Neither Impulse nor GG, GoG, etc. have my real address or phone number, because I simply refuse to impart personal datas for marketing purposes. Only one I know of who insists for phone verification is D2D and thus I don't buy games there.

I know, Erik usually irons out everything fast, but the change to Plimus should have been a change to the better and not the worse. Like now it's a hassle for Matrix and some of us customers alike.

[Erik Rutins]

Hi Lutzow,

We're paying attention and making improvements daily and weekly. However, on the phone number issue, Digital River also asked for the phone number, this is not new. Plimus is better at checking for differences in the order from what they expect, but they are also generally better at responding (usually). We had some situations where we could not get an order cleared by DR for several days, which was extremely frustrating for everyone involved and no doubt cost us some customers. Things are heading in the right direction overall and the other positive note is that with Plimus, we have enough flexibility to keep improving the store without having to move mountains.

With all that said, we are working with Plimus to ease the restrictions and improve response time to orders under review. Some improvements should be seen next week.

Regards,

- Erik