** EDITED ON 16/08/2025 **
Quick Summary for those who don’t want to read it all:
When an order is flagged as fraudulent by the bank/Shopify, we are required to hold the order until verification is provided. In this case, the CVV and billing address were not supplied, so we could not release the products. The refund was issued immediately through Shopify (the same way the payment came in). This is standard procedure for all eCommerce stores and protects both the business and genuine customers.
Have a great day :)
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Our Full Original Reply For Those That Want to Read it
Thank you for your feedback. We appreciate the chance to clarify what happened with your order.
First, we clearly state on our website that the lead time for production is 7 business days due to high demand, as all our chocolates are made fresh. This message appears at the very top of the category and product pages, as well as in the product description. When we went to process your order, the phone number you provided was not reachable, which is why we sent you an email.
On 10/08/2025, we advised the following:
"It looks like there is a verification issue with the credit card used. In order for us to send the order out, we need the CVV number (3-digit number on the credit card) and the billing address that matches the credit card. Currently, it looks like the payment provider has temporarily stopped it due to a mismatch."
At no stage did we give 2 separate or contradictory reasons. This was a single, clear explanation that the transaction was flagged by our payment provider because the verification details provided at checkout did not fully match your bank’s records.
When this happens, our bank warns us not to send the order until the missing details are confirmed. If we ignore that warning and the order turns out to be unauthorised, we risk:
- Losing the products
- Paying the shipping cost
- Being charged a $35 bank fee for the chargeback
To avoid this, the bank asked us to confirm the CVV and billing address in writing before releasing the order. Providing only the CVV in an email poses no fraud risk on its own — it is simply a 3-digit code used for verification. It only becomes a risk if sent together with the full card number and expiry date, which we never requested.
The fact that you couldn’t provide us with the CVV number and billing address, and instead replied with “give me a refund” — while also stating you “called the bank to confirm if the money went out” — speaks for itself. Really? You called the bank to check if the payment was taken, instead of simply providing the CVV number your bank required? That’s a strong indication you didn’t have it, which is why you requested a refund instead.
Once you requested that refund, we processed right away, it can take the bank a few days to process it but that is out of our hands.
During our review, we also identified 2 other emails, both enquiring about an order with the exact same message but using different email addresses and names, the phone number provided also does not connect, which was another red flag.
Also, Pickle Rick (now changed to 'Anonymous'), it’s interesting how you have no other reviews anywhere apart from this one.
We take fraud prevention seriously to protect our customers and our business.
@Shopify thank you for protecting small businesses from fraudulent transactions and warning us about this fraudulent user — you were 100% correct.