People in a coma can't answer the phone

[C. Cecil Ivanish]

The suckage here is really marginal, but I guess the story might me interesting. Maybe the mods will want to move it somewhere else? In which case, I apologise.

Some time ago I get a call from a lady asking for help to track an order. I take all the details, find an order under a man's name, tell her so, she volunteers to verify all the details I had there so I know that she was legit (we get it all the time - secretaries calling for their bosses and partners for their other partner). I check the shipping details and I see that the Credit Card payment had not cleared so the order had not been sent, and hadn't our finance department contacted them at the telephone number/e-mail address provided?

She says that yes, they might have, but both the e-mail address and the telephone number belong to her husband, who had been unconscious in a hospital after a car crash for the last two weeks, and she doesn't have his e-mail password and his mobile had been heavily damaged in the accident (and, I guess, they hadn't bothered placing the SIM card in a different mobile). Now that they have been told that her husband will indeed pull out of his condition (really happy for them), she was hoping to have what he had purchased through us ready for him when he went back home.

Unfortunately, he had set up some security measure to avoid Credit Card scams by which any transaction needed to be explicitly authorised by him by e-mail or through a phone call to the bank. Which clearly he had not placed before he had his accident.

The lady was asking us to send the item anyway, and we'd receive the money as soon as her husband would be conscious again. "It is a matter of days", she said. As you might imagine, we are not allowed (nor able, from our position) to approve a payment that hadn't been cleared, and it was a matter of several hundred Euros... she insisted a bit, then I passed her on to finance... I'm afraid she didn't get what she was asking for, though.

[bainsidhe]

Geez, that kinda puts you in a pickle. It's not that you don't sympathize, it's just...no.

I can be forgiving about the SIM card thing. If you hadn't mentioned it, it's something that never would've occurred to me. I'm not techno-savvy, if you can't tell. But surely she could've provided an alternate credit card. Like her own? I put some fault on her for not taking that route.

[Festival_Worker]

That is if the SIM-card came out of the crash alive, it might have been destroyed as well. Even if it did survive, I wouldn't have though of it either, but yeah, there probably are other ways to solve the problem as well.

[C. Cecil Ivanish]

Geez, that kinda puts you in a pickle. It's not that you don't sympathize, it's just...no.

Exactly... I am not authorised (and don't even have the access) to get an order to the warehouse until the payment is processed.
I covered her with "I'm sorry to hear this" and "I'm so glad he's gonna be OK", but that's the best I can do.

I can be forgiving about the SIM card thing. If you hadn't mentioned it, it's something that never would've occurred to me.

Oh, sure, and I wouldn't have expected her to think about it in such a situation... furthermore, I guess that the bank needed HIS authorisation... so we'd have been back to square one. Just earlier.

But surely she could've provided an alternate credit card. Like her own? I put some fault on her for not taking that route.

...and I actually didn't think about this. Admittedly I'd have had to cancel her first order and create a new one (to avoid frauds and scams, finance will not authorise paying for an order with a Credit Card different from the one used during the first order - unless specifically indicated at the moment of the order. Tough guidelines, but apparently they have been burned once).

[Hyndis]

It could be a social engineering attack. By spinning a sob story that also conveniently eliminates any means of verification it hopes to use sympathy to get around the security safeguards that were put into place.

Yes, I am jaded. Spent far too long as a cubicle jockey on the phone. People will use all sorts of excuses and sob stories to try to get me to bend the rules for them, mostly just to push them ahead of the queue so they don't need to wait in line, or to do a free out of warranty repair for them. At this point I've turned strictly by the book.

Offer sympathy for their situation, but inform them that we are unable to change our policies regardless of the circumstances, and hold firm. Yes, people cry at me over the phone. I'm sorry, there is nothing that can be done. Policy is policy.

[Aislin]

I smell scam. One, when some is in a coma it is almost impossible to tell if they will be out one day, a week, or three months or may never wake even with good brain activity. Two, why is getting a unknown purchase such a rush when someone has greater more dire needs? When someone is in a coma for more than say a day or two, musle atrophy is a more pressing concern, after three days infection and respiratory failure become major concerns. Sorry my dad was in a coma for 3 months. The first few days the doctors made it very clear the issues were serious and he did not have the trama the caller indicated.

[Chromatix]

Maybe he *has* just woken up, if only briefly so far, and that's how they know he'll recover? The OP did say "unconscious", not "in a coma".

Anyway... I would assume that the SIM card would probably survive, since it tends to be buried quite deeply in the phone. Trying it in another phone would be a logical step *if* you knew you had to use it. I'm also assuming the caller had her own phone, and didn't know about the confirmation call that was due.

[C. Cecil Ivanish]

It could be a social engineering attack. By spinning a sob story that also conveniently eliminates any means of verification it hopes to use sympathy to get around the security safeguards that were put into place.

That could also make sense. Actually I hadn't even THOUGHT it could be a scam, as I had fallen all for the "sob" story - but still, first I'll protect my job. Which means not dodging the policy. For no reason.

Offer sympathy for their situation, but inform them that we are unable to change our policies regardless of the circumstances, and hold firm.

Done - success

I smell scam. One, when some is in a coma it is almost impossible to tell if they will be out one day, a week, or three months or may never wake even with good brain activity.

Not sure if he was in a coma or only "unconscious", I am afraid I created confusion by writing "coma" in the subject of the post, but the wife never mentioned "coma" as far as I can recall. Also, my ignorance of medical-related issue (my sister is a doctor and I ask her the bare minimum I need to know) made me think that two weeks unconscious would MEAN that he was in a coma - but I can't be sure, I guess.

Two, why is getting a unknown purchase such a rush when someone has greater more dire needs?

She said (*she said*) that it was because they knew he was coming out of it and that she wanted him to be surprised by having received the whatever. Yes, not too logical, but then again.

Anyway... I would assume that the SIM card would probably survive, since it tends to be buried quite deeply in the phone. Trying it in another phone would be a logical step *if* you knew you had to use it. I'm also assuming the caller had her own phone, and didn't know about the confirmation call that was due.

Exactly - I'd be pretty sure that the SIM card would have survived, only she didn't know that a confirmation call was due - then again, I'm not sure if the bank would have accepted HER confirmation. Security reasons.

[godaistudios]

Some time ago I get a call from a lady asking for help to track an order. I take all the details, find an order under a man's name, tell her so, she volunteers to verify all the details I had there so I know that she was legit.

Because of social engeineering, even confirming the gender of the person on the account can be considered a release of information by some companies.

I always take it as this:

"I don't have your name on the account/order, is the person who would be listed as the authroized user/billing party be availble to speak with?"

Even if they say "That's my spouse/parent/sibling/friend" and name them, I never confirm it... of course 90% of the time, it is, but why give them an edge?

[Seshat]

Whenever I've needed to use that sort of sob story (rarely, but it's happened), a letter from the relevant hospital has been sufficient.

Oh, it has to be hospital letterhead, and signed by an authorised person at the hospital, and so on. But if her sob story is true, then there should be no problem for the senior nurse on her husband's case, or the attending doctor, to whip up such a letter and send it.

And yes, it's true that a scammer can fake letters - but it's usually too much bother, and/or finance can contact the hospital and confirm enough of the details to ensure all is well.

[C. Cecil Ivanish]

Because of social engeineering, even confirming the gender of the person on the account can be considered a release of information by some companies.

Hmm. Well, we are dealing with a case in which I had the details of his bank account in my hands, so I didn't think I'd worry.

I always take it as this:
"I don't have your name on the account/order, is the person who would be listed as the authroized user/billing party be availble to speak with?"

I think I used the line "Actually the order is on one Mr. Xxxxx's account, I'd need to talk to him in person".

Whenever I've needed to use that sort of sob story (rarely, but it's happened), a letter from the relevant hospital has been sufficient.

Even if the story was true - I am sure his happiness at having survived wasn't dampened too much by not having received his [accessory] in time.