45 replies to this topic

[Eternalodyssey]

Hello all, I know there is some apprehension in using Tranzfers.com. I figured I would give it a go and share my experience so that others would know what to expect or even decide for themselves. I was a bit confused on the whole reorder issue and after posting my frustrations it was suggested I email Open-Pandora, so I did. I got an email response by the very nice young lady, Jacquelyn in about 30 minutes. Already I am impressed with OpenPandora customer service. She gave me all of the bank transfer information I would need.

I headed over to Tranzfers.com and registered on the site using my email address and telephone information. About 5 minutes later I was greeted with an email instructing me of phone numbers available. If you are American or are otherwise unfamiliar with what the dialect the female voice greets you with when you dial the number, rest assured that she is greeting you with the name of the company, "OzForex." Upon connecting to the Canadian number for the company, I was greeted by a gentleman named David B. who asked my my mailing address and the location I intended to send money to. I explained it was for the Pandora device and he immediately knew what I was talking about. He even briefly mentioned it was a Linux based device which to me means quite a few people have used this service already. He then explained an email would be sent to me with further instructions on how to set up an account. He mentioned I would need to scan a copy of my US Driver's License and to also include a copy of a utility bill to show proof of residency. I would surmise this also aids in identity verification.

After the phone call I received an email verifying my registration and enclosing further instructions on how to finish the verification process. This is posted from the email:

WHAT WE NEED:
1. Photo ID in the form of either a current Driver's License or Passport
2. Signed utilities bill or bank statement confirming your current address (not older than 3 months). Online bank statements or mobile phone bills are not acceptable as proof of address.

HOW YOU CAN PROVIDE IT (in order of preference)
1. Secure encrypted web upload (Digital photo file or scanned version of documents).
2. Email (Digital photo or scanned version of documents) compliance@tranzfers.com
3. Fax Copies of documents to:
London Dealing Room +44 20 7614 4180
Sydney Dealing Room +61 2 8667 8080
Toronto Dealing Room +1 416 214 7742

PLEASE NOTE
We will also verify your address by posting you an Address Verification Code Letter. Once received please enter the code into the website when prompted or you can simply email it back to us.


These requirements do not seem too unreasonable when considering the organization deals with international transfers of currency. I have just finished emailing a scan of my Driver's License and my utility bill and am now awaiting confirmation so that I may make my payment. So far I have only spent a little over 30 minutes setting this up. I will update this thread when I move on to the next step. Again, it is my hopes to share this process so that others might understand it better.

[Ryzure]

Big quote.

Sounds simple enough, but Tranzfers directed me to CanadianForex, which they told me, was their parent company.

WHAT WE NEED:

If you reside in Canada, a certified copy of a current driver's license or passport. If you do not reside in Canada, a certified copy of a current passport. (This requirement applies to both the account holder and anybody else authorized on the account).

A cheque payable to CanadianForex Limited in the sum of $1.00 (clearance of which will establish that you have deposit account with a financial entity).

A signed Individual Client Agreement Form

Why are you getting it so easy? X_X
Quick Edit: I'm in the US too.

Edited by Ryzure, 20 January 2009 - 01:43 AM.

[Eternalodyssey]

Hmm, not sure, Ryzure. Did you call the American directed phone number? It is: 1800 680 0750. Perhaps they may believe you are in Canada? I am awaiting hearing back which I suppose will hear tomorrow.

[todd]

Hmm, not sure, Ryzure. Did you call the American directed phone number? It is: 1800 680 0750. Perhaps they may believe you are in Canada? I am awaiting hearing back which I suppose will hear tomorrow.

Hah. I didn't see a phone number listed for the US. But I saw a 1800 for Canada and called it (from Texas). I'm pretty sure it was toll free.

I emailed Jacquelyn and received a response very quickly despite it being very late at night in UK.

Next step: create an account (someone to receive the money, i.e., OP)
Filling in the fields about where the money is going was a little confusing. For the receiving bank's town/suburb I used "Ashington". I hope that was right (or close enough). I maybe should have put Northumberland.

Then create a "New Tranzfer"

Finally, fund the transfer by sending money to Ozforex, c/o BONY (Bank of NY?)
I was disappointed to discover I will still have to do a wire transfer from my own bank: that's still $15 or $25 domestically. So the hassle of signing up at Tranzfer is only saving $10 or so after the $5 fee. I might not have bothered if I'd thought about it ahead of time. A lot of personal information being shared.

At least if I need to place another order with OP in the future I'll be all cued up.

It would be amusing to know what Tranzfers thinks of the sudden boom in business today. They were pretty responsive to me. Though the agent with whom I spoke complained the computer was being extremely slow...

[Ryzure]

Hmm, not sure, Ryzure. Did you call the American directed phone number? It is: 1800 680 0750. Perhaps they may believe you are in Canada? I am awaiting hearing back which I suppose will hear tomorrow.

Yessir. A miss Michelle Nash took my call, and I specified my location, and what'd I'd be using the service for. I'm not sure WHY I got routed to CanadianForex, but to use them, I need to embark on a damn quest.

OP will get my money.

[Eniko]

This probably deserves a sticky.

[Gruso]

Good work Eternalodyssey.

It would be amusing to know what Tranzfers thinks of the sudden boom in business today.

Heh. I exchanged some emails with them today. Basically I'd signed up when I didn't need to, just to suss them out. So I replied to their confirmation email to explain the situation, and to apologise for any wasted time. Over the course of a couple of emails I filled them in on the project - they had indeed been curious about why they were getting traffic from a gadget site.

I found them very professional and courteous. Of course, they're happy to assist us with our transferring requirements. And OzForex is not a name to be sneezed at.

Regarding the US/Canada stuff, guys: My understanding is that the actual office is in Canada. The freecall number is listed as "North America", because the Canadian office services all of North America.

[todd]

Regarding the US/Canada stuff, guys: My understanding is that the actual office is in Canada. The freecall number is listed as "North America", because the Canadian office services all of North America.

Actually, when I called the 1800 (Canada) number, I detected a strong accent and a generally different manner of speaking English. Also a lot of white noise on the line. (I'm terrible at understanding accents which differ from my own!) I asked and indeed the agent was in Australia. But as you said, perfectly courteous and helpful.

[pelrun]

And OzForex is not a name to be sneezed at.

I used to work near the XXXX brewery, and whilst I never sneezed at it, gawd the smell could be awful sometimes

Edited by pelrun, 20 January 2009 - 03:06 PM.

[j.pickens]

Seems like a lot of work to save $10.
I popped into my bank back in early December.
Handed them a copy of the refund email from Open Pandora Ltd.
It had all the wire transfer info. on it, including my original order number.
They set up the transfer, I had them send the exact amount I was refunded.
I ate the $30 wire transfer fee.
I was at the bank on a Friday afternoon.
The transfer was made the following Monday.
Later that week I got an email from Jaqueline at Open Pandora stating I was good to go.
Took 5 minutes at the bank.
No big deal.

[mcqfesijiba2]

Seems like a lot of work to save $10.
I popped into my bank back in early December.
Handed them a copy of the refund email from Open Pandora Ltd.
It had all the wire transfer info. on it, including my original order number.
They set up the transfer, I had them send the exact amount I was refunded.
I ate the $30 wire transfer fee.
I was at the bank on a Friday afternoon.
The transfer was made the following Monday.
Later that week I got an email from Jaqueline at Open Pandora stating I was good to go.
Took 5 minutes at the bank.
No big deal.

Doing a transfer IS easy, if your bank supports it. I think the big hangup for many is the fee(s).

Money order may be slightly cheaper and also easy, depending upon postage costs.

I'm personally taking a week or two to weigh the options (and hoping the 'cutoff' date doesn't come sooner than that).

[javaJake]

Hmmm, I'm tempted to use Transferz. Very nice information.

[mali]

I thought, you transfered already?

[hedwards]

These requirements do not seem too unreasonable when considering the organization deals with international transfers of currency. I have just finished emailing a scan of my Driver's License and my utility bill and am now awaiting confirmation so that I may make my payment. So far I have only spent a little over 30 minutes setting this up. I will update this thread when I move on to the next step. Again, it is my hopes to share this process so that others might understand it better.

This is part of the war on terror, requiring identification information to reduce or eliminate fraudulent transactions. It's actually one of the saner methods that the Feds have taken in recent years. It probably should have been done a long time ago.

[jdh2550]

Seems like a lot of work to save $10.
I popped into my bank back in early December.
Handed them a copy of the refund email from Open Pandora Ltd.
It had all the wire transfer info. on it, including my original order number.
They set up the transfer, I had them send the exact amount I was refunded.
I ate the $30 wire transfer fee.
I was at the bank on a Friday afternoon.
The transfer was made the following Monday.
Later that week I got an email from Jaqueline at Open Pandora stating I was good to go.
Took 5 minutes at the bank.
No big deal.

Yep, I agree with you now - as soon as I realized I'd have to pay to transfer to Tranzfers I figured I'd just do a direct transfer.

Now all I have to do is find my dang refund email (I have it somewhere).