What Happens When You Enter The Wrong Billing Address

wrong billing address

The worst result of entering the wrong billing address on an order is a cancellation. Fortunately, no one will prosecute you.

In most cases, the retailer will send an email detailing a process to rectify the information. Then, when you complete the update, your order process should proceed without hassle. It is not illegal to use a wrong billing address; it does not influence the confirmation of your order. Correct credit card information confirms your order.

However, even if your order confirms, it won’t process if the billing address is incorrect. What then is the function of the billing address, and what happens when it’s wrong?

wrong billing address

Is Billing Address Important When Ordering Online?

Entering your billing address is essential, as the e-commerce company needs it for security reasons. In addition, E-commerce companies look to reduce fraud on their platform, and the billing address helps them do that.

The e-commerce system requires that the billing address you enter match the details of your credit account.  The process of verifying billing addresses is called Address Verification Service (AVS).

Though, not all e-commerce platforms subscribe to billing address verification services. In this case, the company won’t know if you fill in an incorrect billing address.

The billing address is different from the shipping address. Credit card information and other bill-related (payments) details are sent to your billing address, while your package goes to your shipping address.

Most times, your billing address and shipping address are the same. Because these addresses are the same, they get used interchangeably.

What Happens If You Enter The Wrong Billing Address On An Order?

When you enter the wrong billing address, your order will most likely cancel. The cancellation is because the company you are purchasing from cannot confirm if you own the credit card information you enter.

Companies with more advanced systems will let you know right away before you even complete your order. Other companies will send you an email notifying you of the error and the incompletion of your order.

The rectifying process that follows will require you to log into your account or reaching out to customer service to change the billing details. Upon update of your billing information, your order processing begins.

If the company already canceled your order, you’ll need to check out the cart as a new order, with accurate billing information.

What Happens If You Move To A New House Address?

Sometimes, a saved copy of your billing information is in your browser, which may be the old one. For example, if you have moved houses, you must change your billing address to match your current house address and other necessary details.

To change your billing address, you may need to visit your card-issuing bank or do it online. On the other hand, you can easily change your shipping address when ordering or in your browser.

The process of changing billing addresses differs from one bank to the other. However, you’ll make headway with your bank’s customer service department.

Changing your billing address is free; you should also complete the process in a matter of minutes or hours, at most.

You can also call your bank’s customer service beforehand to confirm what the billing address change process is like.

On a final note, your billing address can differ from your shipping address. In this case, the e-commerce platform may take you through one more verification step. 

Final Take

It is possible to enter the wrong billing address; you can forget the address details your credit card carries. However, this does not put your money at risk.

If an incorrect billing address leads to the cancellation of your order, you’ll most likely get a full refund. Again, though, this is subject to the platform you are dealing with.

To reorder after cancellation, you should find out or change the billing address. Then proceed to checking out.

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