O2's iPhone credit vetting "chaos"

This morning's launch of Apple's 3G iPhone was in chaos following the failure of O2's 'Gateway' connection process for new and existing customers.

The system failed shortly after doors opened at 8:02am this monring (Friday, July 11), forcing staff in O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores across the country to call customer services to connect customers, causing long delays initially.

One staffer said: "It has been chaos; of all the days it could happen, today is the worst."

O2 is using an instore contingency procedure allowing staff to manually input new customers' details, and submitting the information when the gateway system is back up and running.

It prompts staff for all the same customer details, but they are only entered into O2's connection system when Gateway is working again. In the past, it has taken up to 24 hours for the Gateway problem to be rectified.

The manual procedure poses some risk because it enables customers to take the device away without a credit check being carried out – potentially giving customers who later faile the credit check a free iPhone.

Another O2 staffer said: "Doing it manually actually speeds the process up by about half.

"Some customers who fail the [credit] vet when it's up and running again could well have a free handset."

All customers must pass an online identity check – verifying address, date of birth and home telephone number against a debit or credit card.

Stores across the country are required to input connections manually.

Meanwhile, London O2 stores received a second delivery of 3G iPhones before stores opened this morning to allay concerns of stock shortages.

O2 store managers were summoned to a meeting on Wednesday (July 9) to let them know, initially, to expect stock levels of the 3G iPhone to be one tenth the volume available at the launch of the original in November.

Stores outside London are receiving just 5-20 3G iPhones in the first stock delivery.