First thing this morning - meaning at 7.30am - I phoned my credit card company, seeking a reason why Samsung UK weren't able to process my four payment attempts. I spoke first to a nice man called Thomas, and then to a most pleasant lady called Suzanne in their Fraud department. Suzanne looked up what had happened with my Samsung purchase attempts. It turned out that, because this was a large and non-routine payment, they (the credit card company) had briefly held it up while assessing the fraud risk. But once this was done, they authorised payment. Each time.
So the problem must lie with Samsung's own payment process. Possibly the transaction was cancelled in accordance with their normal rules, as there was more than a moment's delay in making payment. Possibly there had simply been so many people simultaneously trying to place an order, and pay, that their system had aborted some orders to keep the queue manageable.
It all sounded reasonable to me. Suzanne also checked to see that there wasn't some background block on my card. There wasn't. Which was a relief.
So, it seems I can try to buy from Samsung again whenever I like. But you know what? My initial enthusiasm has dissipated. The need for a new phone hasn't gone away, but it isn't pressing, and I can easily wait, for months ahead if need be. And in that time, I can find out what reviewers have thought of it. And, when the phone shops reopen as normal, I can walk in and handle the thing. It's important to know how it feels in my hands. The new S21 Ultra might be just too big to comfortably hold. Best to check that out.
Do I mind not having early gratification? No, not very much. The right moment to buy will surely come, and meanwhile I'll just get on with other things.
