I've followed a couple of threads on Requiring logging-in before checkout -- which I just added to my checkout workflow -- as I have been wrestling with a problem -- if you don't require a customer to log in and they do not supply an email address or phone number, and the order fails for any reason, then there is no way to contact the customer to get payment (short of sending a letter to thier billing address).


You say, how could an order fail and get through? Well, it's happening with PayPal -- I've had happen three times in a week. It says the PayPal order was "accepted," given a PayPal transaction ID, but then says the "PayPal ID was rejected" -- why? I don't know. Someone suggested that perhaps the customer took too long at PayPal -- or my suspicion is that they are clicking on the PayPal Express button on the Cart page when they do not have a PayPal account, and they really want to click "Checkout" -- I understand I cannot remove this button, so that is something I have to deal with. But a couple of issues, I think, need to be addressed:



1. If you are going to allow "anonymous" checkout, either a telephone number OR email address should be mandatory.

2. Why are "rejected PayPal IDs" orders allowed to even complete? It should be the same as a credit card transaction that has been declined. I suspect that these customers THINK they have paid when they have not.



I've opened a ticket at PayPal to address the issue with them -- why they would give it a Transaction ID, send the customer back to the store (apparently) to give them an order ID, yet not approve the transaction.