That's right: In the world of e-commerce, there are times when I cannot get approval for credit card purchases because I live where I shouldn't. Most recently, Verizon smartly informed me that my “city/state/zip code” combination is not valid. Because of that, they refused to activate the EV-DO broadband wireless card built into my computer (which doesn’t work where I live anyway, but that’s a different post).
The U.S. Post Office, Amazon.com, and BankOne, which issued
me the credit card, don’t agree that I live in an invalid place. I'm guessing that
Verizon uses a database, probably compiled originally by the old Ma Bell
telephone company, to do its credit checks and that database doesn’t know that
what used to be a United States Army base is now actually a place where normal people
with normal credit live. I live in The Presidio, which has been turned over
during the past decade to a different branch of the U.S. Government, the Park
Service, and managed by a trust to convert all of its old officers quarters
into residences and some of its barracks and other buildings into a variety of
not-for-profit and for-profit enterprises.
Conclusion: I live in an e-commerce black hole. How the heck do you get something like that changed?
Move somewhere else ?
Just trying to be practical...
Posted by: Jeff Clavier | January 15, 2006 at 12:23 PM
invest in www.instapayment.com and you'll have your online payment methods completely re-invented and assist my www.wampumcard.com development and same thing is true, if not better. smart card technology for the internet.
Posted by: Joshua Lee Freeman | January 22, 2006 at 12:41 PM
Pray for Wi-Max or a mesh network to come your way soon. Or, buy a boat and move to a Marina with enouigh 802.11 saturation to light up unplugged 9volt neon tubes.
Soldier on, Stew.
JimF
Posted by: jim forbes | January 29, 2006 at 09:28 AM