Davos Newbies

Brad DeLong: “Experience teaches that the Bush administration is worse than we imagine – even after taking account of the fact that the Bush adminisntration is worse than we imagine.”

One of the unheralded problems with moving to the US after many years abroad is that I don’t exist as far as credit rating agencies are concerned. I may have 25 years of a perfect credit history in Britain, but in the US that doesn’t mean squat.

That hasn’t mattered since I moved back. Until today.

My wife is flying to London on Sunday to have her long-awaited visa interview at the US consulate. Obviously we hope it goes smoothly, and there’s not reason to think it won’t. I phoned T-Mobile today to arrange for her recently acquired phone to have international roaming.

Guess what? I can’t. Apparently the “plan” I have from T-Mobile (the phone account is in my name since Tracey still doesn’t exist officially in the US, except as a visitor) requires 12 months use before it can be authorized for international roaming. Why? When they did the credit check on me, it came up blank. So I have the same credit rating as an 18-year old getting his first credit card.

“I understand the problem,” I told the calm-voiced T-Mobile agent on the phone. “I’m happy to put a deposit in my account to ensure you have no risk that I’ll run away with my phone in Europe.” No dice. “Can I speak to someone who has the authority to do that?” No. I’ll be able to get international roaming on July 17, 2006, I was not-so-helpfully told.

So T-Mobile doesn’t want me to ring up lucrative international roaming charges. It doesn’t want me to deposit a significant positive balance in my account, on which they can earn interest, to guard against any risk.

I slammed down my phone in anger. Two of my co-colleagues (see Martin Lukes passim) were jolted out of their seats, startled by my behavior. I’m among the calmest persons most people know. But not when I encounter such astonishing corporate stupidity.

T-Mobile is a dumb, dumb company.