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FFS, once, just once, I would like to be able to do a financial transaction online without it turning into major ass pain.
First off, half the (US) companies I attempt to buy something from don't recognize APO address or don't ship to box numbers...which, of course, is what all APO addresses are. There are companies that offer to receive your purchase and send it on through the Military Postal Service...for a fee, of course. So, essentially, you end up paying twice for shipping and handling.
But the real ass pain is, the actual financial transaction. I can go to a shop here and, assuming they accept credit cards, use mine to make a purchase...no problem. I did this recently in France with both my debit card (from the base community bank) and my credit card. But if I dare try to use it online to make a purchase...no, no, NO!
I've just been trying to buy something through my cards using Paypal. I tried my credit card (which the issuing company STILL hasn't updated my new address)...so no go as the address doesn't match. And when I use my old address, it doesn't work because I'm not in California. So then I try my local debit card. Should work, right? The address matches...right? No. APOs are a US address...but the phone number is not a US phone number! It doesn't fit the US format and they don't recognize it.
I'll sort it out eventually...but that's not the point. Companies, especially US companies (I rarely have this problem with British or German purchases, for example) need to recognize that APO are valid addresses and that, amazingly, we are not going to have phone numbers or state abbreviations that neatly fit their forms.
First off, half the (US) companies I attempt to buy something from don't recognize APO address or don't ship to box numbers...which, of course, is what all APO addresses are. There are companies that offer to receive your purchase and send it on through the Military Postal Service...for a fee, of course. So, essentially, you end up paying twice for shipping and handling.
But the real ass pain is, the actual financial transaction. I can go to a shop here and, assuming they accept credit cards, use mine to make a purchase...no problem. I did this recently in France with both my debit card (from the base community bank) and my credit card. But if I dare try to use it online to make a purchase...no, no, NO!
I've just been trying to buy something through my cards using Paypal. I tried my credit card (which the issuing company STILL hasn't updated my new address)...so no go as the address doesn't match. And when I use my old address, it doesn't work because I'm not in California. So then I try my local debit card. Should work, right? The address matches...right? No. APOs are a US address...but the phone number is not a US phone number! It doesn't fit the US format and they don't recognize it.
I'll sort it out eventually...but that's not the point. Companies, especially US companies (I rarely have this problem with British or German purchases, for example) need to recognize that APO are valid addresses and that, amazingly, we are not going to have phone numbers or state abbreviations that neatly fit their forms.
