very particular
Liam Neeson, Taken
Bienvenue and welcome back to Musée Musings, your idiosyncratic guide to Paris and art. With all the miles I accumulated on Air France during the past year, I was able to travel from San Francisco to Paris in Business class. Which I highly recommend. Especially if you have to fly over a continent and an ocean to get to where you are going. Paris is damp and dreary and dark. And calm. The weather report isn’t likely to change anytime soon, but the calm part is scheduled to end on Tuesday when the protests against Macron’s efforts to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 begin again in earnest. Everything will probably be closed or inaccessible, so I’ll enjoy a day at home, especially since the epicenter of demonstrations is usually the monument closest to my flat - the Place de la Bastille.
The day before I left for Paris, I learned that someone had applied for a credit card in my name (so my identity has been Taken, I mean stolen, I mean where is Liam Neeson when you need him?) but the application had been denied because insufficient information was provided. I was told to notify my financial institutions (which I did) and get in touch with one of the credit companies (which I also did) The third thing I was told to do was go to my local police station and notify them that I am a victim of Identity Theft. Which I didn’t do because it seemed a bit excessive. Stupid me.
Ginevra kindly waited until I called her from Paris (rather than tell me before I boarded the airplane in San Francisco) to tell me that this identity theft business hadn’t stopped with denied credit card and loan applications. A bill from Verizon for two cell phones and numbers, which I didn’t order, arrived after I left for the airport. Jet-lagged but inquiète, I called Verizon’s Fraud Department to let them know that I had not made those purchases. That I was the victim of identity theft. The requirements for claiming identity theft with Verizon are proof of identity, (issued by the government), a utility bill to prove that I live at the property where the bill was sent and a letter from my local police station confirming that I am a victim of identity theft.
The woman I spoke to made it clear that if the letter from my police department didn’t mention Verizon by name, the letter would not be accepted. I am wondering how someone could have purchased two cell phones and two lines with only my name and social security number. How is it that someone was able to get cell phones without providing either a credit card number or a bank account? But to prove that I am the victim of identity theft, I have to jump through hoops. Talk about blaming the victim. This is all very wrong. And without “a very particular set of skills” (Liam again) all I can do is fill out forms.
I called the police station in San Francisco and asked if Ginevra could come in and ‘Face Time’ with me, so I could file the identity theft claim. No, the young officer said, in person means in person. Ginevra and I then came up with the brilliant idea of just closing the account. So we called Verizon. To close the account, they must verify that I am the owner of the account. How? By sending me a text to the telephone number on the account, of course. But I don’t have that phone, of course. It is currently being used by whomever has stolen my identity.
I am not going to pay those Verizon bills. I am not going to fly across an ocean and continent anytime soon to go to the police station in San Francisco. I suppose I will continue to get monthly bills and then the dunning letters will begin. And my perfect credit score will go to hell. Suggestions anyone?
Today’s article is about the sculptor, Simone Leigh, whose work I fell in love with at the Venice Biennale. I so appreciate all the associations she makes in her work, to historical events and images from Africa and Europe and the American south. Read it here.
Readers Comments. Thank you!:
Laura (from Nebraska, I think) kindly commented (twice) about last week’s newsletter. I am always grateful when you write, I always enjoy reading what you have to say. Merci! Gros Bisous, Dr. B.
New comments on ramses retirement:
Wonderful that you make separate visits to exhibits with Nicolas and Ginevra. Double wonderful for you. Retirement age? A hot topic reappears and I've no clue of the outcome. Each time it comes up it goes away unresolved. This is when one needs to be able to pull a string to untangle the facts and perhaps point out the merits, for naught if no one will listen. I saw "Living" last night, don't miss it. (Author’s note: I did see it, find my comments here: name that storm) Wonderful in so many ways. Acting, cinematography, society and culture of the time. I see any film Bill Nighy appears in. Laura, Nebraska
me again, am I allowed two? I stayed up way too late the other night after discovering "River". Look forward to hearing how your Proust sessions go. Laura, Nebraska