I just got back to London after weeks away - and offline - in the US. So don’t ask why I was trying to buy a bunch of stuff on Figleaves.com when I should be doing 5000 other more important things. Just don’t ask.

Ishopped on the Figleaves US site, because I want my stuff delivered tothe US. I put in a US delivery address, but on the payment screen, itwouldn’t let me enter UK credit card details. I thought this idioticpolicy went out the window several years ago; I actually wrote anarticle about it for a magazine back in 1999, so I had hoped that eightyears would be enough time for online retailers to come to their senseson this score.

The fun didn’t stop there. I could actuallychoose to submit my order and then phone in my card details, whichseemed like the only work-around. I called the UK number listed. It’sout of service. (I re-rang three times just to make sure.) The only USnumbers offered were toll-free ones, which you can’t dial from the UK.So I dug out my headset and called via Skype. A girl with a thick Irishaccent answered, and informed me that they simply do not allow peoplewith UK credit cards to place orders for delivery in the US. UNLESS, ofcourse, I want my order to ship from the UK and take three times aslong to reach the US. Oh, and if I want to pay twice as much. Nothanks, but you just lost a hugely valuable order and a potentiallylucrative customer, Figleaves. Sit and spin, mofos. (In the end, Neiman Marcus got my business.)