Debby Wu’s article is in today’s Taipei Times: Expats find it hard to get phone.
I’m kinda disappointed that she left out the part where they lost all the written correspondence I’d sent them in painstaking Chinese, and then couldn’t find my file on the computer either…“This center doesn’t have that database.” etc. etc. ad nauseum… 
Can you pay your phone bill with a credit card if you hold Taiwanese citizenship?
I’ve heard of some people saying you can do it online, but you need an Taiwanese ID# to do so, and I’ve never heard of anyone that’s actually done it.
If you can pay by credit card w/o having to go down to CHT, that would be great! Any information would be appreciated!!
I’ve found that to be pretty common among many places, not just telecom. Seems that even though they have the latest computer systems, the branches don’t talk to each other, and you have to goto the branch where you opened the particular account to get records, etc. 
Great article.
I’ve been in Taiwan for four years now. Because of ridiculous difficulty in getting basic services as a foreigner, I have managed to acquire quite a lot of things in Taiwan in my wife’s name instead of mine:
1 mobile phone account
1 email account for above mobile phone
1 phone line
1 ADSL line
1 Internet provider
1 bank account
1 52 ping house in Taipei
The kind folks at 7-Eleven don’t give a hoot that I come in and pay bills in my wife’s name a couple of times a month.
Back in the US I have an excellent credit rating, but that means exactly zero here in Taiwan. Here foreigners are invisible to the credit agency so even if they do manage to obtain services and credit, they can’t build up any history. It would be a godsend if Taiwan banks and companies were allowed to access foreign credit agencies to assess credit history, and foreigners could build up their credit histories here. As it is, I’m pretty much invisible to the system here because everything is in my wife’s name. Perhaps I should go about changing this.
As it is, there seems to be little interest in making things any easier for foreigners to do basic things. Could be worse though. At least I’m not a mainland chinese spouse. They all seem to be prostitutes and scam artistst or trying to infiltrate the military from the press they’ve gotten in the last couple of months.
As an aside, my wife has two US credit cards in her name even though she has no green card and doesn’t live there. Was quite easy to get too.
I’m curious if there was any pressure to delay this article until after the Taiwan Business Alliance meeting and the accompanying press articles touting the openness of Taiwan was concluded? It’s really very simple guys, you’re competing with other countries to attract investment. You need to look what your competition is doing and do better.
Why does Debby Wu come here requesting info for her articles, but never even do us the courtesy of linking to the finished product herself? I try to be positive about this country, but the way that people compartmentalize everything really pisses me off.
I wonder if that is because they cannot access information from the big 3 credit reporting agencies in the US, or if it is because they choose not to recognize the information.
[quote=“jlick”]Here foreigners are invisible to the credit agency so even if they do manage to obtain services and credit, they can’t build up any history. It would be a godsend if Taiwan banks and companies were allowed to access foreign credit agencies to assess credit history, and foreigners could build up their credit histories here.
[/quote]
As for building up history, if you get a phone line/mobile phone/credit card in your name (possible if you can get a guarantor), can you build up history, or do they not bother keeping those records for foreigners?
Why does Debby Wu come here requesting info for her articles, but never even do us the courtesy of linking to the finished product herself? I try to be positive about this country, but the way that people compartmentalize everything really pisses me off.[/quote]
I wouldn’t moan too much about Debbie. She sounds nice on the phone and emailed me the link to her first piece, when I asked her about it. And the rest is in the paper for all to see - or read online.
At least she raises our issues - that’s a great deal more than what happened before.
I agree with Mr. He that Debby is doing a pretty good job, and is sincere in her work. However, I think our “cause” would be better served if 1) these articles/editorials were translated and included in the Liberty Times, and that the “officials” being questioned would be questioned a little more directly and agressively, asking if they are unaware of the issue of “reciprocity”, etc. The majority of people reading the English-language papers are us foreigners, and we are already fully aware of the problems … it’s the rest of the people in Taiwan that need to be made aware of the treatment we’re receiving, and explain clearly WHY it is unfair.
Debbie,
Perhaps you should keep looking aroung forumosa for some more ideas for articles. Catch on to what interests us and we will all be very helpful.
You can probably tell that we are not happy about how the media in general portray foreigners in Taiwan, so you are a welcome change.
Keep it up
Does it work the other way? Would my credit history in Taiwan be available should I want to get a credit card in the states? Or am I invisible here too?
As far as I know from friends who live in Thailand, Korea and Japan, the same thing happens there. Foreigners often leave their last month’s bill unpaid, when they leave the country, sometimes out of spite, sometimes because of some argumeent with the utility, sometimes out of forgetfulness, sometimes of our cheapness. Yes. All foreigners, not just whities. I lived in Korea for 10 years and heard and saw many stories like that.
F.
As stated in a previous post, if you have no credit history in the US, you most likely will have no problem getting a “student” card or something like it, which means that it will have a low limit and a high interest rate. For example, maybe a credit line of US$500, and a 20% (or more) interest rate.
Beyond that, I don’t know what a Taiwan credit history will get you.
As for telecom and utilities, the only thing you might have a problem with is cellphone. You might be asked to put down a refundable deposit if they don’t recognize Taiwan’s credit history and you have no US credit history.
In my student days, that’s generally what my foreign friends were able to get. I’m sure what you can get if you are working (as opposed to student) is different as well. Keep in mind that this is just in general, and there are always exceptions.
I was at TESCO in Taoyuan today. I wanted to sign a 2 year contract for a cell phone with TCC. I would have got a phone for $1 if paid 6 months and signed for 2 years. They said I can’t, I can only do “pay as you go”, which is much more expensive.
Can I overcome this or is my ARC useless?
[quote=“stevieboy”]I was at TESCO in Taoyuan today. I wanted to sign a 2 year contract for a cell phone with TCC. I would have got a phone for $1 if paid 6 months and signed for 2 years. They said I can’t, I can only do “pay as you go”, which is much more expensive.
can I overcome this or is my ARC useless?[/quote]
Fareastone - you might have to lay down a deposit. I was told that the problem for the shop signing you up is that they will be hit with a charge from the telephone co, if the customer leaves before the 2 years are up.
[quote=“stevieboy”]I was at TESCO in Taoyuan today. I wanted to sign a 2 year contract for a cell phone with TCC. I would have got a phone for $1 if paid 6 months and signed for 2 years. They said I can’t, I can only do “pay as you go”, which is much more expensive.
can I overcome this or is my ARC useless?[/quote]
Yes, the ARC is useless in this case. If you do not hold citizenship, then you can only get prepaid plans, which are much more expensive than the regular plans. You might be able to talk them into giving you a regular account, but they’ll most likely demand a deposit, a guarantor, or both.
Love your avatar!
Maybe what we should is start a thread called “All the things I can’t do with my ARC”.
…I’ll try Fareastone
The avatar shows whats usually going on in my head. And my gf complains I never listen to her 
I got one. No deposit, no guarantor.
[quote=“Mr He”]
I got one. No deposit, no guarantor.[/quote]
Really? :shock: Do tell how! The closest thing I could find was with FarEasTone, but even then, they require a small deposit.
My wife has had the number for 3 years, and I asked to get it transferred to me - I’ve been using it all the time. The owner got my payment record up and saw the average bill size. With the mouth water running down his cheek, he signed me up. There’s no risk for him, as the initial 2-year lock-in period is over.