I opened my bank account through 1st Contact and it was opened in 3 days. Basically, I have to pay 1st Contact GBP 30 and attend their orientation meeting for 2-3 hours. Afterwards, a Barclays representative came in and took my details. I have to show my US bank account statements and passport for them to confirm my identity.
The trick is that the current account (called First Addition) comes with a "Gadget Insurance" that cost GBP 6.5 / month, which I can CANCEL. The good thing that the Barclays rep. was nice enough to inform me of this, otherwise I'll be paying that monthly "fee"!
