Why do they make everything so difficult?

I hate that word foreigner.

It's worse in the US - they call us aliens here!

Good news!!  I have an account at Barclays!!  I am very very pleased. The bank manager whisked me into his office and opened an account and even said that as soon as I start working I can transfer to an account that will earn me some credit. 

My account was officially opened a few seconds after he hit the ENTER key.  I didn't have to make an appointment (like I did at Santanders who then told me the following week that I couldn't be added to my husband's account).  He knew about all the different services and accounts (unlike Santanders).  He said a lot of the top executives at Barclays are Americans.   

He even gave me their direct phone number so I don't have to go through the call line out of India.  When we were finished, he went out and assisted customers who were standing in the queue.  Great bank!  Great branch manager.  I couldn't be happier! 

Believe me it's just as difficult the other way around!

I had to leap through hoops to open a bank account in the US and just try getting a Social Security number! 

Getting anyone to give you utilities with no credit rating is almost impossible as it setting up health insurance from scratch!

I just get the feeling that no-one wants to make it easy for anyone who doesn't fit the general template.  If you don't fit it's always down to you to find a way forward!!

Really? I added DH to my bank account easy peasy and we went to the SS office, filled out the simple form, gave them the supporting documents, and had his number in less than the 7-10 days we were quoted. Health insurance is a whole other thing, but fortunately we were able to get it through my work, so it ended up working out okay for us.

I found everything infinitely harder in the UK with no justification as to why it had to be that difficult. That's what was so frustrating. Don't get me started on my experience of 6 weeks to get broadband hooked up. There was no excuse for that.

Glad to hear you finally got a bank account, drofnnyl! 

Hooray for your bank account! It can also come down to who you talk to at the bank. We asked several times, different people at the same branch of hubby's bank, and after two years, I was finally able to get get onto his account so we could have a joint account. The woman who said yes smiled and said all we needed was my passport and something to prove my address, such as council tax bill. Just that simple. I'm not sure why no one else could make it that easy. He even had trouble switching banks about 6-8 months after moving back here from the States, even though he'd had an account open the whole time he was away, because he'd been out of the country for nearly five years. I've never seen anything like the hoops you have to jump through just to get a bank account here.

When we added hubby to my account in the States to have a joint account they only needed his Social Security number and signature. Simple and easy. Our account in the States is still open with just a couple dollars in it to keep it active, and they send monthly statements to mom's address, and never made a single hint toward a fuss about it.