You,re talking about call centres, I think you,re on a different wavelength.
I'm talking about the HMRC monkey lines. Getting them to actually do what you want is like getting blood from a stone.
How do all the immigrants get things almost straight-away when coming to the UK then ?
What residentual history do they have ?
What credit rating ?
What input have they provided ?
I don,t hear the 2million + Poles in the UK complaining.
They don't get things straight away, that's the thing. They have no history, no credit rating and really can't get anything straight away. The reason they don't complain is because the vast majority are only there to earn money - they don't care about getting a mortgage, a loan or premium banking products. They can get pre-paid meters, or share a flat with people.
Like I said " first hurdle ", I don,t want to go on about the rest.... NIP, Regon, registry etc. it,s tedious and not as simple as you make out. especially with the constant bureaucratic changes.
It's not tedious at all, unless you count filling in a few forms and visiting a couple of offices as "tedious". Given that for EU citizens, the process is the same as Polish citizens, then it's really not difficult. The only difficulty is when you try and do things your way as opposed to the Polish way - and in which case, can you blame them for not liking it?
Just try and do things differently in France and tell me how far you get.
The problem is that you seem to be comparing doing business in the UK as a native citizen with doing business in another country as a foreigner where you don't speak the language. The two aren't comparable at all. But for what it's worth - what other EU country, except Ireland, makes it so easy for foreigners?
Bear in mind that in the UK, to apply for a NI number, you need to attend an interview with someone at the Jobcentre who has the power to refuse you. Not so in Poland.
I think the thread is about business, not students problems opening bank accounts.
It's every bit as relevant. Students are the backbone of every country - and if they can't open a simple bank account, what hope is there?
Frankly, if you're such a businessman, I'm surprised that you've been defeated by a few simple forms that a baby could fill out.