For me, the very worst part has been attempting to obtain a debit card for our UK bank account. This bank account was opened by my husband when he was here before the rest of us, and he opened it using his Bechtel address. So when we went in April to get me added to the account, the bank informed us that I could not be added until we had a permanent address. Of course, that did not happen until the end of June. When we went into the bank in June, we were informed that I needed to be listed on a utility bill. Of course, we did not have a utility bill with our names on it yet. We had to call the utility company, have a three way call in which I consented to be added to the account, and then wait for six weeks until our first statement appeared. When I returned from the Seattle trip, we had a council tax statement with my name on it, and so the very first day I was back in London, I took my passport, the council tax statement and the form to the bank. I submitted it. The banker man told me that I would receive a debit card in two weeks.
I never received it. The bank lost the form, and the copy of the council tax statement and the copy of my passport. AND the application for my UK credit card as well.
In the meantime, we lost the council tax statement, and our utility statements are all electronic. So I finally remembered earlier this week to go get the form again (no, we didn't keep a copy), but when I went to submit it, I took a LETTER from the gas company, not a statement, to the bank and was rejected. Now this is the crazy part. I actually started to CRY in the bank. Not like big sobs, but I couldn't talk and just stalked out of there. And then I texted Eli that if we can't switch banks, I want to go back to the US. Of course, we can't switch banks because everything is automatically debited from our account and it would be such a hassle. But.
Now you all know the dark side of living in the UK. It is full of totally inefficient assholes. (Many of them have horrible teeth.)
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