I'm British in Poland and I think that it's time to go back to the UK!

Dougpol

Aug 12, 08, 17:26 #151

Grzegorz_:

Dude, you just don't get It... The whole problem is that people from outside Poland are treated the same way like people from inside of Poland.

AS a doddering Brit with various ailments brought on by sports injuries I'm treated better by the Casa Chorych than the population it was originally set up to serve. Embarrassing really.
I've always been well treated, except in communist times of course, when "different" people were something to be afraid of and some state servants would show their nerves by rudeness.

HelenaWojtczakThreads: 31 Posts: 156 Joined: Aug 5, 08 ♀	Aug 14, 08, 12:51 #152
Reading this thread it strikes me that surely the best position to be in is to marry or live with a native Pole. Then that person can liaise with all the officials, thus circumventing the anti-foreigner attitude that you have encountered.

♂

Apr 2, 10, 09:50 #153

hi avalon

thx for your very interesting information,i am british and live and work in poland and haveing the same sort of problems..credit cards,car insurance (rhd car),phones ect..i am lucky because my girlfriend speaks good english and has been wonderfull helping me with the bank,post office ect..i have been here now 3yrs on/off working...2wks uk/2wks poland but decided to move here fulltime last oct 09
RIGHT..1 so i need to read up on my rights and confront them with the facts and laws
..........2 is it possible to get car insurance here for my uk car
..........3 is it possible to get credit card ect

any information you can help me with would be gratefully recieved
have read comments on here and some i have to agree with,but if we want these things we all have to stand up and be counted,thats what made britain great a long time ago and needs to be done again

VarsovianThreads: 91 Posts: 568 Joined: Nov 23, 06 ♂	Apr 2, 10, 11:41 #154
Errm - I can't remember how it is I've got a pesel, NIP, karta pobytu Haven't got a credit card though - we only need one for hire car deposits and we use my wife's. I could get one, but as I don't need one ...

♂ [Suspended]

Apr 2, 10, 11:48 #155

steve68:1 so i need to read up on my rights and confront them with the facts and laws

Get yourself the EU residence permit and a PESEL, as well as a NIP. You'll be treated (almost) as a Polish citizen then. Without the EU residence permit, forget it.

..........2 is it possible to get car insurance here for my uk car

No. Poland doesn't allow the registration of RHD vehicles. It is possible if you know the right people in the right place - if you're in Poznan, I can recommend a particularly dodgy geezer who can get it done.

..........3 is it possible to get credit card ect

Of course. But again, the EU residence permit is what opens doors. You won't have many problems with the EU residence permit - you might get isolated bouts of stupidity, but with it, there's very little that can't be done.

steve68:but if we want these things we all have to stand up and be counted

Trust me, if you take this attitude, you'll get nowhere. There is a defensive mentality engrained within the Polish collective mindset, and if you go around demanding things, you're not going to get anywhere fast.

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Apr 2, 10, 12:59 #156
I know that dnz isn't the biggest fan of Poland but I wonder if he still stands by his statements and has been able to overcome some of the obstacles. I like his honesty and hope that he has pushed hard to get what he was after.

♂

Apr 2, 10, 13:05 #157

steve68:hi avalon

thx for your very interesting information,i am british and live and work in poland and haveing the same sort of problems..credit cards,car insurance (rhd car),phones ect..i am lucky because my girlfriend speaks good english and has been wonderfull helping me with the bank,post office ect..i have been here now 3yrs on/off working...2wks uk/2wks poland but decided to move here fulltime last oct 09
RIGHT..1 so i need to read up on my rights and confront them with the facts and laws
..........2 is it possible to get car insurance here for my uk car
..........3 is it possible to get credit card ect

1) I wouldn't bother, Poland is only in the EU simply so it can distribute its population throughout Europe and also so it can get EU funding which it can waste on train tunnels to small for a train and the lke.

2) Yes, Insure through CIS in the UK, you get extended continental cover for an extra 30 quid a year. Gives you a full year overseas.

3) Its possible but due to Poland being full of Poles they will make it impossible. As mentioned above the EU membership only applies when Poland is recieving handouts. You should expect for the person in the bank to make up excuses or even blame communism which ended 20 years ago. Failing that the blame will go to the Germans or the Jews.

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Apr 2, 10, 13:10 #158

Dnz has a point. There is a large element of selfishness in Poland's being in the EU but we can hardly blame them after they were dropped in communism.

Yalta and Tehran were a disgrace.

The problem with Britain is that you often have to carve out your own openings. If I returned, I'd likely look at ways to become self-employed. I've learned how to manage my own affairs with the help of my able-bodied wife. I've travelled widely and know the ropes.

Grzegorz_Threads: 81 Posts: 6,213 Joined: Nov 16, 06 ♂	Apr 2, 10, 19:22 #159
Seanus:There is a large element of selfishness in Poland's being in the EU I would be more than happy to give back my share of EU handouts, unfortunately no one wants to inform me how much that is and what's the procedure to give It back. I think I will organize a crowd demanding that information, maybe then the EUnuchs will react.

Filios1Threads: 15 Posts: 1,953 Joined: Nov 13, 07 ♂	Apr 2, 10, 19:22 #160
Down with NATO! DOWN WITH EU!

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Apr 2, 10, 22:18 #161
There is a guy called Jacek Kotra that could help you, Greg. He deals in that sort of thing. Filios, you are sporting a cause you know little about. This is a thread for Brits thinking about returning, not you.

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Apr 6, 10, 11:24 #162

dnz:

3) Its possible but due to Poland being full of Poles they will make it impossible. As mentioned above the EU membership only applies when Poland is recieving handouts. You should expect for the person in the bank to make up excuses or even blame communism which ended 20 years ago. Failing that the blame will go to the Germans or the Jews.

I got a joint credit card with my GF. We were offered it, didn't even ask. I just had to show my passport.

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Apr 6, 10, 12:34 #163

Seanus:

I know that dnz isn't the biggest fan of Poland but I wonder if he still stands by his statements and has been able to overcome some of the obstacles. I like his honesty and hope that he has pushed hard to get what he was after.

Thanks:)

In answer to your question I never managed to get a credit card in Poland and as i'm leaving in a few weeks I never will. (Funnilly enough I managed to get an Aussie one applying from Poland over the phone)

I managed to get a Pesal, well I think thats what it is, A scrap of calligraphy paper with a random number on it.

Regarding a phone contract I could have got one in the end but I simply didn't bother chasing it as i knew I was going to be here for 2 years.

Still having difficulties here with living a normal life and as both me and the G/F are English I guess that we will always have difficulties in Poland.

Ironically it seems that in my new home Australia, Things are over easy and everything can be done remotely before I arrive. Credit card, Bank account, I even called BMW to enquire about financing a z4 with only a 10k deposit and they would have done it there and then so long as i faxed them ID and they contacted my employer in aus to verify everything.

One extreme to the other. Perhaps one day Poland will bring itself out of the dark ages and accept the fact that the european union isn't just there to prop up its economy and they will be expected to give something back.

The architecture in the cites here is stunning but the lax attitude of people and the sheer incompentence shown by people in all aspects of life somewhat ruins the place.

delphiandomineThreads: 42 Posts: 9,954 Joined: Nov 25, 08 ♂ [Suspended]	Apr 6, 10, 12:38 #164
But at least the dentists are good, eh? :P

landoraThreads: 1 Posts: 191 Joined: Oct 14, 09 ♀	Apr 6, 10, 12:51 #165
dnz: Bank account Oh well, opening a bank account in the UK involved three visits to the bank, each time with a different letter, because they couldn't get in their heads that I live in halls and DO NOT HAVE TO PAY FOR ELECTRICITY SEPARATELY!

dnzThreads: 25 Posts: 804 Joined: Dec 2, 07 ♂	Apr 6, 10, 12:54 #166
Yeah that one was good :) Just hope tha bastard heals quickly

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Apr 6, 10, 13:09 #167

Yeah, it would be interesting to know their net gains under the EU. Yeah, the Pesel has really done little or nothing for me.

My guess is that there was marked opposition to Tusk's proposed streamlining. It's a bit like the situation in Britain some 25 years ago where people denied voting Tory in the polls but, come crunch time, the truth came out. It's the same here by way of analogy. They secretly like all these rules and they have become a way of life for those involved with it. It gives them sth to moan about.

♂ [Suspended]

Apr 6, 10, 15:15 #168

steve68:

3 is it possible to get credit card ect

I have both my business and personal bank accounts with Citibank (the personal one has been open for about 12 years now). I recently applied for a credit card with them (for online purchases and to get the free airmiles they're offering). They said that first I'd have to show them documents proving my level of income (i.e. the accounts from my company) and that I pay my taxes on time (i.e. get a formal document from the tax office). I tried to point out that they can tell my income level from looking at my business account details and they can tell that I pay my taxes on time by looking at the transfers I make every month to the tax office. Apparently that wasn't acceptable for them and they are now refusing to give me a credit card unless I can prove that their own records are correct. I'm getting very very close to telling them to kiss my arse.

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Apr 6, 10, 15:53 #169

Harry:

steve68:
3 is it possible to get credit card ect
I have both my business and personal bank accounts with Citibank (the personal one has been open for about 12 years now). I recently applied for a credit card with them (for online purchases and to get the free airmiles they're offering). They said that first I'd have to show them documents proving my level of income (i.e. the accounts from my company) and that I pay my taxes on time (i.e. get a formal document from the tax office). I tried to point out that they can tell my income level from looking at my business account details and they can tell that I pay my taxes on time by looking at the transfers I make every month to the tax office. Apparently that wasn't acceptable for them and they are now refusing to give me a credit card unless I can prove that their own records are correct. I'm getting very very close to telling them to kiss my arse.

Its pathetic really.

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