Catch 22 - need some advise

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Ian
Posts: 256
Joined: Thu Aug 28, 2003 4:28 pm
Location: Oulu

Post by Ian » Fri Sep 19, 2003 3:13 pm

Hi Ted

My experience is that having a friendly Finn with you always helps! An old colleague and friend of mine who recently moved back to Finland used the company below, and they sorted everything out for him. It wasn't cheap but if your relocation is being paid for then it might be worthwhile even if it saves you a few grey hairs.
If you have a job over here a simple letter from them should be sufficient to get the bank account open. Welcome to the wonderful world of bureaucracy!!

http://www.finlandrelocation.com/



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MinnaRaisanen
Posts: 830
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 9:46 am
Location: Helsinki

Banks...

Post by MinnaRaisanen » Wed Oct 01, 2003 1:34 pm

Hi Ted,

I have lived here for over 2 years, have been employed since day 1 and have a place to live. I am debt free and have a good bank history with a steady income. Nordea bank would not give me a credit card!! I find that bank to be insanely uptight and unflexible. Another bank you can try is perhaps Sampo - I understand that bank has been helpful to many who were not able to find support through Nordea.

Good Luck!!
Minna

Guest

Re: Good luck Ted..

Post by Guest » Wed Oct 01, 2003 1:53 pm

Marjan wrote: I have heard from my bf's sister that there's some neutralisation law that when you're in Finland for longer then 3 months, they want you to:
1) have enough savings
2) check you out with Interpol
Apparently having a working partner doesn't make a difference with regards to the money matter.
The three months is the period of time that you're allowed to be here as a tourist without any permit.
If you want to stay longer than that period, you are allowed as an EU citizen, but you have to prove that you can survive without claiming money from social security.
If you have a permit you can for social security, too.

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simakun
Posts: 221
Joined: Fri Aug 29, 2003 11:46 am
Location: k3

Post by simakun » Wed Oct 01, 2003 6:42 pm

i can definitely second that criticism of nordea. when i first tried to open a bank account, they were the first people i went to. the first 3 reps i spoke were completely uncomfortable speaking english! (funny for a company that places english as their corporate language) anyway, the first 2 pushed me to the next. the third person spoke a little english and insisted that it was not possible to open an account without a job. that policy didn't make any sense to me so i thought it was just a misunderstanding so i insisted on speaking to someone who was fluent in english. anyway this 4th and last person was pretty abrupt and curt. she reiterated their stance and said that most other banks would be the same. the next day, i happened to walk by sampo and decided to try my luck. i told them what i wanted and my situation and 5 (FIVE) minutes was all it took for them to give me a savings account. moral of the story: nordea sucks.

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deojuvame
Posts: 1115
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 11:43 am
Location: Helsinki

Post by deojuvame » Wed Oct 01, 2003 8:05 pm

simakun wrote:i can definitely second that criticism of nordea. when i first tried to open a bank account, they were the first people i went to. the first 3 reps i spoke were completely uncomfortable speaking english! (funny for a company that places english as their corporate language) anyway, the first 2 pushed me to the next. the third person spoke a little english and insisted that it was not possible to open an account without a job. that policy didn't make any sense to me so i thought it was just a misunderstanding so i insisted on speaking to someone who was fluent in english. anyway this 4th and last person was pretty abrupt and curt. she reiterated their stance and said that most other banks would be the same. the next day, i happened to walk by sampo and decided to try my luck. i told them what i wanted and my situation and 5 (FIVE) minutes was all it took for them to give me a savings account. moral of the story: nordea sucks.
That's really odd! I'm a pretty loyal Nordea customer, when I went there to open up my bank account the two people I talked to were very nice and spoke very good English. And I had no problem getting a credit card, even though I only had a contract at the time. Gues it just depends on how the cards fall on that particular day...

Guest

Post by Guest » Wed Oct 01, 2003 8:17 pm

Yep... Same here...
The people at Nordea were very kind, helpful and didn't make any problem of me opening an account there. I didn't apply for a credit card, but hey gave me the Visa Electron without any problems, questions or complaints.

dusty_bin
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Joined: Sun May 04, 2003 10:56 pm
Location: Estonia
Contact:

Post by dusty_bin » Thu Oct 02, 2003 2:11 pm

I can only praise the service of Nordea. OK the paying in side is more than a little crappy, but in terms of politeness, language ability and card issuing cooperativeness, they have been first rate!

To anyone having problems on the card front, the first thing to do is:
1) Open an account. Deposit some money.
2) Arrange for internet banking, this is convenient and cheap. It is also the step to getting what you want...
3) Use the internet banking service to get your plastic.

Visa Electron is easily obtained. It will not normally be denied to anyone with a pulse and some money to spend as it is no more risky to the bank than the ATM card which is supplants and adds to.

Visa credit card, will usually be issued only to those who have a wage paid into their account. They will stretch a point to include foreign earnings as long as they see some evidence to show that they are real and not imaginary (having an overseas Visa Debit or credit card helps here!). They also require a Finnish SS number.

MasterCard is somewhat dofferent, these cards are not issued by the banks but IIRC by the country's credit agency. They can be at the same time more and less selective.

I applied for both over the internet, I received a friendly call back with some questions, in English. I would have been granted either card, but for the lack of an SS number; I was not registered at the time. This despite the lack of ANY Finnish income. I am happy with my overseas Visa and Finnish Visa Electron... (Who needs to borrow money anyway, if you can't afford it, don't buy it, with the exception of appreciating assets!)


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