Dreadful day … (The banking system in India SUCKS big time)
I received a call from my friend/my company’s director this morning and he told me that he spoke with the branch manager of the bank branch that I opened my (business) bank account at; he also told me that the branch manager was going to have some time this afternoon, so we were going to meet him to make an inquiry about FIRC and my personal bank account. FIRC is a certificate and I must have it in order to run a business in India. I also need to have my personal bank account at some point. I felt mentally tired when I received the call because, frankly speaking, the banking system in India SUCKS big time, and this has been costing a lot of my time and money; the call felt like a reminder that I need to spend more and money just to straighten out my banking record. I used the online remittance service Money2India to transfer money from my business bank account in US to my business bank account in India; that itself turned out to be a big hassle, but because of how Money2India is designed, I am having very difficult time getting a proper FIRC. I may need to transfer money from US once again. Opening a personal bank itself is a big hassle in India. What’s wrong with this county? Consumer support representatives can’t help me. Junior bankers can’t help me, either, so I need to go see a branch manager. *** sigh *** I am skipping details here because it takes a very long time for me to describe details, but I can say that the whole system is so horribly set up.
I also received a call from my accountant in Delhi and just told me that I need to get FIRC as soon as possible. Well, I’d love to, but the bottom line is that the banking system in India SUCKS big time, and I just can’t fix it up in a day or two. He also told me that my old accountant in Mumbai whom I decided to not use for variety of reasons is demanding the last payment. I can understand why he is demanding the payment, and I can also understand his frustration; however, since I’m not in US, I cannot make a wire transfer transaction. I need to wait until I get FIRC in order to make the payment, so I cannot make the payment from my bank account in India, either. I suggested to make payments using credit cards a while back, but he (my old accountant in Mumbai) apparently doesn’t like that. So, he is demanding the payment, but he is essentially asking me to do something that I cannot do physically. This is not because I don’t want to make the payment or I don’t have enough money to payment the payment but this is because the banking system in India SUCKS big time.
So, I am going to see the branch manager this afternoon, but I don’t know if he can magically take care of this problem. It’s been a pretty dreadful day, and I don’t know if it’s going to get any better. Last week was a bit tiring, but I got something done in the end, but this week is bad. *** sigh *** First few weeks in India was a bit tough; I was just staying in the hotel, and I was trying to get things moving. Since I checked out of the hotel and moved into this flat (apartment), this week has been definitely the worst week to date.
