Germany is our biggest market by far and it would appear that German authorities only like to deal with German based EU Representatives.
There are several reasons for this -
1. Germans speak German. They want and need to establish clear trading terms in German.
2. Germans want to deal only with German law. They need to know who to take to court.
3. Brits have a reputation for being flaky, unpunctual and unreliable.
4. German office workers start and place orders at eight. That's seven in the morning in the UK.
5. German authorities have strict guidelines that are carefully crafted to disadvantage foreign suppliers.
Unpacked -
1. Most Germans do not speak English well enough to understand all aspects of a business deal. Yes, they can order a beer, but that's about as far as middle-school English will take them.
2. Germans are very litigious and expect suppliers to stick to the letter of a contract. If you agree to deliver by 1400 hrs, at 1430 they have placed the order with someone else and you can take your stuff back.
3. Not always justified, but there are enough Brits (and Italians!) who are unreliable or unpunctual to bring the general reputation down. Almost every German who has driven a British car has horror stories of them falling to bits!
4. German buyers usually try to clear the desk of orders to go out first thing in the morning. If there's no reply at eight (seven our time!) they will usually try elsewhere.
5. There are 1,000 ways they do this, ranging from legal requirements known to established local suppliers, to a technical spec-sheet (Pflichtenheft) that more or less describes a known piece of German equipment.
It will of course, depend on how much business you are doing with the German authorities. It might be better in the long run to set up an office and a GmbH in Germany.
The last time I had to deal with UK civil servants was the DVLA. I wanted to renew my driver's license, so I filled in some form and enclosed a cheque. Two weeks later, I got three separate letters on the same day -
1. A letter telling me that they had no record of my passing a test in 1968.
2. A registered letter that enclosed a fresh driver's license and the return of my cheque.
3. Another letter with a cheque for £20. (And no, I don't know why either - but I cashed it anyway!)
Not too long ago, I had to deal with some legal/admin issue in Germany and I telephoned the Bundesverwaltungsamt (The Ministry for Administrative Affairs - yes it really exists!) and referred to a letter that was sent to them way back in 1967. I heard the lady on the telephone type into a keyboard and then she said "Ah, yes! I have a copy here!"
Cultural differences, you might say!
