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Post by Nutty on Nov 10, 2023 13:50:46 GMT 1
I found out a few weeks ago that HSBC will be transfering its retail operations (ie, those with non-business accounts) to CCF wef 1st Jan 2024. This will be followed by a 6 month transition period. New bank details (RIB; IBAN etc) with CCF will be promulgated before the end of this year. I'm bracing myself for the inevitable blips with our various UK pension providers. More details here. Nutty
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Post by sw31girl on Nov 10, 2023 15:38:54 GMT 1
Yes, Nutty, we’re in the same position as you. It’s a shame as I could see immediately the balances on both the stg and euros accounts on one page.
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Post by sw31girl on Nov 21, 2023 17:23:07 GMT 1
I’ve just had a phone call from HSBC france. They explained that part of the new account set up means that in order to log onto the new account you have to use a one time code sent to your mobile phone.
That turned into a very heated discussion as we have a crap and extremely unstable mobile signal from Orange in the garden and can’t get a mobile signal inside either. They have been informed to go find a plan B as I’m sure I’m not the only client with this problem. I do not intend to stand outside, in the cold and possibly rainy weather waiting for a code only to have the internet tell me I’m now timed out.
As it is, the lack of mobile signal is driving us mad as the BMW info centre on our new car only works with a mobile signal so we have to drive into town if we need to update the signal.
We’ve tried to complain to Orange but they just shrug their shoulders.
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Post by Polarengineer on Nov 22, 2023 6:12:43 GMT 1
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Post by lapourtaider on Nov 22, 2023 7:49:57 GMT 1
I’ve just had a phone call from HSBC france. They explained that part of the new account set up means that in order to log onto the new account you have to use a one time code sent to your mobile phone. That turned into a very heated discussion as we have a crap and extremely unstable mobile signal from Orange in the garden and can’t get a mobile signal inside either. They have been informed to go find a plan B as I’m sure I’m not the only client with this problem. I do not intend to stand outside, in the cold and possibly rainy weather waiting for a code only to have the internet tell me I’m now timed out. Do you have WiFi in your house vía your internet? If so and you have a recent mobile phone, the vast majority Support WiFi calling. This means you always have mobile access wherever your connected to your WiFi. Maybe this could be a solution?
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Nifty
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Posts: 5,045
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Post by Nifty on Nov 22, 2023 8:51:50 GMT 1
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Post by lurcher on Nov 22, 2023 13:36:21 GMT 1
I’ve just had a phone call from HSBC france. They explained that part of the new account set up means that in order to log onto the new account you have to use a one time code sent to your mobile phone. That turned into a very heated discussion as we have a crap and extremely unstable mobile signal from Orange in the garden and can’t get a mobile signal inside either. They have been informed to go find a plan B as I’m sure I’m not the only client with this problem. I do not intend to stand outside, in the cold and possibly rainy weather waiting for a code only to have the internet tell me I’m now timed out. Do you have WiFi in your house vía your internet? If so and you have a recent mobile phone, the vast majority Support WiFi calling. This means you always have mobile access wherever your connected to your WiFi. Maybe this could be a solution? We had exactly the same problem and I spent some time wandering around the garden hunting for a signal. A new mobile cell mast was put up at the top of the road and now it is four bars everywhere. The possible solution suggested by LP is certainly a path to follow but some mobile phones and providers do not allow calls over wifi. My wife’s phone contract is with Vodafone and it works. My almost identical phone with a contract with Smarty does not allow calls over wifi. My phone is not supported by Smarty for this facility. We have now received documents from HSBC reiterating their earlier email descriptions of the change to CCF. It looks like we will lose some of the perks of the Premier account and I can’t find any mention of an English speaking support mechanism. In the short term we will test the practicality of continuing with CCF but at the moment we will not rush to another, untested mainstream bank.
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Post by sw31girl on Nov 24, 2023 9:34:01 GMT 1
I agree with you Lurcher - in the short term we’ll see how it operates. If the English speaking option is not available then we’ll have to look at other options. I can get by on most things but if I’ve got a question for a bank then I really want to make sure I fully understand their response.
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Post by Nutty on Nov 24, 2023 10:09:15 GMT 1
Put the ball in their court: I'd suggest a letter to your branch manager (copy to head office) explaining that if they cannot provide an English-speaking option then reluctantly you'll have to move your account to a bank that does.
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Post by sw31girl on Nov 29, 2023 12:50:20 GMT 1
HSBC rang this morning to advise that there will now be a further option when logging in for the first time that bypasses the sms process. They also said that the staff in the central support team are also remaining with the new bank so there will still be English speaking staff available.
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Post by iolar on Dec 13, 2023 11:36:10 GMT 1
I'm glad I saw this thread and nifty is quite right about banks. I was with Barclays for decades, it meant nothing, they shut down my account years ago.
I tried to set up an account with HSBC France at the same time they were getting hammered for all the dirty money they were laundering in the UK. I was going through the process with a young woman when suddenly a very authoritarian woman's voice cut in - "this conversation is being terminated".
I wish I had tried to get an account with them earlier as they have an investment account that if you keep it going for 5 years you only have to pay CGT so avoiding the social charges. I think it was set up in 2012. There's nothing like ISAs in France.
We have used Tranferwise for some years to move funds from the UK. Now it is called Wise. The debit card is very good unlike the French versions. You can use it across the world and as I understand it as long as you nave money in a currency you incur no charges. The problem is doesn't have normal % bearing accounts it only has Blackrock accounts. If Blackrock makes a mistake then you can lose capital.
The best thing about Wise is that it has no 'loan book or mortgages'. If Sterling for any reason crashes and with a totally insane housing market that is very likely it will take the major banks with it. Due not under estimate this risk. On the old forum someone suggested the offshore branch of Skipton International. So I looked up it's operation - it's a major player in BTL mortgages, if they crash so will Skipton International and it's compensation scheme is inferior to that of the UK.
What I do like about Wise is that at a moments notice you can switch from one currency to another. In a flaky world that can change within minutes that is a vital ability to have. When we lived in Spain I would often change from one currency to another making a profit. Only one time I got it wrong and lost 5% of our capital in a few days but at year's end was up 15%. In Spain at that time there was no CGT on investments. I've since learned this still applies in Belgium. The UK economy is really messed up and has been for decades. Because we have not built or bought a property in France we are sitting on capital and who knows what the little Putin and his cronies will do if it all comes on top for them. I can think of a few scenarios. All currencies are fiat currencies with no real value at all. The currencies in danger are Sterling and the Euro. I think that the only currency left standing will be the US$ and Bitcoin. Trading in Bitcoin is fraught with danger so that only leaves the US$. Having said that if I had known about this digital currency that has a defined permanent value aka no more will be created, I would have chanced US$5K in 2009/10 @ 9-10 Cents per Bitcoin. With all the other fiat currencies they can create as much as they like. They don't even bother to print it any more they just think of a number, punch it into a computer et voila it exists - frightening isn't it?
The problem for us Brits is being unable to open new bank accounts in the UK.
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Nifty
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Post by Nifty on Dec 13, 2023 12:43:27 GMT 1
The trouble with having too much money is knowing what to do with it. It is all very well buyin antiques, shed loads of vintage cars or whatever to protect the purchasing power of money. The guy who played Arthur Daily talked about liquid gold. He forgot to mention that one way or the other it runs away.
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Post by iolar on Dec 13, 2023 17:29:23 GMT 1
The trouble with having too much money is knowing what to do with it. It is all very well buyin antiques, shed loads of vintage cars or whatever to protect the purchasing power of money. The guy who played Arthur Daily talked about liquid gold. He forgot to mention that one way or the other it runs away. I just don't like holding paper money, it has no intrinsic value at all. Maybe I should go back into the markets again. The trouble is you've got a lot of really crazy people in the USA who will vote for a fruitcake like Trump. Then there's little Putin and Co and then a cartoon like character in North Korea, another with nothing to lose. I don't see Chairman Mao Mk 11 as a danger. Back home we have the Nasty party who have thrown away fortunes to their chums or total insanity - £240 million to Rwanda. If I was sitting in a home that I had designed, made of materials that mean adjusting the temperature by only a few degrees, winter and summer and my own supply of rain water stored in a properly designed water cistern and the ability to produce my own electricity via diesel gen. and store in cheap deep cycle golf cart batteries I wouldn't mind but I'm not. As long as you have a water supply and electricity you can go on enjoying a modern life. Without those two guarantees, it's a Macawber existence, great until the moment it isn't.
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Post by lurcher on Jan 4, 2024 19:56:20 GMT 1
Back to the HSBC to CCF issue. We have had adequate warnings and instructions concerning the change to CCF and have now hit the critical period post January 1st. The CCF mobile app and internet web access at ccf.fr are now live and ready for action. Today, the first day for registering on the system, I tried to make the initial steps to register and access our joint account. All the necessary I.d. codes were entered and my first three or four attempts were rejected as I was not recognised. I used the phone number to get help and discovered that the automated answer was in French followed by English which was very good for me. Unfortunately the answering system put me on hold in a queue and after a few minutes I gave up. I then resorted to the mobile app on my phone. Our mobile signal in UK is very weak and I had to settle down upstairs to complete the registration. I think there were three or four security codes sent at different stages leading to a successful registration including being able to login with my fingerprint. The access to our account is now fully available on my mobile phone which is designated as my “trusted device”. The number of such devices is limited to ONE so I can’t use my iPad or my laptop. I hope they can improve this to at least two devices. My attempts to register my wife has hit a problem. I detect that the mobile number offered to her to receive the first security code is the same as mine and she is not recognised. I have sent messages to our personal agent but have not had a reply yet. At the moment we can get by with just my phone to check our account but I hope to improve matters quite quickly.
I would be interested in how others have got on with the change over.
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Post by zakbertie on Jan 4, 2024 22:38:38 GMT 1
After three unsuccessful attempts (and thus automatic "lock-out") I managed to eventually set up access to CCF from my laptop. A 45 minute discussion over the telephone ensued with an extremely helpful English speaking help-desk. Nub of the problem was due to me using Firefox................. a box requiring to be ticked was not appearing. Resorted to Chrome no problem.
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