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Post by iolar on Mar 26, 2024 18:59:46 GMT 1
Between bankers and smack dealers I think smack dealers have a higher moral code. I speak as one who had friends who lost their way a long time ago and some died.
FWIW I have today sent a detailed account of our (my wife and I) experience with our respective UK bank and building society accounts to a well known consumer journalist - vamos a ver/let's see what response I get.
As soon as the corrupt public schoolboy Cameron mooted holding a Brexit referendum, all the banks/building societies and other financial institutions immediately set their risk assessment units to work to assess the implications for them, not their clients.
I'm certain they agreed on the strategies to be employed but of course we the mug punters were not informed of their conclusions.
Who would have thought that:
we would be unable to open new accounts with different banks/building societies.
no longer would we be able to change a single to a joint account, making life a lot simpler when one's other half began to find things difficult without warning - DNA will out.
that expat account holders would be excluded from opening savings accounts.
Is it legal under UK law to have a different status from other same account holders and to do this without first warning the affected account holders before bringing this into force.
I was informed by a First Direct operative that this had nothing to do with UK/EU law but was a 'policy of the bank'. I subsequently confirmed that this is the same with Nationwide. So these UK institutions are using our money for free.
Once it became obvious that my wife was having difficulty with operating her First Direct phone account she cancelled her Bonus Saver account.At no time was she told that if she did this, she would not be able in the future to reactivate it. At the time the % was risible, now this account offers 6.09%.
My question to others with different UK accounts is - did your bank/building society send you clear information about any and all changes they were going to make in the future. Because if they didn't then there are clear legal implications - think about the PPP scandal and the now ongoing motor insurance scandal.
I had been looking at getting out of UK banking altogether before Nationwide had entered into a 2.9 billion deal with Virgin Money to make it the second biggest mortgage lender in the UK. Anyone who cannot see the insanity of the UK housing and commercial property markets has a very short memory. I'm looking for an American bank with a French/European operation.
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exile
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Post by exile on Mar 26, 2024 20:24:45 GMT 1
Good rant.
One I do have some sympathy with.
Barclays closed my account*. They failed to follow any of the instructions I gave them prior to closure and then, because I had money in a dead account demanded that I provided proof of who I was and my address - both having to be countersigned in English by a notary. Kerching.
They would not accept that I was the customer who they wrote to only days before.
Having been warned of the closure, I tried to open an account with HSBC. As far as I could tell they were the only UK bank (as opposed to Channel island/ Isle of Mann) that was still taking new customers based in the EU. Their due diligence department is a farce. They required proof of identity and address - fair enough given they did not know me from Adam.
I got both certified by the maire.
Weeks passed. Nothing happened.
I phoned HSBC and they promised to get back to me.
They didn't.
I wrote to them and eventually they replied that they could not verify a town hall in France. This from a bank with branches throughout France.
They too wanted a notaire confirmation. Kerching;
Duly sent off.
Weeks passed. Nothing happened.
I wrote agoin.
We cannot accept the documents because the certification has been done in French.
(What f***ing language did they expect?. Urdu??
Back to the notaire - kerching.
I am still waiting for them to reply 12 months on
Bl00dy *ankers.
My understanding is that, contrary to what you were told, financial operations (banks/insurance etc)in the UK cannot offer new business to customers living in the EU unless they have a company registered in the country in which you live. Existing accounts/policies etc. remain in place but cannot be changed or altered.
* I had only been banking with them since 1969.
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Post by ajm on Mar 26, 2024 20:37:00 GMT 1
Your experience sounds absolutely awful. We were told by our UK bank they might close our account so we went down the HSBC route. It was a bit fiddly but no problems at all. Having done that we now have 2 UK bank accounts.
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Post by limousinlady on Mar 26, 2024 21:39:14 GMT 1
I recently wanted to open a £ savings account in the UK. I looked at my existing bank and BS savings accounts and neither were available to non-UK residents. However, I did manage to open accounts with Skipton Int'l based in Guernsey and NSI with my French address.
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Nifty
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Post by Nifty on Mar 27, 2024 5:52:40 GMT 1
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exile
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Post by exile on Mar 27, 2024 12:04:24 GMT 1
I recently wanted to open a £ savings account in the UK. I looked at my existing bank and BS savings accounts and neither were available to non-UK residents. However, I did manage to open accounts with Skipton Int'l based in Guernsey and NSI with my French address Does that include a cheque book and bank card LL? I had a look but could not see if they did or did not supply them. |
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Post by limousinlady on Mar 27, 2024 19:29:33 GMT 1
I recently wanted to open a £ savings account in the UK. I looked at my existing bank and BS savings accounts and neither were available to non-UK residents. However, I did manage to open accounts with Skipton Int'l based in Guernsey and NSI with my French address Does that include a cheque book and bank card LL? I had a look but could not see if they did or did not supply them. Sorry, I was only looking at savings accounts. |
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Post by ajm on Mar 27, 2024 19:41:55 GMT 1
We have NS&I accounts but they will only pay out to a UK bank account.
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Post by iolar on Mar 29, 2024 17:42:28 GMT 1
First - exile, a great concise answer and sadly only too true.
I too was a long time client of Barclays - from the mid 70s'. They closed my account before Brexit.
Limousinlady - be aware that Skipton International is a major player in BTL mortgages. This bank was actually suggested to me by someone on this forum so I did due diligence on them, that was when I found out about the BTL which is a major part of their business. They also have a much lower limit of compensation that mainland banks.
HSBC - now there's a real rogue bank in many ways. I tried to open an account with them just when they were being hammered for laundering huge amounts of drug and arms dealers money. In mid conversation with a very pleasant young woman her female boss cut in with "I'm terminating this conversation right now".
HSBC is the parent company of First Direct. I checked out their Expat banking arm. the % they offer on Sterling/Euro and US$ are derisory and that's putting it mildly.
I'm not going to apologise for repeating that all currencies are fiat - they are just pieces of paper. When, not if the next banking/currency crisis comes along there will be no change - it's the banks and the uber rich who will once again be bailed out - socialising the losses and privatising the gains. The insane price of property in the UK is result first of unrestrained BTL and then 2008/9 and Brown bailing out the banks. % rates right now are little below the norm.There are literally millions of mortgages on the brink of collapse. A really negative response in Ukraine and once again the Serbians spoiling for war will destabilise both the Euro and Sterling. If BoE has to prop up Sterling you can kiss the property market goodbye
I really get hacked off by the French taxman imposing social charges on non French living in France when we can never gain from these charges. I have no problem with CGT. I also have to see the tax office because nowhere on the online form did I see that if a share is held for some considerable time a 65% drop in tax is there.
The French Establishment does absolutely nothing to encourage the ordinary French to invest. Livret A is a joke, 3% doesn't remotely cover inflation and there's a limit of €22,900.
It is possible to open savings accounts in other European countries, just checking these out now. Also there are 7 countries in Europe that have no CGT but the French will still hit you with 30% combined tax - CGT and Social - it's the Social part that really hacks me off because we cannot benefit.
It does seem that Wise is the best option but the Sterling/Euro and US$ accounts are funds administered by Blackrock.If the proverbial hits the fan you will have to move like grease lightning.
It does seem that I will have to go back to investing in the markets via a French company. I've always kept myself up to date. Indeed I should never have walked away. First 2008/9 and then 2020 provided bonanzas for those who dared. I've always been a 'dancer no the edge' but that was when I was younger.
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Post by iolar on Mar 29, 2024 17:43:45 GMT 1
AJM forgot to add that the French taxman will iht you with the 30% tax, not so bad if you win big.
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Post by ajm on Mar 29, 2024 18:03:57 GMT 1
AJM forgot to add that the French taxman will iht you with the 30% tax, not so bad if you win bigger. I know that. Our NSI income is declared. |
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Nifty
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Post by Nifty on Mar 30, 2024 3:39:20 GMT 1
Another sucker found while trawling through threads and downloaded files
‘ I wouldn`t take a risk on future pound/euro exchange rates.’
This was a while ago when the pound was much stronger.
It was rock solid.
Northern Rock.
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Post by iolar on Apr 3, 2024 10:09:41 GMT 1
Wise - I've yet to confirm it, but it seems you don't have to hold the currencies in a Blackrock Fund, you can simply hold currencies. Again it worth repeating that Wise is the only 'bank' that has no loan book or mortgage business. In this it does appear unique. So I think it's time to ditch First Direct and Nationwide. There is simply no point in having UK accounts. I can't see any problem with Wise or their operation, it has effectively no possible liabilities.
Nifty used comedy (black comedy) to make the very valid point about the insane operation of Northern Rock. Now that Nationwide is about to make itself the 2nd biggest mortgage lender after Lloyds with no prospect of getting any return on a fairly large deposit, it's time to move.
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Post by limousinlady on Apr 3, 2024 18:10:15 GMT 1
Limousinlady - be aware that Skipton International is a major player in BTL mortgages. This bank was actually suggested to me by someone on this forum so I did due diligence on them, that was when I found out about the BTL which is a major part of their business. They also have a much lower limit of compensation that mainland banks.
Thanks Iolar, I was aware of the lower limit of compensation in Guernsey with Skipton Int'l; £50k as opposed to £85k in the UK.
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Post by iolar on Apr 4, 2024 9:33:22 GMT 1
Can't remember if I posted this somewhere else on this forum.
Apparently as foreigners who cannot benefit from any form of 'social charges' we should only be paying 7.5% + the 13% CGT. This means a difference of just under 10% in total. Nowhere on the tax form, paper or online is there anywhere that states this or allow foreigners to deduct the difference. I also saw that for shares held for a 'long time' there is up to a 65% reduction in tax.
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