Visiting England for a month during thw summer and need advice

Hey everybody.. I'm looking to visit friends out in England for a month during the summer most likely in July or August, but I've noticed it would be cheaper for me to buy a one way ticket there and then purchase a ticket home while I'm in England. However since I'm technically a young, single woman would that raise a red flag with UKBA? I was out there last summer for 10 days (with a round trip ticket) to visit my ex and had no problems going through customs. However I'm not doing anything illegal or suspicious by purchasing a one way ticket right? I could bring my rental agreement and proof that I have my daughter back in the states whom I wouldn't abandon. What would you suggest I do? I'm trying to save money by purchasing one way that's the only reason why I'm looking into that option. Any and all advice would be appreciated. Thanks 

Bear in mind that airline ticket prices go WAY up in the summer, especially for travel originating in the UK.

I've rarely seen an instance where two one-way tickets were cheaper than a round trip. You might want to reconsider that aspect altogether.

BIG...HUGE red flag for IO's are one way tickets...you can't prove onward travel out of the UK. Add to that you're a single woman AND American, you're just asking for trouble.

You're just asking for problems and risking a bounce at the border, then you're looking at being removed back to the US at the expense of UKBA which would make 'bad' into 'worse'.

Not a good idea.

Bear in mind that airline ticket prices go WAY up in the summer, especially for travel originating in the UK.

I've rarely seen an instance where two one-way tickets were cheaper than a round trip. You might want to reconsider that aspect altogether.

Yes, it is very unlikely that it will be cheaper to buy two one way tickets versus a round trip.

Yes, it is very unlikely that it will be cheaper to buy two one way tickets versus a round trip.

Definitely - when I flew to the US on holiday last summer, my round trip ticket was about £600, but when I looked at one way tickets later on (out of curiosity) they were £685 each way - so two one way tickets were more than double the price of the round trip!

Agree with the others regarding ticket prices. When I moved here last September, I purchased a round-trip ticket, even though I was not returning to the USA. It was about 1/2 the price of a one-way trip!

When I moved over here, the airline (United) wasn't going to let me travel because I held a one-way ticket. I had to show them my fiance visa, and even at that point, the rep at the airport had to call several people to make sure it was okay for me to travel. They would be responsible for returning me to the US if I had been bounced at the border, I believe, so they're very cautious.

Not sure if this has happened to anyone else, but buying a one-way ticket, in my opinion, is a very bad idea if you don't hold a visa to stay here. I could be wrong, but you have to at least have an open return ticket when you stay here an extended amount of time, don't you?

I also agree with everyone about return tickets usually being much cheaper. I was going to do a multi-city ticket last year, because I was flying into one US airport, but returning from another, so looked at all my options. I wanted to be on the same outgoing BA flight as my husband, but we were returning separately, so looked at one-way BA flights, and they were twice the price.

Yeah, I think the only way a one-way ticket is do-able without a proper visa is when you're quite obviously going to be bouncing around to different places.

I had a one-way to Dublin a few years ago when I was going to be backpacking around Europe. I had no firm plan as to when I would return to the US and where I would be returning from. I just knew the first 4 cities I was going to and that I would be travelling for about 2 months. But, I was also only staying in Ireland for 4 days, London for 4, then moving on to Amsterdam and Paris and I had evidence of bookings for those places, so I had no trouble being let in.

After my 1st week travelling, I managed to book a cheap one-way back from Berlin since that's where we decided to finish.

So, I agree with everyone else that it's generally best immigration-wise and most cost-effective to do a round trip ticket. A one-way from Newark to Glasgow is about $1,200 right now and a return is $650. Don't know how that works but there you have it.  

Why if you're coming over on a student visa? After exams are over I would like to travel for a week or two. Would that be acceptable for me to have one way ticket when I come over? Also I worry about my visa expiring during when I'd be traveling. Then wouldn't I not be able to go back to England if I had a round trip flight?

Kdc, if you already have a visa and all the accompanying information (for a student visa you need to carry your CAS, financial aide letter and whatever other relevant info you have) then you should be fine travelling on a one-way ticket. 

LittleMiss- I had a friend visit this summer on a one-way ticket.  He's young and backpacked around for three months, so he came in with just his backpack and plenty of money for three months travel, which I think was around $10,000.  Even though he had booked the next leg of his journey already, and was clearly a backpacker, he was held at security for a very long time and questioned seriously.  He felt really lucky to get in and said he wouldn't ever fly into LHR on a one-way ticket again. 

Ok looks like the overall vote is to just buy a roundtrip so I don't have any issues Thanks for the advice guys!