Continue my Bank of America account in the UK

I plan to move to the UK by early spring.I bank with Bank of America here in the US and was wondering if i could continue to bank with them over there,at least to establish some sort of residence and then move over to a local bank.

Anyone try something similar ?I would love to hear your experiences

I've been here 1.5 years and have held my US account the whole time, it's been a REAL life saver. I've at different times had them use my UK address as my mailing address (to help me set up a UK account), and had them use my parent's address in the US (the address I used when setting it up) to buy things online with my visa debit card on US sites. They didn't have any problem at all accomodating my situation, I used Wells Fargo.

I've been here 1.5 years and have held my US account the whole time, it's been a REAL life saver. I've at different times had them use my UK address as my mailing address (to help me set up a UK account), and had them use my parent's address in the US (the address I used when setting it up) to buy things online with my visa debit card on US sites. They didn't have any problem at all accomodating my situation, I used Wells Fargo.

This is exactly what I did.  Just before I moved to England in 2001 I sat down with a lady at my credit union and let them know that I was moving to the UK for "a few years" (that was because I was on a work permit and before we got married) and that I wanted to keep my checking & savings accounts & my credit and debit cards. It's really important that your bank knows you're going to be using the cards overseas- that way they won't put a freeze on your accounts the minute they get suspicious! My account has a special note that I live overseas and there will be activity from time to time. I, also, have my Mom's address as my billing address and have had no problems! I  went a step further and put my Mom on my Checking account, though- so she could deposit checks for me, etc. I found that very helpful when we got cash or US checks for wedding gifts! I am currently going through the steps to change the account to my married name,- I have 3 or 4 checks that can't be deposited yet!  

Having an account back home is a very handy thing indeed! Especially for overseas gift buying!

As far as getting a new account in the UK goes, however- I know that with Natwest they required references from my US bank and some other documents to show I was earning and residing where I said I was in the UK. This was in the form of utility bills or council tax statements with my name on them as well as my husband's. It took a few weeks to sort out, but they were very helpful and willing to give me an account. I know some other folks have said that The Royal Bank of Scotland is expat- friendly.

Hope this helps!

thank you for your most prompt and informative responses.

Does that mean that I can take a reference letter from B of A to the UK branch,open up a pound account and start depositing money there..?

The reason I ask is I;ve heard a lot about the catch-22 when you first arrive in the UK of needing a bank account to get a place/utilities and vice versa and so was wondering if I could leverage my bank which has a global presence to start off with.

I guess another way of asking the question would be,how could I write checks in the UK with my B of A account?

thanks

There is no Bank of America branch in the UK.  They have an office in London, but it does not do counter-type independent transactions.  I know, because my father sent me money for my wedding last year and I called because there USED to be Bank of America branches in the UK.  But no longer.

Sorry.

I had to get my US bank account to print my UK address on their statements and mail them to me - - - I used *that* as proof of residence in the UK since the utility bills etc were all under my husband's name. After I got an account (with HSBC) I had my US bank change my address BACK to the US.  bit sneaky, but the lady at HSBC actually told me to do it! So yeah, it took quite a while to get an account. HSBC ended up being fine with me though.

But each branch will be different. While there are general rules about what they are and aren't allowed to do, it seems like sometimes it just depends on the teller you get! So you'd go to a bank (maybe several) and ask them exactly what you need to bring in for an account, then work from there.

I had a HORRIBLE time with Abbey National. They wouldn't give me a current account (read basic checking account) becauase I hadn't lived in the UK for at least 3 years. THey Would Not go around this, even though I had a job and needed an account to deposit money into! They finally gave me a savings account, but it didn't work and my employer had to cut checks for me much to their annoyance.

I am currently going through the steps to change the account to my married name,- I have 3 or 4 checks that can't be deposited yet!

Jenny, my bank let me deposit checks when I was changing my name as long as I signed BOTH my maiden and married name on the back of the check...

Thanks for that, Sara!
I asked my bank and they said that was the case since I'm in the process of filling out the required paperwork to change my details.

Thank you kindly!

Thats interesting and disappointing.I was so counting B of A to have a branch in the UK that I could start off with. How do I go about getting a place before I have an account?

Can I just walk into a bank there with a check from my US bank account,my passport (I read HSBC seems to be better) and be able to open an account?I am moving on a job,so I can get employer reference letters.

When I land,I'll probably be put up in a hotel for a while.How do I open a bank account since I will start working and they'll start paying me and I will need to deposit those checks?I will nto have an address when I start out. Am going nuts thinking of this! HELP!