HELP!!!..U.K bank account nightmares

Thanks again for the heads up everyone.

I am finally moved in to an east london area ( hackney ), not the greatest area but its very vibrant and full of life. I will check out Citibank on monday and see what they say.
Does anyone know how long it takes to get the utility bills sent to our address ?
Also, i did not bring any bank statements from the US because i had switched to online banking so i make online payments and transactions. The problem is that USBS will not accept online statement print-outs , but hopefully i can get my bank in the US  (Wells Fargo ) to send me a one-time paper statement to my UK address .

Best regards to all
Zufan

Be prepared for your bank to say that your US bank statements are unacceptable.  My statements weren't acceptable because technically, I could have them mailed to my UK address whether I lived there or not.  Though frustrating, I guess that's reasonable...all I had to do to get my US bank statements mailed to the UK was send an email to my bank...they didn't do any checking as to whether I actually lived at my UK address.

Hi Zufan

What a palaver! You will probably not get any bills for the first month except maybe the Council Tax or the water.  Maybe they would accept your lease as evidence of your residential address? I can't believe the dramas you are having with this. Actually now I think about it, yes I can, we had a similar runaround when I added Stu to my account when he moved here. When we finally did show them the utility bill in his name, the girl who was dealing with us said it wasn't acceptable because it hadn't been paid yet!!! I made her go and check with the manager and luckily she was wrong. They still wouldn't give him a Swicth card for 3 months though. This was the Royal Bank of Scotland, in case you are wondering which banks to avoid! 

Hope you're enjoying "ackernee" as a friend of mine who lives there calls it.

Hi Zufan

What a palaver! You will probably not get any bills for the first month except maybe the Council Tax or the water. 

The council tax bill is what they asked me for and we did get one within about a week of moving in to our house - the council wants their money straight up!!! 

Thanks again for the heads up everyone.

One further thought:  if you register on the electoral rolls (even as a non-voter/non-Brit) by next week, you can be on the September rolls.  It's great proof of address, but I don't know if it's any use to you or not given your timing.  I was on them for about 4 years as a non-Brit and used it for parking permits, congestion charge discounts, NHS catchment, and other such stuff where they needed proof of address.  Lots of older advice about bank accounts may not work because the FSA changed the rules in 2003 and yet again in March 2004.  If you need further help, you can pm me...

Not sure if this will help or not.  I have lived in the UK for 3 months.  I live in Wales - perhaps this is the difference.  I went to Lloyds TSB.  I asked about setting up a new account.  I had my husband with me.  I took my passport that is in my maiden name but I have my spouse visa in that.  I took my marriage license and lastly I took my NHS card.  I got that by making an appointment to get perscriptions renewed.  I had this card by the first month.  Since it was sent in my married name and to my current address - that was totally acceptable to the bank and my cards and deposit book came in the mail within two weeks.  I have also been able to move my bank account in the states over to the Lloyds account.  No problems at all.  I even got a letter the next day confirming the money was received.

P.S. I had a Citizen's Bank account in the US.  They are owned by Royal Bank of Scotland.  I asked at Citizen's Bank if I got a new bank account with Royal Bank of Scotland in the UK - would the transfer etc be easier, cheaper etc.  I was told no.  Even though one owns the other its like they are separate entities. 

Not sure if this will help or not.  I have lived in the UK for 3 months.  I live in Wales - perhaps this is the difference.  I went to Lloyds TSB.  I asked about setting up a new account.  I had my husband with me.  I took my passport that is in my maiden name but I have my spouse visa in that.  I took my marriage license and lastly I took my NHS card.  I got that by making an appointment to get perscriptions renewed.  I had this card by the first month.  Since it was sent in my married name and to my current address - that was totally acceptable to the bank and my cards and deposit book came in the mail within two weeks.  I have also been able to move my bank account in the states over to the Lloyds account.  No problems at all.  I even got a letter the next day confirming the money was received.

P.S. I had a Citizen's Bank account in the US.  They are owned by Royal Bank of Scotland.  I asked at Citizen's Bank if I got a new bank account with Royal Bank of Scotland in the UK - would the transfer etc be easier, cheaper etc.  I was told no.  Even though one owns the other its like they are separate entities. 

Just to second this post, My DH called Lloyds and asked how to add me onto his account, they said a NHS card would be proof enough.  However, when I do get the card I plan on taking all the things Kizmet mentioned just to be sure.  Hoping to get it soon since I start work on the 2nd Aug and they seem to like the electronic transfer into accounts here. 

First of all, let me say how nice it is to find this site and this forum. I wish I had known of it before I arrived. I  have been going through the opening-a-bank-account nightmare. I've been here three  weeks and have been working on it steadily with no success.  I was promised a phone call yesterday, another today, but now I'm told my contact person is on holiday. I've been dealing with Natwest because that's my employer's bank. I've given them a letter from my employer, my visa and work permit, and a short-term lease agreement from the place where I'm currently staying. They tell me that my app has been rejected by two levels of management  and that it's being appealed to a third. Perhaps I'll try HSBC or having my US bank statement sent here. I also called the US embassy and was basically told to fend for myself.

A related issue involves cashing/depositing US checks. I've been sending mine back to the states, which is actually cheaper and faster than depositing them here, where they tell me they'll charge ten pounds for each and take 28 days to clear. Of course, this assumes that I have a bank account, which I don't.

It's a good thing my co-workers have been so nice, because the banks have been driving me crazy!

ron

Just to second this post, My DH called Lloyds and asked how to add me onto his account, they said a NHS card would be proof enough.  However, when I do get the card I plan on taking all the things Kizmet mentioned just to be sure.  Hoping to get it soon since I start work on the 2nd Aug and they seem to like the electronic transfer into accounts here. 

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!  This whole this is so ridiculous!  DH and I went into Lloyds TBS today where he has one of his accounts.  I brought everything I said I would including my brand spanking new NHS card.  We asked to have me added to DH's account.  They asked me how long I had lived there, we tried to reply as best we could by saying well a year, but with the visa only two months,  She went to her manager and I saw her say something then the Manager shook her head.  She came back and said sorry, but you have to live here for three years to get a current account.  We just stared at her.  I said but my husband called a few weeks ago and someone said it was all fine if I came in with my NHS card etc.  She said well we just changed those rules two weeks ago!  WHAT!!!!  Then she said I needed to have HR at work address a letter to them stating I work for them.  Then, I get a simple bank account with cash card, no checks, and no debit card.  HELLO!!!!!  If I didn't have a husband, how would I be able to pay bills etc?  She started saying something about 9/11 and I just looked at her, and said, yeah, NYer, I know all about it!!!!  (I was not as harsh as I sound, I never am) I know we have to be more cautious nowadays, but this is just freakin' BS!!!!  Do I have to wait three years till I can have checks and a debit card?  How do I pay for stuff?  Cash?  I'm a credit girl!  Sorry to bring this back up again, but come on!!!  DH suggested I post this to find out anything I could.  Thanks!!!

What a joke! It is not like you are even opening your own account, you just want to be added onto your husband's. How long has he been with Lloyds? I would suggest a strongly worded letter from your husband  to the manager would be in order (along the lines of I have been a customer for X years, with a good credit record blah blah blah), I usually find that does the trick when it comes to banks.  Alternatively you could offer them a DNA sample as proof of identity, would they accept that??!! I hope you get it sorted out soon, what a pain in the neck, I know I couldn't cope without my switch card.

What a joke! It is not like you are even opening your own account, you just want to be added onto your husband's. How long has he been with Lloyds? I would suggest a strongly worded letter from your husband  to the manager would be in order (along the lines of I have been a customer for X years, with a good credit record blah blah blah), I usually find that does the trick when it comes to banks.  Alternatively you could offer them a DNA sample as proof of identity, would they accept that??!! I hope you get it sorted out soon, what a pain in the neck, I know I couldn't cope without my switch card.

Thank you   You just made Richard and I have a great laugh!  We needed that!  He has been with the bank for 20 years!  So a letter might do it.  He has another bank account on-line and they would not do it either.  I think we might talk to the bank you have, Citibank and HSBC (Since I know they have banks in the US) If I have to only wait 6 months that is fine, I am hoping that is from when I first came here with my spouse visa too, which would be two months ago.  Then Richard will leave both banks and we will just have one bank to deal with.  Bah on them I say!!!!

Uggh!! Sorry for newbees troubles! Interesting enough my sister back in the states was shopping around for a no fee checking acount and decided to move to Bank of America where its a no fee account and if you deposit a measly $100 to open it, they give you a $50 gift credit card. Ahh, how easy in the states.

As for UK current accounts, this may help.  When I first arrived I went to Barclays where my husband has had an account for 20 yrs. I walked in and was told I needed to show a bill with my name on it. I ran home to pick up our utility bill. The bill was brand new (my husband had been in the house for a month or so), anyway I ran back to show the proof, I was immediately told that I had to show it had been paid??? Not told that the first time.  Since it was a day old, obviously it hadn't been paid. They said, sorry! I couldnt believe it! I had my passport, rental agreement and a bill showing my proof of address! I was then told that I needed to make an appointment to open a current account but only after I could show that the bill was paid. We paid the bill a few days later and made an appointment. The appointment was one month later! Needless to say I was I was not happy! The day of the appointment my husband did not want to come with me because he knew I was livid! We arrived with all documents including an official job offer from my employer, we sit down with a representative to show her all of my docs. When she glances at my offer of employment she walks away and comes back to tell me that due to my salary they can offer me a no fee account....hmmm, interesting considering they put their hand up in my face on my previous attempts to open an account. Basically the fee that was waived was a £10 a month fee because I guess my salary was better than expected (believe me not OTT). I was furious that now they were all interested in me. I so wanted to say....how about this.....why don't you NOT charge the £10 fee to a pensioner......I think that is the morally right thing to do!!! I didn't say that because my Brit husband would have died right there!  Anyway, since I was new (less than 6 months on British soil they opened a Barclays offshore account for me. I guess its less of a risk for them but don't understand it?

Moral of the story, ask them for an off shore account and they may be more accomidating.  I hope this helps! 

Julie

20 years!!!! you would think that would count for something!!! I was only with Royal Bank of Scotland for about 4 years when they added Stu on, with some hassle (see my earlier post) but not as much as you've had, I think he had to wait 3 months for the Switch card.

Jules, how long ago was this?  Hmmm, I doubt my salary will get the same response, but DH's would. 

20 years!!!! you would think that would count for something!!! I was only with Royal Bank of Scotland for about 4 years when they added Stu on, with some hassle (see my earlier post) but not as much as you've had, I think he had to wait 3 months for the Switch card.

Yeah right!  Richard has said that anytime he has called his banks for a question, they have been so nice.  However the three times he called for me about his American wife they were very quick and a bit rude!  What did I ever do to them   Seriously though, I just don't get it!!!  OK, well let's hope TRBOS will help us out even though we are not customers right now. 

Britwife....you are correct, you would think that my husbands account would mean something after 20yrs.

Stacey, It was last August 2003 (2 months after I arrived).  I will say even though I had alot of trouble with the branch in Reading in opening up the account,  the customer service folks on the "International Banking line" that I call to do my banking are very friendly and helpful. Maybe the staff is trained to be more accomidating since I am sure they are dealing with folks from all around the world.

I do hope that those trying to open an account can possibly go the off shore route!

I hate to open a whole new can of worms on the topic, but of course the bank account thing never crossed my mind as it is so simple in the US! I will be coming over on a student visa next year, and plan on getting a flat eventually, but will be staying at my boyfriends mothers house until I can get settled w/ my own place. I intend on staying in the UK once I finish school. Will being on a student visa make this even harder?? I can bring all of my bank statements from here, a letter from my bank, and my visa info, but I wont have utility bills to show because I would need a bank account first to even get my own place!!