Citibank

Hi everyone!

With all I've heard about the trouble of opening a new bank account in the UK, I wonder if anyone has taken the route of opening a UK account with a US-based company.  Citibank is an example.  Their site makes it seem that it's quite easy to open a UK account with them.  You can even apply online.  They do not have many branches in the UK, but I almost never go into a bank anyway.  Citibank also has US dollar accounts you can have from the UK, which would be useful for paying pesky school loans that remain in the US.  I figure that this could be a good approach for getting a UK account immediately, and if it's not convenient, we could switch to a UK based bank later on.

Anyone have experience with Citibank or something similar.

I had a horrible experience with Citibank in the US; which has caused me to NEVER deal with them ANYWHERE.

I asked if I could pay my debt off online; they said no because it was not in good standing (yes, I was in arrears, but not by a lot).  I explained, I'm moving across the WORLD, could you please make an exception.  They said, no.

I then asked if I could please go into one of their offices here, or mail my payments to the address of the company in the UK.  They said, no. 

They said it was a whole nother company, and trying to figure out dollars/ pounds would be too confusing for them.  Poor bastards.  Don't want to confuse them.  Mind you, I kept my US bank account, and made it clear I would be paying my US debt with my US bank account.  Still, it would confuse.

I finally managed to gather enough $ to pay off my debt entirely; I rang them up (yes, from the UK to the US), and said, 'let's end this relationship now; how much do I owe you?'  they said, 'you owe $xxxx, and I said, great, let's pay that off.'

Two weeks later, I receive a statement saying I overpaid by $12. 

I rang them up (yes from the UK to the US), and said, 'What the f**k?!?!?' to which they calmly responded, 'oh, sorry, that was our mistake.'

So glad they pointed that out. 

I asked if they could please deposit that into my bank account; the reverse of what they had done prior; taking money OUT of my account.  They said, no.

I then asked if they would please mail that check directly to my bank, as it's just plain silly mailing it to me here, then me mailing it back to my US bank.  They said, no.

I hate them.

And thanks to the info I looked up on this board, HSBC could not have been more pleasant, more generous (with their time and info), and I couldn't be happier. 
And yes, they included a GOLD card when they opened my account.  Bless 'em.  Now I gotta pay THAT off!

I am another one who hates them!

I have been jerked around with two bank accounts (one here and one in the states) and a credit card here in the UK which I am still in the middle of trying to sort out!

I won't bore you with all the details, but I will never deal with them again once my credit card issues are sorted out with them.

As far as I am aware you will still have to go through all the procedures with Citibank you would have to at any other UK bank . The two may have the same name, but they are basically two seprate companies.

I hope someone else has had a good experince with them!

oh my god, same here, i had horrible experience with Citi bank here and i have been a customer of theirs for over ten years in the US! I tried to open a bank account here and it was so so difficult that after my thrid trip there and they still wanting more proof of docs (employment contract, utility bills, etc.) I decided to hell with them and walked into my local HSBC bank and opened an account in less than 30 mins! (i tried with Citi bank for over two weeks!)

so i am just glad that i am not the only one! I cancelled my credit card with them shortly after that.

Any time I've dealt with CitiBank they are the most inflexible company ever!!! They repeat "But our policy is...." and don't seem to care that their policy created the problem in the first place, or that it's not in your best interests as their customer, or theirs as a business. After having a credit card with them for over 10 years and way too much hassle over getting a simple mailing address changed among other things, I finally told them to shove it and I took my business elsewhere.

I resolved never to let them have any of my money again. I truly hate them and the way they do business.

*just one woman's opinion *   

Wow.
Howzat for a quorum consenus!?!?!?

 
'hate them, we hate them...'

Yeah, I think that answers my question!

I have a credit card with them, and now I'm afraid of dealing with that when I move.  I haven't had any problems with them, but I've actually never had to contact them for any reason.

My problem with the credit card over here delt with fraud. I've had the number stolen three times. Each time a new card was issued and with in two weeks thousand of pounds of cash had been taken out as euros in France as an emergency cash advance. Always the same place in France to. Oh and my limit is only 200 pounds.

So I am still fighting with them about the last case. They keep adding overlimit fees etc on my account even though it is suposed to be 'frozen'. It has been driving me nuts!

I've actually had a Citibank credit card (from the US) since 1994 and haven't had any trouble.  I had fraud on my account once, but it was Citibank who caught it, called me at work to notify me and were very fast in cancelling my account and issusing me a new card.

I went this week to open an new account, and the only complaint I have is that they said that it will take them 7 business days to process my application and get me an account number.  When I asked if my US Citibank credit card would make any difference, they told me that the US is a different company and that they couldn't rely on it as proof of good credit standing.  I don't really understand that, because it is the same company, but whatever.

Aaron

On another related matter on dual-currency accounts, make sure you read the fine print with the charges associated with that.

Originally, I was considering opening a HSBC international account -- only considering, for I didn't make enough for them to offer the service to me -- and asked them what was involved in making a US withdrawl on my UK international account ... their response was that is had a fee of something like 40 pounds (or dollars, I can't remember) for each transaction.

You can add me to the list of disgruntled Citibank users. I had dealt with them in the US and was none too pleased with their attitude and service (without going into details). 

On the UK side, my first account here, aside from adding my name to the DH account at his Scottish bank, was with HSBC. Thought it'd be easier to transfer money with them to the US to pay off the rest of my debt there. Was certainly wrong about that and there's a whole story that goes with it which was followed by several letters of complaint to them by me that were promptly ignored. As such, I have had about £0.39 in that account for the past year or so as I can't be bothered to even go in there to close the account.

I'll stick with my credit union in the US and our bank in Scotland. 

I just got this via email today, so I thought I'd share (I'm anti-citibank myself)

Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die
This is just so priceless....and so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is....

My Aunt died this past January. Citi Bank billed her for February and March for their monthly service charge on her credit card, and then added late fees and interest on the monthly charge...the balance had been $0.00... now was somewhere around $60.00

I placed the following phone call to CitiBank:

Me: "I am calling to tell you that she died in January."

CitiBank: "The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply."

Me: "Maybe, you should turn it over to collections..."

CitiBank: "Since it is 2 months past due, it already has been."

Me: "So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?"

CitiBank: "Either report her account to the frauds division, or report her to the credit bureau...maybe both!"

Me: "Do you think God will be mad at her?"

CitiBank: "excuse me?"

Me: "Did you just get what I was telling you.... the part about her
being dead?"

CitiBank: "Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor!"
(Supervisor gets on the phone)

Me: ''I'm calling to tell you, she died in January."

CitiBank: "The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply."

Me: "You mean you want to collect from her estate?"

CitiBank: "(stammer)" .... "Are you her lawyer?"

Me: "No, I'm her great nephew." (Lawyer info given... )

CitiBank: "Could you fax us a certificate of death?"

Me: "Sure." ( Fax number is given )

(After they get the fax)

CitiBank: "Our system just isn't setup for death.."

Me: "Oh..."

CitiBank: "I don't know what more I can do to help..."

Me: "Well... if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep
billing her...I suppose...don't really think she will care...."

CitiBank: "Well...the late fees and charges do still! apply."

Me: "'Would you like her new billing address?"

CitiBank: "That might help."

Me: "Odessa Memorial Cemetery (address and plot number given. )

CitiBank: "Sir, that's a cemetery!"

Me: "What do you do with dead people on your planet?

Please be aware of spam saying citibank which is doing the rounds, at least in my virtual social circles 

but of course, you are not going to log in with your debit card number and PIN are you?