UK bank constantly sending letters for US SSN

Hi all,

My bank has sent me three letters in the past year asking me to fill out my US information (dob, ssn etc) for their HMRC return. I have done this twice last year and just received a third letter today. I also confirmed this information in branch in the past year.

I am very uncomfortable with having to mail my SSN to my bank in the post over and over again. I tried to find out today what my banks policy is to understand why I need to keep confirming this but they have to get back to me.

Is anybody else experiencing this with their bank? Is there an annual requirement to reconfirm your SSN/foreign tax details?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Pam



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I can say without a doubt I've only had to supply this once, at account opening, in 2013.  They've never contacted me for my details again after that.  I bank with Lloyd's.

Thanks for the information Kimberley that’s helpful to know. I’m with the co-op.

I also looked at the .gov guidance about this and there doesn’t seem to be anything stated about annual requirements? Maybe I should switch banks as this is all so irritating!

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/automatic-exchange-of-information-account-holders


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We arrived back in 2016 and had to complete and send in a W-9 to our bank, HSBC 3 times in about 5 months, but not since. I figured it was just disorganization on their end.

As far as I am aware only USCs get singled out for this treatment, thanks to FATCA.

If the banks kept writing and asking "are you black?" over and over there would be hell raised.

IMO it should be up to the individual USC to file FBARs, just like it is up to the individual USC to file tax returns. Being pestered by a bank on the basis of nationality is redundant.

As far as I am aware only USCs get singled out for this treatment, thanks to FATCA.

If the banks kept writing and asking "are you black?" over and over there would be hell raised.

IMO it should be up to the individual USC to file FBARs, just like it is up to the individual USC to file tax returns. Being pestered by a bank on the basis of nationality is redundant.

Completely agree, it's discrimination. I think they get penalised somewhere along the way if they don't report correctly though.

Completely agree, it's discrimination. I think they get penalised somewhere along the way if they don't report correctly though.

They absolutely do get penalized if they don’t comply. It is the US government that is requiring this from banks. Some institutions save themselves a whole load of money by simply not allowing USC’s to have accounts with them. The NS&I is one of them, as a USC you cannot save with them, and their response is that it is not a good use of taxpayer money to achieve and maintain FATCA compliance.

Some institutions save themselves a whole load of money by simply not allowing USC’s to have accounts with them.

Which is illegal but untested in court.

As far as I am aware only USCs get singled out for this treatment, thanks to FATCA.

A few Brits said they were getting these letters too, but that seemed to be from the Halifax. They ignored them and then got all sorts of letters.

It is the US asking for this information on their citizens. One US citizen said her US citizen son who had lived in the UK all his life, had got one too. It was them that she realised that she had never filed her US taxes since she moved to the UK years ago, neither had her son and that he had never been put on the US draft list?

Which is illegal but untested in court.

It's a state owned savings bank, funded by taxpayers.

Even a share holder bank can cherry pick customers, usually based on cost/risk. A lot or EEA citizens are saying they are finding it difficult to get a mortgage in the UK as the EU's free movement is ending.

Which is illegal but untested in court.

Do you have some reference to support this as I would use it to write to my MP to plead my case.

There is a European Directive which gives people in the EU the right to a basic payment account regardless of a person's place of residence or financial situation. Does NS&I offer a basic bank account?

https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/banking-and-finance/consumer-finance-and-payments/consumer-financial-services/access-bank-accounts_en

A group in France are challenging FATCA in the EU in relation to banks that have closed accounts on grounds the account holder is a 'US Person', and the collection and transmission of data to the US.

To find out more including the various EU Commission stakeholders rejection of the claim, watch the video. But........

For entertainment with a real bite in the tail, watch Sophie Int' Veld's comments on FATCA to the EU Commission starting at 16:33 (maybe 5 minutes long). For a sobering story of real life 'loss of privacy' by EU citizens due to FATCA, watch the final supportive testimony from the plaintive which immediately follows Sophie (maybe 1 minute long).




If FATCA were to be abolished tomorrow, your UK bank would still be legally required to ask you about any other tax jurisdiction other than the UK to which you have a reporting obligation (and USCs would have to answer "the USA"). The UK has signed up to CRS along with most advanced countries (but the US hasn't signed up). It's the OECD CRS directive, BUT, reporting is only required if you are not resident in the UK.

Countries now tend to take the stance that asking about a persons' additional reporting obligations to the US is not discriminatory since all potential applicants must be asked about additional reporting obligations as dictated by CRS.

There is also a stance that says FATCA violates at least 2 amendments to the US Constitution. (See Rand Paul testimony before the Congressional committee investigating the unintended consequences of FATCA.) 



 

Does NS&I offer a basic bank account?

No, it doesn’t offer a checking account. Interestingly they do offer Premium Bonds to USC’s which is something I don’t quite understand. I even bought some late last year, really easy to buy and sell online, and within 2 months I’d won £25 - Woo Hoo!!

Hi all,

My bank has sent me three letters in the past year asking me to fill out my US information (dob, ssn etc) for their HMRC return. I have done this twice last year and just received a third letter today. I also confirmed this information in branch in the past year.

I am very uncomfortable with having to mail my SSN to my bank in the post over and over again. I tried to find out today what my banks policy is to understand why I need to keep confirming this but they have to get back to me.

Is anybody else experiencing this with their bank? Is there an annual requirement to reconfirm your SSN/foreign tax details?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Pam



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RBS has sent me this info twice now. I have dual citizenship, so I initially didn't report the USA part. Their computer flagged it and sent me a request, which I responded to. A couple of months later I got another one, which I also responded to.  It's been a few months, so I am assuming all is now well.

Well my bank confirmed it was in error that I received two of the letters, however it was also confirmed to me today that their policy is that I would need to complete an annual self certification form. They said this is compliant with FATCA. I informed them that nowhere in the gov guidance or UK/US Compliance act does it state the account holder would certify annually; requirement is upon opening an account or if requested by bank on an older account. Additionally the self certification form states that it is my responsibility to inform my bank within 30 days of a change in tax residency, so again why would I keep reconfirming the same information when it doesn’t change (unless I notify them)?

I will be shopping around for a new current account this weekend at other banks. There is no way I am mailing them my SSN annually. Beside Lloyd’s and HSBC does anybody have any suggestions for a bank? We also bank with Nationwide for savings but our local branch won’t take more than 5 change bags at a time (no good for us penny pinchers haha).


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