In the Uk for the next fews months and want to open a bank account

tuxy

I have just arrived in England and will be staying at least a few months. I went to Llyods Tsb and they have messed me about for the last 2 weeks losing forms and just generally wasting my time. Is there any bank I can just walk in to with ID and start an account? If not what would be the best back to go with. I need to set up direct debit for things like phone contract and gym membership. I have been using pay as you go for most services which is expensive.

jonnny68

I have an account with Santander and have had no issues with them, i too had bad experiences with Lloyds TSB and Barclays aren't great either.

amcalester

Where are you based?

scotty_irish

it is incredibly difficult to open an account in the UK. At a bare minimum you'll need a letter from employer or university and several forms of id. Proof of address can be used also in place of a letter but you won't have that because you haven't been there long enough. Good luck - took me forever to get one.

tuxy

scotty_irish wrote: »

it is incredibly difficult to open an account in the UK. At a bare minimum you'll need a letter from employer or university and several forms of id. Proof of address can be used also in place of a letter but you won't have that because you haven't been there long enough. Good luck - took me forever to get one.

Damn, I'm in North London. I'm looking for work so no employer or university.

Ogham

Try HSBC - my son opened an account there after moving over from Ireland.
Avoid Santander - they will charge you loads if you ever go overdrawn.

daithijjj

Do you have any family or close friends there?. Only way to speed up this process if you can get someone to act as a guarantor on your account. Only issue with that is, you would have to join the bank that the guarantor is with.

At that point, if you are only there a few months then fee's should not be an issue as you wont get access to anything that would incur fees for 6 months at least i dont think.

Brianderunner

You need to get a statement from your Irish bank account with your UK address on it (and make sure the postcode is on it). You might need to go into your bank to change the address. Nat west online resgistration is fairly user friendly.

amcalester

I work for a bank in London and this is what I tell people in your situation.

Register with a doctor; you will then be sent an NHS medical card which you can use as proof of address.
Get a UK driving License, it has your address on it.
Apply for a National Insurance number, this will be posted to you and you can use that as proof of address.
Contact the HMRC and ask for a tax notification letter, this can also be used as proof of address.

As was advised above if your Irish bank will change your address to a UK address then that would be accepted as well.

Have you rented a flat/house through an agancy because you nay be able to use that as proof of address.

Where I work we would need to see 2 of the above plus photo ID to open an account for someone just arrived in the UK.

If you are still in ireland then nip up North to First Trust and open an account with them.

Good luck.

tuxy

Thanks for the advice guys. I got an account with Santander and had no proof of Address, only my Irish passport. They were the only bank that would sit down and talk to me. It also really helped that the person setting up my account could not get their head around the face that Ireland is not part of the UK

srsly78

scotty_irish wrote: »

it is incredibly difficult to open an account in the UK. At a bare minimum you'll need a letter from employer or university and several forms of id. Proof of address can be used also in place of a letter but you won't have that because you haven't been there long enough. Good luck - took me forever to get one.

Nonsense. It's very easy to open an account.

Just get a mate that lives in UK to write a letter saying you are resident with them, also bring along mates proof of address and your passport. That's all you need.

You do not need to even have a job to open an account. Not unless you are applying for a loan/overdraft...

The bank has no problem if you say you are staying with friends temporarily until you get your own place sorted.

monkeypants

Brianderunner wrote: »

You need to get a statement from your Irish bank account with your UK address on it (and make sure the postcode is on it).

+1

Once you have a bank statement with your UK address on it, you can open as many bank accounts as you like with little fuss.

Marcusm

scotty_irish wrote: »

it is incredibly difficult to open an account in the UK. At a bare minimum you'll need a letter from employer or university and several forms of id. Proof of address can be used also in place of a letter but you won't have that because you haven't been there long enough. Good luck - took me forever to get one.

In my experience, having had lots of family and friends int his position over the last three years, it's only an issue if the bank staff don't have experience of it. All the major banks have special accounts for newly arrived immigrants (yes that's the word). HSBC's is called Passport. You'll need one form of ID (preferably passport), a recent bank account statement from your home bank and the ability to fill out an application form with your UK address. They don't need UK proofs of address with this type of account as higher anti money laundering procedures are adopted until they establish that you are indeed resident at the UK address (generally the statements not being returned to sender).

These accounts generally have a £6-10 per quarter fee. You can transfer to a basic bank account (free fee) after one year.

Marcusm

daithijjj wrote: »

Do you have any family or close friends there?. Only way to speed up this process if you can get someone to act as a guarantor on your account. Only issue with that is, you would have to join the bank that the guarantor is with.

I'm sorry but this is simply rubbish. There is no need to have a "guarantor" to open a bank account and an introduction from an existing customer is not needed.

Marcusm

amcalester wrote: »

I work for a bank in London and this is what I tell people in your situation.

Register with a doctor; you will then be sent an NHS medical card which you can use as proof of address.
Get a UK driving License, it has your address on it.
Apply for a National Insurance number, this will be posted to you and you can use that as proof of address.
Contact the HMRC and ask for a tax notification letter, this can also be used as proof of address.

As was advised above if your Irish bank will change your address to a UK address then that would be accepted as well.

Have you rented a flat/house through an agancy because you nay be able to use that as proof of address.

Where I work we would need to see 2 of the above plus photo ID to open an account for someone just arrived in the UK.

If you are still in ireland then nip up North to First Trust and open an account with them.

Good luck.

I think you'd be better off advising them to go to a bank which is set up to deal with new arrivals. Which bank do you work for?

LInk to Barclays site:======> http://www.barclays.co.uk/Helpsupport/ComingtoworkintheUK/P1242601780771

Link to HSBC site:========> http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/current-accounts/uk-bank-account/open-bank-account (HSBC Passport if link doesn't wok)

Lloyds TSB:===========> http://www.lloydstsb.com/current_accounts/new_to_the_uk.asp

It frustrates me when people give anecdotal evidence rather than facts. Urghhh.