Guest haysgood Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Hi everyone, We are busy looking for companies to transer our money to Oz, probably going to use Hifx in the end (I hadnt heard of them before, but they have such good reviews on PIO so must be reliable!!). Has anyone transferred money recently, and what rate did you get? How much can you negotiate? If they offer lets say $2.05 to the pound, can you push it up to $2.10-$2.15 or is that taking the mickey? I'm not very good at haggling, but dont want to get ripped off either!!! Hayley :biglaugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalakids Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Hi Hayley, I can recommend HiFx as I'm sure many others can as well. I like your idea of haggling with the FX people but sadly it doesn't work quite like that. I wish it did! When you go onto HiFx's website or any of the other FX specialists for that matter, you will see that they advertise an 'indicative rate'. This is what is known as the 'inter-bank rate' which is exclusive to the banking trade. I find it a little annoying myself because it makes us (the general public) think we can have that very same rate. What you will find is that if you have a large amount of dosh to exchange, you may well find you can negotiaite close to that rate but not with smaller amounts. I do know though that you won't be able to haggle over that rate....which is a big shame! I hope this helps. Good luck, Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhug Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Hi, I have been using Moneycorp. So far, for amounts from £3k to £120k and the rates i have been given were not very far off the "interbank" rates. As we speak the interbank rate is $2.061 and the spot rate with moneycorp is $2.059. No fees whatsoever with Moneycorp either. Forward rates would be a bit better if you know how far in advance you will need the money. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest melissa Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Blimey, I bought land in Aus last February and got $2.47. Is it really that bad now. When we sell our house i'm dreading changeing the money over. We used a firm whose name i forget, but have it somewhere, who's rates where better than anyone else i could find at the time. I'll find it and post their name. Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BRISSYBOUND Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 We've used HIFX a couple of times and found them very good,mate of mine works for the parent company and the've used them to make regular payments to Spain and said they've had no trouble.You can haggle a bit but not much,try it you'll be no worse off and it's not as if you know the other person at the other end of the phone,be cheeky.Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest graham$nic Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 a good tip to anyone changing watch the markets every day and from my non professional experience i have found at the end / beginning of the month on interest rate reviews is the best time to change and Friday uk time is the best time to buy the dollar ........... oh and hindsight is a curse lol my fist exchange was 2.45 my last just recent was 2.1185 both via lloyds bank ( hifx and moneycorp could not match spot rates ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JoanneHattersley Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 we recently drew money from our UK bank and the rate was $1.98 THATS BAD!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thistles and gum trees Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Hi, We moved down here 7 months ago and got 2.465. We used Hifx who were very good at the UK end however the money ended up going into a ANZ bank account - and it wasnt ours!!! It took a long time to come down here and for a while we were really worried! We found it eventually and had it transferred (only just at no cost to ourselves....) to our own bank account!! (Westpac). Overall in the UK they were fine, just be careful. We changed a lot of money and were really lucky with our rate. If I did it again I have to confess I dont think I would use Westpac - they charge for EVERYTHING!!! We have since opened a decent rate account with Bendigo Bank and our son has opened one with Commonwealth. Hope it helps.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest haysgood Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 Thank you for all your replies. I will speak to HiFX tomorrow and let you know what rate we get (will try haggle a bit, even better I will ask OH to try haggle for me!!). Paul thanks for the advice about moneycorp, I will also give them a try. Jo, $1.98 seems so low. Psychologically I really hope I get something over the 2 mark, even if its just $2.01! You must have got an excellent rate in Feb 2005…I wish I could go back in time! Graham, I hope you are right and the end/beginning of the months is the best to change because we plan to do it any day now. I might even wait till this Friday just to test your theory! Thistles and gum trees – oh no, we have just opened an account with Westpac. Dammit! Will look into other banks when we arrive, hopefully one close to home (wherever that may be!). Darren, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, it really is that bad! Good thinking of you to buy land when it was $2.47 wish we had planned that far ahead! Hayley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Windsor2 Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Hi all, HiFX will always be as competitive as we can be on the rate we give to you. Obviously the rates we give are determined by the markets and the "inter-bank" rates, and apologies if this sometimes comes across as misleading information. Please be honest with your dealer and if you have a better quote from elsewhere then let them know. Thistles and gum trees - interesting feedback re: Westpac as HiFX have an afifliation with them in the UK and they waive all charges for HiFX customers for the first 6 months. I do know most Aussie banks charge for everything (their excuse is, unlike the UK banks, they give you a service!) but would be interested with other people's feedback on this matter. Any questions then please feel free to get in touch. Cheers, Richard, HiFX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pinhead Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Richard Any view on the GBP:AUD rate over the next 12 months? Looks like Oz interest rates will be rising twice more this year (0.25% X2) and then falling next year. BOE stated that interest rates here wouldn't be cut again until 2010. The UK interest rates could be rising next year when the Oz rates are falling which logically should mean the £ will strengthen. Looking to buy an oz property around next Sept but don't want to lock in the rate so far in advance when the rate is so poor. Thanks A happy Hifx customer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Windsor2 Posted May 28, 2008 Share Posted May 28, 2008 Hi Pinhead, I've replied to this on your next thread. Cheers, Richard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom the Pom Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 I'm hoping for the exchange rates to pick up in a big way in the next year or so or it's not going to be worth me moving to Oz. I'm hoping to move around £100k at best and every penny (cent) is going to count. If rates stay the way they are I'm not going to be able to afford to buy a property of any kind and will have to get a mortgage. Being mortgage free was one of the main reasons for moving. If rates get any worse we won't be going anywhere and will be stuck in sh!tty Britain:arghh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalakids Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Come on Tom being mortgage free can't be the only reason for a move to Oz surely? I can think of plenty better reasons for a move down under which far outweigh just being mortgage free! Even if the rate doesn't improve you will still get plenty more 'bang for your bucks' in Oz than in the UK. Think positively and look at all the other wonderful things you can enjoy even with a small mortgage! I was like you but have realised that being mortgage free isn't everything and I'm now looking at the 'bigger picture'. Good luck. KK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sturburt Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 Hi, We are approved in principle, hoping to get a 2008/9 contributory parent visa. As cash becomes available, we are transferring funds to an Australian Bank account we have opened in anticipation, to pay for the visa when we get it, and to cover our expenses in the early months of residency. The latter in case the exchange rate continues to move against us! We have accounts with Hi FX, Money Corp, FC Exchange and Ozforex. and have so far made two exchanges (2.5 in November and 2.15 May this year). . In both cases Ozforex offered the best or nearly the best rate. We ask all four for their best offer and check as many providers as possible on the internet.; the four mentioned are there or thereabouts with similar rates but Ozforex have been most pro-active and we like their daily e-mail with market updates and access to historic charts etc. All four are very helpful on the phone. sturburt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BRISSYBOUND Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Absolutely spot on KK,I would rather be in Oz with a bigger mortage than stay here and be reasonably well off.Like you said it's about the bigger picture.Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
koalakids Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 It looks very much like the exchange rate is going to slip below the 2.00 mark and from there who knows? I phoned HiFx today and they are offering 2.02 which I regrettably accepted. Please don't make the same mistake as me and wrongly hope it will improve. I had the chance to change at 2.37 and thought it might get better but all it has done is go down since. From the advice I was given and from what I've read it can only go down even further. The Oz economy isn't showing any signs of weakening yet and ours has got worse to come for certain. If you are heading to Oz in the next 12 months I reckon you could do worse than change now. Has anyone else changed as low as this recently and bitten the bullet? Good luck. KK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gail39 Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 we exchanged at 2.064 per GBP but wish we had changed in the uk in august 2007 and got 2.36!! But you dont always think,but looking back now we wish we had!!!:mask: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pinhead Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I got half my money out to Oz at 2.45, waiting to sell my house to move the other half. Although I can wait as long as necessary to get a decent rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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