Guest Jean95 Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 My husband and I are returning to the UK later this year to retire. I am finding it really difficult to open a UK bank account whilst still here in Australia. We will have a sizeable amount of money to transfer when we have sold our house, car etc. I have found a few like NAB who own Clydesdale bank but we are not NAB customers. This must be done all the time but I can't find anything on the net. Our bank Westpac was less than helpful and seemed to have no solution. Hope someone out there can give me some advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Check out HBSC. They are in Aus. It may mean opening an account with them in Aus but tbh if your options are limited it may be the easiest or best option open to you. http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/overseas-account-opening (there is info on that page if already living overseas and returning to UK etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzybangs Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Go and see your own bank and tell them you will be wanting to transfer money to UK once you get a bank account opened there. Put some money on a cash card and prebook and pay for accommodation (if needed) and car hire for when you get there. Once you get to UK you will be able to open an account very quickly with enough ID. Remember to get international drivers licence for cheaper insurance. You can do it with LLoyds International on-line but again you will need to send copies of ID witnessed by a JP. If you have someone over there who you truly trust, you could deposit sufficient in their account to last you a while? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kel1 Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 HSBC are major wankers. We went in to try and open an account and they told us we would have to go through the whole rigmarole again in the UK. So much for being 'the world's local bank'. More like the 'world's local knobs' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flathead Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 HSBC are major wankers.We went in to try and open an account and they told us we would have to go through the whole rigmarole again in the UK. So much for being 'the world's local bank'. More like the 'world's local knobs' We arranged a HSBC account in the UK through HSBC here and found It all pretty easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 We had the same problem trying to open UK accounts for our kids in England from here - something to do with new money laundering rules. In the end we waited till we were in the country and the kids had to go in in person to open the accounts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissEmma Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Contact the international banking department of HSBC Australia, we set up a UK account over the phone, and the entire process was extremely easy. Emma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest74886 Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 My husband and I are returning to the UK later this year to retire. I am finding it really difficult to open a UK bank account whilst still here in Australia. We will have a sizeable amount of money to transfer when we have sold our house, car etc. I have found a few like NAB who own Clydesdale bank but we are not NAB customers. This must be done all the time but I can't find anything on the net. Our bank Westpac was less than helpful and seemed to have no solution. Hope someone out there can give me some advice. Just a word to the wise, you may or may not be aware of the better exchange rates available thro firms like Hifx when you do your money transfer. I would also consider opening a offshore account thro HSBC or Lloyds TSB, much easier than you think and you can have Euro or sterling account and then open a UK account once there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jean95 Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Thanks for your replies. I did go and see my bank and they were less than helpful. Did not offer any advice at all on how to assist. They are of course always happy to take every cent they can from you:twitcy: I have also heard of Hifx but not checked them out yet. I have sisters in the UK whom I trust implicitly so that may be the way to go though I don't want them to be liable for any tax that may occur with moving a lot of money. I lost my father recently and he left me some money which I told my sisters to leave there as I didn't need the hassle of changing to dollars and then back to sterling (and losing a packet in the process). We will be returning to Scotland so not sure what is available in my home area when it comes to banks besides the likes of Royal Bank and Bank of Scotland and I would rather avoid them. I will have another look as HSBC and also Hifx as I'm sure that the banks will charge me a lot more. Any other thoughts would be welcome from anyone out there. We will not be going until about September/October as I have had breast cancer and my treatment will not be finished until August. Just wanted to get things sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jean95 Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Thanks Emma. As I'm sure you are aware I want this to be as hassle free as possible but as this will be our retirement nest egg we also want it to be safe. Did you just ring them from a number on their website? Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flathead Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 If you move money between HSBC Branches in Australia and UK their exchange rates are far better than other banks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest74886 Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 Thanks for your replies. I did go and see my bank and they were less than helpful. Did not offer any advice at all on how to assist. They are of course always happy to take every cent they can from you:twitcy: I have also heard of Hifx but not checked them out yet. I have sisters in the UK whom I trust implicitly so that may be the way to go though I don't want them to be liable for any tax that may occur with moving a lot of money. I lost my father recently and he left me some money which I told my sisters to leave there as I didn't need the hassle of changing to dollars and then back to sterling (and losing a packet in the process). We will be returning to Scotland so not sure what is available in my home area when it comes to banks besides the likes of Royal Bank and Bank of Scotland and I would rather avoid them. I will have another look as HSBC and also Hifx as I'm sure that the banks will charge me a lot more. Any other thoughts would be welcome from anyone out there. We will not be going until about September/October as I have had breast cancer and my treatment will not be finished until August. Just wanted to get things sorted. Hi Jean You will need to register with Hifx to find out their dealing rates but you will find they give better rates I believe than the banks, PM me if you need help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissEmma Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 Thanks Emma. As I'm sure you are aware I want this to be as hassle free as possible but as this will be our retirement nest egg we also want it to be safe. Did you just ring them from a number on their website? Jean Hi Jean, Yes - just ring and explain that you would like to open a bank account in the UK. And just to echo what Flathead said, transferring money from an Australian HSBC account to a UK one is really easy (via online banking), the exchange rate is very good, and you also have control over when you transfer funds (you do need to fill in a form to get the daily transfer limit increased if you are transferring a significant amount, but HSBC will advise you on this). Hope this helps. Emma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 TNTforex offer really good money transfer rates to the UK. Every 5th transfer is free :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest74886 Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 TNTforex offer really good money transfer rates to the UK. Every 5th transfer is free :-) All transfers with HIFX are free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 All transfers with HIFX are free I wonder if they take a bigger slice of the forex rate ? I'll have to compare them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thistle13 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Check out HBSC. They are in Aus. It may mean opening an account with them in Aus but tbh if your options are limited it may be the easiest or best option open to you. http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/overseas-account-opening (there is info on that page if already living overseas and returning to UK etc). Interesting that you say they are in Aus. I made an email enquiry, and received an overseas call. Three times I asked the woman what country she was calling from, and she kept replying 'I work for Australia' eventually I told her the call would not continue unless she answered my question........she feebly replied 'India'. Conversation came to an abrupt end by me. I won't deal with overseas call centers. If she was calling from the UK I'd understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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