Changing UK bank address to Oz

[Plentymech]

Does anyone know if I change my Santander UK bank account to my Australian address that they will still send things like debit cards out here and is there any negative impact to informing them? I'm not trying to get away with anything but it just seemed simpler to not change it as I still had access to my old UK address even though I have been living here for some years. We went back to the UK last year and popped into the bank to sort out a small issues relating to remote banking and we were quite clear about where we lived and wasn't asked to change it. 

Reason for asking is I received an email from them asking me to declare my TFN to them. HMC&E know we live her and I reiterate, I'm not trying to avoid anything but one thing I've learnt re taxation is to never lie or mislead but at the same time be as reticent as possible. 

Our records indicate you may have tax obligations in another country. Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) we need to hold certain information if this is the case.  

 

We’ve written to you previously to tell you that you are reportable under one of the regulations above. We’re missing some information and need you to provide your overseas taxpayer identification number.

Any help and information gratefully received.

[Tulip1]

You should let them know your residential address and yes they will send your correspondence to you including cards.  As you’ve mentioned, they’ve clocked that you are not resident in the UK so just give them the information they require which is your tax identification number.  If you don’t you will probably find your account will be closed. 

[Marisawright]

I must admit, we still have our Barclays account and haven't changed our addresses to Australia - not to avoid tax (we don't earn any interest anyway), but because we'd heard that Barclays had been closing the accounts of foreign account holders.

From what I can gather, you're not at risk of having the account closed IF there is still activity on the account (i.e. occasional deposits or withdrawals).  However if there's no activity, the law says they have to close it down.  I'm not sure what the period is (12 months maybe?).  Some banks are more slack about it than others.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Marisawright

[ramot]

19 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I must admit, we still have our Barclays account and haven't changed our addresses to Australia - not to avoid tax (we don't earn any interest anyway), but because we'd heard that Barclays had been closing the accounts of foreign account holders.

From what I can gather, you're not at risk of having the account closed IF there is still activity on the account (i.e. occasional deposits or withdrawals).  However if there's no activity, the law says they have to close it down.  I'm not sure what the period is (12 months maybe?).  Some banks are more slack about it than others.

It probably depends on your financial circumstances. Our income is all from UK and our UK bank accounts only have our Australian address, it would be pointless to use an old UK address as we need our bank cards here. Not sure where they would be sent to otherwise,. 

Barclays did close down accounts of overseas customers several years ago, but I don’t know if this is still happening? 

The general advice seems to be to keep a UK bank account active as it’s difficult to open one if you return to UK? It can be useful if you still have family in UK to keep an account open, makes it easier to pay for gifts etc. it’s a personal choice.

My daughter has kept hers open, and all she does is pay in a small amount every few months to keep it active.

There well might be a time scale that an inactive account might be closed?

My son closed his as he has no intention of ever living there again.

 

[Marisawright]

5 minutes ago, ramot said:

It probably depends on your financial circumstances. Our income is all from UK and our UK bank accounts only have our Australian address, it would be pointless to use an old UK address as we need our bank cards here. Not sure where they would be sent to otherwise,. 

I would never recommend using an "old" address, because as you say, you need to be able to get bank cards etc.  I use my sister's address.  As we never use our UK credit cards except when we're in the UK on holiday, it's perfectly convenient for us to have the cards and any correspondence delivered there - we just pick them up when we arrive. 

Like I said, at the time, we'd been told foreign accountholders were at risk of having their accounts closed down.  Now, we know that they won't be closed down IF the account is kept active, as your daughter is doing - but to change the address now would require an international phone call to (and an interminable wait for) the Barclays Bank call centre, so we haven't bothered!

And yes, I think it's wise to keep a UK account if you have one, if you think there's the slightest chance you might return to the UK for an extended stay at some point. The whole process of opening a new one is just too annoying.  

[Plentymech]

Thanks all. The account is pretty active as we receive rent in it and have several direct debits. Also, as mentioned its useful for birthdays and those sort of things.

I'll call them Monday and change it.

[ramot]

1 minute ago, Plentymech said:

Thanks all. The account is pretty active as we receive rent in it and have several direct debits. Also, as mentioned its useful for birthdays and those sort of things.

I'll call them Monday and change it.

Sounds like us, we have never had a problem with cards sent here, but we aren’t with Santander. We do all our banking on line. If your account is in both names? they will probably want to speak to you both separately, they ask you if you are alone in the room, ask relevant up to date banking questions, makes me laugh because I often don’t know the answers, so my shadow has to silently help!! 

[Tulip1]

My comment about it being closed was nothing to do with it being left to go dormant.  It was about if you don’t give them the information they require.  Their letter isn’t along the lines of if you fancy letting us have your tax number great, it is we require it to comply with the law. They quoted in your letter that they have already written to you previously asking for the information. If you ignore the request then your next letter may well be a notice of closure as you haven’t provided them with important information they need. 

[ramot]

1 hour ago, Tulip1 said:

My comment about it being closed was nothing to do with it being left to go dormant.  It was about if you don’t give them the information they require.  Their letter isn’t along the lines of if you fancy letting us have your tax number great, it is we require it to comply with the law. They quoted in your letter that they have already written to you previously asking for the information. If you ignore the request then your next letter may well be a notice of closure as you haven’t provided them with important information they need. 

I realised that. I was responding to Marissa’s comment about Barclays Bank which did to the best of my knowledge close overseas bank accounts in some cases like my brother in Cyprus for no apparent reason, and hopefully reassuring the poster that as a long term ex pat it’s normal to give the bank your overseas address and have cards etc posted to you. 
you are probably correct that it was a warning letter.

Edited September 6, 2020 by ramot

[Wa7]

4 hours ago, Marisawright said:

From what I can gather, you're not at risk of having the account closed IF there is still activity on the account (i.e. occasional deposits or withdrawals).  However if there's no activity, the law says they have to close it down. 

Going back a few years now my bank informed me that simply logging in / out would keep an account active ( so no need for deposits/withdrawals)

[Peach]

You may find that whilst they're taking your new address they ask for your TFN.  We've been registered at an Australian address for years and ignored the request for my TFN a couple of times.  Then when recently I needed to phone the bank to arrange a large money transfer, they had to 'verify my details' before they could start and wanted my TFN...

[Tulip1]

36 minutes ago, ramot said:

I realised that. I was responding to Marissa’s comment about Barclays Bank which did to the best of my knowledge close overseas bank accounts in some cases like my brother in Cyprus for no apparent reason, and hopefully reassuring the poster that as a long term ex pat it’s normal to give the bank your overseas address and have cards etc posted to you. 
you are probably correct that it was a warning letter.

My comment wasn’t aimed at you.  It wasn’t aimed at anyone.  It was just to follow up what I’d said before and to reiterate the importance of providing the information asked. It was good advice from you and Marissa re not letting the account go dormant.  I agree, it would have been a warning letter, hopefully they will act upon it. 

Edited September 6, 2020 by Tulip1

[Ken]

I've had my Australian address and my Australian mobile phone number on my Santander account for the last 8 years. Never been a problem - although you do have to post them your new address when you move as the online system can't cope without a UK postcode (unless they've improved it since the last time I moved). Unlike some other UK banks they have no problem sending SMS to Australian mobiles.