Comments on: Held to account http://louisebolotin.com/2008/10/10/held-to-account/ Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:21:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: louise http://louisebolotin.com/2008/10/10/held-to-account/comment-page-1/#comment-41 louise Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:08:01 +0000 http://louisebolotin.com/?p=19#comment-41 So very true, Nick. I did hang onto one account for about 6 years after I emigrated. However, I had problems with the bank - they refused to issue me with a new cheque book because I had paid almost nothing in during that time. This was despite the fact that the account contained about £10k, which they were obviously using as a liquid deposit to make money from. I was so incensed by their attitude that I closed the account. If I were going abroad again, I certainly would not close down all my accounts now. I could write a book about what it takes to open an account here when you become a re-pat. It took me 5 months and a lot of wiliness (legal, I hasten to add!) to persuade a bank to let me bank with them. The whole process was a stressful nightmare. So very true, Nick. I did hang onto one account for about 6 years after I emigrated. However, I had problems with the bank – they refused to issue me with a new cheque book because I had paid almost nothing in during that time. This was despite the fact that the account contained about £10k, which they were obviously using as a liquid deposit to make money from. I was so incensed by their attitude that I closed the account. If I were going abroad again, I certainly would not close down all my accounts now.

I could write a book about what it takes to open an account here when you become a re-pat. It took me 5 months and a lot of wiliness (legal, I hasten to add!) to persuade a bank to let me bank with them. The whole process was a stressful nightmare.

]]> By: nickclayton http://louisebolotin.com/2008/10/10/held-to-account/comment-page-1/#comment-40 nickclayton Mon, 13 Oct 2008 08:38:58 +0000 http://louisebolotin.com/?p=19#comment-40 I always advise people who are emigrating to hang onto at least one UK bank or building society account with a few quid in it. It's not just the 'never say never' attitude to leaving the UK, there's also the chance that you may get funds in sterling. A friend of mine here in Ibiza hasn't been back to the UK for seven years. She hates the place. But in the summer she was the unexpected beneficiary of a will. It was less than 2000 quid, but a nice surprise nonetheless. To get the money she first had to prove to the British lawyers that she was who she said she was. That set her back over a hundred quid. Then the cheque arrived. So she took it to her bank. 'I'm afraid that'll take 40 working days to clear,' she was told. With bank holidays it took three months and she was charged for the receipt of the cheque. The exchange rate wasn't too clever either. If she'd had a Nationwide account she could just have taken the money out of a hole in the wall here. I always advise people who are emigrating to hang onto at least one UK bank or building society account with a few quid in it. It’s not just the ‘never say never’ attitude to leaving the UK, there’s also the chance that you may get funds in sterling.

A friend of mine here in Ibiza hasn’t been back to the UK for seven years. She hates the place. But in the summer she was the unexpected beneficiary of a will. It was less than 2000 quid, but a nice surprise nonetheless.

To get the money she first had to prove to the British lawyers that she was who she said she was. That set her back over a hundred quid. Then the cheque arrived. So she took it to her bank. ‘I’m afraid that’ll take 40 working days to clear,’ she was told. With bank holidays it took three months and she was charged for the receipt of the cheque. The exchange rate wasn’t too clever either.

If she’d had a Nationwide account she could just have taken the money out of a hole in the wall here.

]]> By: Susan Kishner http://louisebolotin.com/2008/10/10/held-to-account/comment-page-1/#comment-39 Susan Kishner Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:57:51 +0000 http://louisebolotin.com/?p=19#comment-39 I just stopped by your blog and thought I would say hello. I like your site design. Looking forward to reading more down the road. I just stopped by your blog and thought I would say hello. I like your site design. Looking forward to reading more down the road.

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