UPDATE tax residency

[harry94]

I posted a week ago i received a email from Santander (UK)  asking me to fill a form in where i am living

and banking details . I filled the form in giving my address in Uk and my address in Thailand .

A letter was sent to my address in Uk they need to ask me further questions and if not my account would be frozen . I phoned santander , i was asked would i answer  Yes or No to the questions i said yes .

do i own property in the Uk ,? do you have investments in the Uk ?,saving accounts , shares unit trusts .?

do you own a business or in partner ship .? do you work in Thailand ? do you receive any pensions goverment

or private .  I was asked again for proof of my bank account in Thailand (a bank statement) . the lady then

said she will send me an email with a drop box that i could enter my down loaded bank statements with my Thai address. I then received an email saying they have received my down loaded documents .

Today i thought i would check my account and send some money to my Thai account by Wise every thing was ok until my  one time pass word did not arrive ,.I then logged into my Santander and discovered my Thai phone number had vanished . i  then tried to send £100 to my daughter via a existing payment ( no OTP needed) then i was told contact Santander . So my account is frozen .

When talking to the lady from Santander she said you made two payments of £1000 via Wise in september

what was that money for ? also payments have paid into your account from (Dee money ) but she did not say dee money i think it was fintech , i said i keep that account active with small amounts of money because it is an easy way of sending money back to the Uk .

Also what was my employment when working in the UK ? i said self employed plumber .

How long was you self employed ? i also told her i notified In Land Revenue when i arrived in Thailand and they sent me a tax return , i received a tax rebate . I also informed her my Uk pension is frozen because i notified UK Pensions i was living in Thailand and paid voluntry contrbutions until i retired .

Ok so that is how i stand , i will phone today (another forty minute phone call ) and see whats happening if any thing .

[nigelforbes]

You need to ensure you are completely open and honest with them and disclose exactly what your lifestyle is and where you are tax resident and if/where you earn income. Santandar, just like all the UK banks, just like the Thai banks and Thai Revenue, are concerned about three issues, 1) where you are tax resident, 2) money laundering  3) your sources of income. Until you satisfy them on those points your account will remain frozen I imagine. 

 

I think I posted on your earlier thread on this subject, all long term expats have been through this. In my case I had a two hour chat with HSBC UK (on the phone, they paid for the call) and disclosed what accounts I held where (I had several globally), what transfers I made, how often and why and where I was tax resident. At the end of the call, the chap I was speaking to said he was satisfied and everything has been normal ever since. He did say up front that if I didn't disclose everything, I would not be able to transact on my UK account. It sounds like Santandar still isn't satisfied.

[harry94]

Hello nigelforbes   , Santander have not been very helpful , phoning them is a gamble , they put me through the other day the lady said hold the line sir five minutes later i was cut off . When i had the interview on the phone she said all they need is proof of my address in Thailand .She said a Thai bank statement will be fine . I sent the bank statement via the Santander drop document box , they sent an email we will contact you shortly . They have not contacted me at all just frozen the account .

Previous to that i told the lady i had filled in the tax residency account statement sent it by registered post and know you receved as i tracked it . she did not reply .

If i dont get any joy i will just close the account and wash my hands with it all .

I filled in a similar form two years ago with the Halifax and never had any problems .

I will keep you all updated .

 

[KannikaP]

I can understand exactly how you feel having been through similar 5hit myself.

This should be in the Jokes section, but seems quite on-topic here. From an Irishman to his Passport Office (allegedly).

Hope I have disguised his bad language properly and don't get a ban please

 

Dear Sirs,

I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and I am losing the will to live. How is it that Sky Television has my address and telephone number and knows that I bought a ****ing satellite dish from them back in 1995, and yet, the Government is still asking me where I was ****ing born and on what date.

For ***k sake, do you guys do this by hand? My birth date you have on my pension book, and it is on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 30 years. It is on my  PPS card, my driving license, my car insurance, on the last eight ****ing passports I've had, before being allowed off the plane over the last 50 years, and all those insufferable census forms.

Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Mary Anne, my father's name is Robert and I'd be absolutely ****ing astounded if that ever changed between now and when I die!!!!!!

I apologise, because I'm really pi**ed off this morning. Between you an' me, I've had enough of this s**t! You send back the application form to my house, then you ask me for my ****ing address!!!!

What the ***k is going on? Do you have a bunch of neanderthal <deleted> working there? Look at my ****ing picture. Do I look like Bin Laden?  I just want to go and park my <deleted> on some nice sandy beach somewhere and would someone please tell me, why would you give a s**t whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days? 

Well, I have to sign off now, because I have to go to the other end of the ****ing country to get another ****ing copy of my birth certificate, to the tune of €30. Would it be so complicated to have all the services in the same spot to assist in the issuance of a new passport the same day??

Nooooooooooooo, that'd be too ****ing easy and maybe make sense. You'd rather have us running all over the f***in' place like chickens with our heads cut off, then have to find some <deleted> to confirm that it's really me on the damn picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile?! (bureaucratic ****in' morons) Hey, do you know why we couldn't smile if we wanted to? Because we're totally hacked off!

Signed

Paddy O Flynn

An Irate Citizen.

P.S. Remember what I said above about the picture and getting someone to confirm that it's me? Well, my family has been in this country since 1776 .......... I have served in the military for something over 30 years and have had full security clearances over 25 of those years enabling me to undertake highly secretive work all over the world and the here in Ireland

However, I have to get someone 'important' to verify who I am  - you know, someone like my doctor - WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN ****ING P***STAN !

[nigelforbes]

31 minutes ago, harry94 said:

Hello nigelforbes   , Santander have not been very helpful , phoning them is a gamble , they put me through the other day the lady said hold the line sir five minutes later i was cut off . When i had the interview on the phone she said all they need is proof of my address in Thailand .She said a Thai bank statement will be fine . I sent the bank statement via the Santander drop document box , they sent an email we will contact you shortly . They have not contacted me at all just frozen the account .

Previous to that i told the lady i had filled in the tax residency account statement sent it by registered post and know you receved as i tracked it . she did not reply .

If i dont get any joy i will just close the account and wash my hands with it all .

I filled in a similar form two years ago with the Halifax and never had any problems .

I will keep you all updated .

 

You might try sending an email explanation/complaint to Santandar Customer Service, if that doesn't work they have a complaints line which is 0800 171 2171. They also have an odd facebook email address which might be worthwhile trying, it's [email protected]. 

 

If you want to get seriously heavy, the CEO of Santandar UK is Mike Regnier and his email address is   [email protected], drop him a love note perhaps and I'll bet you get action. Good luck

 

[nigelforbes]

3 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

I can understand exactly how you feel having been through similar 5hit myself.

This should be in the Jokes section, but seems quite on-topic here. From an Irishman to his Passport Office (allegedly).

Hope I have disguised his bad language properly and don't get a ban please

 

Dear Sirs,

I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and I am losing the will to live. How is it that Sky Television has my address and telephone number and knows that I bought a ****ing satellite dish from them back in 1995, and yet, the Government is still asking me where I was ****ing born and on what date.

For ***k sake, do you guys do this by hand? My birth date you have on my pension book, and it is on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 30 years. It is on my  PPS card, my driving license, my car insurance, on the last eight ****ing passports I've had, before being allowed off the plane over the last 50 years, and all those insufferable census forms.

Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Mary Anne, my father's name is Robert and I'd be absolutely ****ing astounded if that ever changed between now and when I die!!!!!!

I apologise, because I'm really pi**ed off this morning. Between you an' me, I've had enough of this s**t! You send back the application form to my house, then you ask me for my ****ing address!!!!

What the ***k is going on? Do you have a bunch of neanderthal <deleted> working there? Look at my ****ing picture. Do I look like Bin Laden?  I just want to go and park my <deleted> on some nice sandy beach somewhere and would someone please tell me, why would you give a s**t whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days? 

Well, I have to sign off now, because I have to go to the other end of the ****ing country to get another ****ing copy of my birth certificate, to the tune of €30. Would it be so complicated to have all the services in the same spot to assist in the issuance of a new passport the same day??

Nooooooooooooo, that'd be too ****ing easy and maybe make sense. You'd rather have us running all over the f***in' place like chickens with our heads cut off, then have to find some <deleted> to confirm that it's really me on the damn picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile?! (bureaucratic ****in' morons) Hey, do you know why we couldn't smile if we wanted to? Because we're totally hacked off!

Signed

Paddy O Flynn

An Irate Citizen.

P.S. Remember what I said above about the picture and getting someone to confirm that it's me? Well, my family has been in this country since 1776 .......... I have served in the military for something over 30 years and have had full security clearances over 25 of those years enabling me to undertake highly secretive work all over the world and the here in Ireland

However, I have to get someone 'important' to verify who I am  - you know, someone like my doctor - WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN ****ING P***STAN !

Love it.

[harry94]

Thank you all glad to know i am not the only one .to be honest what irritates me is my state pension is paid through santander also Santander know i am in Thailand i have been honest with them . Some one has seen fit to press a button to stop me accsessing my account , what if i had  no funds to even get back to the Uk . i also explained to that lady i have renewed my passport using Santander debit card this week , will it he honoured she did not reply .I have just been online how to close my account it can only be done talking to some one on the phone or visiting santander bank in person .

I will phone them later ,again lucky i keep Skype topped up my last chat with them was forty minutes .

Every time you are passed from one person to another they repeat all the same questions again and say sorry sir can you hold while i put you through to the right department . then if you are really unlucky they cut you off .