Santander is closing my UK current account

[Pumpuynarak]

36 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

I have had post from the UK in a week (and vice-versa) to our Isaan home. There is also stuff that has never arrived and if the village idiot of a postman decides to keep post at his house for a fortnight there is little we can do. He doesn't like to come out to us as we are 3km out of the village - as somebody said, we chose to build a house there.

BINGO, postal delivery in Thailand is hit and miss, why oh why we have these idiots posting about their prompt delivery expecting EVERYONE to enjoy the same service is quite frankly ridiculous, they don't know Thailand.

[Chivas]

16 hours ago, Regyai said:

 

 

No reason he can't start afresh with another UK provider using his brother's address and a more considered 'closed lips' approach with them.

Spot on

Its the constant red flagging of themselves which does leave me scratching my head at times

[Polar Bear]

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

 

Revolut have a very nice virtual Debit Card system, where you can make a new virtual card, for payments setting your own limits, or just for 1 purchase.

 

I have a virtual card with Starling as well. Obviously,  it's no use at an ATM, but I use it here online with Grab and Lazada sometimes. 

 

(I actually have 2 virtual cards with them, one for here, one for the UK because that works better for me.)

 

It's convenient to have the debit card functionality without having to deal with the hassle of arranging a physical card delivery in the UK.

[Chivas]

Further to my post earlier in the thread I opened couple online accounts with Chase and Kroo some time ago

 

I had to upload just the driving licence via the app plus the selfies bollacks but nothing else for both

 

My brother who is not on the electoral role had to upload some financial documents that proved he lived at his address  (he is living with his partner in her house)

 

He couldnt supply what they wanted so they declined his application with Chase

 

Edited October 1, 2023 by Chivas

[Liverpool Lou]

5 hours ago, Pumpuynarak said:

BINGO, postal delivery in Thailand is hit and miss, why oh why we have these idiots posting about their prompt delivery expecting EVERYONE to enjoy the same service is quite frankly ridiculous, they don't know Thailand.

BINGO, postal delivery in Thailand is generally very good, why oh why we have these idiots posting about their slack delivery expecting EVERYONE to enjoy the same service is quite frankly ridiculous, they don't know Thailand.

[somo]

5 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

BINGO, postal delivery in Thailand is generally very good, why oh why we have these idiots posting about their slack delivery expecting EVERYONE to enjoy the same service is quite frankly ridiculous, they don't know Thailand.

Please go elsewhere with your argumentative aproach. This thread is about UK banking not the Thai postal service.

[NanLaew]

19 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I was not referring to online shopping, I was referencing purchases made privately and sent to me here using normal Royal Mail and Thailand Post.

Very selective response. How about the rest of the post?

 

22 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I think you'll find some government agencies (DWP for one) post to Thailand via a 3rd party in Europe to save money. ...

Any views on this?

 

Despite some lucky(?) UK bank account holders having their Thai address on file, these banks typically still use bulk mailing services for all regular correspondence. These do not attract Air Mail rates and thus don't arrive in Thailand as fast as you suggested earlier.

[Liverpool Lou]

8 hours ago, somo said:

Please go elsewhere with your argumentative aproach. This thread is about UK banking not the Thai postal service.

Until you're a Mod, don't tell any other members how, where or what to post. 

It would help if you bear in mind the context of the several UK mail service comments relating to UK banking that have been made, not only by me.

[Eff1n2ret]

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Despite some lucky(?) UK bank account holders having their Thai address on file, these banks typically still use bulk mailing services for all regular correspondence. These do not attract Air Mail rates and thus don't arrive in Thailand as fast as you suggested earlier.

Whether it's a bulk mailing or otherwise, I rarely receive any UK mail here (if It arrives at all) in less than 6 weeks. A First Direct circular headed "We've removed all first direct fees when using your debit card overseas" dated July 2023 arrived here in mid September. This is typical. I'm still awaiting a birthday card posted on 31st August.

[HauptmannUK]

1 hour ago, Eff1n2ret said:

Whether it's a bulk mailing or otherwise, I rarely receive any UK mail here (if It arrives at all) in less than 6 weeks. A First Direct circular headed "We've removed all first direct fees when using your debit card overseas" dated July 2023 arrived here in mid September. This is typical. I'm still awaiting a birthday card posted on 31st August.

My wife is still waiting for a letter I sent to her from the UK by airmail in 2012....

[Eff1n2ret]

2 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

My wife is still waiting for a letter I sent to her from the UK by airmail in 2012....

If I'd waited for the Proof of Life requests from the DWP my pension would have been stopped a long time ago.

 

Edit- and I never received either my bank debit card or my HSBC credit card that were posted to me here. I had to get replacements sent to UK addresses.

Edited October 2, 2023 by Eff1n2ret

[scubascuba3]

On 10/1/2023 at 2:20 PM, Polar Bear said:

I have a virtual card with Starling as well. Obviously,  it's no use at an ATM, but I use it here online with Grab and Lazada sometimes. 

 

(I actually have 2 virtual cards with them, one for here, one for the UK because that works better for me.)

 

It's convenient to have the debit card functionality without having to deal with the hassle of arranging a physical card delivery in the UK.

How did you switch from physical card to virtual card? i still have a physical card 

[The Fugitive]

On 10/1/2023 at 5:42 AM, Polar Bear said:

I love my Skype-in number, but it's not so useful for receiving OTP.

Thanks for that! Receiving SMS via Skype is limited to USA numbers and only when sent from either USA or Canadian numbers. For this reason I have subscribed to 'Vyke' for the last two years. Renting a U.K. (other Countries are available) virtual MOBILE number only costs £12 GBP per ANNUM. Free to receive both voice calls and SMS. Sending SMS and making voice calls is very cheap. Being a VOIP service it runs ontop of a WiFi or mobile data connection. Unfortunately, they don't provide virtual geographical 'landline' numbers. If anyone asks, I tell them, like many other people, I dispensed with my landline telephone several years ago.

[Polar Bear]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

How did you switch from physical card to virtual card? i still have a physical card 

With Starling,  create a 'Space' in the app and then you can create a virtual card for it.

 

I have UK Spending and TH Spending spaces,  and they each have their own Virtual card as well.

[scubascuba3]

15 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

With Starling,  create a 'Space' in the app and then you can create a virtual card for it.

 

I have UK Spending and TH Spending spaces,  and they each have their own Virtual card as well.

If you can't use it at an ATM what's the plan if you have a trip to the UK and need cash?

[The Fugitive]

6 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

If you can't use it at an ATM what's the plan if you have a trip to the UK and need cash?

Do Tesco still offer 'cash back' when you use a debit (not credit) card?

[Polar Bear]

10 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

If you can't use it at an ATM what's the plan if you have a trip to the UK and need cash?

I have another account with a regular UK bank, and I have physical card for that.  But I avoid using it for overseas transactions so it doesn't attract any unwanted attention.  

 

If I need to spend GBP here, I transfer it to my Starling account and use that instead. (Starling doesn't charge a fee for overseas spending,  only for ATM withdrawals). 

 

I also only transfer to Wise from Starling, never from my other UK account. 

 

You can have a physical card as well as virtual cards with Starling.  It's not an either/or thing.

[scubascuba3]

11 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

I have another account with a regular UK bank, and I have physical card for that.  But I avoid using it for overseas transactions so it doesn't attract any unwanted attention.  

 

If I need to spend GBP here, I transfer it to my Starling account and use that instead. (Starling doesn't charge a fee for overseas spending,  only for ATM withdrawals). 

 

I also only transfer to Wise from Starling, never from my other UK account. 

 

You can have a physical card as well as virtual cards with Starling.  It's not an either/or thing.

Good idea that using the Starling account for Wise transfers, i have a Starling account but very rarely use it, just a spare really

[scubascuba3]

42 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

Do Tesco still offer 'cash back' when you use a debit (not credit) card?

I don't know about Tesco but Santander used to do cashback, that stopped a while back unless you had a monthly\annual fee account

[The Fugitive]

7 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I don't know about Tesco but Santander used to do cashback, that stopped a while back unless you had a monthly\annual fee account

Apparently, 'cash back' service was suspended during Covid. Seems to have been restored now, limited to £50 per transaction. Nothing to stop anyone going through more than once per day/store, purchasing an item of any value.

[scubascuba3]

6 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

Apparently, 'cash back' service was suspended during Covid. Seems to have been restored now, limited to £50 per transaction. Nothing to stop anyone going through more than once per day/store, purchasing an item of any value.

Is that just the Edge accounts? thats £3-£5 a month, I don't use the account anyway being in Thailand

[The Fugitive]

7 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Is that just the Edge accounts? thats £3-£5 a month, I don't use the account anyway being in Thailand

No mention of the type of account you had to use. Only that it must be a debit card. Worth knowing I suppose in case you get caught out whilst in the UK needing cash. I found the information here;  https://querysprout.com/does-tesco-do-cashback/

[Polar Bear]

I think you are talking about different things.

 

Cash back, when the bank gives you a small (usually 1% ish) amount back of everything you spend.  A bit like loyalty points, but it goes back into your bank account. 

 

And cash back, where you add a cash withdrawal (usually up to £50 or £100) on to a shopping transaction,  where the cashier gives you money like an ATM would. 

 

 

[theoldgit]

Chase offer cash back of 1% on most debit card spending, capped at £15 per month,  for the first 12 months of opening an account.

 

The account is free.

[scubascuba3]

3 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

Chase offer cash back of 1% on most debit card spending, capped at £15 per month,  for the first 12 months of opening an account.

 

The account is free.

Is that any use in Thailand?

[somo]

An update which might be useful to some.

I already had a Wise Acc. for transferring funds and only just realised I could use it like a bank. Trouble is they don't issue debit cards to Thailand although that may come. My workaround was to link my paypal acc. to my Wise acc. and then apply for a Paypal Mastercard. The card should soon arrive at my brother's UK address from which I first opened the acc..

This solves most of my problems except you cannot withdraw cash from Wiseor can you?

[theoldgit]

37 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Is that any use in Thailand?

 Non whatsoever, but it’s suggesting alternatives to those who are asking about other banks that are offering cash back on account usage, but you knew that.

[Polar Bear]

2 hours ago, somo said:

 

This solves most of my problems except you cannot withdraw cash from Wiseor can you?

If you have funds in your Wise account,  you can withdraw cash from an ATM with a Wise debit card. You can make 2 withdrawals a month, at a max of £200 each, without a fee. More than that,  and they start charging you. As far as I remember,  they don't charge you for overseas spending on it.

 

(By free, I mean they don't charge a specific fee there will still be a markup on the exchange rate.)

[The Fugitive]

14 hours ago, Polar Bear said:

If you have funds in your Wise account,  you can withdraw cash from an ATM with a Wise debit card. You can make 2 withdrawals a month, at a max of £200 each, without a fee. More than that,  and they start charging you. As far as I remember,  they don't charge you for overseas spending on it.

 

(By free, I mean they don't charge a specific fee there will still be a markup on the exchange rate.)

Good to know, thank you!

[OJAS]

On 9/30/2023 at 10:15 PM, aldriglikvid said:

Not a UK resident, but - may I ask, what's the reasoning of not letting UK nationals currently not residing in the UK having active bank accounts? Is it a new law? 

Nothing to do with the law but everything to do with individual UK banks' terms and conditions, I'm afraid. Even though they are IMHO effectively acting as a cartel as regards the residency requirement, successive UK governments have shown no appetite for flexing their legislative muscles in order to force any change - most likely, I strongly suspect, because of the general indifferent (and even downright hostile) attitude shown towards expats generally (not just those based in LOS) back in Blighty.

Edited October 4, 2023 by OJAS