Hi all

Need advise from fellow members if possible.

 

I just had notice from my bank(Santander) in the UK and they have given me 2 months notice and will close my banking facilities.

 

Been with them for over 30years both business and personal banking. And never had a banking problem, never been in debt. Been living here in Thailand for the last 15 years, to which they knew from day one. I have property in the UK. And everything is above board. 

Obviously, been in touch with the bank many times asking why they are taking this decision. But all I get at the bank end. I don't, i can not give you an answer for why?

 

Has anybody on this forum had the same problem with Santander or another bank and how did you rectify it.

 

Many Thanks

 

Slappy

I told you foolz that this Thai tax law will have major consequences in YOUR country, not Thailand.

 

I received the letter from my Canadian bank to prove my tax residency or they will terminate my account.

 

Your UK pensions are next.

Open an account with Wise online.

It was a mistake to tell them you live in Thailand. The first account closure from Santander I've heard about

In my country (which is generally much more consumer-friendly than the UK)

a bank - or any other big corporation - doesn't need a reason to kick a customer out terminate the relationship with a customer. 

Neither are they obliged to tell the customer the reason for their decision. 

The reps the customer can talk to probably can't answer his question because they haven't been told, either.

 

I had a problem like this twice iirc

Once I protested,  told them I am not living in Thailand,  which I could reasonably prove, and they accepted it.

The other time it didn't bother me, I didn't need them anyway. 

Fly back take out your money and use Nationwide. 

over the last 20 years three different banks (not UK) forced me as a long time customer to look for other banks, because i am living in thailand ... 

Just now, motdaeng said:

over the last 20 years three different banks (not UK) forced me as a long time customer to look for other banks, because i am living in thailand ... 

Why did you tell them ?

Move your account to Santander International on Isle of Man. Haven't had any problems with them so far.

17 minutes ago, slappy said:

Has anybody on this forum had the same problem with Santander or another bank and how did you rectify it.

It is all to do with banking regulations that state that only UK residents can have a UK bank account,  You can rectify the situation by making yourself UK resident again.

1 minute ago, brianthainess said:

Why did you tell them ?

 

do not have any family or relatives anymore back home, and i have to give the bank a value address ... and to be honest, who knows 20 years ago that will be a problem in the future ... i did not know...

18 minutes ago, Celsius said:

I told you foolz that this Thai tax law will have major consequences in YOUR country, not Thailand.

 

I received the letter from my Canadian bank to prove my tax residency or they will terminate my account.

 

Your UK pensions are next.

Nonsense.  This action by UK banks has been going on for years, the Thai tax rules have nothing to do with it.

Edited August 18, 20241 yr by Liverpool Lou

3 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

 

do not have any family or relatives anymore back home, and i have to give the bank a value address ... and to be honest, who knows 20 years ago that will be a problem in the future ... i did not know...

Oh no kids, no relatives at all ? No old friends you can rely on ?

Unless you become a UK resident then there is not much you can do with reference to Santander, trying to open another UK bank account without being a resident is unlikely as banks do a soft credit check (electoral roll, credit checks etc)

You might look at Wise / revolut  / starling bank. i do not know their criteria.

You may have to consider an off shore bank for expats  that are based in Jersey/Guernsey. or Isle of Man. most UK banks have an international bank arm based in these countries

https://www.santanderinternational.co.uk/international/

3 minutes ago, howerde said:

You might look at Wise / revolut  / starling bank. i do not know their criteria.

UK residency is required for Starling Bank.  Wise and Revolut, although they maybe useful, are not banks, they're deposit takers.

Edited August 18, 20241 yr by Liverpool Lou

9 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Nonsense.  This action by UK banks has been going on for years, the Thai tax rules have nothing to do with it.

 

2 seconds later

 

 

1 minute ago, Liverpool Lou said:

UK residency is required for Starling Bank. 

 

Best if you give foruming the rest. You always pretend to be know it all regarding.....everything.

3 minutes ago, howerde said:

Unless you become a UK resident then there is not much you can do with reference to Santander, trying to open another UK bank account without being a resident is unlikely as banks do a soft credit check (electoral roll, credit checks etc)

You might look at Wise / revolut  / starling bank. i do not know their criteria.

You may have to consider an off shore bank for expats  that are based in Jersey/Guernsey. or Isle of Man. most UK banks have an international bank arm based in these countries

https://www.santanderinternational.co.uk/international/

I opened an account with nationwide, with DL and a rent agreement which my friend just downloaded and filled out, I was not even paying rent to him. 

Barclays gave me the chop 10 years or so back, and I hadn't told them I live here.

 

The only explanation they gave was that they had "determined" I wasn't UK resident.

 

Nationwide are still playing ball, if they take their ball away, I do have a Lloyds International Sterling (and USD and Euro) account.

3 minutes ago, Celsius said:

14 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Nonsense.  This action by UK banks has been going on for years, the Thai tax rules have nothing to do with it.

 

2 seconds later

 

 

5 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

UK residency is required for Starling Bank. 

 

Best if you give foruming the rest. You always pretend to be know it all regarding.....everything.

In this case, I do, I'm not pretending (and it was two minutes later, not two seconds).    Best if you give scaremongering a rest.

8 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I hadn't told them I live here.

Where did you tell them where you live? They must have had your Thai address to know where to send the notification.

6 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

I opened an account with nationwide, with DL and a rent agreement which my friend just downloaded and filled out, I was not even paying rent to him. 

So you opened an account by providing false information?   no one knows how banks occasionally close accounts maybe they occasionally do a sweep of accounts or check details, think it as last year Barclays closed a few thousand accounts , if not resident in the UK don't rely on keeping the account, always have a plan B

35 minutes ago, ElwoodP said:

Open an account with Wise online.

 

You cant open accounts (or cetainly not a UK national) with any banking insituion (in whatever format) without them doing an automatic tracing check to "confirm" you exist and are UK resident in the instance that the OP describes...that can be from DL or financial records etc etc etc

1 minute ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Where did you tell them where you live? They must have had your Thai address to know where to send the notification.

 

My parent's place and that's where they sent the notification.

14 minutes ago, howerde said:

Unless you become a UK resident then there is not much you can do

If your British you are a resident, ID cards and Passports are not compulsory, Jersey now charge a monthly fee, and how to you open an offshore account i you are overseas.

Quote

Can you have a UK bank account if you don't live in the UK? Yes, if you've set up a bank account in the UK you don't have to close it when you move overseas. This might be a smart move, especially if you're not moving away from the UK permanently.

 

2 minutes ago, Crossy said:

 

My parent's place and that's where they sent the notification.

 

Indeed this why I have repeated for nearly 20 years on the forum never burn your bridges entirely....use parents children cousins whatever to retain that address for correspondance that can be forwarded when required

Edited August 18, 20241 yr by Chivas

7 minutes ago, howerde said:

So you opened an account by providing false information?   no one knows how banks occasionally close accounts maybe they occasionally do a sweep of accounts or check details, think it as last year Barclays closed a few thousand accounts , if not resident in the UK don't rely on keeping the account, always have a plan B

Yes, but I am now using my Daughters address. What details could they 'MAYBE' check ? I had a very nice understanding guy at the bank who opens accounts, in fact on one site I visited someone said he was very good, and I even told him I was 'going' to live in Thailand, he just smiled and said don't worry about it, so I didn't and haven't.

Edited August 18, 20241 yr by brianthainess

Quote

Yes, you can. There are ways to open a UK bank account even without living in the UK. Major UK banks have international or expat accounts designed specifically for non-residents. You can apply for a bank account online without the need to provide a UK proof of address.

 

7 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

and how to you open an offshore account i you are overseas.

Online. Not an issue.

Just now, topt said:

Online. Not an issue.

And what are the Monthly charges, and how do you get a UK pension paid into it ????