Banking been stopped!!!!!!!!!!!

[In Full Agreement]

2 hours ago, brianthainess said:

No old friends you can rely on ?

 

 

You suggest bringing them in to become a part of a fraud?

 

 

[jwest10]

3 hours ago, slappy said:

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

 

[jwest10]

1 minute ago, jwest10 said:

 

You might have to open an international bank account but who had 50k to spare these days and yes a huge headache indeed.

[SpaceKadet]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

Monthly fee? minimum balance?

Check on their webpage, or give them a call. They have been always very helpful whenever I called them.

[SpaceKadet]

1 hour ago, foreverlomsak said:

Just looked at the Santander International website and found problem #1 they say - 

 

International customers will need to deposit a minimum of £75,000 (or currency equivalent), which can be held across our account range, and must be maintained.

I keep much less that that with them, usually GBP10,000 to GBP 20,000. They have not complained. Are you sure you're reading requirements for private customers, and not the corporate? In fact I have never held that much in that account. Mind you, I've been their customer, and previous incarnations since Tyndall IoM since 1980's.

 

I know that they want you to keep a minimum of GBP5,000. Less than that ,they will charge you a small fee. 

[scubascuba3]

8 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

Check on their webpage, or give them a call. They have been always very helpful whenever I called them.

Useless, make more effort next time or just don't bother mentioning it

[In the jungle]

2 hours ago, slappy said:

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

 

Santander UK have threatened to close my account in exactly the same way two times. 

 

Each time I fought them tooth and nail and each time I won.  My account remains open.  Indeed the first time they conceded that my account could remain open they compensated me fifty quid for the inconvenience they had caused.

 

My approach was to write to the CEO (ceo@santander.co.uk). 

 

Of course you will not get a personal reply from the CEO but you will get a reply from Santander Executive Communications who seem to be sentient beings a cut above the average call centre drone.  If you can frame your email to the CEO as a complaint so much the better as that will invoke their formal complaints procedure which will create quite a bit more work for them.  Thereafter I emailed them almost daily raising new issues, presenting facts and asking questions.

 

Naturally in your emails you present the best case you can.  In my case these included that:

 

(a)  I had held my Santander account for over 40 years

(b)  Throughout that time I had maintained the account with complete propriety

(c)  All funds paid into my Santander account were from unimpeachable sources.

 

At the time Santander was my only UK account hence my determination to hang on to it.  I now have two other UK accounts as a contingency plan.

 

I also have offshore accounts which I have had since 2007 but in 2024 I would not recommend going down that route unless you have run out of better options.

 

 

 

 

[KhunLA]

I keep my (brother's) USA address at my brokerage (Fidelity) as my company pension gets deposited into it.

 

Social Security goes straight to BBL, and SS & IRS are aware of that, obviously, using TH home & PO Box addresses.

[Denim]

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

In this case, I do, I'm not pretending 

 

So in some you don't and you are pretending ?

 

That's a relief. I thought I had missed the second coming.

[Tropicalevo]

3 hours 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.

I think that the fool is the one who wrote the dumb comment above..

Wrong.

Thai tax laws are recent.

Closing non domicile accounts is old.

I suspect that it is the US trying to stop International money laundering across countries.

(My UK Nat West account and HSBC  account were stopped 23 years ago.)

[SpaceKadet]

33 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Useless, make more effort next time or just don't bother mentioning it

I don't work for the bank. Already said the minimum balance is GBP5,000. No monthly fees if above that.

For other info, just call them on +44 (0) 1624 641 888. 9am to 5pm UK time.

 

Happy now?????

 

URL to their UK & Overseas residents :https://www.santanderinternational.co.uk/international/

 

Double happy now?????

Edited August 18 by SpaceKadet
Added URL

[Foxx]

7 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

Closing non domicile accounts is old.

 

Nope.  Closing non-resident accounts is old.

You can still be domiciled in the UK, but be resident elsewhere and have your account closed.

[Foxx]

46 minutes ago, jwest10 said:

You might have to open an international bank account but who had 50k to spare these days and yes a huge headache indeed.

 

Or one can do a little bit of research and find international bank accounts with far lower minimums.  Standard Bank (Isle of Man) has a minimum of GBP 5,000 (or even less if you use them for wealth management).

 

https://international.standardbank.com/international/personal/products-and-services/bank/international-bank-accounts/optimum-bank-account

[Gaccha]

3 minutes ago, Foxx said:

Or one can do a little bit of research and find international bank accounts with far lower minimums.  Standard Bank

 

Yep.

 

I remember considering this issue a couple of years back and I figured after some research that Standard Bank would be the best option.

[RayC]

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

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.

 

That's not correct. 

 

I know many individuals who are overseas residents in Thailand and elsewhere - and who have advised their banks of their overseas addresses - who are still able to maintain and use their UK bank accounts. 

 

Opening a new UK bank account as an overseas resident might be another matter.

 

It shouldn't really affect Thai residents, but I suspect that if UK banking regulations start to diverge significantly from EU regulations then all overseas  residents will be caught up in any likely restrictions.

[Gaccha]

The issues are: 

 

1. Want account in Pound Sterling (perhaps to avoid currency fluctuation losses) 

 

2. Needs to be on Swift network and the local network (Bacs and CHAPS) for easy transfers to continue business within the UK (many UK government branches insist on UK bank accounts)

 

3. Needs to guarantee security of funds (this rules out non-banks such as Wise, except Building Societies)

 

As an expat, the rule for most of your investments and money is the famous A-B-C rule. Where you live is A, where you come from is B and where your money is should be C. C is a third place with a top tier finance structure, such as Hong Kong or Singapore. Only a small reserve should be in A or B. (This rule is obviously subject to legal, tax and accountancy issues).

 

I know that it is now impossible--- assuming you don't want to commit fraud-- to open a new bank account in the UK whilst resident in Thailand. It was possible as late as 2016 to open some very niche bank accounts such as ones at Indian banks in London.

 

I see talk on this thread about domicile status but that is surely not relevant for maintaining bank accounts (although it'll be important for inheritance tax purposes). Surely, residence is everything.

 

So if you get pushed out, perhaps Standard Bank is the best option: in Sterling, low minimum requirement.

 

Any thoughts? Am I missing anything, getting anything wrong?

[potless]

1 hour ago, Mike Teavee said:

Does anybody have a Barclays International Account? I believe it's £40 pm if you don't have £100,000 with them but I was wondering whether Barclays Stockbroker Accounts could be used to cover this. 

" A minimum of £100,000 (or currency equivalent) This can be in savings and/or investments across all your accounts with us. " Barclays International Bank Account. I assume any stock market type investments would have to be held through their stockbroking arm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GroveHillWanderer]

4 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Wise and Revolut, although they maybe useful, are not banks, they're deposit takers.

Revolut may not be a fully-fledged UK bank just yet, but they're well on the way to becoming one. 

 

Revolut receives UK banking licence

 

Quote

Revolut, the global fintech with over nine million UK customers and 45 million globally, has announced today that it has received its UK banking licence with restrictions from the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the regulator responsible for overseeing the UK banking sector.  

 

Revolut now enters the ‘mobilisation’ stage, sometimes referred to as ‘Authorisation with Restrictions’, a common step for many new banks in the UK.

 

[wordchild]

I have been UK non resident US/Asia for 25 plus years. I was advised by my then employer to open an offshore UK bank account and to close my UK bank a/c.

I switched my Lloyd’s UK account to IOM. Have been with them ever since. 
Have always kept them informed of my up to date residency etc.

Account can be operated on line,  Debit/Credit/ATM  cards plus bill payments etc exactly as any UK bank account.

Never had any issues. 
Only downside has been Lloyds closed down their dedicated “offshore “ call center a few years ago. Service used to be friendly and efficient and fast. Now they have merged everything into their UK call center and things have taken a bit of a dive in terms of service.

ps; I have heard good things about Standard Bank from friends who are customers so would agree with other posters that they might be worth checking out.

Edited August 18 by wordchild

[Hugh Jarse]

4 hours ago, topt said:

Online. Not an issue.

But their compliance regs. Will put most people off. In the end I gave a trusted friends uk address.for uk derived income to be paid into. So far-3years,so good.

[BE88]

 

Like everyone else I have this problem and I am thinking about transferring my money here in Thailand but depositing it in accounts in my favourite currency.

 

To do this I will obviously have to live less than 180 days in the country now with news fiscal rules.

[save the frogs]

6 hours ago, slappy said:

given me 2 months notice and will close my banking facilities.

daily banking is generally for residents.

 

but you could probably put your money in GICs in your local bank.

have a bunch of 6 month placements so you can withdraw if needed.

and do your daily banking from a Thai bank account.

 

or avoid the bricks and mortar banks.

there are several banks that are exclusively online that have popped up in recent years. 

they might be more lax.

[anchadian]

Slightly off topic but I'll ask.
 

If you have a sizeable sum in Wise Ltd and your UK and private pensions are paid into them, how does Wise know that you have passed away if you don't have a UK Will and no relatives in the UK and only you know that you have a Wise account?

I've searched and searched on google for the answer but no luck.

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

8 hours ago, Chivas said:

8 hours 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

Opening a Wise account does not require UK residency.

[Liverpool Lou]

8 hours ago, brianthainess said:

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.

"If your British you are a resident..."

Not necessarily, I am British but I am non-resident in the UK. 

 

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

Easily done, initially over the phone and then providing the offshore bank with whatever information it requires, there is no need to be in the country of the bank.

[Liverpool Lou]

8 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

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.

Quite right, an existing bank account can be maintained for non-UK residents but the bank can close it anytime they choose if they find out.  In most cases it is living on borrowed time.

[Liverpool Lou]

8 hours ago, brianthainess said:

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

Charges depend on the bank and the type of account. Pensions are credited by giving the pension provider the bank's details in exactly the same way as for any other bank account.

[elfpattaya]

9 hours ago, slappy said:

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

 

Had problems with Santander about 2 years ago, asked me endless questions about me living here, been here 23 years, answered their questions, they e-mailed me to say everything was OK. But I withdrew all my money except for a fiver, I didn't trust them, quite rightly, as they stopped my account 2 days before Christmas 2022, I contacted them and they admitted they were in the wrong and gave me 75 pounds compensation. I carried on with them until last September, when they started asking questions about tax, i took all my money out except for 1p. They messaged me about a month ago asking me to ring them as they had more questions, so I closed my account. They said they will send me a cheque for the outstanding balance, so I am looking forward to receiving a cheque for 1p.

I have also had friends who have had problems with Barclays Bank in the UK.

[Liverpool Lou]

7 hours ago, Moonlover said:

I have held an account with Nationwide for well over 25 years who continue to support me despite them being aware that I have lived in 3 different countries. They've always known where I lived and have always renewed my bank cards to my overseas addresses on expiry, including Thailand They even still allow to me have an agreed overdraft facility.

You are one of the lucky exceptions, banks can use their discretion on how to interpret their rules in favour of certain customers but they can also decide to change that discretionary treatment extended to non-residents at any time.

[Liverpool Lou]

7 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Quote

Banks are sometimes required to freeze or close accounts due to legal orders from authorities such as the HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) or the police. This can happen if there is an ongoing investigation into criminal activity or if the account holder is suspected of tax evasion or other financial crimes.

Has the OP been evading paying tax?

As a non-resident of the UK there's a pretty good chance that he has no UK tax liability to evade.