Immigrating to the UK

gregmcc said:
I'll see that and raise you:

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I've been putting off that aircon regas for way too long.
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Damnit, I was close!

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Dave said:
Monzo is probably still the easiest to get, I would say Starling is a better online bank. I've been happy with a "traditional" account with Halifax as well.
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I have a BRP & tenancy lease but got declined by Monzo & Staling (they dont provide a reason as to why, but if I have to take a guess its because I have no credit history in the UK).

Are there any alternatives worthy to consider, perhaps I should rather be looking at a basic savings account?
 
Tman* said:
I have a BRP & tenancy lease but got declined by Monzo & Staling (they dont provide a reason as to why, but if I have to take a guess its because I have no credit history in the UK).

Are there any alternatives worthy to consider, perhaps I should rather be looking at a basic savings account?
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Lloyd's is the easiest to open IMHO.
 
It was 33 degrees on Saturday down in the Garden Route. This was the middle of winter.
 
Tman* said:
I have a BRP & tenancy lease but got declined by Monzo & Staling (they dont provide a reason as to why, but if I have to take a guess its because I have no credit history in the UK).

Are there any alternatives worthy to consider, perhaps I should rather be looking at a basic savings account?
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You could also try Chase, it's a digital bank like Monzo, so app is in the App/Play Store.
 
Sinbad said:
Lloyd's is the easiest to open IMHO.
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Agreed. Struggled to open an account with a high street bank when I got here. Literally went to every one I could find, but all expected me to make an appointment, submit loads of stuff (including a blood sample), etc. HSBC even rejected my appointment application outright because the women looking at my documentation didn’t recognise the company name on the letterhead from my brother-in-law as proof of residence (Beck, by the way). Another rejected the letter because it wasn’t one of their clients. When I eventually did get an appointment, I arrived at the branch (after taking time off at work) only to be told that they don’t do applications there - note that this appointment had been booked at this specific branch after I called the call centre, because only they can arrange the appointment. They have this attitude here like they’re doing you this massive favour by making interest off your money.

I just happened to walk past a Lloyds (the only bank I hadn’t tried yet) on my way to work, and the Ghanaian lady I spoke to said all I needed was my SA passport - Lloyds was apparently linked to one of the SA banks for a while (FNB, I think). Had my account set up in around 30 minutes, after literally spending hours just trying to get to this point. Of course, this was almost 7 years ago now, and things may have changed, but the experience definitely changed my attitude towards British banking forever.
 
The Voice said:
Agreed. Struggled to open an account with a high street bank when I got here. Literally went to every one I could find, but all expected me to make an appointment, submit loads of stuff (including a blood sample), etc. HSBC even rejected my appointment application outright because the women looking at my documentation didn’t recognise the company name on the letterhead from my brother-in-law as proof of residence (Beck, by the way). Another rejected the letter because it wasn’t one of their clients. When I eventually did get an appointment, I arrived at the branch (after taking time off at work) only to be told that they don’t do applications there - note that this appointment had been booked at this specific branch after I called the call centre, because only they can arrange the appointment. They have this attitude here like they’re doing you this massive favour by making interest off your money.

I just happened to walk past a Lloyds (the only bank I hadn’t tried yet) on my way to work, and the Ghanaian lady I spoke to said all I needed was my SA passport - Lloyds was apparently linked to one of the SA banks for a while (FNB, I think). Had my account set up in around 30 minutes, after literally spending hours just trying to get to this point. Of course, this was almost 7 years ago now, and things may have changed, but the experience definitely changed my attitude towards British banking forever.
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I did mine online. They posted a letter with a passcode to the address I gave them, which then acted as sufficient proof of address for them.

YMMV of course.
 
Tman* said:
I have a BRP & tenancy lease but got declined by Monzo & Staling (they dont provide a reason as to why, but if I have to take a guess its because I have no credit history in the UK).

Are there any alternatives worthy to consider, perhaps I should rather be looking at a basic savings account?
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That's not it. I applied for an got approved for my Monzo account within my first week in the UK. Something else is going on, I suspect.
 
Messugga said:
That's not it. I applied for an got approved for my Monzo account within my first week in the UK. Something else is going on, I suspect.
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I phoned and they said my ID verification failed. No idea how this is possible as I submitted a valid BRP.
 
Tman* said:
I phoned and they said my ID verification failed. No idea how this is possible as I submitted a valid BRP.
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I would either email them or contact them via Twitter and ask the question there. They should be willing to do a manual verification if there's been a problem with the upload.
 
The Voice said:
Agreed. Struggled to open an account with a high street bank when I got here. Literally went to every one I could find, but all expected me to make an appointment, submit loads of stuff (including a blood sample), etc. HSBC even rejected my appointment application outright because the women looking at my documentation didn’t recognise the company name on the letterhead from my brother-in-law as proof of residence (Beck, by the way). Another rejected the letter because it wasn’t one of their clients. When I eventually did get an appointment, I arrived at the branch (after taking time off at work) only to be told that they don’t do applications there - note that this appointment had been booked at this specific branch after I called the call centre, because only they can arrange the appointment. They have this attitude here like they’re doing you this massive favour by making interest off your money.

I just happened to walk past a Lloyds (the only bank I hadn’t tried yet) on my way to work, and the Ghanaian lady I spoke to said all I needed was my SA passport - Lloyds was apparently linked to one of the SA banks for a while (FNB, I think). Had my account set up in around 30 minutes, after literally spending hours just trying to get to this point. Of course, this was almost 7 years ago now, and things may have changed, but the experience definitely changed my attitude towards British banking forever.
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Agreed. Went to the nearest bank I could find - Halifax (Lloyds) in the Ashley Centre - lol.

Had to make an appointment and come back a few days later, but had an account opened with no issues - no formal proof of address and wasn't even working yet. Was on a BP though which may have helped. But was a much easier experience than I'd anticipated.
 
Lloyds too - after trying the nightmare that is HSBC, ugh. Made an appointment with Lloyds, 3 days later I was in getting served a coffee and having a really friendly chat with an agent who couldn't trip over themselves more. Good experience with them
 
When I first got here my first account was also Lloyds, eventually moved to Halifax as their branch was easier to get to.
 
SO has lived in the UK before, she has had a local (UK) HSCB account for at least 4 years and some credit score. Been trying to get financing on a car, but most finance companies seems to say: "you need to have been here for 3 years to qualify for car financing".

Any advice on this?
 
Tman* said:
SO has lived in the UK before, she has had a local (UK) HSCB account for at least 4 years and some credit score. Been trying to get financing on a car, but most finance companies seems to say: "you need to have been here for 3 years to qualify for car financing".

Any advice on this?
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Tough one. A lot of places require that kind of history (continuous residence)...
I wonder if there's such a thing as a broker for car finance - we had a mortgage broker who was able to look at our exact circumstances and match us to a lender who was prepared to do business with us.
Other option would be an unsecured loan - but the interest might be a bit rough.
 
Sinbad said:
Tough one. A lot of places require that kind of history (continuous residence)...
I wonder if there's such a thing as a broker for car finance - we had a mortgage broker who was able to look at our exact circumstances and match us to a lender who was prepared to do business with us.
Other option would be an unsecured loan - but the interest might be a bit rough.
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I've been trying those comparison websites - but no luck so far.

I am sure there must be someone that will consider circumstances, just dunno where to look.
 
Tman* said:
I've been trying those comparison websites - but no luck so far.

I am sure there must be someone that will consider circumstances, just dunno where to look.
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try carmoney.co.uk (disclaimer - I've not used them)
 
Sinbad said:
try carmoney.co.uk (disclaimer - I've not used them)
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Thanks

I just visited a dealership and confirmed that there are definitely 2 finance houses specialising in this. With that said the sleaze-ball salesman didn't want to tell me who they are and rather took my details and is now trying to sell me a Hyundai! :laugh:
 
Tman* said:
SO has lived in the UK before, she has had a local (UK) HSCB account for at least 4 years and some credit score. Been trying to get financing on a car, but most finance companies seems to say: "you need to have been here for 3 years to qualify for car financing".

Any advice on this?
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Usually means a continuous address history for 3+ years. Standard practice because of the the open front door we had as a member of the EU.
 
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