I made a commitment to myself early on that I would not publish anything that was just a complete rant. So, keep me honest by flailing me in the comments – either here or on Facebook – if this degenerates into that type of communication. I mean it.
Bar none, the most difficult thing that I have had to tackle in this relocation has been the quest for the Holy Grail to open a bank account without a permanent address or a utility bill or a paystub, even with the sponsorship letter that my company has provided, the Tier 2 Intra-Company Transfer Visa that the British Embassy has already approved, a guarantee of my monthly salary or multiple letters to the bank with which my company has a Global Partnership for specific situations like this. Without being too dramatic, I have been to three different branches of this bank on four different occasions over the course of two weeks to try to complete the transaction of just opening a Current (Checking) account to ensure my first pay check can be deposited. It is absolutely maddening. It appears that the relocation company did not know the process, the branch managers did not know the process and the outsourced HR department did not know what happened after they sent the letter that they created to the Global Partnership Manager, making them unable to answer any of my questions.
In any case, the absolutely stellar manager and account agent at the branch today got me further than anyone else, though I will still have to wait up to three business days for my account to be finalised and created. Banking in Britain is the penultimate in bureaucracy, as shown in the beginning of this Monty Python skit. It probably got a little better once technology was introduced, but with the epic failure and subsequent nationalization of multiple retail banks, the complexity became exponentially larger. Add to that, the real fear of terrorist money laundering by expatriates and you have yourself tied up more than the phone lines to a radio station for NKOTB tickets in the early 90’s. I do not blame the service people in the banks; they are clearly collateral damage. There is no need to yell at them as it will not do any good. It’s just the system. In the US, you can get a bank account with a piggy bank full of pennies and a cute smile. Here it takes a ton more than that.
What have I learned from this situation? Ask FIRST about the banking assistance included in your relocation package. If you are being sponsored by a company, find out who their global banking partner is in your future country right after you speak with the relocation company. Most of the large retail banks have some sort of Premiere Global Banking service, like HSBC, Barclays and NatWest. In these situations, they will need for you to fill out a special application which will require the following:
■ A sponsor letter from your employer, including annual salary, monthly allowances, and bonuses.
■ This must include your past address from your home country and start date.
■ Also, it needs to include your joint account owner if married or partnered.
■ A verification of your identity notarized by a lawyer or an onsite branch officer.
■ A visa that has been verified after entry to the country.
■ Passport number and other form of identification
If you aren’t sponsored by a company, it will be exponentially more challenging. You need a permanent address, a passport, work or student visa and a utility or council tax bill that has your name on it. Now, that is completely counterintuitive from how it is in the States, where you cannot get a place to live or a utility bill without a bank account. Be prepared to provide references and never assume that you have given enough information, even if they have told you that you have. Follow-up is key.
Last but not least, the process is inordinately slow to do anything related to banking applications in the UK. Things get mailed places, hard copies are required and you can count on the fact that anything of import will take five to seven business days to resolve. Plan accordingly, as escalation or expedition is not possible in most cases.
Anyway, I am through most of it and may only have to wait two days more to get to deposit my first paycheck. Woohoo!
American Expat in London 