The Friday before the Sunday Times article I was told by my Premier account manager that Barclaycard told him (in reply to a question I raised) that they were “closing a few European customer accounts that were not used a lot” and Barclays domestic bank had no plans to follow this. but the ST article seems to contradict this.
We were just about to sell our small UK flat (where our accounts are reg) so will then have no Uk address, so we have put this on hold.
Not having a UK bank account would for many reasons be extremely unfortunate, we use it to pay some regular UK Direct debits and into which receive income prior to moving it twice a year into our French account.
The problem is that I might hunt around to find another bank (and would say Nat West open new accoutres for a person living in the EU?)
So does anybody know of a bank that has definitely committed to continuing to provide current accounts to customers living in France?
My issue is that there seems to be no definitive information or list of what each bank is planning so how can we find an alternative and be sure the problem won’t be repeated.
I have been informed by Revolut (a UK based online bank) that they will move our account to their European partner in Lithuania in the event of a no deal Brexit or a distressed UK/EU banking market subject only to proof of ID with a UK passport. For me, the account works well in sterling with a Euro wallet allowing transfers of GBP to EUR seamlessly.
I bank with the Co op and can get no information from them at all. I’ve taken yo messaging them every week now. Still the same answer. " We don’t know whats happening. When we do , we’ll let you know " Even emailed COO - no answer !
yes @Nigel-at-BUF-House. All operations are carried out that way. Currently there is no web or browser based app although they are working on one in response to customer feedback.
Transferwise (similar to Revolut in concept) can be used via the internet and has an app as well - may be worth looking into. It also allows you to set up direct debit payments.
We had an approach from someone on a Spanish expat forum and shared my letter content with them which I think they will be using to poke the FOS.
The more the merrier eh?
Just thinking:
Am I correct in thinking that the UK government see Financial Services as one of the corner stones of success and income for the UK economy which obviously includes banking?
I have been in business since 1972 and have always made sure that the cornerstone of my business works well thus providing good income and success.
The UK is a business that survives on income derived from its core services of which Finacial services is one, as I often hear preached by Polititcians as being the envy of the world.
Will Boris and Co really walk away from a deal next month and as a result see the Financial service industry shrink massively with the loss of EU trading and just one consequence of this to see the UK’s income take another hit, surely not?
I apologise for my simplistic view but I do understand good and bad business and if no deal becomes reality it will be yet another example of very bad business.
@JohnBoy OH says exactly the same John. BUT that does not mean that any of the UK retail banks will see any reason to continue to provide services to their EU consumer customers. We are small fry and Lloyds and Barclaycard are already showing that they are only too happy to walk away from this business using Brexit as an excuse.
Why should those banks bother with their small customers in the EU when they can make a lot more money running a laundry service for eg Russian oligarchs? London is awash with dirty money.
I can understand why the banks are doing this as ordinary current accounts are loss making unless customers rack up overdraft fees, how many of us actually pay anything to keep our UK bank accounts open?
The Guardian is reporting that Mel Stride, the Charirman of the Treasury Committee is saying EU bank customers should be “given sufficient warning” by their UK banks in the event that their accounts are being closed, so that they “have time to make alternative arrangements”. Well, that’s half a step in the right direction - at least he is taking notice.
Updated info: this is his email address for banking / treasury matters:
If you are contacting me as Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, please redirect your e-mail to mailto:treascom@parliament.uk or call the Committee on 020 7219 8222.
Rt Hon. Mel Stride MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
I’ll be sending him a copy of the letter that went to the Financial Ombudsman Service (with Graham’s excellent added paragraph). Yet again, there seems to be little appreciation that “alternative arrangements” may not be that easy an option.
Anyone else care to send an email? As always, the more the merrier.
@graham Graham I think you just sent your version of the letter to me in a PM. Would you be willing to share it here, on the open forum?
