View Full Version : Best UK bank thread.
dvtimes
06-13-05, 12:58 PM
As many of us will be getting US dollar checks, just wondered what the best bank is for a USA dollar account or standard account to pay money into.
I know some will clear checks quickly while others may take up to 4 weeks to clear.
Also some will charge you for paying checks in.
My advise is pay several checks in at a time as you may pay a charge on each separate check while with paying in one go, you may just get one charge.
I also think if you can, getting money wired seems to be better as the bank does not charge you as much for paying in, plus its quicker. But often this is only useful for amounts of $500 or more.
ukwebmasters
06-13-05, 01:19 PM
this was mentioned on UKW almost 2 years ago ::: a barclays current account or business account holder can pay in dollar cheques over the counter at any reasonably sized branch by completing form 2246 ::: if you pay in more than 3 cheques (must be single currency) there is an addenda sheet to fill out too. the cashier will then complete the rest of the form for you and post it down to poole in dorset where barclays process international cheques ::: this takes just one day, two days maximum so your dollars will credit your account for withdrawal purposes in 24-48 hours of you turning up at the counter with cheques which I think is 3 days quicker than waiting for regular uk cheques to clear ::: if your dollar cheques sum less than $100 there is no charge, if they sum greater than $100 there is a £9 charge. I am not sure of the upper limits but I have paid in $6000 before and just been charged the £9.
PayAsYouClick
06-13-05, 03:27 PM
If you have a gold account at Lloyds, you can pay dollar cheques in for (I think) a £5 fee. They usually think its a fee per cheque, but it is a fee per batch. This was a few years ago though.
Danny
ChemicalEyes
06-13-05, 03:28 PM
Best UK bank = Lloyds TSB
PayAsYouClick
06-13-05, 03:38 PM
Best UK bank = Lloyds TSB
worst UK bank = HSBC.
something went wrong with a direct debit to our phone company, so I asked HSBC to refund it, just the one payment, with agreement from the phone company. I went into the bank to sit down with the person and explain exactly what to refund, which was fine.
They refunded every payment we had ever made to the telephone company in two years, some £2000. Phones cut off, internet cut off. To get it put back I had to pay the whole £2000 on a card. Sent very snotty letter to HSBC, who against my instruction then repaid the whole lot. So now I'm still trying to get a £2000 overpayment back.
We no longer have an account at HSBC.
ChemicalEyes
06-13-05, 03:48 PM
worst UK bank = HSBC.
...
We no longer have an account at HSBC.
Left HSBC back when they used to be Midlands. 'nuff said.
we are currently looking into establishing a Ldt (my partner is from the UK, so we want to have a foot there) and also look into a bank for that.
i have been told that Lloyds is the worst choice possible, now two here say that isn't so. what makes Lloyds the best in your opinion?
since we spend most of the year outside the UK, i'd prefer to team up with a bank that doesn't get all funky half the time.
ChemicalEyes
06-13-05, 04:48 PM
we are currently looking into establishing a Ldt (my partner is from the UK, so we want to have a foot there) and also look into a bank for that.
i have been told that Lloyds is the worst choice possible, now two here say that isn't so. what makes Lloyds the best in your opinion?
since we spend most of the year outside the UK, i'd prefer to team up with a bank that doesn't get all funky half the time.
Mainly the fact that I have been with them for over 10 years now and in all that time I've had only may be two or three minor problems that were all resolved to my gain.
I have found in general Lloyds have the best customer service and biz managers of all UK banks. They have also gone out of there way to provide any services/help/products etc.. without any of the useless mail and phone calls I get from other banks.
interesting to hear.
so you have not heard about Lloyds deliberately pushing businessess over the egde to get control over them?
ChemicalEyes
06-13-05, 05:03 PM
interesting to hear.
so you have not heard about Lloyds deliberately pushing businessess over the egde to get control over them?
Nope.. just word of mouth or got some links?
mellenig
06-13-05, 05:05 PM
I bank with Lloyds for my normal business and Barclays for my online business, been with Lloyds 4 years and Barclays 9 years.
Overall I prefer Barclays as i think they are more "business friendly" for example our local Lloyds which is in a medium sized town has no business managers everything has to be done by phone.
Another example I set up a merchant account for a non porn internet venture with ease through Barclays, but when I tried to set up a terminal for one of my shops with Lloyds it took me ages to do and it was done through a 3rd party.
Not knocking Lloyds as they are a great bank.
Nope.. just word of mouth or got some links?
Head Boy slams them left right and centre on other boards for that, i kept asking for details, never got any, OTOH no one said a word against it so far.
i'm just looking for experiences with UK banks, the smoother the ride with them may end up the better.
drunken
06-15-05, 11:35 AM
bumping this one up as I have what I think is the best (cheapest) solution for cashing $USD cheques
UK banks are just shit when it comes to this sort of thing...I'm with the natwest and before I found this place they were stinging me for £10 per cheque AND taking "up to 28 days" to get the money into my account. Wankers.
Anyway - http://www.auctionpix.co.uk/
it's an online clearing house amongst other things...I've been using them for years and they are 100% mustard.
You get your cheques, sign them and post them off to this place.
They then do all the changeover stuff and stick the money into your bank.
Cost is 50 english pence per cheque, which can't be beaten imho.
They're quick as well - takes about a week tops every time.
The only slight arse is having to get your cheques, then post them off somewhere else but I think the cost of a stamp+50p is a small price to pay compared to the outrageous bank charges and time delays you can encounter.
hope this helps some people, as I said I've been using them for years and not one single problem
From what I have read from Headboy on the other boards he had a very good reason to dislike them, however others will of course disagree.
I used to work in Finance and if you are a high net worth client then Barclays is a great pick. If you are one of their premier customers they will bend over backwards for you. This is particularly handy if you have unusual requirements for borrowing money in the future. With regard to their US cheque clearance, you cant really fault it.
bumping this one up as I have what I think is the best (cheapest) solution for cashing $USD cheques
UK banks are just shit when it comes to this sort of thing...I'm with the natwest and before I found this place they were stinging me for £10 per cheque AND taking "up to 28 days" to get the money into my account. Wankers.
Anyway - http://www.auctionpix.co.uk/
it's an online clearing house amongst other things...I've been using them for years and they are 100% mustard.
You get your cheques, sign them and post them off to this place.
They then do all the changeover stuff and stick the money into your bank.
Cost is 50 english pence per cheque, which can't be beaten imho.
They're quick as well - takes about a week tops every time.
The only slight arse is having to get your cheques, then post them off somewhere else but I think the cost of a stamp+50p is a small price to pay compared to the outrageous bank charges and time delays you can encounter.
hope this helps some people, as I said I've been using them for years and not one single problem
These are very good and the turn around is excellent, I can send a US cheque and have a sterling cheque withing a few days.
I didn't realise they did bank transfers and maybe that's different, but with cheques they charge 95p. This is Per Batch though and NOT per cheque.
I used to put cheques through my bank, well actually they would send them off to American express and charge me something like £7 Per Cheque and it would take up to 3 months from sending the original and getting the cash in my bank :ugly:
ukwebmasters
06-15-05, 12:07 PM
the auctionpix per cheque fee is mega cheap, but barclays still take just 2 days for clearance (withdrawal purposes) and if I pay in 10 cheques or 100 cheques it's still just £9 :)
now... where's their affiliate program lol
From what I have read from Headboy on the other boards he had a very good reason to dislike them, however others will of course disagree.
seeing you seem to have further insight, please share the reasons in a reasonable amount of detail, avoid terms like "fuckers" and "thieving bastards" and other vocabulary to that effect. also make sure you don't repeat claims along the lines of "they ruined my business" and "they ruined me on an employee level" as these 2 things tend to rule each other out.
maybe you can shed some light on the horrible practices of Lloyd's, since the one and only person trashing them does this without the slightest back up for their claims and seems to have an awful lot of bad luck when it comes to dealing with financial services (PayPal, cashing in checks, .... you name it)
cheers. :)
bumping this one up as I have what I think is the best (cheapest) solution for cashing $USD cheques
UK banks are just shit when it comes to this sort of thing...I'm with the natwest and before I found this place they were stinging me for £10 per cheque AND taking "up to 28 days" to get the money into my account. Wankers.
Anyway - http://www.auctionpix.co.uk/
it's an online clearing house amongst other things...I've been using them for years and they are 100% mustard.
You get your cheques, sign them and post them off to this place.
They then do all the changeover stuff and stick the money into your bank.
Cost is 50 english pence per cheque, which can't be beaten imho.
They're quick as well - takes about a week tops every time.
The only slight arse is having to get your cheques, then post them off somewhere else but I think the cost of a stamp+50p is a small price to pay compared to the outrageous bank charges and time delays you can encounter.
hope this helps some people, as I said I've been using them for years and not one single problem
do you have to be a UK resident for their services or will having a biz office there suffice?
on a different note, how about Halifax? they have been recommended to me and they'd have an office basically next door to my usual place when i'm in England, which would make it extra nice.
Hell no, you need to ask him that, not me. What happened to Headboy looks shitty but it wouldnt affect my dealings with Lloyds if I had any, although Im a bit mystified as to where my "insight" is coming from? I merely commented on what he has posted on other boards.
To me Lloyds are just another one of the faces on the high street. I made my choice with Barclays a long time ago based on personal dealings with many banks.
although Im a bit mystified as to where my "insight" is coming from? I merely commented on what he has posted on other boards.
Exactly, he likes to bullshit and try to come across as, well, whatever takes his fancy. On that occasion it was as a business man who will be suing Lloyds.
He probably thinks it will impress people with his talk of solicitors and court cases.
If it was me I would probably keep quiet about all my failings.
I think he might suffer from ADHD, he goes from one crazy idea to another and never seems to see anything through.
"A person with ADHD has difficulty filtering out all the information coming into his brain, so he’s easily distracted, tends to respond before he has considered things properly and doesn’t know when to stop."
Hell no, you need to ask him that, not me.
did that, several times. the replies are personal attacks, as he doesn't like being questioned, only praised. which of course makes all his claims so very credible.
you seemed to have further insight, since you stated he had reasons. obviously you know just as much as everyone does who reads his posts, which is in fact nothing with any substance.
i was looking forward to more info, as we are looking into biz accounts and are undecided yet. means we do not rule out Lloyds either.
drunken
06-15-05, 12:46 PM
do you have to be a UK resident for their services or will having a biz office there suffice?
sorry HF can't help you there...maybe shoot them an email and ask?
the guy usually responds to my mails pretty quick
will have to then, cheers anyway. :)
do you have to be a UK resident for their services or will having a biz office there suffice?
I don't think it matters as long as you have a UK address that's all he needs to send the cheques. of course it you do bank transfers you will only need a UK bank account.
I don't think it matters as long as you have a UK address that's all he needs to send the cheques. of course it you do bank transfers you will only need a UK bank account.
the bank transfer was what caught my eye now, OTOH it will be tough to get an account without a resident address anyway.
i was looking forward to more info, as we are looking into biz accounts and are undecided yet. means we do not rule out Lloyds either.
Hell no I wouldnt rule out Lloyds based on what someone said on a board. The only rec I would give you is if you are a higher net worth client then look at Barclays premier account. Seriously, they would bend over and exposes their arses to help their clients.
dvtimes
06-15-05, 02:52 PM
Just to repeat myself, but these are some good tips.
1. Rather than paying in checks separately, pay then in a bunch, thus you should only pay commission on one check, rather than each of them.
2. Set up a usa dollar account, its a bit easer to pay checks in.
3. If you get money wired, you do not pay as much bank charges, plus its quicker. You can get your money in the bank in 2 to 3 days.
mellenig
06-15-05, 03:01 PM
on a different note, how about Halifax? they have been recommended to me and they'd have an office basically next door to my usual place when i'm in England, which would make it extra nice.
They are good for personal banking, I think their business accounts are done through the Royal Bank of Scotland
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