Banking in the UK
Hey fellow expats :)
I'm American and I have been in the UK for about six weeks now, and finally got a copy of my rental contract so I went out to get a bank account at last! Unfortunately it didn't happen. I was told that because I'm an international student, I won't be able to get any kind of reasonable bank account. All I'm looking for is a hopefully free "checking" account with a check card, ATM access, and a checkbook. And also no minimum balance.
Has anyone got a bank they've had good luck with? I used NatWest when I lived here before, but they can't give me a chequebook this time because they have had such bad experiences with international students (in spite of the fact that we can't have overdraft anyways, so I don't quite understand...) that they can't let us have checkbooks anymore. Lloyds had an account with no checkbook and no checkcard. HSBC wouldn't accept my _actual_ contract from my landlady with the little solicitor's stamp as a valid proof of my address (*Huh?!*) so I'd have to wait around to get more correspondance if I wanted to get an account there. I believe I could get an account with Barclays if I were willing to pay £5/month, but I'd rather not do that because it all adds up. Any comments or advice would be much appreciated :)
I'm American and I have been in the UK for about six weeks now, and finally got a copy of my rental contract so I went out to get a bank account at last! Unfortunately it didn't happen. I was told that because I'm an international student, I won't be able to get any kind of reasonable bank account. All I'm looking for is a hopefully free "checking" account with a check card, ATM access, and a checkbook. And also no minimum balance.
Has anyone got a bank they've had good luck with? I used NatWest when I lived here before, but they can't give me a chequebook this time because they have had such bad experiences with international students (in spite of the fact that we can't have overdraft anyways, so I don't quite understand...) that they can't let us have checkbooks anymore. Lloyds had an account with no checkbook and no checkcard. HSBC wouldn't accept my _actual_ contract from my landlady with the little solicitor's stamp as a valid proof of my address (*Huh?!*) so I'd have to wait around to get more correspondance if I wanted to get an account there. I believe I could get an account with Barclays if I were willing to pay £5/month, but I'd rather not do that because it all adds up. Any comments or advice would be much appreciated :)