OT Opening a Bank account over the phone
Dec 4th 2002, 8:42 am
#1
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OT Opening a Bank account over the phone
Hi,
You may remember a couple of weeks ago I posted a thread about how easy it was to open a bank account in the US over the phone and if you remember I was considerably pleased with myself. Well, I transferred some money over last week and rang up this week to check that it had been received and the girl that answered the phone said that the account had been frozen. So now I have a large amount of money in the USA and cannot touch it.
I was put through to someone else (the guy who froze it) and he explained that I cannot open an account over the phone without a SSN. If I had walked in off the street without a SSN then no worries but over the phone I must have a SSN. What I have to do now is wait until I get SSN and then tell them and the account will be unfrozen.
Just a word of warning for everyone, nice of them to let me know after I filled it with cash though eh!
Patrick
You may remember a couple of weeks ago I posted a thread about how easy it was to open a bank account in the US over the phone and if you remember I was considerably pleased with myself. Well, I transferred some money over last week and rang up this week to check that it had been received and the girl that answered the phone said that the account had been frozen. So now I have a large amount of money in the USA and cannot touch it.
I was put through to someone else (the guy who froze it) and he explained that I cannot open an account over the phone without a SSN. If I had walked in off the street without a SSN then no worries but over the phone I must have a SSN. What I have to do now is wait until I get SSN and then tell them and the account will be unfrozen.
Just a word of warning for everyone, nice of them to let me know after I filled it with cash though eh!
Patrick
Dec 4th 2002, 8:55 am
#2
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What never ceases to amaze me is the amount of duff information received from USA Agencies and organisations. Banks, telephone companies, soc sec offices, driving licence offices, and, of course, never forgetting the INS itself. I thought the UK was bad enough but the USA seems to have raised confusing the customer into an art form. Is there no training carried out?
Dec 4th 2002, 9:02 am
#3
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Originally posted by abba48uk
What never ceases to amaze me is the amount of duff information received from USA Agencies and organisations. Banks, telephone companies, soc sec offices, driving licence offices, and, of course, never forgetting the INS itself. I thought the UK was bad enough but the USA seems to have raised confusing the customer into an art form. Is there no training carried out?
What never ceases to amaze me is the amount of duff information received from USA Agencies and organisations. Banks, telephone companies, soc sec offices, driving licence offices, and, of course, never forgetting the INS itself. I thought the UK was bad enough but the USA seems to have raised confusing the customer into an art form. Is there no training carried out?
1. No SSN = No Account.
Sorry but it seems obvious
Patrick
Dec 4th 2002, 10:24 am
#4
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 46,387
Originally posted by Patrick
The said he was sorry but the woman who opened the account shouldn't of opened the account over the phone (seems pretty obvious now!), so why don't they train these people? It would seem obvious to me that rule number on the training course would be
1. No SSN = No Account.
Sorry but it seems obvious
Patrick
The said he was sorry but the woman who opened the account shouldn't of opened the account over the phone (seems pretty obvious now!), so why don't they train these people? It would seem obvious to me that rule number on the training course would be
1. No SSN = No Account.
Sorry but it seems obvious
Patrick
Rete
Dec 4th 2002, 10:26 am
#5
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Originally posted by Rete
Simple question here Patrick. Why not add your wife's name to the account and her SSN and have the account immediately unfrozen.
Rete
Simple question here Patrick. Why not add your wife's name to the account and her SSN and have the account immediately unfrozen.
Rete
The account is in both Ellen's and mine name (a joint account) with her SSN! The fact I don't have a SSN is the sticking point. You would of thought with one of us having a SSN it would be OK.
Patrick
Dec 4th 2002, 10:57 am
#6
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Location: Richmond Hill, GA USA
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I think I would be trying to talk to somebody at headquarters Patrick IF the bank is just a branch office. The US may have a myriad of red tape but we are also equally laden with many places to go thru to file a complaint. That is YOUR money and for them to deny access to it is unacceptable.
Dec 4th 2002, 11:07 am
#7
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Originally posted by cindyabs
I think I would be trying to talk to somebody at headquarters Patrick IF the bank is just a branch office. The US may have a myriad of red tape but we are also equally laden with many places to go thru to file a complaint. That is YOUR money and for them to deny access to it is unacceptable.
I think I would be trying to talk to somebody at headquarters Patrick IF the bank is just a branch office. The US may have a myriad of red tape but we are also equally laden with many places to go thru to file a complaint. That is YOUR money and for them to deny access to it is unacceptable.
Patrick
Dec 4th 2002, 11:29 am
#8
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http://www.consumer-action.org/English/Email_Hotline.php
that's an address I came up with by doing a search on banking complaints.
Here's another:http://www.foreignborn.com/self-help/banking/11-complaints.htm
that's an address I came up with by doing a search on banking complaints.
Here's another:http://www.foreignborn.com/self-help/banking/11-complaints.htm
Dec 4th 2002, 1:59 pm
#9
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1. No SSN = No Account.
An idea. Would it be possible to remove your name from the account temporarily, so that they have 1 person and 1 SSN and the bank be happy with it?
Sorry to hear about that,
Caroline
Dec 4th 2002, 3:29 pm
#10
Just around the next bend
Joined: Sep 2002
Location: Missouri
Posts: 2,276
Hi Patrick,
Sorry to hear about it. Such terrible inefficiency. Like someone else said, if they have Ellen's SSN I can't see why she wouldn't have access to the money. Good luck and I will be watching this space!
Debbie
Sorry to hear about it. Such terrible inefficiency. Like someone else said, if they have Ellen's SSN I can't see why she wouldn't have access to the money. Good luck and I will be watching this space!
Debbie
Dec 5th 2002, 8:29 pm
#11
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Posts: n/a
Re: OT Opening a Bank account over the phone
File IRS W-7 and apply for a taxpayer id if you can't get a SSN right
away.
Patrick wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> You may remember a couple of weeks ago I posted a thread about how easy
> it was to open a bank account in the US over the phone and if you
> remember I was considerably pleased with myself. Well, I transferred
> some money over last week and rang up this week to check that it had
> been received and the girl that answered the phone said that the account
> had been frozen. So now I have a large amount of money in the USA and
> cannot touch it.
>
> I was put through to someone else (the guy who froze it) and he
> explained that I cannot open an account over the phone without a SSN. If
> I had walked in off the street without a SSN then no worries but over
> the phone I must have a SSN. What I have to do now is wait until I get
> SSN and then tell them and the account will be unfrozen.
>
> Just a word of warning for everyone, nice of them to let me know after I
> filled it with cash though eh!
>
> Patrick
>
> --
> Posted via http://britishexpats.com
away.
Patrick wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> You may remember a couple of weeks ago I posted a thread about how easy
> it was to open a bank account in the US over the phone and if you
> remember I was considerably pleased with myself. Well, I transferred
> some money over last week and rang up this week to check that it had
> been received and the girl that answered the phone said that the account
> had been frozen. So now I have a large amount of money in the USA and
> cannot touch it.
>
> I was put through to someone else (the guy who froze it) and he
> explained that I cannot open an account over the phone without a SSN. If
> I had walked in off the street without a SSN then no worries but over
> the phone I must have a SSN. What I have to do now is wait until I get
> SSN and then tell them and the account will be unfrozen.
>
> Just a word of warning for everyone, nice of them to let me know after I
> filled it with cash though eh!
>
> Patrick
>
> --
> Posted via http://britishexpats.com
Dec 10th 2002, 2:07 am
#12
Just Joined
Joined: Nov 2002
Location: SW Suburbs of Chicago
Posts: 14
Taken from the Social Security admin site
"Tax Identification Number are assigned by the Internal Revenue Service, not the Social Security Administration. It is issued to certain nonresident and resident aliens, their spouse, and dependents. The ITIN is only available to individuals who cannot get a Social Security Number (SSN). It is a 9-digit number, beginning with the number "9", formatted like an SSN (NNN-NN- NNN). "
If you are lawfully admitted to the US for permanent residence or employment you are entitled to a SSN therefore are not eligible to obtain a Tax ID number.
"Tax Identification Number are assigned by the Internal Revenue Service, not the Social Security Administration. It is issued to certain nonresident and resident aliens, their spouse, and dependents. The ITIN is only available to individuals who cannot get a Social Security Number (SSN). It is a 9-digit number, beginning with the number "9", formatted like an SSN (NNN-NN- NNN). "
If you are lawfully admitted to the US for permanent residence or employment you are entitled to a SSN therefore are not eligible to obtain a Tax ID number.
