spuds

Hello everyone,
We are currently banking in the UK with First Direct who have said it's no problem to transfer to HSBC in Oz and to transfer our savings will only be £10 - bargain was expecting more than that!

They did a credit check on us and have now sent us all the forms (it's a but like PR all over again!) which we have to take into the bank to have signed etc. This is actually a bit of a pain as bank is not open on Saturday and it's v difficult to get there.

In the meantime I enquired online with Australia National Bank about accounts and then forgot all about it (too busy trying to clear out that kitchen drawer!). Yesterday they sent me a letter and some forms saying they had opened bank accounts for us in Oz and we just needed to pop into a branch in Oz to get them signed.

Now not sure what to do. I know charges in Oz are completely ridiculous and have heard that HSBC are one of the cheaper ones but what sort of figures are we talking here?

Also, I am aware that there are only a few brances of HSBC compared to anyone else - tho there is one right near where we live which is a bonus - and that you have to be careful with ATM charges etc.

Can someone please clarify what they think is the best option here? Who do Ozzies bank with?!

stavros

The wife banks with the NAB (National Australia Bank) which has branches all over Vic and they own a few businesses in the UK dont they?

In NSW I banked with Westpac.

Jaykay

Hi There

We also banked with First Direct in the UK and rang HSBC International and got all the paperwork. I then got a $2000 cheque made out and went along to our local HSBC branch to get our passports etc sighted and the form signed, then sent everything back to HSBC International. Heard nothing for a couple of weeks and then a letter arrived saying that the account had been opened up and we were to go to the bank that we had nominated when we arrived and pick up our ATM Cards and Cheque books (if you opened a cheque account).

We had advised them that we were not arriving until September (we had opened the account in July) and unfortunately their policy is that if you don't pick up your ATM Cards within 6 weeks they destory them, but because I had highlighted that I wasn't arriving until September I assumed that they would hold our cards. WRONG!! I walked into the bank the day after I arrived in Australia and was advised that they had been destoryed so I had to reorder them which took 10 days before the card arrived and another 2 days after that before my Pin number arrived. I was able to take money out over the counter when I was at the branch, but it cost me $5.00 to do this.

I've also applied for a Credit Card from HSBC and had not heard anything from them, so I rang today and was advised that a letter was in the mail requesting me to put $3,000 in a term deposit for 6 months as security. I assume this is because I don't currently have a job. Bit put out over this, but I suppose it will earn good interest and I can get it back in 6 months ( and I do have the cash in the bank so it's not really a problem).

Regards

Jaykay

Forgot to say that we transferred all of our money over with Halewood International who didn't charge us anything. And we got a better rate from them than from the bank.

Regards