Dear Hubby and I had a recce in Ontario in May, during which time we opened up a bank account with Scotia Bank. We managed it with just our passports and drivers licence also a Uk credit card.

Since we came back however we have been told that they cant complete processing of the account unless we can provide a Uk bankers reference.

No problem we thought and approached the Halifax where we had our proof of funds.

We have had no end of awkwardness form the Halifax since then and they have just sent (finally) a letter which has only our initials on it. no address. no account number. no comment on how healthy the account is nor how well it is maintained.

Scotia Bank were obviously not happy with this and refused to accept it as a bankers reference. (quite rightly in my view)

So we hot foot it down to our local Halifax branch and tell them how frustrated we are as we have just received an email from Scotia Bank outlining what they are looking for.

25 long minutes later the very helpful lady tells us that the Scotia Bank has received a 'standard letter'. The bank will not put itself on the line in case we defraud someone else and then they get sued. But in order to help us she can arrange a specific letter written directly from the branch giving the basics that they want.

ARRGGGHhhhhhh!!!

All we want to do is open an account and be able to move funds over to Canada ready to buy property/land.
you wouldn't thing it would be so darned difficult now would you!!???

Forget Halifax for a second. Why are you putting up with this sh*t from Scotia?

I agree. Do they want your money or not?

Unfortunately since 9/11 Bank's have really clamped down on Account opening. Scotia won't let someone open an account with a foreign driving license, foreign credit card or passport. Typically you also need several utility bills and some sort of proof of address in Canada.

My advise for the OP is to just open it when you arrive as your PR documentation or work permit will be good enough with your passport, or alternately ditch Halifax and move to another UK bank because they are being useless- they should have had the experience of helping people do this before.

Your best bet may be HSBC who have branches in both Canada and the UK although I've never used their service.

I'd tell Scotia to stick their account where the sun doesn't shine!

I opened an account with HSBC in BC a couple of years back, no problem whatsoever. I think I may have had to show some standard ID or similar, (UK Passport) but they never asked for any references of any kind from my UK bank. I could have been the biggest fraudster in the UK & they would have been none the wiser.

My experience of the banks in Canada: They don't seem over efficient. I've heard many stories of direct debits not making their destination & getting "lost in the system" plus other blunders. I get the impression, the banks are run for the benefit of the staff rather than customers. So often, its always "what they can't do".

Then of course, there's the charges that will come as a shock to many from the UK. especially if you've never gone into unauthorised overdraft.

James M has it right ref all the restrictions...in 02 I was close to telling a UK Bank where to shove it as we were jumping through hoop after hoop trying to set up accounts and credit cards.

We were armed with all manner of letters and references, but it was still an extremely nauseating process.

So Canadian banks are not alone.....but hell would freeze over before I banked with Scotia Bank.

Didn't have any of these problems with RBC. Tell them to shove it! Set up account in an hour in May no problem.

Agree 100% with above post , we set up with RBC from UK then just needed to show COPR to activate

No problems, RBC have a non resident account manager to help you through that initial process

Seconded.

I wombled into the TD with a temporary work permit, a very temporary address and a job offer letter for a job I hadn't started yet. They couldn't have been more helpful and friendly, they opened a chequing account there and then and the security guy gave me a list of "authenic" Irish bars to go to. "Just mention my name at the bar, you'll do alright". Now if that's not service I don't know what is.

If it's just an account you want (not credit) then Scotia are being ridiculous.

At the time we were looking for somewhere to buy, my money was still in my UK bank. The interest rate was far better then and the exchange rate hadn't tumbled so I left it there. Plus every bank I tried insisted on PR status before they'd let me open an account.

When it came to completion, I arranged a transfer to the lawyer's bank account a few days before.

i was with scotia when i was in canada on a twp - never had any problems.

have since set up a current account with TD without any work permit (i'm a frequent visitor so it is useful to have an account in canada so i dont lose money on the exchange rate each time). they were very happy to take my money

Seeing as this is The Banks Thread I thought I'd share the below that somebody just sent me......

A SENIOR MOMENT - An elderly lady actually wrote this letter to her bank. The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in The Times.


Dear Sir,

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my cheque with which I endeavoured to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three 'nanoseconds' must have elapsed between his presenting the cheque and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honour it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my Pension, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only thirty eight years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account £30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.

My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways.

I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, re-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become. From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan payments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank by cheque, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.

Be aware that it is an offence under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope.

Please find attached an Application Contact Status which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Solicitor, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.

In due course, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modelled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service.

As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows:

1-- To make an appointment to see me.

2-- To query a missing payment.

3-- To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.

4-- To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.

5-- To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.

6-- To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.

7-- To leave a message on my computer (a password to access my computer is required. A password will be communicated to you at a later date to the Authorised Contact.)

8-- To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 8

9-- To make a general complaint or inquiry, the contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an
establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement. May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous, New Year.

Your Humble Client



Addendum from The Editor:



IMPORTANT to REMEMBER that this letter was written by a 98 year old woman.

I just roflmao!!!!!!

I am of course ready to tell both Scotia and Halifax where they put there accounts !
just a small matter of moving all funds. we opened the Scotia account with CDN1500, we may have to wait until we actually go over to live and so proving our PR's and SIN numbers.

i opened my account with no money in it...