mississippi

My UK OH, our two Australian born children and myself (Australian citizen) moving back to the UK in July but need some help from anyone who has recently moved back to the UK or in the throes of doing so.

I have done a few searches through the postings but couldn't find anything that seemed to answer my questions which are many and laborious:

1. Any hints or suggestions about when to organise the removalists? Has anyone got good and bad experiences of removal companies (I read a posting today where the member said the company were slow and I'd like to avoid this). I've had three quotes from the following companies: Allied Pickfords (too expensive), Kent Removals and Overseas Packers and Shippers. We live in Brisbane.

1 & 1/2. Did you move straight from a rental direct to the UK or did you move out a week or two earlier while you sorted out the entry condition report and the bond?

2. What do we need to to in regards to the ATO - we'll be here for the start of the new tax year, but only just and don't know if we'll get group certificates and other stuff in time - can we lodge while we are overseas?

3. Transferring the money - I've read postings about HIFX and contacted them but not sure if in today's current financial market I trust them completely and my OH still has his old UK bank account with the 90p balance he left over 10 years ago. Has anyone transferred using one of the major banks over here (ANZ/WPAC, CWEALTH) and what were the charged for the transaction (this end and at the other end) and what bank gave the better rate?

4. Is it better to get rid of our shares (including T3) before we leave Oz or when we settle in the UK - does the UK have capital gains tax for shares?

5. Any advice about settling back into the UK. We won't have the luxury of finding work immediately, but that's ok, we have a few contacts and don't mind what we do, we're not work shy. Do you suggest we get references from banks, employers, property manager/s from Oz to help us get a rental property in the UK?

6. Anything you wish you'd bought before moving to the UK - stuff that's better made quality here or cheaper, now that you've settled back?

I could go on and on, but I won't and I need to watch Underbelly - it's the only Australian made series I've watched in the 6 years since I've been here...look, I know I've written a lot, and I understand a lot of these questions have been answered over the years this forum has been in existence, but any help would be appreciated.

Pugsy

Just a quick reply on the rental issue as it's one of the only thing's I'm clued up on, being a LL and all. Get all the references you can from your Oz sources. This may be enough to secure a normal AST, paying rent monthly, with a security deposit up front. You'll be credit checked probably as well as references checked as a formality.

However, because you are new to the country (your OH newly returned) and may not yet be working, you may need to pay 6 months up front. So be prepared for that, or to find a guarantor. Have fun packing.

smokin69

Hi, from good ol' Blighty,well i have just returned to th UK after living in OZ for 18 years, cant help with the first part as i sold my house and moved in with friends.i got back here in Jan,i used Kent for moving but that was from Perth,i did not bring back furniture as it would be to big for the house over here,think about that,cost of shipping to buy here,thats another thing you have to order furniture/beds etc as they don't keep it in stock, another one is the banks you have to prove to them you are not "laundering" money,to rent some where as i am now it's at least 6 months rent up front and the deposit,and credit check,which i might add they said they could'nt do as i was out of the country for more than 2 years,[rip off],but that's the same with phone/eletric/gas.hope it helps pm if you want more info.good luck,dennis

Pugsy

Just as an add on to what the above poster has said about furniture not being worth shipping back (I agree) and Tesco Direct can deliver beds (and the rest of the house for that matter?!) within 24/48 hours.

quoll

My son assures me that Ikea is your friend on the furniture front

I will watch this thread with interest just in case miracles happen and we do get to go home!

TraceyW

Transferring the money bit; get in touch with HIFX and Ozforex. Both of these companies will register you for free and they do not charge you a direct fee. They make their money on the exchange rate. Go into their websites and look at the indicative exchange rate, say it's 0.4609, they will give you .4505 or something, depends how much you're transferring.

I know a few people who've used both of these companies and had no probs at all.

sandrainaus

I recently tfr'd some money back to the UK (for when we get back) and used OZFOREX they were brilliant I just registered online then they called me back to confirm the details, gave them a nominated account in the UK, then tfr'd the cash to them here and within 3 days it was in my UK account (good rate too).

brits1

Hi,
Just reading your thread, we do not have any bank accounts in the U.K, do you need one to transfer with ozforex? and if not do they set up a bank account for you? I went into the local branch of HSBC and they said we could open an account with them here then when ready they would transfer the account to their London (only way they will do i) branch were we would have to call in and sign their forms and collect any cards we may want them, it seems a bit long winded and as we are heading to the North of Englan a bit of a "trek" for us in our first week home!!!! any help would be appreciated....really do wish now we had kept our Alliance & Leicester account open but after 6 years here we thought no point now....and then we went home a year later for our first visit and thought....."we want to come back and live"...but thats us!!!!

mississippi

Thanks for all your help.

The trouble with our furniture is that we have about $70K worth and tools too(my OH is a furniture maker) and he made a lot of the furniture and won't leave it behind and I think it must be cheaper to pay the $8K Kent quoted us than sell it for a pittance and purchase more. Although we have downsized, and are leaving some stuff behind with my sister, who funnily enough is moving here in the next couple of months from NZ (the lounge suite, lawn mower, dining table and 8 chairs and huge side-by-side fridge as I have figured that there will be not much room in a 2 down 2 up terraced mansion we'll end up buying). We have already sold the outdoor furniture because it was too hot to sit outside and got fed up being mozzie-fodder.

I have the info from HIFX but is it a lot different from just going into your Aussie bank and arranging to have the money transferred, paying $30 then it turning up in a UK bank account (where they also charge fees) as I think you pay a few thousand dollars to use HIFX don't you. I think I still probably don't understand exactly how it is better than transferring so any advice would be appreciated.

It's the airfares too that I'll hate paying for because back in Feb we could have picked up a $850 flight one way with Royal Brunei, and now there's nothing under $1500, but I would rather pay the extra and arrive in the UK in July rather than October so I guess we'll have to just deal with that.

I realise most things don't move smoothly but at least with your help I can make some better decisions. Thanks again and anything else you think we may need to know just send a post so I can check it.

ree76

Definately cheaper to send furniture home than buy new. We are paying just over $8000 to send everything back, but the stuff we bought when we got here, bed, TV, fridge etc cost $7500 and would probably cost about the same if we bought it when we got back.

We have used Ozforex to send our money over and they didn't charge us anything and their exchange rate was better than the banks. As the money will be changed to sterling by whoever you exchange with, it shouldn't cost anything to put it into the bank in the UK

brits1

Hi, thanks for the info, which company are you using to ship your furniture back to the U.K? (we are in Perth) and do you have a bank account already in the U.K? our problem is we don't have a bank account in the U.K, we closed them down after being here in Aus 5 years (been here 10 now).....good luck with everything.

brits1

I know what you mean about the flights but we would rather go back in the summer rather than Autumn.....(we are hoping to be back by August if not earlier)...I am also thinking to I sell some of our furniture we have here, we have a large dinning table, huge fridge, three suites....unless we win the lottery and buy Buck Palace there is no way we could fit these items in, I am also thinking of selling our outdoor furniture as our table is glass, it's hard really to know what to do...part of me wants to start afresh in the U.K, (I remember when our furniture arrived in Aus...due to a huge mix up by the company we used our furniture went on a "global" and we did not see it for nearly 7 months!!! when we did it brought back such homesickness it was awful!!!! don't really want that to happen the otherway around!!!)..anyway good luck and try Emirates on-line they do some great deals and are out usually before they hit the shops!!!
All the best

marcelle38

you have to pay 6 mo rent upfront? wow, what do you mean prove to the bank your not laundering money? i'm also thinking about moving, but it sounds like i wont be able to from what your saying

brits1

It does sound hard work. Want I would like to know is, do all "new" migrants have to go through all this or is it just ex-pats?.......I do know of people though who have returned home, found work asap and bought homes...so it is "doable".......I think every "case" seems to be different.....

Pollyana

Transfers of large amounts of money may be investigated to ensure that the money is not being "laundered" but if it is something like proceeds of a house sale you won't have a problem - just keep the papers that prove where the money came from