ElizabethK

My husband and I will be moving back to the UK this year after living in Pennsylvania since 1996. To those who have already made the leap back across the pond, I need some advice on a few things financial please.

Should I close all my credit cards and bank accounts I have here? It's likely I won't be using the credit cards in the UK so I don't see the need to keep them open, plus I want to reduce any risk of potential fraudulent activity on them too.
The only thing I wonder about closing the bank account is, when our social security payments begin many years from now ( approx 13 years) surely we'll need a US account for the money to be directly deposited? I doubt the US govt would be able to deposit them to a UK bank.

Also on a similar note, when applying for credit cards in UK is it going to be like starting all over again with no credit score for the UK to check and therefore am I likely to be declined for such things, seeing as any credit history I may have had 17 years ago will no doubt have disappeared by now?
Getting a wee bit 'jelly-bottied' if I'm honest about the whole idea of moving back home although am very excited at the same time, but really I'm wondering how to tie up all loose ends in the USA?
Anyone else had the same worries or concerns and if so how did you handle the situation?

lf1

Hi Elizabeth K,

I was in Canada for many and just recently moved back to the UK. I have left my Canadian bank accounts and credit cards open, but may eventually close my main Cdn acct and leave my HSBC acct open.

I opened an HSBC acct a few years ago for various reasons, but at this point it looks like the best option for me with respect to my Cdn pension. When the time comes, I plan to have my Cdn $ pension deposited into my HSBC acct and then I can transfer the funds easily from to Cdn $ acct to my GBP acct. There is a poster, Jasper123 now in the UK, who is already receiving his US SS, so perhaps he might share how he handles that with you. He is a frequent poster on the over 40's thread in the Moving Back section.

When we opened our HSBC acct, the Cdn branch arranged with the UK to open a UK based acct along with debit and credit cards. They provided our Cdn financial details and credit rating to their UK counterparts and got the job done. So when we moved here last year our banking and credit/debit cards were sorted. HSBC are heavy on paperwork when opening the account, but for overall needs it was worth it. I think there is another bank that offers a similar type acct, but I am not sure of the name. It might be Barclays, but hopefully someone with experience in that area will be along shortly.

Best of luck with your move.

dunroving

I still have a US bank account in a state employees' credit union (which is ironic as I haven't been a state employee since 2006). I also have a US credit card, though like you I have considered closing it because I don't check my online balance (I don't really use it) and it could be hacked and mis-used. It, and my ATM card, have saved me a couple of times when my UK cards wouldn't work when I was visiting the US.

I have posted on the US forum about thoughts to close it, and may still do so this spring (I'll be back in the same town in April). However, they know I live in the UK, it only costs me $12 a year to maintain the accounts, I only have a couple of thousand in it, and it may come in useful one day. So, I don't know ... many UK people living in the US find it very difficult to open UK accounts, and my concern, like yours, is that at some time I may need it, for example to receive SS payments. I imagine it wuld be very difficult to open a US-based bank account once you are no longer resident.

I am pretty sure, though that the US will pay SS into a UK account. I don't know what the dollar/pound conversion rate they use is like, but you could open a dollar account in the UK, and then convert it yourself if the US gov't is converting your SS at too far from the mid-rate.

cheers

I have written you an email.
I will say on here that just yesterday my checking account was hacked so your fears are well founded.

windsong

Cheers, so sorry about your account being hacked.

I recently told this to some of my friends and your comments is prompting me to state it here, too. If you use Facebook, do not open other important links in other tabs in your browser at the same time. Facebook can read them - that means hackers can read what you do in those sites, too. For example, say you are logged in to Facebook in one tab of your browser and decide to do some online banking in another tab in the same browser, Facebook and hackers can read the information you enter to log in to your bank. Even if you are merely browsing another web site in a tab, they can read that, too. Many sites, not just Facebook (although they are one of the worst) can read your total activity on the computer through their use of cookies.

The answer is to log out of Facebook entirely, clear cookies, and then do what you need to do on the other site.

Also, if you use Google as your search engine, Google can also track everything you do.

cheers

Never thought about that. Convenience can become inconvenient!
A bank employee asked me why I was closing my account and I said I didn't like that someone can help themselves to our money. No argument from him.
In this case, Bank of America who everyone loves, not, took $205 from us.
Cheers

ElizabethK

I too have a Credit Union account which only requires a $5 minimum balance so it may well be that I'll keep that one open for when social security begins.

As to the credit/ charge cards though, I'm not likely to need the ones such as Macy's, JCPenney or any from the other USA stores, so I may aswell get rid. Perhaps I'll keep just one major card though and keep a close eye on it online to make sure there's no unusual activity.

holly_1948

If you keep accounts open make sure they do not become dormant. Post at least one (it can be small) deposit and payment per year. This is easy in these days of internet banking.

dunroving

Hmmm, interesting, my friend just had his credit card used fraudulently for several £1,000, originating somehow from Facebook (the first transaction was a "Facebook transaction", according to him - not sure exactly what he meant.)

sile

I am not completely sure about this, but I believe it's possible that closing charge accounts can negatively affect your credit rating here. I've heard or read that it is better just to not use them. I don't know if that's a concern for anyone, but thought I should mention it.

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-ca...-card-6000.php

Mummy in the foothills

Your Social security can be paid to you in £ into a UK account. Theres a branch of the US SS in the London Embassy.

I've been wondering about keeping a bank account open.
I have a Credit union account that I use Bill pay from ,maybe that is the one I should keep. But then I wouldn't be putting money in it and worry I would go dormant.
What about not having a US address? Do they even allow a UK address on the US account?

dunroving

Yes - I have had a UK address on my state employees' credit union since 2006,and I receive letters from them here.

I also have had several emails from them regarding "hiccups" (unpaid CC bill, because I forgot I had an annual standing order charge for my Hotmail account). The emails recognised I was in the UK, and they had got in touch with me because they assumed I simply hadn't paid it because I wasn't using my account, and because I was out of the country.

jandro

Do Canadian banks besides HSBC allow you to leave your accounts open using your UK address?

lf1

Yes. I have done this with RBC and TD.

Mummy in the foothills

Thats good to know, I may just hold on to the Credit union one.