I have gained new status in the United Kingdom today.......I opened my first bank account!
While this seems like such an easy task in the United States, it is one of the most difficult things to get when you have no proof of residency in the UK.
It is a bit of a catch-22. People will not rent an apartment to you without a bank statement from a UK bank account saying you have enough money and a bank will not open an account for you unless you have proof of residence in the UK. This was part of my difficultly when trying to find a place to live. No one would sign a lease with me because I did not have a UK bank account. I also could not get a cell phone service plan because I don't have an account. Also, I have had problems using my debit/credit cards here because our cards require a signature. In the UK, you use a pin number for everything and don't sign anything.
I did some investigation and found of the 20+ documents that I needed to show residency (council tax bill, water bill, etc.), I could only get one document that would work. I had to have my US bank send me my bank statement to my "new" UK address.
After waiting about 6 weeks, I finally got my bank statement yesterday so I headed to the bank. After 1 1/2 hours (yes, that long), I now have an account. But I learned some very interesting things along the way.
"Ms." vs "Miss" - I have been reading some of the community blogs and everyone is saying something different. There is debate by American women here on what term to use. The young man at the bank today said that Miss is for someone who is not married. "Ms." is for someone who is married and has kept their maiden name, a woman who is living with a partner but not married, or a widow. I guess I am "Miss"!
No one writes checks here. Everything is done online - from paying your landlord to getting your salary deposited. When I asked the man if I could get checks he laughed and said "only old people write checks in England."
Overdraft is crazy here. My friend Aman once told me about this, but I did not really understand. It was explained to me today. My bank account allows me to carry up to a -$600 balance without paying any penalties! This is crazy. Why would a bank let me carry a negative balance and not charge for it? I am not going to complain! :)
Now comes the challenge of trying to transfer money......
3 comments:
Regarding the Miss vs. Ms. usage, I believe the gentleman is correct. That's always the rule that I've followed. Another good use of Ms. is if you don't know if someone is married or not. You can address your correspondence with "Ms." and be safe as a basket of kittens.
Speaking of edits, I know I owe you an edited version of your resume. I just haven't had a chance to do it. But apparently I have time to write comments on your blog :)
Charles is having a similar catch 22 in Sante Fe, however, he's all set with Bank of America. While he's bunking with college kids as a way to save some money he's in need of a permanent address when applying for a job.
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
Miss Kerry.
I had a few minutes to check out what you are doing in the UK, Coro Sister.
Geez, that's funny about the checks, because I have to reorder checks and was thinking whether I should or not:)
Oh, your plant is dead! Don't even look at me like that. I told you.
When I told my brother, he said and I quote, "Damn!"
Miss you, Miss.
Email me. Call me is even better.
We're going to plan a Coro Happy Hour whenever Sandra gets back to town.
I have personal developments to share too.
Monica
Post a Comment