Before we had a flat, we tried to open a bank account. Some websites suggested that they had special accounts for foreign nationals, or people who didn’t have proof of address yet. Those website are all incorrect.

Seriously.

All of them.

Lloyd’s, for example, still comes up in internet searches as having an account specifically made for folks who have just moved to the UK. According to their staff, however, they discontinued that service in February 2017.

We tried Lloyd’s first because of their website, then walked to Barclay’s. A kind person overheard our frustration and said that Metro Bank was known for being a bit more lenient. So we walked over and they said we needed that address, but that once we had it then we would be all set. Sweet.

Week 1: Three bank visits

Once we had our lease we went back to Metro, but they said we needed an additional proof of address. I called and they said we needed a letter from my husband’s employer. I asked what the letter needed to include, and unfortunately they gave me incorrect information.

This meant that when we went in the next time they wouldn’t open the account, and asked for another letter with additional information. They also said that for a joint account we both had to separately have two forms of proof of address, which was a challenge for me since I didn’t yet have an employer. Gas, electric, or water bills or council tax bills would have worked, but our flat is newly renovated and the system not updated, so we don’t have those bills yet.

Week 2: One bank visit, four total

We both had Monese accounts, so we printed out statements from them, and then brought in our tenancy agreement and the letter from my husband’s employer. We got to the end of the process when the bank said that our tenancy agreement and such didn’t match the official Royal Mail address list, and so we couldn’t open an account yet.

We live in our flat, so we were surprised to see that for the banking system, it didn’t exist.

Week 3: One bank visit, five total

Because we were living in a newly renovated flat, the Royal Mail address system hadn’t been fully updated. This was a problem. Our landlord kindly agreed to send a revised tenancy agreement that matched the Royal Mail system. Home free, right?

Nope. We brought all the same info back to Metro (including the updated employer letter and Monese statements to match), and were told that because our landlords were private, this was a problem. Note that this issue was not brought up in any of the other four visits.

I’m still pissed thinking about it.

So I told them that we wanted them to remove all information they had on us from their system and that we’d be finding another bank. They were surprised. Oh well.

Lesson: Don’t use Metro Bank, and do ask lots of questions.

The next morning we went to Lloyd’s again, and they said they wouldn’t accept the tenancy agreement either. We then went to HSBC, who said that they didn’t have an appointments, but since we were from the US, they should be able to use our US address, open that account, and then transfer over. SCORE!

We took a bus to a larger branch where we were told that no, since we now lived here, that wasn’t an option. BUT. They said that all we needed was the letter from my husband’s employer to open a joint account. It’d be proof for him, and even though I wouldn’t have independent proof, I could still be on a joint account with him.

Week 4: Four bank visits, nine total

Monday I called HSBC and was able to get us an appoint for Thursday. We went in and THEY OPENED OUR BANK ACCOUNT.

Total: Five weeks, 10 visits to banks.

Lesson: Lloyd’s has bad information on their website, Metro always asks for more information and will waste your time. Not sure about Barclay’s or Nationwide. But HSBC worked for us.

Another thing that is frustrating about the banking system here is that your US credit history means nothing in the UK. Even companies that appear to be the same (say, Capital One in the US and Capital One in the UK, or Experian credit agency) act as though you’re brand new and have never had a credit card.

And for all I know, you might be! This might be your first time applying for any sort of credit card, and so the process might not seem all that odd to you. But for someone like myself, who has been lucky enough to have over 20 years of good credit history in the US (I say lucky because yes, I manage my finances well but also, I’ve never had any unexpected medical expenses or other major financial hardships, and I’ve always been able to earn above a living wage), this is obnoxious.

My partner and I arrived hoping to start building our credit in the UK. We aren’t sure how long we’re going to live here, but who knows if we’ll ever find ourselves in a situation where it’s important that we have strong credit. I didn’t have a job for the first 11 months, so I looked into a bunch of starter credit cards, thinking well, I’m starting out in the UK, so these are perfect for me!

Wrong.

Most let me go through a check before actually applying so it wouldn’t hurt my (non-existent) credit, and I was not successful with any of them. The main issue seemed to be not my lack of UK-earned income, but my address history. Because we’ve only been in the UK a couple of months, these credit card companies would ask for my previous address, but would only allow for an address in the UK.

You see the dilemma here, yes? I don’t have credit because I’m new to the UK, I can’t build credit without a credit card, but I can’t get a credit card because I’m new to the UK.

With that in mind, my partner and I decided to try for a joint credit card from the bank where we have our current (checking) account. After 45 minutes in person (including about 15 minutes of the bank employee on the phone with the underwriters), we were successful in getting a joint credit card with a reasonable credit limit!

But.

Because the account is primarily my partner’s, I’m not allowed to view any statements or purchase history. I can MAKE purchases, but I can’t access anything via online banking. That’s kind of a problem, since I’m the one who manages our finances. We figured something out, but I find this to be a very frustrating situation. In the US the main joint credit card we use has my partner as the primary just because he signed up for it first, yet I can still sign in and view it any time I like.

Deep sigh.

Because I want to build my own credit, I asked about whether I could apply for a starter credit card in my own name. Nope. Because I didn’t have a job yet (and even if I did, it needed to pay at least £8,000 / year), I didn’t get access to credit on my own. Even if I had income from a US-based venture (say, consulting), because it’s dollars, it didn’t count.

The whole experience continues to be illogical and frustrating, but hey, at least we have a credit card now.

My advice to you is that the same day you open your joint account, ask if you can apply for a joint credit card as well. It’ll save you some time and get you on the way towards building some credit. And who knows, depending on your bank, see if they’ll issue you a very low limit personal credit card. They might have different rules than HSBC. In a couple of months, after you’ve shown that you’re making payments and that income is being deposited into the current account, make another appointment to see if you can get the limit increased.

And as soon as you get a job, apply for your own credit card!