Graduate denied graduate account

Daveman2012

Hi, I have recently graduated from an english university and will be starting work soon here in england. When I came here in 2009, I opened an international student account which i was forced to pay £5 a month for. They told me at the time that this was the only option as my name was not on any of the household bills. Now that i have graduated i am being told that even though I am living and will be working here I am still not eligible for a graduate account. On the RBS and santander websites it states that if you are a recent graduate and have confirmation of a job offer you can open a graduate account. When I go in there they say "sorry you must have had a normal student account, you cannot get a graduate account as you were an international student". What the hell is going on? Can they do this?

melancholly

Often you have to be a resident for a set number of years to get one of these accounts as a non-British national. It can be quite awkward and I imagine it's related to them being nervous that people will max out their overdrafts and then disappear abroad. Ultimately, they can do this - it may be worth contacting someone at your uni to get advice on the best bank to go for. From what I remember, HSBC were the best for international students, but that may well be out of date now. You could also try ringing round a few to see what they say.