Letter frm Santander! Ref 048481670

sunshineD

ive just received a letter from Santander. I opened a Savings Account with them on-line. The letter refers to "we are writing to you because the information you provided indicates that you may be a tax resident or citizen of a country outside the UK" !! for a start ive lived in the UK all my life! it then says it's enclosed a self-certification form, which was NOT with the letter! I've just rang them and the lady said when i opened my savings account i must have ticked that i wasnt a UK resident! She's now going to send me a form out that i have to fill in with a cop of my passport and a letter to confirm im from the uK! Has this ever happened to anyone else? It's so frustrating! She said it's the new Law that's come from America??

paragon909

sunshineD wrote: »

ive just received a letter from Santander. I opened a Savings Account with them on-line. The letter refers to "we are writing to you because the information you provided indicates that you may be a tax resident or citizen of a country outside the UK" !! for a start ive lived in the UK all my life! it then says it's enclosed a self-certification form, which was NOT with the letter! I've just rang them and the lady said when i opened my savings account i must have ticked that i wasnt a UK resident! She's now going to send me a form out that i have to fill in with a cop of my passport and a letter to confirm im from the uK! Has this ever happened to anyone else? It's so frustrating! She said it's the new Law that's come from America??

it would only happen to anyone if you tick the wrong box. simply as that really.

what do you want £1000 compensation or something.

YorkshireBoy

If Santander still use 9 digit account numbers (and a collection account/sort code), you might want to delete that number?


EDIT: That's if you can edit a thread title? If not, you may need the services of a board guide.

colsten

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

EDIT: That's if you can edit a thread title? If not, you may need the services of a board guide.

You can, in advanced editing mode.

sunshineD

paragon909 wrote: »

it would only happen to anyone if you tick the wrong box. simply as that really.

what do you want £1000 compensation or something.

There was actually no box to tick. i did it on line and there was no box.

ManAtHome

Do you have a wheely mouse - could have been scrolling the Nationality box instead of the page? (Guessing that they have said box - last few accounts I've opened have).

suse*

This is the american law they were talking about.

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Corporations/Foreign-Account-Tax-Compliance-Act-FATCA

I guess now there is a mistake on your account they just need the extra info to confirm your identity. I wouldn't take it as a bad thing, you'd be more annoyed if someone was trying to take your identity this is to help them show it is really you.

SnowTiger

sunshineD wrote: »

There was actually no box to tick. i did it on line and there was no box.

There's a drop down box for 'Nationality'. Very easy to accidentally select an incorrect option.

101problems

Yep it's called FATCA one of obama's pledges to cut down tax evasion
This wiki covers it all
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance_Act
Some pretty scary stuff if you ask me

p00hsticks

I've just completed an application for a Santander account and as well as having to select drop down boxes for 'Nationality' and 'country of birth' there was also a Yes/no radio button for the question 'Are you obliged to submit a personal tax return in another country because of residence or citizenship?'

... sounds like you might have inadvertently selected 'yes' for the last one....

MoneyLovesCompany

I am a UK citizen currently residing in the USA.

After I had notified Santander (by walking into their branch with the appropriate forms) that I have a Lasting Power of Attorney in respect of my mother, who is a UK citizen and resident, they then mailed to me a 'Missing Information' form requesting details of my tax status. Huh!?

And they keep sending these letters.

The thing is, I am not their customer. My mother is their customer. I just have Power of Attorney. It's not my money and I have to account to the Court of Protection and Office of the Public Guardian for every single penny of my mother's funds.

None of the other financial institutions with whom she has savings etc. has taken this action and all write to me here, in the USA, addressing me as POA. As far as I am concerned, this is just a mailing address.

To show their stupidity, they enclose a Business Reply envelope each time - only useful in the UK, of course. They provide only an 0800 telephone number (useless from the States) and no email address. I tried sending a Secure Message through their Online Banking but apparently Retail FATCA is totally separate and not contactable this way.

I have a UK personal mailing address (with redirection to the States). Perhaps I should have Santander write there instead. That would resolve the issue - maybe.

Or perhaps I should just close the account. That would definitely stop the correspondence.