Problems with Intelligent Finance IBAN's - please help!!

atlanticist

I live abroad, and though I can get money from my exchange dealer here to my girlfriends Lloyds account back in the UK, I've singularly failed in a year of trying, to get money direct from a local exchange dealer directly into my Intelligent Finance account in the UK.

Every time, the money is sent - it comes back as soon as it hits the UK banking system with a vague "incorrect details". I've spent inordinate amounts of time on the phone with IF in the UK, and the IBAN/BIC code they gave me is 100% correct, yet, still, it fails every time.

I think it's to do with the name of the institution - is it IF, or BoS or Lloyds ? But that's speculation on my part.

Anyway, my problem is that my girlfriends account is no longer an option, and I've money stacking up here that I need to get into my UK account. Actually, more accurately, I need to pay off a Barclaycard and a MBNA card. I'd like to do this as quickly as possible.

I'm back in the UK this coming week. Would bringing in armfuls of cash do the trick ? Would Lloyds or whoever on my local high street let me transfer £ (insert large sum here) cash over the counter into my current account ? Do Credit Cards have IBANs that I can pay off directly from overseas ? Can I open a Post Office current account when home simply to transfer cash from overseas into ?

If anyone could help, I'd be extremely grateful. I still have obligations in the UK that necessitates me topping up my current account in addition to paying off the above credit cards.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

agrinnall

If you have armfuls of cash why don't you just use it to pay off the credit cards, then you'll have no need to put money into a UK bank account?

Caladan

You should be able to place a trace on the payment (possibly at your own cost if it ends up being your fault) which will identify where the issue is. The sending bank can ask the corresponding bank/receiving bank what happened.

P.s. I didn't realise Intelligent Finance still had any customers other than my own mother...do they actually offer any perks at all?

Edit: Sorry - Didn't notice you were using a currency exchange company for the payments, blame it on late Saturday weariness. You could ask them to try and place a trace on it but I don't think there's any reason they'd have to. Banks can be wary of payments coming from a 3rd party money services company (like a currency trader) because they don't really know where the money originated which could be part of the problem.

System

As other poster's have suggested, you can pay card providers directly.

The only other thing that jumps out at me - they list a BOS BIC on their website but Halifax and BOS both list a Lloyds BIC.

Vortigern

Caladan wrote: »

Banks can be wary of payments coming from a 3rd party money services company (like a currency trader) because they don't really know where the money originated which could be part of the problem.

They can also be wary of people walking in with "armfuls of cash"

darkidoe

How would paying in cash into your own current account be any difficult, unless it's a ridiculous amount of cash? There are paying in machines as well at some banks as well which would make this a breeze.

atlanticist

Thanks - I can withdraw cash here overseas and using my preferred exchange dealer, I can get a good rate to convert to GBP. The problem is that with my armfuls of GBP, I can't physically get the money into my IF account. IF is an online only bank with no counter service as I understand it, and nor does it have paying-in machines. In my 12+ years with them, I've only ever sent cheques to my account through the post.

I'm looking at transferring around GBP40k. I'd rather not empty my account here and walk through Heathrow with GBP40k and then try to persuade some lass in Natwest in Hounslow to take the cash and put it in my current account. I am a legal non-resident, I have an overseas residency visa etc etc. I'm not doing anything dodgy - I just want to get my salary from my current account here to my current account there. I think it's the BIC that's the problem.

I think I'm going to open an account with the Post Office just so I've an intermediate account to pass my funds through.

Can I pay off my Barclaycard at a Barclays branch with cash ? At least that would be of some help to me !! Sorry for continuing with the questions - I really am grateful for all the suggestions.

atlanticist

Barclays just said I can pay over the counter when I'm back in the UK. My outstanding balance is GBP16k, so I'll give it a shot :-)

xylophone

"Armfuls of cash"?

See https://www.gov.uk/bringing-cash-into-uk

atlanticist

Thanks - I just filled it in. I travel day after tomorrow to UK, but surely there's a better way than carrying large sums of money and hoping someone in a random Barclays on the high street will take my money?!?!

Honestly, I'm at a loss at this point as to what else to do.

atlanticist

agrinnall wrote: »

If you have armfuls of cash why don't you just use it to pay off the credit cards, then you'll have no need to put money into a UK bank account?

How exactly would I do this ? I live abroad, where my current account is Standard Chartered.