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HSBC not accepting proof of citizenship
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ColoredSands
Posts: 36 Forumite
Hi,
I am looking for some advice on behalf of my Father who has received a string of correspondence from HSBC recently following inheriting a fair amount of money.
My parents have just received around £60,000 following the death of a relative who left them all her savings. Since that happened HSBC have been requesting my Dad to send them a W-8BEN form which we are supposed to get from the IRS. I should explain first my Father was born in the USA but has never ever held a US Passport, worked in the USA or studied there. We checked the form which is utterly useless to my Dad as it asks for information he can’t provide i.e. a SSN. My Dad has never had a SSN as he left the USA when he was 1 years old and has never ever returned.
My Dad contacted HSBC to advise them that he can’t fill in the form due to what I mentioned in the previous paragraph. My Dad also sent them a copy of his British passport to show proof of his UK citizenship.
Following this they sent his another letter stating they required this form. My Dad then contacted them through the secure messaging on Online Banking. He explicitly explained where the money came from, his citizenship and living history and sent them a copy of the form detailing why he can’t fill most of it in and a copy of his passport. He also raised a complaint at this point.
They have since sent another letter to his saying they now need a document which proves he is a British Citizen. Surely they have had this as he has sent his passport?
I was wondering has anyone experienced anything similar and has advice on what to do?
I don’t want him to ignore it and for them to keep harassing him.
I am also hoping there will we be a way to deal with this without going into branch. My Dad's father has lung cancer and only has days left to live.
Any advice greatly appreciated
I am looking for some advice on behalf of my Father who has received a string of correspondence from HSBC recently following inheriting a fair amount of money.
My parents have just received around £60,000 following the death of a relative who left them all her savings. Since that happened HSBC have been requesting my Dad to send them a W-8BEN form which we are supposed to get from the IRS. I should explain first my Father was born in the USA but has never ever held a US Passport, worked in the USA or studied there. We checked the form which is utterly useless to my Dad as it asks for information he can’t provide i.e. a SSN. My Dad has never had a SSN as he left the USA when he was 1 years old and has never ever returned.
My Dad contacted HSBC to advise them that he can’t fill in the form due to what I mentioned in the previous paragraph. My Dad also sent them a copy of his British passport to show proof of his UK citizenship.
Following this they sent his another letter stating they required this form. My Dad then contacted them through the secure messaging on Online Banking. He explicitly explained where the money came from, his citizenship and living history and sent them a copy of the form detailing why he can’t fill most of it in and a copy of his passport. He also raised a complaint at this point.
They have since sent another letter to his saying they now need a document which proves he is a British Citizen. Surely they have had this as he has sent his passport?
I was wondering has anyone experienced anything similar and has advice on what to do?
I don’t want him to ignore it and for them to keep harassing him.
I am also hoping there will we be a way to deal with this without going into branch. My Dad's father has lung cancer and only has days left to live.
Any advice greatly appreciated

0
Comments
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They have since sent another letter to his saying they now need a document which proves he is a British Citizen. Surely they have had this as he has sent his passport?
The photo page of the passport says quite clearly in capital letters
British Citizen?He also raised a complaint at this point.
And what is the answer?I am also hoping there will we be a way to deal with this without going into branch. My Dad's father has lung cancer and only has days left to live.
If your father is constantly at your grandfather's bedside and cannot get into town at the moment, he should advise the bank of the circumstances through secure messaging.0 -
Sorry to hear about your grandfather - if the bank are aware of the situation, I suspect they will be understanding over any delays.
Have you seen https://www.fatca.hsbc.com/en/rbwm/uk which gives copies of the IRS/HSBC forms as well as HSBC's guidance notes?0 -
I'm really sorry for the stress your family must be going through.
It sounds like HSBC haven't been clear, but do you know whether what they are really trying to establish is:- whether your dad is a British citizen
- or, whether he is a citizen of Britain and no other country
If it's actually (2) that could explain their behaviour - a British passport would indeed not be enough to answer their question, but they seem to be poor at explaining what the question actually is.
Bear in mind that if your dad was born in the US, he's a US citizen unless he's specifically gone through the process of renouncing it - no matter that he's never studied or worked or carried the passport. This page is a useful guide to what being an "Accidental American" can entail.0
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