Help with paying in a cheque?

Muskeato

Hi,
Not sure where was best to post for advice for hopefully someone can help. 
Quite a niche scenario so bear with...one of my housemates returned to Spain last month and after he left we received a letter from HMRC for him that had a cheque with a nice tax repayment (yes, I asked for permission before opening the letter).  Obviously he'd like the money, and I'm trying to help pay it in for him from this end. 
Here's the problem. His only non-Spanish bank account is with Revolut. They apparently refuse to accept cheques. My understanding is that HMRC will only provide repayments of this sort via cheque. 
Does anyone know of solutions to this? Is it possible for him to open an account in the UK from Spain with a real bank?
Thanks, 

RobM99

Bit of a long shot - Santander is Spain-based, maybe worth asking if they can help. 

PRAISETHESUN

As a non-UK resident he'll probably struggle to open a UK-based account. He might be able to find a Spanish bank that will accept and cash a GBP cheque, although I suspect the exchange rate will be quite poor, and it'll take a while to clear.

colsten

If he still has an address in the UK, he should be able to open an account with an app-only bank, e.g. with Starling. Depending on the amount of the cheque, it can be paid in through the app (£500 max), or you'd have to post it to Starling. 

Starling would also be his best bet for exchanging the money into Euros, either through their Euro account, or simply through their currency transfer service.

penners324

Bit weird. My tax refund was done by faster payment. Had to login to my HMRC online account and enter my bank details 

PRAISETHESUN

penners324 said:

Bit weird. My tax refund was done by faster payment. Had to login to my HMRC online account and enter my bank details 

https://www.gov.uk/tax-overpayments-and-underpayments/if-youre-due-a-refund
Basically if you fail to claim your refund online then they send you a cheque by default - seems fairly standard to me.