Lloyds bank close UK citizens account EUs in EU

born_again

jonesMUFCforever said:

born_again said:

GerardDaley said:

03 Sept 2020, received a generic letter from Lloyds bank UK stating closure of my UK account ! Citing BREXIT reasons !
I reside in The Netherlands due to work reasons, but I’ve had a Lloyds account for over 30 yrs! On complaint Lloyds informed me only two Member states of EU affected ;Netherlands and Slovakia, Lloyds said due to Brexit a bank licensing issue had  arisen with these two countries! Nothing to do with Brexit at all ! 

25 other EU Member states unaffected !
 As a UK citizen I’m discriminated against as I live in The Netherlands !
 I want to retain my UK bank account as I may return and all my family still live there ! For your information and maybe possibly other folk may be affected 
help if possible Stop Lloyds bank closing UK citizens accounts who live in the EU ! 

Any relation to this poster?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6184338/lloyds-closing-accounts/p1

Banks are free to remove customers if they want.
Many banks do not allow anyone living in the UK to open any new accounts, even if they already hold some. So if you wanted a new savings or credit card it would be no.

I think you have missed a word ''not'' between anyone and living.

Edited thanks

DorisMC

Mr Gerard Daley - How pleased I was to read your post and know that (living in The Netherlands) I am not alone in this predicament.  Our situations sound very similar although I am now retired.   My letter from Lloyds states -  and I quote - "After this date", (sic 31 December 2020) we'll no longer be allowed to provide some banking services in a number of EU countries".  No further explanation is given - which countries, or who is stopping Lloyds from providing the aforementioned services? - and we have been left to our own devices to discover the reasons.  In my case, the text caused some confusion as I have never used any Lloyds' banking services in the EU and would never intend to do so.  All I would like is to continue as of now - with my Lloyds UK accounts: a British person receiving a UK state pension (earned in the UK!)  and still paying UK taxes.  And a few weeks' notice is a disgrace!  So I suspect that Lloyds is using this to divest itself even further of what I would term "small fish in a big pond".  I speak for myself of course!      The most awful problem now is finding another UK bank.  To no avail so far.  And, incidentally  -  even if accepted as a new client  -   to open an account, proof of identity will need to be given.  The pandemic restrictions currently prevent this from happening in person (cheerfully overlooked by Lloyds) and getting the documentation legitimised here will not be easy - again because of this virus.  For me, apart from the fact that not a single word of thanks for over 40 years of being a loyal and reliable customer (with earlier investments in Lloyds) was mentioned in the letter, the final kick up the 'you-know-what' came in the Answers (to Questions) section: if Lloyds receive any payments for me after my accounts are closed, they will return the money to the account from which it came!!!!  They would apparently neither inform me nor transfer it to my new account elsewhere. Words fail me...      Good luck, Mr Daley.  Unbelievable that living about 200 miles across the water should give rise to so many problems! Oranje boven (haha) !!!

London7766551

I'm sorry but the UK voted to leave the EU over four years ago, we left over seven months ago. You have had far more than "a few weeks notice". As a British citizen living in the EU, you should have taking precautions as required. 

The British government even warned of this back in 2018.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-notices-finance/britons-living-in-eu-could-lose-access-to-uk-bank-services-in-no-deal-brexit-idUKKCN1L814C

I would again suggest looking at an option like Revolut. You have to remember that only a small number (compared to the population of the UK) of British people live in the EU. The British government will mainly take decisions for the majority. The EU are also likely to treat British citizens in the same way. You have to assume little help will be available and to prepare. Governments are hardly the biggest help in the best of times. And don't get me started on banks.

Have you considered getting your British pension transferred to your new home country? 

colsten

Lloyds have no say in this. Like all other banks, they are bound by the laws of the respective countries. The passporting arrangements end on 31/12/2020, and it does not seem likely that anything will replace them because the UK has decided to break their ties with the EU.

colsten

@DorisMC, I happen to have seen today that Ulster Bank NI are offering accounts for people living in the EU: https://digital.ulsterbank.co.uk/personal/current-accounts/eu-residents-hub.html

Ulster are part of the Natwest / Royal Bank of Scotland group. Because of their vicinity with the Republic of Ireland, they should understand the needs of EU residents, and they will have the relevant legal provisions which enable them to continue to offer accounts to EU residents after end of the year.

Once you have managed to open an account with them, you can use the Current Account Switch Service to transfer your Lloyds account over to Ulster. The switch will take 7 days, so even if opening takes a month, you have oodles of time to get this done before end of the year.


Please ignore any suggestions for Revolut. They are not a bank and your deposits with them are not protected.

London7766551

colsten said:

Please ignore any suggestions for Revolut. They are not a bank and your deposits with them are not protected.

Revolut are a valid option as long as you understand the risk. Of course never say never in today's world, but is is extremely unlikely anything will happen to Revolut. 

colsten

London7766551 said:

Have you considered getting your British pension transferred to your new home country? 

It is impossible to transfer a state pension to another country.

It is almost certainly a terrible idea to transfer a works- or private pension to another country, as the only winners in this are usually the sharks selling this idea. Because there are so many sharks, most transfers of such pensions are now illegal, anyway.

London7766551

colsten said:

London7766551 said:

Have you considered getting your British pension transferred to your new home country? 

It is impossible to transfer a state pension to another country.

It is almost certainly a terrible idea to transfer a works- or private pension to another country, as the only winners in this are usually the sharks selling this idea. Because there are so many sharks, most transfers of such pensions are now illegal, anyway.

Forgive me I remember reading in an EU document regarding some kind if pension right for EU nationals in the UK or vice versa. In that case, looking at the UK gov site, it claims a state pension can be paid into a non UK bank account.

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad

Bank accounts your pension can be paid into
Your State Pension can be paid into:

• a bank in the country you’re living in

• a bank or building society in the UK

You can use:

• an account in your name

• a joint account

• someone else’s account - if you have their permission and keep to the terms and conditions of the account

You’ll need the international bank account number (IBAN) and bank identification code (BIC) numbers if you have an overseas account.
You’ll be paid in local currency - the amount you get may change due to exchange rates.

colsten

Getting your pension paid regularly to wherever you live is no problem. That is not the same as transferring a pension to the country in which you live. The pension fund and/or the responsibility to pay you regularly rests with the UK pension provider  / with the DWP.

Having your UK pension(s) paid to a non-UK account is usually a terrible idea, too, as this would be done using bank exchange rates and charges. You can do this significantly cheaper if you arrange the transfer yourself, through - for example - Starling Bank.

lr1277

Sorry to go slightly off topic but....
For DorisMC, I am not sure it is a good idea to transfer the pension to the Netherlands without doing some checking first.
I think if the pensioner is receiving their money outside the UK, then when the pension is increased in the UK, that increase is not necessarily passed onto pensioners receiving their pension outside the UK. Whilst the UK was in the EU, that rule didn’t apply, but now... 
Worth checking.