How to open account with foreign account number from UK - Revolut maybe???

Yorkie006

@Daliah Does the Fineco account come with an account number in local format (in the same format as if it was an account run by a Czech bank)? If not, it won't work. 
They can't send it to a non-Czech account because it's against the company rules. They only allow transfer to a Czech account or withdrawal in cash at a bank branch (the bank in question does not operate in the UK). I've been in contact with them about it several times and there are no other options. It's either cash (so I'd have to travel to Czech Rep. in person) or Czech bank account in my name. It's frustrating. 
I can request the funds online by filling in a form to transfer the money, but the account number must be of a Czech account. I tried to put my UK acc. number, but it got rejected. I tried again with IBAN and that didn't go through either. It has to be a domestic Czech acc. number.

ivormonee

Could the company convert it to GBP and then transfer that to you to your UK account?

I thought IBANs were accepted worldwide.

Yorkie006

ivormonee said:

Could the company convert it to GBP and then transfer that to you to your UK account?

I thought IBANs were accepted worldwide.

No, they only do domestic transfers. 
IBAN works worldwide, but this company's payment system (or whatever they use) only recognises Czech account numbers. I assume they don't deal with people who don't have Czech accounts very often so have no system in place. Or maybe they don't want the hassle and expect the person receiving the money to jump through all the hoops... I really don't know. I've been trying to get the money since July and I'm no closer to it than I was back then.

Daliah

You could get considerably closer if you applied for a Fineco account.

Yorkie006

Daliah said:

You could get considerably closer if you applied for a Fineco account.

Does that account have a Czech account number in domestic format? I couldn't find that info anywhere. 
To be fair it seems a bit daunting and I don't really understand how they work so don't want to sign up to something I may regret later for the sake of a few hundred quid that may not work in the end. Also, do they do a credit check?

Yorkie006

Daliah said:

You could get considerably closer if you applied for a Fineco account.

Managed to get through Fineco customer service - they do not issue Czech acc. numbers, only IBAN and swift, so no use for what I need.

ivormonee

You'd think that this would not be a problem that's insurmountable, but it seems to be challenging us all to find a solution.

It seems whoever owes you this sum of money has an account with a Czech bank and, for some reason that's not clear, they can't do a payment to a non-Czech account. That in itself seems odd. If I want to pay someone in Czechnia I could so so from a UK GBP account. The currency would be converted. I could opt to pay the fees for the transfer if needed. The money would arrive at the receiving bank in Czech Koruna. Quite why it can't be done the other way round seems a bit strange.

Could they not send you a cheque (in Koruna if not in GBP)? You would then be able to pay that into any account in the UK subject to the cost of currency conversion.

Yorkie006

ivormonee said:

You'd think that this would not be a problem that's insurmountable, but it seems to be challenging us all to find a solution.

It seems whoever owes you this sum of money has an account with a Czech bank and, for some reason that's not clear, they can't do a payment to a non-Czech account. That in itself seems odd. If I want to pay someone in Czechnia I could so so from a UK GBP account. The currency would be converted. I could opt to pay the fees for the transfer if needed. The money would arrive at the receiving bank in Czech Koruna. Quite why it can't be done the other way round seems a bit strange.

Could they not send you a cheque (in Koruna if not in GBP)? You would then be able to pay that into any account in the UK subject to the cost of currency conversion.

The trouble here is that I'm dealing with a company and not a private person. I was owed money by someone and as it turned out, that person owed money to lots of other people. It all ended up in court in Czech Republic and the debt has been eventually recovered by a debt collection firm there. The money is currently with them and they are supposed to pass the money onto the people who are owed. But for some reason, their company policy/T&C only allow them to transfer the money to a Czech bank acc. or the person owed can collected it in cash in person from their bank (that only has branches in Czech rep.).
They do not offer any other options of getting the money. I've been trying for months and not getting anywhere.
If I have to travel to Czech rep. to get the money, the cost of flight, travel to/from airport, hotel etc is going to swallow up almost 80% of the amount I'm owed, plus I'd need to use up at least 1 day of my annual leave as well.
That's why I'm trying to get an account with a Czech acc. number so I don't have to go through all this. I really don't see why I should spend a fairly large amount of money/time and travel half way across Europe in order to get back the money that is rightfully mine. The whole situation is a mess and the company is not flexible in the slightest, they are adamant that there is no other way of me getting the money apart from collection in person or transfer to a Czech acc. in my name. I was hoping someone on this forum would know a work around.
I looked into opening an acc. with one of the Czech banks, they all require things like a Czech national ID card, another Czech acc. in my name to make the initial deposit, Czech postal address or a Czech mobile phone number. I have not been able to find a bank that would open an account without at least one of these (I tried a few of the big 'traditional' banks as well as several newer online only ones and they're all the same). They can open an account to people without all those things, but only if applied in person in branch, so not helpful in my case.

ivormonee

The debt recovery agency you are dealing with seem to lack understanding of your circumstances and appear to be very inflexible as a result. One would have thought that they would try and help you by paying over to you the money that is rightfully yours. Instead they seem to be unwilling or unable to do this. I can sense how much despair and inconvenience this would cause.

It sounds like it's not the debt agency's bank that is the obstacle but rather the company themselves. Their bank I feel confident would do a transfer in the usual, worldwide accepted way, of just using the IBAN, which all accounts have, if the company requested it. But the company is not putting through the transfer because of their "T&Cs" which clearly result in you not being paid. It seems like you're hitting your head against a brick wall.

I would have suggested explain your situation to them, provide ID to prove who you are, provide a statement in your name showing your bank details and so on, but clearly you've already said you've tried everything, so you will have done all this and more besides.

So, to recap, they won't transfer the money they owe you, even if you go through KYC/ AML with them, they won't send you a cheque to your address (that I assume they have and that it corresponds with your current address), and their bank has no branches in the UK. I assume you've spoken to their bank as well, explained the situation, and presumably they haven't been able to offer any possible solution either.

What explanation have they given as to why they won't pay you your own money? In other words, why are they insisting that they only pay into a Czech account, with Czech account details, rather than do what's globally accepted practice of being able to make any payment internationally? It can't be for their protection, as you would provide all your ID confirmation etc., and it couldn't be because they might incur fees for the transfer, as I am sure you would be happy to pay those to get your payment. So what have they said is their problem? Do their T&Cs explain why they can't or won't do a transfer to a non-Czech account?

 

Yorkie006

@ivormonee Yes, you got that right. The bank is not the problem, the company is.
For some reason they insist on a transfer to a Czech account only or cash withdrawal. When I questioned it, all I got was that it was their company policy and that's the way they've always done it. All excuses really as far as I can tell. They just don't seem to be interested in doing anything that is a little big out of the ordinary. They seem to have the mentality of 'if you want your money, you do as we tell you'. I've given up on trying to talk some sense into them. I thought it would be easier to open an acc. with the 'correct' Czech acc. number but having to luck with that either...