How to get a UK bank account

 5 July 2013

If ads really showed the truth: "You, too, could have your very own UK bank account in only 14 painstakingly slow steps!"

I need a bank account before I can get paid, so this is high on my list of priorities when it comes to getting settled in here. The steps should be 1) go to the bank with documentation and 2) sign up for account. However, it certainly has taken a lot more than that for me and this is AFTER they've improved the process. There are numerous horror stories about the catch 22 that used to be in place: you couldn't get an account until you had utility bills in your name and you couldn't typically get a flat until you had a bank account. This particular problem has been fixed, but it still hasn't been a simple process. As far as I can tell, here are the steps to getting a UK bank account.

Obviously, you first need to obtain a job in the UK and get a visa. Once you are in the UK, you need to:

1. Get a letter from your employer that states that you have a job, specifies how much you make, provides your complete name and your current address.
2. Take a copy of this letter to the bank where you wish to open an account.
3. Have them verify that you have all the proper paperwork in order and then book you an appointment to open the account (several days in the future).
4. Show up for the appointment with paperwork and passport.
5. Have the bank personnel explain that you need to have the letter addressed to the bank (instead of "To whom it may concern") and that it must be an original (not the scan of the original which was sent to me by the university and then printed out). This is despite the fact that they verified my letter 3 days prior to this appointment.
6. Schedule another appointment for several days in the future.
7. Walk to the other part of campus in order to pick up an original, signed copy of the letter. See the map below for an idea of just how far apart the pieces of campus are from each other.
8. Get information about the type of accounts (see * below) - some come with interesting perks that have nothing to do with banking...
9. Go back to the bank for the third time.
10. Wait for ~60 minutes while they critically scan every document, make numerous photocopies, and step out to ask the manager numerous questions. 
11. Register for the account and deposit money (no change fees!). 
12. Receive debit card in the mail next week.
13. Celebrate bank account with a pint at the pub :)
14. (Optional) Go back in three months (after you have a few months of credit history) and apply for a credit card so you can start building more credit in the UK. 

* I discovered that there is a "credit-free" account for free but that most bank accounts here have a £10/month fee if you want to build credit. Building credit is necessary because my more than a decade of great credit history in the US apparently doesn't count for anything, despite the fact that they have the same credit company (Experian) in both places. I guess when you move abroad, you become a different person and you might just stop paying your bills on time. This is also interesting considering that you have to show proof of financial ability to support yourself in order to get a UK visa in the first place. We're going to get this account now, but we're shopping around and we can always move it around once it's set up.

The other interesting thing about these accounts that have fees is that they come with "perks" including:

• Insurance for your mobile phone for both joint account holders
• European travel insurance (medical, trip, etc.) for both joint account holders
• Identity theft insurance
• Three free movie rentals each month and 2 hours of streaming video
• 5 free song downloads per month

I'm still not sure what any of this has to do with having an account at a bank, but it seems to be universal. The banks issue the equivalent of renter's insurance (content insurance) as well as the travel insurance, so I'm guessing they lump these services. However, the movie and song downloads are still baffling...

The star is the location of my building. The other part of campus is called King's Buildings
and is located at the bottom of this part of the map. It is approximately 2 miles from
one to the other. You can see Edinburgh Castle (top left corner) and Arthur's Seat (park
in the top right) for landmarks.