Help! Hit a roadblock transferring money UK -> Japan

[SZQ]

Hi,

So here's my situation/timeline,

• I have share dealing account in the UK, opened over 10 years ago, with around GBP 20K sitting in the balance doing nothing (not invested). I sold the original shares a while ago after I moved to Japan because I thought as I non UK resident I'm not technically allowed to use the service (tiny amount of profit ).
• They recently introduced an annual fee from April to keep the account open so I want to transfer the funds to Japan, also because I got my PR status approved recently so I am sure I want to settle here and buy a property
• I no longer have any UK bank accounts.
• I opened a Wise account with a virtual GBP account (after reading the advice on these forums, thanks )
• I phoned the UK share dealing company (Halifax Share Dealing) to transfer the funds to Wise account, no problem
• Got an email saying there was a problem and to phone them back. They tell me that because Wise is a prepaid/virtual bank they cannot transfer the funds there (they actually sent it already but did a recall). The guy on thephone was very kind and tried to brainstorm with his team for ways to get me the money. They cannot send to a family member and they don't have the ability to make international bank transfers. All they can do is either send me a cheque (which I believe is useless in Japan) or send the money to a real UK bank account in my name.
• They kindly credited my account with the upcoming annual fee just incase I cannot get this sorted out by April

So I'm kind of stuck now. I know this is totally my own fault for not planning ahead and thinking, but it is what it is.
I don't think I can open a real UK account unless I am resident there and I don't have any plans to travel to the UK anytime soon.

Any creative ideas how to get this cash into Japan? There's no urgency, just wanted to get it sorted out.

Thanks!

[imaginatorium]

This it totally not your fault - how can any normal person be expected to assume that everyone else is an idiot. But I think it is always a good idea to leave bank accounts and similar open with a small amount in, "just in case". Over the 30+ years since we moved to Japan, organising money has become harder and harder, and in particular it has become essentially impossible to open an account remotely, which is why Wise is such a help.

Anyway, what to do? I don't know... once you have exhausted the rational methods, there is a vast array of irrational possibilities, and the problem is that each will take time, and probably cost money to investigate. They (call them "the enemy" for convenience) are being cooperative, but claim they "can't" send the money, e.g. to your Wise account. Explain you need to show this to your lawyer, and demand a full and proper statement from their lawyer of why they cannot do this. (At least this would cost them money, not you.)

If you have close family in England, you could get one of them to ask your local solicitor for advice (there should be some sort of "initial interview", 20 minutes of general advice for a very reasonable fee). Possibilities I can think of are setting up a trust account in your name as beneficiary, with your family as executors. Or perhaps you could sue them for the amount through the county court, for minimal fees, demanding the money plus costs, and ask the court to pay to your family or to your Wise account. Or you write a letter to the CEO of Halifax voicing your total dissatisfaction with being unable to withdraw your funds. (Someone else suggested that here.)

Let us know how you get on...

[Tkydon]

Maybe the only way would be to take a cheque and deposit it to a Gaika account. There will be a clearing fee, but you'll get your money.

For instance, these are the clearance fees for Prestia

https://www.smbctb.co.jp/en/service/fee ... category_1

[Beaglehound]

Maybe worth checking out NS and I. I think it is possible, though no doubt burdensome, to open an account as a non-resident.

[adamu]

Tricky one.

I think it might be worth making some noise about the fact they won't transfer to Wise/internationally. That seems to be their policy rather than a legal reason?

You should make a formal complaint. Then suddenly people with more powerful buttons to press than your customer service representative will be involved. And don't let them fob you off - keep replying.

If that doesn't work, maybe getting the financial ombudsman involved would work.

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

[SZQ]

This it totally not your fault - how can any normal person be expected to assume that everyone else is an idiot. But I think it is always a good idea to leave bank accounts and similar open with a small amount in, "just in case".
...
They (call them "the enemy" for convenience) are being cooperative, but claim they "can't" send the money, e.g. to your Wise account.
...
Let us know how you get on...

Thank you. Appreciate your kind words and advice. Yeah, in hindsight I should have kept one bank account open

They obviously can send it to Wise because they did actually transfer the money. I got an email from Wise today saying,

"We’re getting in touch regarding a payment which will be credited to your GBP balance **** on the 21st of March 2022 in the amount of ***GBP.
The sender of the funds recalled the money. Following BACS payment procedures we have to return it to the sender.
At this point we have booked the amount on your balance and will return it."

So I guess it's not that they technically cannot but either UK regulations or self-imposed internal regulations.

I will reply here with any updates.

[SZQ]

Maybe the only way would be to take a cheque and deposit it to a Gaika account. There will be a clearing fee, but you'll get your money.

For instance, these are the clearance fees for Prestia

https://www.smbctb.co.jp/en/service/fee ... category_1

Thank you! I didn't know about that. I will definitely check that out. If the fees aren't too high then this maybe the easiest way to go.

I bank with Shinsei and they wouldn't accept a cheque the last time tried.

[SZQ]

Maybe worth checking out NS and I. I think it is possible, though no doubt burdensome, to open an account as a non-resident.

Interesting... I do hold a small amount of Premium Bonds with them so maybe that's a possibilty.

Thanks

[SZQ]

Tricky one.

I think it might be worth making some noise about the fact they won't transfer to Wise/internationally. That seems to be their policy rather than a legal reason?

You should make a formal complaint. Then suddenly people with more powerful buttons to press than your customer service representative will be involved. And don't let them fob you off - keep replying.

If that doesn't work, maybe getting the financial ombudsman involved would work.

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/

Thanks for the suggestions. As I posted in an earlier reply, that does seem to be their own policy. Frustrating because the money was actually on the way. The guy I spoke to initially to do the transfer didn't think it was a problem (I told him it was a Wise account) and processed it without issue.

I am not familiar with this sort of thing but I was surprised that they don't offer an option to send the money to an international bank account in my name. They seem happy to send a cheque abroad.

Anway, I appreciate everyone's help. I feel better knowing that there are options I can try. Cheers!

[SZQ]

A quick update.

Even though I closed my bank accounts with Halifax, the online login still worked so I tried to open a new current account online. The process asked about my residency, tax residency etc., and I didn't want to make trouble for myself so I updated those details truthfully. Current account was rejected but they gave me a Basic Account instead. Not entirely sure what the difference is but there are no fees for opening it and it allows international transfers so that's one problem solved.

The funds that Halifax Share Dealing transferred to Wise and then recalled was sent back yesterday. However, my Halifax Share Dealing account has disappeared, seemingly closed as requested during the original transfer, so I'm not entirely sure where the money is. I tried to call them but was on hold for 30 minutes so I gave up

Will try again tomorrow. At least I have a bank account in the UK now.