Informing Your Bank When Abroad

[Abacist]

I have just tried to do this via internet banking. Last year I don't remember having a problem.

This year both HSBC and Lloyds require you to enter each country you will be visiting and the specific dates in each country and no overlapping dates are allowed. The Lloyds banking site helpfully suggests that you can phone and give the staff details so I gave this a try.

Oh dear! What a useless system that does not cater for us wanderlusts at all!

Hello! I am going to Europe in my MoHo and will be visiting the following countries and our departure dates are x and return dates are y.

I'm sorry Sir but the system requires me to enter the arrival and departure dates for each country.

But that's not what MoHoming is all about! I have a return Channel Tunnel booking but have no idea where I'll be at any given time.

Then you will need to telephone us or use internet banking whilst abroad to let us know your whereabouts!

Gave up! Useless!

We will be taking cash and FX card and Halifax credit card for primary use. Lloyds and HSBC were only for emergencies anyway. I wonder how I will get on with Halifax and FX? I will advise in due course!

 

[DBK]

Barclays don't seem to care where I am, never had a problem with them.

 

[32143]

We have Halifax Credit card no problems, used for last 3 months in Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia.
We take Lloyds as our spare emergency and went into branch last year and told them would be away as you say moving around they added a note to our records, things might have changed since then, as it was simple at time. We haven't actually ever used Lloyds when abroad, not needed to, only used in Uk after setting off and on return to Uk with no problems up to now.
You should be fine with Halifax. Lloyds sounds a real pain now, good luck.
Ps forget to say we also went into a Halifax branch to inform them we travel extensively, we don't bank with them only the credit card and no problems, maybe visiting a branch is better than the phone?

Lin

 

[Abacist]

Halifax is part of Lloyds so the same system applies to the Halifax Clarity Credit Card as far as internet banking records for holidays are concerned.

There doesn't seem to be a need to notify FairFX.

 

[CWH]

Remember guys this is about YOUR security and so that they can be alerted if it appears that somebody's using YOUR money fraudulently!
(though I agree the one-size-fits-all system is rubbish)

 

[Abacist]

I'll try a branch visit for each of them before we go!

 

[Snowbird]

I have never informed my bank when travelling abroad even for periods up to 8 months at a time. I have never had a problem yet, but I know someone who did inform there bank and the damned fools stopped his debit card whilst he was in Turkey.

 

[32143]

Good luck hopefully face to face you will have more luck

 

[funflair]

When we away for two Months Jen told Barclaycard and they didn't care she told HSBC that we were going to France Spain and Belgium in any order and when I did an online update to Campercontact app which cost a couple of £ I got a phone call asking if it was genuine.

Can't complain about that really, she did tell them face to face in the branch.

She was a bit paranoid this year after having our card used fraudulently the last twice we have been abroad.

Martin

 

[Deleted member 29692]

Never informed them, never had any problems.

 

[sedge]

Years ago when banking with Lloyds we went to Oz to visit family. Pete used his card to buy a hat in Brisbane in the morning then in the afternoon we tried to get some cash out for my niece's wedding present - a lot cheaper to do it that way than a Bank transfer. Plus we weren't sure, to be honest, what the normal expected spend would be - didn't need to shock them with our generosity or embarrass them with our meanness - we were after all saving hotel costs since we were resident in one of her spare bedrooms at the time!

Anyway the card was stopped and so courtesy of niece's landline, I later had to phone the Bank. I had, I explained, phoned them last week to say we were going to Oz so what was the problem? It was after all a joint account.

Well of course I am not allowed to tell them about both of us. Only me. So I had to go and get him and he had to go through his security questions, before they would take the temporary stop off his card.

 

[gus-lopez]

I was told I had to inform both hsbc & Lloygs back in 2012. Otherwise it meant the card could be stopped when being used in the UK. After I did they then informed me that I might STILL have the card declined when being used & would have to contact them from the check -out.!!!!!

I made official complaints on the grounds that giving them dates of when I would be using cards in the UK was tantamount to notifying the burglars with a sign outside as they could not guarantee 100% that they did not have someone working for them that was possibly passing on info.
Additionally providing them with details of when the house would be empty would invalidate any household insurance.

That went down like a lead brick. they got rather funny about it Took from February to november for the complaints to be sorted.
One of my main complaints was that the idea of a credit card , & how it worked when first out, was that you just handed it over & signed , anywhere where you were in the world.
My complaint was that instead of cracking down on the scum & low-lifes abusing/hacking scamming the systems they were placing the onus on the legal & law abiding to do th security work for them-
By all accounts it is credit cards as since then I've used my debit cards for cash&payments all over & in the UK without once having a problem.

Remember guys this is about YOUR security and so that they can be alerted if it appears that somebody's using YOUR money fraudulently!
(though I agree the one-size-fits-all system is rubbish)

That's what they want to convince you it is for & get you to do the security work rather than them cracking down on the scum & low-lifes as & when they track them down.

 

[BobtheBass]

I had to notify Halifax on line for my Clarity card to work in France. I didn't last time and it was stopped, so I complained and was told that although I might not have been told to do this when I first got the card (which was only for use abroad and I explained this to Halifax in great detail) everyone should know that to use a credit card abroad you have to tell the bank where and when you are going.

 

[sedge]

We didn't have a credit card, it was debit cards.

 

[Cal54]

I use Nationwide for both debit and credit card and notified them of my trip to Europe via my internet banking. No problems experienced.

 

[bellabee]

I entered the same dates, with no problem, for both Spain and Portugal on my HSBC on-line banking.

 

[JockandRita]

I use Nationwide for both debit and credit card and notified them of my trip to Europe via my internet banking. No problems experienced.

Same here Carol, and we do the same with our Norwich & Peterborough BS accounts (now part of the Yorkshire BS)

Cheers,

Jock.

 

[Puddleduck]

I go into our local branch and the manager sorts it all out - even when I am not sure as to dates

 

[magicsurfbus]

Santander 123 account:

OK to ring them and say which countries you'll be in without giving a date for each country, as long as you state when you go abroad and return to UK
Santander Zero credit card - no currency exchange or service charges when used in Europe
Charge-free cash withdrawals from Santander cashpoints in Spain (not sure about elsewhere)
3% gross interest on your current account balance (max £20,000), plus cashback on certain DDs

A couple can own three 123 accounts between them, two singles and a joint, as long as certain conditions are met - the net interest rates are better than most savings accounts.

 

[Candapack]

We just take a gold ingot, shave bits off as required.
Unfortunately, wife has now got an electric bike, the battery plus the ingot takes us over the 3,500kg.
Not sure what we'll do now.

 

[Lenny HB]

Our main account is with Lloyds used to use it abroad never told them, never had a problem.
Been using Nationwide DC & CC cards for a few years now never told them even when we went to India for a month, no problems.

Only one ever had problems with has been Tesco CC, a couple of years ago had a problem made a purchase in Newcastle a few hours later after flying back home tried to make another purchase and card machine came up with "please contact you card provider" their computer had flagged it as possible fraudulent transaction as use of of card was in location a few hundred miles apart within a few hours.
Also had a problem when made a purchase in UK, my eBay monthly fees went through on the card and I made a purchase in France all in a 3 hour period.

 

[GWAYGWAY]

I had mine stopped when I went to London, because at the show we visited I bought a German infra-red distance measure, the card payment went through to Frankfurt where the company was based and the bank stopped the card as I could not be in London and Frankfurt within an hour. No problem really except I Filled the car on the way out and the card was refused. leaving me in a difficult position with the Garage phoning the police for card fraud accusation against me. luckily the wife had some cash as well so we could pay it off. Very awkward though as they treat everybody as a lowlife in London, maybe most are.

 

[Cobweb]

We use Fair FX euro card and load it up when the rate is good . We also have a Nationwide debit card as back up . No need to inform bank so far .

 

[sciac2001]

Smile internet bank for us. No hassle, no need to inform.
Natwest is however a nightmare. Went into bank to inform them of our extended tour throughout Europe. Their system could only cope with 3 months away and blew up when we said that we would probably visit more than 5 countries.
Switching all accounts now to Smile!