Transfering funds back from USA to UK

[Darren&Laura 3]

When I moved here I transfered most of my money from the UK to the USA using First Direct who were superb and offered me a commercial rate on par with xe.com to transfer my money over here with no charges other than a minimal cut from the middle rate of 0.01%.

However, I was banking upon the sale of my car in the UK to pay off a bank loan I have several payments left to make on that I took out in 2004. Unfortunately, the car needed a lot of work doing on it that I've had done and got a friend to sell it for me, but I am going to have a shortfall in my UK account to finish paying off the loan and need to transfer some money back to the UK from the USA to cover the monthly payments.

Can anyone recommend the best way to do this, without incurring excessive fees and ensuring I get the best possible exchange rate? I've seen the ads on TV for xoom.com, are they any good?

Thanks for helping.

Darren

[Sal and Jay 2]

When I moved here I transfered most of my money from the UK to the USA using First Direct who were superb and offered me a commercial rate on par with xe.com to transfer my money over here with no charges other than a minimal cut from the middle rate of 0.01%.

However, I was banking upon the sale of my car in the UK to pay off a bank loan I have several payments left to make on that I took out in 2004. Unfortunately, the car needed a lot of work doing on it that I've had done and got a friend to sell it for me, but I am going to have a shortfall in my UK account to finish paying off the loan and need to transfer some money back to the UK from the USA to cover the monthly payments.

Can anyone recommend the best way to do this, without incurring excessive fees and ensuring I get the best possible exchange rate? I've seen the ads on TV for xoom.com, are they any good?

Thanks for helping.

Darren

Darren

I am transferring funds from the uk to usa and did it though a bank transfer which only cost 25 pounds, I would enquire at your american bank and see what they charge for a wire transfer.

[aidan80 9]

This might sound stupid but.. setup two paypal accounts, attach one to each bank. Transfer the cash that way and list it as a "service" and there shouldn't be much of a charge moving it around!

Just an idea?.. that's what I'd do before throwing my money away on a greedy bank!

[NickyMcMillan 0]

This might sound stupid but.. setup two paypal accounts, attach one to each bank. Transfer the cash that way and list it as a "service" and there shouldn't be much of a charge moving it around!

Just an idea?.. that's what I'd do before throwing my money away on a greedy bank!

I would not recommend paypal for this. That's what I did, paypal withheld my money for two weeks. They finally returned my money to the original bank account and are now threatening to call in debt collectors for unpaid transaction fees ($12). Even though they did not provide any service.

So yeah avoid paypal. Good for small transactions only.

[aidan80 9]

This might sound stupid but.. setup two paypal accounts, attach one to each bank. Transfer the cash that way and list it as a "service" and there shouldn't be much of a charge moving it around!

Just an idea?.. that's what I'd do before throwing my money away on a greedy bank!

I would not recommend paypal for this. That's what I did, paypal withheld my money for two weeks. They finally returned my money to the original bank account and are now threatening to call in debt collectors for unpaid transaction fees ($12). Even though they did not provide any service.

So yeah avoid paypal. Good for small transactions only.

I've heard some horror stories.. but what happened why would they hold your money? Where you trying to send 1000's in one go? I'm assuming the original poster is wanting to send maybe a few 100 a few times to cover some payments? Worst came to worst pay the evil bank and have them transfer the cash.

[Completely 3]

When I moved here I transfered most of my money from the UK to the USA using First Direct who were superb and offered me a commercial rate on par with xe.com to transfer my money over here with no charges other than a minimal cut from the middle rate of 0.01%.

However, I was banking upon the sale of my car in the UK to pay off a bank loan I have several payments left to make on that I took out in 2004. Unfortunately, the car needed a lot of work doing on it that I've had done and got a friend to sell it for me, but I am going to have a shortfall in my UK account to finish paying off the loan and need to transfer some money back to the UK from the USA to cover the monthly payments.

Can anyone recommend the best way to do this, without incurring excessive fees and ensuring I get the best possible exchange rate? I've seen the ads on TV for xoom.com, are they any good?

Thanks for helping.

Darren

Ask your bank if they have SWIFT account and if they do SWIFT TRANSFER.. this is more cheaper and it is international. I have used this when I transferred large transaction to our bank in my country to pay for our house.. They bank charged me only 4$.

http://www.swift.com/

Most of the bank in the US uses routing number.. but if your bank has SWIFT CODE as well this will be much better.

Edited September 30, 2008 by Completely

[NickyMcMillan 0]

I've heard some horror stories.. but what happened why would they hold your money? Where you trying to send 1000's in one go? I'm assuming the original poster is wanting to send maybe a few 100 a few times to cover some payments? Worst came to worst pay the evil bank and have them transfer the cash.

I was only sending $1k, which was the money I left aside for AOS. They found it "very suspicious" to quote one of the paypal fraud prevention guys. I faxed them copies of my K1/passport to prove I have legitimately moved to the US plus other bits & pieces. They still wasn't happy because I didn't have a social security number. Asking me how did I get a bank account without one...

I was made to feel like a criminal. In the end I threatened action, so they reversed the transaction. So I got my money a different way from my UK bank account. Now paypal are telling me that they are sending debt collectors my way for $12 in exchange fees I refuse to pay.

[Dan J 277]

When I moved here I transfered most of my money from the UK to the USA using First Direct who were superb and offered me a commercial rate on par with xe.com to transfer my money over here with no charges other than a minimal cut from the middle rate of 0.01%.

However, I was banking upon the sale of my car in the UK to pay off a bank loan I have several payments left to make on that I took out in 2004. Unfortunately, the car needed a lot of work doing on it that I've had done and got a friend to sell it for me, but I am going to have a shortfall in my UK account to finish paying off the loan and need to transfer some money back to the UK from the USA to cover the monthly payments.

Can anyone recommend the best way to do this, without incurring excessive fees and ensuring I get the best possible exchange rate? I've seen the ads on TV for xoom.com, are they any good?

Thanks for helping.

Darren

Depends how much you are transferring. Most services charge some kind of fee, usually 1-3% and are often limited to sending $500-1000 in a month. If you are transferring enough that the money transfer fee will be higher than a wire transfer fee, then use a wire transfer.

[aidan80 9]

I've heard some horror stories.. but what happened why would they hold your money? Where you trying to send 1000's in one go? I'm assuming the original poster is wanting to send maybe a few 100 a few times to cover some payments? Worst came to worst pay the evil bank and have them transfer the cash.

I was only sending $1k, which was the money I left aside for AOS. They found it "very suspicious" to quote one of the paypal fraud prevention guys. I faxed them copies of my K1/passport to prove I have legitimately moved to the US plus other bits & pieces. They still wasn't happy because I didn't have a social security number. Asking me how did I get a bank account without one...

I was made to feel like a criminal. In the end I threatened action, so they reversed the transaction. So I got my money a different way from my UK bank account. Now paypal are telling me that they are sending debt collectors my way for $12 in exchange fees I refuse to pay.

Sorry to hear about that.. what w@nkers!.. sometimes if these companies had brains they'd be dangerous! I'm sure them debt collectors are now demanding god knows how many times more than the $12!