I am finding setting up a UK bank account to be one of the most humiliating and frustrating procedures that I've ever gone through. I've always thought that the banks are interested in getting new customers - even these, who are not likely to have billion-dollar turnover very soon. This is how it worked for me in five different countries on three continents...

My shouting at HSBC did not change much - but I have never been very good at shouting. And I have just came back from NatWest, where I attempted to open a Step account. Yesterday they gave me the forms and told me to came back the next day with my passport, and today they told me that the letter from the University is not addressed directly to them, so I should come back when I get a new one...

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......

Hi all,

Do you have any clues if I a new European PhD student, with full funding guaranteed for three years and all the documents confirming identity, student status, funding, etc., but with no UK credit history, might have a chance of opening either a student account or a free current account in any British bank? What I need is a debit card and an access to a savings account, and I don't want to pay a maintenance fee for extras I won't use...

At HSBC, NatWest and Barclays they offered me either a basic account (with a cash card) or an account with a maintenance fee. At Abbey and The Royal Bank of Scotland they promised to open me a Student Account, but when I came for the appointments with all the documents they requested, these were turning out to be just the promises... Finally, I opened a free basic account (with a cash card) at HSBC - I needed my stipend to be deposited somewhere. However, they wouldn't even open me a savings account that would go with it...

I am finding opening a bank account here immensely frustrating - it has taken me so much time already...