American girlfriend willing to settle in the UK
in [Europe]
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From: d4g4h4 on 29 May 2007 07:47 The Reid <dontuse(a)fellwalk.co.uk> wrote: > On Tue, 29 May 2007 12:28:42 +0100, d4g4h4(a)yahoo.co.uk (David Horne, > _the_ chancellor (*)) wrote: > > >> but I would always make sure I have cash before I go, theres no > >> guarantee CCs will be usable for various reasons. > > > >This argument has come up with regard to euros. I always have euros > >(around 50 euro or so) so it's not something I worry about. > > so do I, but I would "worry" about arriving without any. I'd alway have pounds, so worse case scenario would change some- not a great rate, but will work in an emergency. I'm off to Latvia again in a couple of weeks, and I don't have any currency- and just plan on using the ATM- though I do remember there was a charge of about �1 for using the machine near the arrivals area! :( > >ATM's are > >prevalent in euro-land- there's not a single place I can think of > >arriving at where I couldn't find a working ATM. > > youre cards may be stolen or invalidated or you may need cash quickly. I carry back-up cards. > >How much do you reckon you pay in foreign currency charges a year? > > no idea. How much do debit and CCs effectivly charge for transactions? 3% is not unusual, and then they give a very unfavourable exchange rate- often 2% out. If you spend �1000 in Spain in a year, you could easily be paying �50 for the privilege- I'd enquire from your bank about the charges, or have a look at your statements. -- (*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website "Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient." Pres. Carter on Pres. Blair- May, 2007
From: The Reid on 29 May 2007 07:51 On Tue, 29 May 2007 12:47:37 +0100, d4g4h4(a)yahoo.co.uk (David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)) wrote: >> so do I, but I would "worry" about arriving without any. > >I'd alway have pounds, so worse case scenario would change some- not a >great rate, but will work in an emergency. I'm off to Latvia again in a >couple of weeks, and I don't have any currency- and just plan on using >the ATM- though I do remember there was a charge of about �1 for using >the machine near the arrivals area! :( I just prefer to make sure I have some cash. >> >ATM's are >> >prevalent in euro-land- there's not a single place I can think of >> >arriving at where I couldn't find a working ATM. >> >> youre cards may be stolen or invalidated or you may need cash quickly. > >I carry back-up cards. they may be stolen or invalidated >> >How much do you reckon you pay in foreign currency charges a year? >> >> no idea. How much do debit and CCs effectivly charge for transactions? > >3% is not unusual, and then they give a very unfavourable exchange rate- >often 2% out. If you spend �1000 in Spain in a year, we spend up to about �3000 at a guess. >you could easily be >paying �50 for the privilege- I'd enquire from your bank about the >charges, or have a look at your statements. so what should we do instead of cards? -- Mike Reid Cutty Sark appeal"http://www.cuttysark.org.uk" email me at "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk"
From: The Reid on 29 May 2007 07:53 On Tue, 29 May 2007 12:51:17 +0100, The Reid <dontuse(a)fellwalk.co.uk> wrote: >>I carry back-up cards. > >they may be stolen or invalidated what would you do if banditos stole all your stuff and left you standing naked at the airport? -- Mike Reid Cutty Sark appeal"http://www.cuttysark.org.uk" email me at "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk"
From: William Black on 29 May 2007 07:57 "David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)" <d4g4h4(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message news:1hyvkhv.1dc4iv21nt71hnN%d4g4h4(a)yahoo.co.uk... > William Black <william.black(a)hotmail.co.uk> wrote: > >> "David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)" <d4g4h4(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message >> news:1hyvj1z.11e2laomxl6yxN%d4g4h4(a)yahoo.co.uk... >> >> > Our experience with the UK consulate in NY, and then subsequently with >> > immigration at Liverpool when we applied for ILR was very effecient, >> > and >> > always courteous. >> >> Nice to know, we're setting out for there in the not too distant >> future... > > Is this for ILR? Yes. > You have two different meetings IIRC- one with someone who checks > everything through- then a bit later with the person who will handle the > stamp. It took 2 hours from beginning to end, and we actually had to do > this twice. This was because we weren't prepared for how quickly the NY > consulate would handle the case. As it turned out, we weren't prepared > to move to the UK until three months after the settlement visa had been > approved, which meant that we couldn't make the full two years of > residency prior to getting ILR- so we had to go to apply for a three > month extension. I wasn't delighted about it (as it was �250 a pop), but > at least the experience there was good. We have a five day window to get our application in as we got held up in Bombay, but we've already been told we should be ok. Not cheap now either, they've put the price up to just under a grand and have actually stated that it's a revenue earning measure. > We were complimented on having put all the douments, indexed(!) in a > binder. Something to consider if that's required for your visit. That's interesting. It's a hell of a paperchase if you don't have a job (I'm self employed but don't actually do very much), have paid for your house and don't take out loans... The best one so far has been BT. The Immigration Service list of preferred documents has, at the top, the phone bill. On ringing up BT I was informed that you can't have a phone bill in more than one name these days... Still, getting a National Insurance number has been the most long drawn out and difficult thing so far. Oh how we laughed when there were all those news stories about how easy it was for illegal immigrants to get an NI number... Not. -- William Black I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach Time for tea.
From: d4g4h4 on 29 May 2007 07:57
The Reid <dontuse(a)fellwalk.co.uk> wrote: > On Tue, 29 May 2007 12:47:37 +0100, d4g4h4(a)yahoo.co.uk (David Horne, > _the_ chancellor (*)) wrote: > > >> so do I, but I would "worry" about arriving without any. > > > >I'd alway have pounds, so worse case scenario would change some- not a > >great rate, but will work in an emergency. I'm off to Latvia again in a > >couple of weeks, and I don't have any currency- and just plan on using > >the ATM- though I do remember there was a charge of about �1 for using > >the machine near the arrivals area! :( > > I just prefer to make sure I have some cash. And I always do. Let's get perspective here- we're talking about Euro countries. > >> >ATM's are > >> >prevalent in euro-land- there's not a single place I can think of > >> >arriving at where I couldn't find a working ATM. > >> > >> youre cards may be stolen or invalidated or you may need cash quickly. > > > >I carry back-up cards. > > they may be stolen or invalidated And so might all my cash- what a silly argument. > >> >How much do you reckon you pay in foreign currency charges a year? > >> > >> no idea. How much do debit and CCs effectivly charge for transactions? > > > >3% is not unusual, and then they give a very unfavourable exchange rate- > >often 2% out. If you spend �1000 in Spain in a year, > > we spend up to about �3000 at a guess. It's quite possible that you are paying up to �150 for the privilege of doing so. > >you could easily be > >paying �50 for the privilege- I'd enquire from your bank about the > >charges, or have a look at your statements. > > so what should we do instead of cards? Open a nationwide account for the express purpose of travelling abroad- then fill it up before you go. You will pay a fraction of what you currently do. Regardless, it's your money, you should really get a better idea of the costs here- it's partly because people often don't bother to check how much they're getting fleeced that the banks get away with it. -- (*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website "Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient." Pres. Carter on Pres. Blair- May, 2007 |