How to get a 'letter of good standing' from a UK bank?

A letter of good standing is not necessary. On the other hand, a bank reference and is often asked for if you try to buy something on credit etc. Please note, if somebody asks your bank for a credit reference YOU'LL get charged for it! Tran

You can pay £2 to see your credit record from the 3 credit agencies Experian, Equifax, & Call Credit .

Free 30 day trial here -

Many credit scores take account of the length of time you've held your account, so try to keep it open.

Daytona

I have looked into this some more. Anyone can send a "Status Enquiry" to my bank, signed by me, enclose a tenner, and the bank will respond to it. So I'll get a friend to do this.

A standard form states as follows:

........"PLEASE SUPPLY YOUR OPINIONS AS TO THE MEANS OF THE CUSTOMER ...............REGARDING THE FOLLOWING COMMITMENT

.........PURPOSE (NATURE OF COMMITMENT) ...................."

What I need to do is phrase the question in such a way that the meaning of the bank's answer will be as close as possible to "this guy has always been in good standing".

Under "Nature of Commitment", a car hire company, for example, will fill in "Private Hire Contract (Transportation)".

Could someone please tell me what a bank fills in under "NATURE OF COMMITMENT" when it sends a Status Enquiry to another bank. Then I can fill in exactly the same words, and I'll get what I want.

Thanks,

If someone came to me with such a letter I don't think that I would accept it at face value. I would want to make my own enquiries.

Nice idea... However, when I worked for a UK bank (a good few years ago now), a standard response to a status enquiry about a good customer/customer with no obvious cash-flow problems would read: 'R&T GYF&P' In other words, Respectable & Trustworthy, Good for Your Figures and Purpose. Responses to status enquiries were always stock acronyms/phrases.

Admittedly they could have changed the way they treat these, but I'd be surprised if they were any more forthcoming!

Bank staff would also randomly call back enquirers to check that the enquiries were real...

Yes. No more bank managers any more.

When I got my account at Coutts it turned out that I had been asked a reference from my bank manager... willing given, but then even as a student every minor overdraft had always been conducted in his office over free cigarettes and a lengthly chat about topics of mutual interest.

Shit... I hate the 21st century.

Axel

I agree there's a lot of incompetence and poor customer service in banks but that doesn't mean we want our bankers to waste time.

...snip most of the childish rant.....

"wally"

"d*****ad"

appropriate words those!

Who said you were wasting a banks time? You don't seem very intelligent.

IIRC, your original posting concerned opening a bank account in Ireland, and you were asking about getting a letter from your UK bank for this.

The problem with opening an account in Ireland has nothing to do with your "standing". The bank is obliged to verify that you are who you say you are because of money laundering precautions. I guess money launderers are generally in very good standing.

Incidentally, I think one can get one's credit rating on request, though I have never done this and am not sure who one asks. Does anyone know? I assume the Financial Ombudsman would tell you.

Slightly OT, but the Bank of Scotland seem to offer attractive terms at the moment (in Ireland), presumably while they are starting off. I was offered very good terms for a mortgage (which I didn't take up), though I am not a customer of theirs.

In message , snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.co.uk writes

In your case I would suggest 'the operation of a current account which will run in credit'

What, not even if it's the *cheapest* way to pay? I get 1% cashback and a few weeks free credit. No other payment method can match that.

In message property if they hit upon bad times. Ditto with using a credit card in

'Using a credit card in a supermarket' means that I get a cashback annually as a percentage of what I have spent, which wouldn't happen if I used cash. Also, in the event of something going wrong, I have a contract with the credit card company as well from whom I can see reimbursement. In addition the credit company allows me to spend on the credit card and then not pay the actual bill for about a month, without charge - the net effect of which is that I more or less receive a present of a continuous interest free loan from the credit card company. It also means I don't have to be organised enough to take a sufficient quantity of Bank of England IOUs with me to the supermarket.

In message , " snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net" writes

Pedant Mode :

Actually, they are Promissory Notes, not IOUs.

Aren't IOUs promissory notes?

In message , Ronald Raygun writes

They are not synonyms although one legal writer does describe promissory notes as 'glorified' IOUs.

The crucial difference is that a promissory note is defined in s83 of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882 and their treatment is described in ensuing sections. They are a negotiable instrument, whereas an IOU is not. This is why a BoE note is NOT and IOU because title wouldnt pass to subsequent holders. A promissory note is, by definition, unconditional promise to pay whereas an IOU is merely evidence of a debt and may carry conditions and terms. None the less if the IOU carries or importing 'PROMISE' it may constitute a promissory note.

BoE notes are a special sub set of promissory notes in so far as they can be re-issued and have a statutory standing, i.e. legal tender.

Ha. In other words an IOU is a note on which someone promises someone else to pay them such-and-such an amount, whereas a promissory note is something else altogether.

In message , Ronald Raygun writes

No, an IOU doesnt promise anything.

Thats right! Youve got it!

It does. To acknowledge a debt is (indirectly) to undertake to repay it. An undertaking is a promise. An IOU doesn't say where, when, or how the debt will be repaid, or what happens if circumstances should make it impossible [if I were to issue an IOU for a million quid, I doubt whether I would ever be able to make it good], but in that way it is much like any other promise about which you don't know how hollow it might be.