Opening a Lloyds TSB Account - Experience Sharing by forum member

I am reproducing the sharing by forum member westwind on the topic of opening a Lloyds TSB bank account in person, in the UK.  Member westwind had gone to the UK recently.

This is extracted from my community forum - http://londonproperty.vbulletin.net/forum/singapore-property-news/712-lloyds-tsb-account

Opening the Lloyds Account in Person - Documents Required
"Opening the account in person was relatively quick and painless. Before I went to London, I called and asked about the documentation needed to set the account up. The person I spoke with on the phone told me that they would only accept a recent (received within the last 3 months) utility bill or credit card bill from a large international bank as proof of my Singapore address. I brought along credit card statements from 2 banks and this year's notice of assessment for my income tax since I just received that in June.

The Actual Process - Quite Quick
"I walked into the Lloyds branch in Chelsea (any Lloyds branch would have been ok) and it was a little strange because the branch personal banker still had to dial into the Lloyds TSB phone line, get me to speak with the banker on the phone to get my account set up. What did help was that the banker on the phone was able to email my application immediately to the branch personal banker. He then printed it out for me to sign and took copies of my passport, credit card bill. That was it... all done. I was told that it would take 3 to 5 working days to process my application and I would get an email notification once the account is set up. The account details and debit card are supposed to arrive by post. The branch personal banker gave me a great tip... apparently the Lloyds TSB account charges a fee to use the debit card at an ATM machine but I can use it for purchases at supermarkets and ask for extra cash without any fees as Lloyds registers that as a regular supermarket transaction.

Amusing!
"What I found to be really amusing was that they could not accept my notice of assessment as proof of residence. Obviously they trust other banks more than governments... Happy that this was so much easier than I thought it would be.

No Deposit Needed
"There's no deposit needed at opening and in fact, I was not able to deposit anything into the account until I receive the account details by post so it will have to be sent by T/T I guess. They offer the first 3 months without fees so I have 3 months before I have to transfer at least the minimum sum into the account. I could have left the money with a friend and asked him to deposit the money for me once I had the account details but honestly, I didn't think of it at that time."

No Further Questions Asked About the Need for This Account
"Yup, owning a London property was good enough reason and no further questions at all about my need for the account. No attempt to even verify if I did own a London property. The branch banker did recommend that once I have settled on a property management agent, I inform Lloyds to put the agency's bank account details on file for my account so they won't hold up the payment for validation checks in case of money laundering. Don't know what kind of property he thinks I'm holding that will give me such a big monthly rental..."

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Happy Investing!