11Likes
Ok i went to 4 -5 banks and i'm exhausted. They are giving me diff info. Some have a $10 or 12HKD requirement but Bank of China (HK) says there won't be. I dont' have my DL (this is the ONLY time when i travel I haven't brought it but i need it. ). So i'm very tired running around. i'm having my spouse fed-ex me the stuff. They wont' let me use their computer to print out a copy of my e-stmts. some of them are so obnoxious i really dont know if they've learned proper customer svs. locally. i have a bank personal check which isn't accepted as proof of addy b/c they said anyone can print it. Some places are saying the e-stmt would work, some said no. I really was contemplating printing it online but i know the security issues w / using public computers. sigh.
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16-12-2011, 02:05 PM #11
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16-12-2011, 04:14 PM #12
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17-12-2011, 05:12 AM #13
OK, after unsuccessful going to Citibank, HSBC, Hang Seng, Bank of China....(one of my home banks is citibank and i asked if i could just use their computer as courtesy to print my e-stmt and he said no). after a full day, i realized i could just call my us cust svs and have my citibank fax them a copy of whatever they need but then i realized the 16 hrs difference. why did they need to be so annoying. So after trekking around for 1/2 day i ended up at the library. i tried to access my bank accounts there, although i had reservations abt security, etc.
anyway, i couldn't print my stuff at the library (the comptuers weren't fast enough and a lady was waiting for my computer) so after trekking back i found another citibank. at this point i simply gave up and decided to have my DL and 2-3 bank credit card stmts Fed Ex'ed over. But while i bumped into a 2nd branch of Citibank i decided to ask them what THEIR criteria was since i kept getting diff info regarding min. balances (from Bank of China saying that w/ my HKPID it was not required to have a min. balance to places that required 12K HKD balance requirement. It was a big discrepancy. One bank told me the bank stmt/proof of addy has to within 2 months, one says 3, one says DL is ok, others said it has to be utility bills (most of the utility bills aren't even in my name). A nice old man at B of C said that if i had govt issued letters to my family friend's address that I could get it notarized and bring that in as proof...but our family friend threw all my letters away, including an old jury duty notice. I had an envelope from the US passport agency but they won't accept that, citing it has to be a letter, not envelope.
One bank-hang seng--really a jerk--was questioning WHY i needed to open an acct and began talking to his coworker abt how I even have a HKIPID....is it even relevant....I felt as if i was a criminal or like an illegal alien for christ's sake. do i have to explain my own identity that i was born here....geeez....if i weren't so jaded and if my brother were with me we would have a word or two w/ that idiot's manager. Completely unprofessional SOB. he told me an e-stmt wouldn't be sufficient to print out for him that it had to be a CARD COPY Letter..i'm like...when i print out an e-stmt it would be a hardcopy. He wasn't able to furnish any paperwork that has the criteria for opening an acct. So finally when i gave up and arrived at the 2nd citibank in the late afternoon (MUCH MORE friendly than any of the other TST branches that seem to be quite rude, unhelpful, and unsympathetic) this Bank was pretty helpful. In fact when i explained the situation of how i 'd like to open an acct for convenience and to collect my $6k HKD she was quite helpful. SHE ws the one to suggest that I use their computer to print out the e-stmt. I was just going to call my bank collect. Anyway, we did everything hassleless although the entire process took at least 1.5 hours....zzzz.....and her ATM machine was broken so i have to trek out there again in a couple days to get my ATM card....it was simple, easy and seamless. In fact i told her that her sister branch on the other side of TST gave me completely diff requirement and she said they're not as experienced. I think i shd just have asked to speak to a Mgr. It's silly how a very simple thing like printing an e-stmt from their own bank would be denied, esp when you are a pretty loyal customer.
anyway....i hope all those who flew over to do this, make sure you have more than enough docs.
well my Fed Ex packet shall arrive soon as I guess i won't be needing it.
IF YOU FIND A GOOD BANKER, DON"T EVER SWITCH BANKS. Cust svs is so valuable, esp when you're stuck. It' s like insurance. If you don't need it it's great, but if you need that extra help, a they will take care of you.
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17-12-2011, 06:37 AM #14
Citibank in Hong Kong is a completely separate entity from Citibank in the USA.
So even if you are Al-Waleed bin Talal, you'll have to start fresh when opening an account here.
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17-12-2011, 08:05 AM #15
Curious, so you're not going to be moving here, you're just going through all this stress (I've seen some of your other posts) just to get the HK$6k? Apologies if I've misunderstood.
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17-12-2011, 09:28 AM #16
May I suggest as someone who has perhaps not paid in taxes in Hong Kong that you consider donating your $6000 to a worthy cause in Hong Kong?
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17-12-2011, 09:50 AM #17
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18-12-2011, 04:13 AM #18
@Sue--no, I came to visit my family and help my brother w/ his getting his HKPID card, etc. During this process of sorting out the requirements (since this has changed since I got mine 10 yrs ago), a couple of the "contributors" told me that both my brother qualify for the $6k HKD scheme and advised me to apply for that during my stay here as well so i looked into it.
@the Brit--As i've said, I was given the link by someone a few days ago. The link doesn't give criteria of opening a bank acct so i wasn't able to be fully "prepared" to bring all my docs. I had most of it except they don't accept the same types of identification as other countries do. But all is sorted now.
@Mister JJ--What gives you the assumption that we "haven't paid tax"? First of all, we regularly contribute to charity, thank you so much. And yes, my parents (and grandfather) lived here for 10+ yrs and so they have been paying for taxes for 10+ yrs , thanks for your kind concern.
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18-12-2011, 05:19 AM #19
@Mister-AND i pay taxes on my HK bank acct, too, k? So we have contributed to HK, prob just as much as you have, if not more.
Having a citibank a/c in both countries is nice. They told me i could link them when i get back.
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18-12-2011, 06:45 AM #20
Originally Posted by SushiLover:
