Help..Need to transfer money QUICK!!

[overmonnow]

Okay folks, here it is:

Due to sign acte de vente middle of this week (it is Sunday evening as I type this). We have the princely sum of 89 euros in our Britline account as we haven't really used it, but I now need to write a cheque to an insurance broker for the property insurance for 219 euros - before the acte de vente is signed so that insurance is place. We are not going to France, it is being done by a power of attorney.

What is the quickest (not necessarily cheapest) way of sending a few hundred euros from my UK HSBC bank account to Britline, so that I can write a cheque on the account and put it in the post in all good conscience?!

The best HSBC method seems to take 3 working days and costs £21. I used to work in pensions and we could TT money internationally in a heartbeat, but the staff in my HSBC branch looked at me blankly when I talked about TT'ing money!

Currencies Direct, the broker we used to send the funds to the notaire, have a minimum limit of £2k - but even then it still takes 3 working days.

Can anyone help with a brilliant suggestion?!

Thanks

Alistair

[Sbesley]

I think I'd take a different approach and see if I could get the insurance broker to take a credit/debit card payment from a UK account. Most businesses seem to be geared up for this, and it certainly beats the stress of arranging currency transfers!

For what it is worth the fastest transfer my UK bank (Smile - the internet version of the co-op) could arrange was three working days. They then transferred 10 times the amount I had asked them to and charged me for an unauthorised overdraft! Banks...

Stephen.

[Penny29]

HIFX have transferred funds into my FRench a/c within 48 hours but this was all done via the internet and you have no chance at all if you have not already set up an a/c with Halewoods.

I'd agree with the above poster about doing it by credit/debit card over the phone - be very very wary about writing a Britline cheque before you definitely have the money in your a/c. The bank will look at the date you wrote the cheque (date de valeur) and it is an offence to write a cheque in France if you do not have the funds in th a/c at the time.

Alternatively, why not phone Britline and ask them to give you a E300 overdraft facility for a few weeks while you get things sorted out?

 

 

 

[Porth]

Britline tell me that unless you are resident in France they cannot allow you even on a temporary basis to go overdrawn and indeed cannot provide an overdraft basis?

 

Its different if you are resident?

It is absolutely correct?

 

We are moving shortly to France and may well decide to move accounts to a local branch as whilst Britline have been most helpful long-distance banking does pose some problems.