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Had the same thing with HSBC. I opened another bank account and keep a spare one going all the time. Also always keep £500 rolled up in £20 notes somewhere. An

by hughrr 5y ago

Had the same thing with HSBC. I opened another bank account and keep a spare one going all the time. Also always keep £500 rolled up in £20 notes somewhere. And make sure you don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Cthulhu_ 5y ago
> Also always keep £500 rolled up in £20 notes somewhere This is good advice, always have some cash around; in these uncertain times, I'd even argue to increase the amount. Make sure to have a record somewhere that you have it (a photo on your phone with e.g. ID and a dated newspaper? I dunno) so that IF you get your home broken into, you can prove it to your insurance. Of course, there's plenty of places to hide a stack of bills, or distribute it across multiple spots. If you're concerned about the downfall of the economy, you can get 'slabs' of valuable metals as well, that can be broken off into smaller denominations. The downside of going for those (at least in NL) is that you can't really use them to bet on the price of gold going up or down, because as a consumer you have to pay VAT for them (21%).
- simonjgreen 5y ago
  The "trick" in the UK here is to use gold coins, as they are a currency. There's a plethora of places that will bulk sell you gold coins to use as a store of wealth.
  - Reason077 5y ago
    All investment gold is exempt from VAT in the UK, including gold bars etc. However, legal tender gold coins, minted by the Royal Mint, may have additional advantages as they are also exempt from other taxes such as capital gains tax.
Terry_Roll 5y ago
Different devices for different banking, ie an iphone & mobile data for HSBC, a laptop and ADSL for Lloyds, the library, PC World & other shops with computers on display with net access for other bank accounts, besides the obligatory friend network, doing the above. Being in a city helps you blend into the background, being in the countryside will be like a virtual lock down. Make sure you have a passport, because myself and someone else spent the best part of an hour or two trying to past Google's I'm not a robot when trying to get a passport. The fact Govt uses Googles I'm not a Robot should also show you there is more to Google than meets the eye. I can see why the rich have dual citizenship and multiple passports, with the richest having diplomatic passports, making them untouchable anywhere in the world! It might seem like a lot of effort, but when you realise who easy it is to set people up, buy off judges, police, medical experts, etc, you'll realise blackmail can come from everyone and anyone including your family, because there are some messed up beliefs out there.

by hughrr 5y ago

Cthulhu_ 5y ago

> Also always keep £500 rolled up in £20 notes somewhere This is good advice, always have some cash around; in these uncertain times, I'd even argue to increase the amount. Make sure to have a record somewhere that you have it (a photo on your phone with e.g. ID and a dated newspaper? I dunno) so that IF you get your home broken into, you can prove it to your insurance. Of course, there's plenty of places to hide a stack of bills, or distribute it across multiple spots. If you're concerned about the downfall of the economy, you can get 'slabs' of valuable metals as well, that can be broken off into smaller denominations. The downside of going for those (at least in NL) is that you can't really use them to bet on the price of gold going up or down, because as a consumer you have to pay VAT for them (21%).

simonjgreen 5y ago
The "trick" in the UK here is to use gold coins, as they are a currency. There's a plethora of places that will bulk sell you gold coins to use as a store of wealth.
- Reason077 5y ago
  All investment gold is exempt from VAT in the UK, including gold bars etc. However, legal tender gold coins, minted by the Royal Mint, may have additional advantages as they are also exempt from other taxes such as capital gains tax.

Terry_Roll 5y ago

Different devices for different banking, ie an iphone & mobile data for HSBC, a laptop and ADSL for Lloyds, the library, PC World & other shops with computers on display with net access for other bank accounts, besides the obligatory friend network, doing the above. Being in a city helps you blend into the background, being in the countryside will be like a virtual lock down. Make sure you have a passport, because myself and someone else spent the best part of an hour or two trying to past Google's I'm not a robot when trying to get a passport. The fact Govt uses Googles I'm not a Robot should also show you there is more to Google than meets the eye. I can see why the rich have dual citizenship and multiple passports, with the richest having diplomatic passports, making them untouchable anywhere in the world! It might seem like a lot of effort, but when you realise who easy it is to set people up, buy off judges, police, medical experts, etc, you'll realise blackmail can come from everyone and anyone including your family, because there are some messed up beliefs out there.