Expat Advice: Financial Issues in Reading, UK

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Reading

What advice would you offer others about banking as an expat in your country? What do you wish you had known about banking when you first arrived?

I would have contacted the 3 credit agencies (experian, etc) and blocked my credit activity. As it was, somebody got a hold of all of my credit information and started opening credit cards in my name. When I found out (after they had already charged up 6000 dollars), I had to call all of the agencies and report a fraud. Trying to deal with this situation from abroad can be frustrating; it left me feeling very vulnerable. Basically, if you have a foreign address, they really don't want to deal with you. I had to instruct them to block my account until they heard in writing from me. Also, they won't contact you if there's suspicious activity in your name because you have a foreign address and phone number, which some of them cannot keep in their databases. It was only by a happy coincidence that I found out at all.