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Hi, just wondering if anyone could help me with this? I am a US/UK dual citizen, though I've lived my whole life in the UK. My mother is American. A short while ago, I was clearing out some old papers of my now deceased (American) grandparents. In them, I found two Series EE US Government bonds they'd apparently got me, and I'd managed to forget about somehow. One is for $500, and another is for $1000, and they're from 1993 so according to a bond calculator I found online, they should be worth around $2,200 now. So, great, basically free money, right? But the question is: how do I actually get that money? From my research it seems like if I was in the US I could just walk into any regular bank, hand the bonds over and they'd write me a cheque. So the ideal would be to be able to do the same thing in London, where I live. Apparently, a bank should be able to handle it if it operates in the USA. First I checked with the bank I normally use (Santander), as a Google search shows they do operate in the States, but they said the operate in the UK as Santander UK, technically a different company, so can't handle the bonds. Next I tried Citibank, as if anyone's an international bank it's them, but, no, they said the same thing. Then I ran out of ideas. The alternative is going through the US Embassy. I'd rather avoid this as 1) Dealing with the embassy is always a loving nightmare, 2) I'd apparently have to wait weeks for an appointment with a notary, which I would require, and 3) even after that the bonds would have to be sent through the post (which hardly seems super secure) to some US Federal department somewhere and then take three months (!) to process. So is the embassy my only option? It seems like there must be somewhere in London that would take my bonds, we are a global financial centre after all. Any help would be appreciated!
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Jul 7, 2015 01:46
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| # ? May 5, 2024 10:42 |
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Anyone?
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Jul 8, 2015 05:42
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HSBC? They have a US operation.
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Jul 8, 2015 13:37
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https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ebonds/res_e_bonds_eeredeem_special.htm Here are your options. Finding a US bank in London surely has to be possible. Have you called every one?
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Jul 8, 2015 14:07
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Well, that was my question, basically: does anyone know a US bank that operates in the UK? I tried Citibank as they're as international as banks get, but they operate as Citibank UK over here. And since they do that, I assume that any other bank I'm likely to have heard of do the same. But I suspect there might be some obscure operation that basically exists for some weird financial reason that might take the bonds, but that's well outside my personal knowledge base, so I thought to ask the experts on here.
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Jul 8, 2015 23:54
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| # ? May 5, 2024 10:42 |
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Id try HSBC and barclays as thry both have strong us links. Maybe look at the post office as well this seems like the kind of wierd and wonderful service they might offer.
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Jul 20, 2015 05:56
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