Living in the UK for the past 8 years - time to close my Irish account?

cottonsocks

Hi all, 

I would appreciate some advice. 

I moved to London in 2011 and have kept my Bank of Ireland account open since I left. However, I never use it. It essentially lies dormant, bar the 20e fees they charge me annually! Last night I looked into closing it, but then I hesitated as I had heard from someone years ago that if you then ever try to move home and you don't have an account, it can be very difficult to open a new one or to apply for a mortgage as you no longer have the 'history' of the account. In terms of plans to move back, I am getting married next year so it is a possibility within the next 2 years or so, but that depends on a lot of factors, mainly good old Brexit! For reference, I have had a credit union account for years and years and years, which I keep a few thousand in, and don't intend to close. It is mainly the fact I am paying money in BoI for nothing!

Can anyone advise on if I should close it? 
Thank you!

xabi

I would keep it as you have a possibility of moving back.

Franz Von Peppercorn

If you intend coming home keep it.

TG860

If you have a balance of €3,000 in the BOI account then you won't get charged quarterly maintenance fees (€5 per quarter, €20 per year).
Check what interest rate you are getting in the credit union on your savings. If it's 1% or less (effectively 0.63% or less after DIRT is applied) than you are better off putting €3,000 in the BOI account so you do not get charged quarterly fees.

Explosive_Cornflake

I moved to an EBS account when I moved to the UK, there's a lot less fees. If you are "home" over Christmas consider moving there.

It very handy to have a euro account.
N26 are launching in UK soon, I am not sure if they would also have a euro account as well as a sterling one.

cottonsocks

Explosive_Cornflake wrote: »

I moved to an EBS account when I moved to the UK, there's a lot less fees. If you are "home" over Christmas consider moving there.

It very handy to have a euro account.
N26 are launching in UK soon, I am not sure if they would also have a euro account as well as a sterling one.

That's a good idea - yes have a Monzo account over here and find it very handy, waiting for something similar to start in Ireland! I find banks much more competitive here, the fees are much less (if any at all in some cases). Will look into EBS - thank you.

cottonsocks

Anyone else?

3DataModem

Keep it.

oEmmao

defo keep it