Why have Lloyds requested me if I’m a tax resident of Egypt?

At the finish of May perhaps I obtained a letter declaring to be from Lloyds, my financial institution, declaring they feel I have lately updated my facts and that I am now a tax resident of Egypt.

It suggests if this is true, I need to verify it by sending them a passport, ID card or other documentation proving I am a resident of Egypt.

I acquired a adhere to-up letter a thirty day period later on at the finish of June telling me I nonetheless hadn’t signed it. 

I am in my mid-seventies, am a British citizen, have lived in the United kingdom for 74 years, like the same address in Bromley for the past 35 and have no links to Egypt. I am pretty anxious about slipping target to a rip-off.

Is this letter genuine, and do I have to fill it in? – M.V., via electronic mail

George Nixon, This is Money, replies: This is not the 1st time another person has penned to us owning acquired a letter like this.

In 2017 we had been contacted by a reader who experienced obtained a letter from the exact lender, Lloyds, and yet another from Halifax, asking them to verify their tax info. 

In that instance, the letter from Lloyds was legit, even if the purchaser was no for a longer period with the lender.

This is aspect of anything named the prevalent reporting typical, introduced in 2017, built to crack down on international tax evasion, by enabling nations to share tax info throughout borders.

The United kingdom was a person of the initial nations to signal up to it together with the relaxation of the European Union, while Egypt has not yet performed so. 

The letter our reader gained at the conclusion of Could, inquiring them to update their information as Lloyds thought they have been now a tax resident of Egypt

The letter questioned our reader to validate this circumstance by sending a copy of an Egyptian passport, driving licence or ID card by post to a PO Box in Leeds

Less than the guidelines, banking companies in this country must deliver up-to-date tax information and facts to HMRC about non-Uk people with economical accounts in the British isles.

But even though that usually means these letters are despatched out, it does not automatically indicate the just one in your predicament is legit. 

Just after all, fraudsters are adept at impersonating banking companies, the taxman, the police or other providers, no matter if that is by e-mail, over the cell phone or by submit.

And of program, the Egypt factor tends to make factors even stranger.

You phoned up Lloyds and mentioned you experienced not up-to-date your particulars and ended up not happy about the notion of sending a duplicate of your passport or driving licence in the submit, primarily if you ended up worried you experienced been contacted by con artists.

Whilst they did inform you it was to do with HMRC, from the emails you sent us they failed to look to explain why you experienced been contacted, and why they thought you had lived in Egypt.

Whilst you informed us you would experienced a fortnight’s holiday in 1990 to check out the Pyramids at Giza and Luxor, a UNESCO Entire world Heritage Website on the site of the historical Egyptian city of Thebes, you haven’t been because and were being pretty very clear you’d in no way experienced any intention of residing in the country. Nor did you have any spouse and children residing there.

We contacted Lloyds, who advised us the letter was a genuine a single, as in the circumstance of our reader in 2017, but this time it was sent by oversight.

Luxor, Egypt. We identified out our reader experienced been contacted since a person at Lloyds had gotten their phone range incorrect and swapped the initial two digits around. The place code for London is +020, the global dialling code for Egypt is +20 

Whilst you had not up to date your details, anyone at Lloyds Bank unintentionally had. 

The letter alone provides an indication of this exactly where it claims the lender believed you were being a tax resident of Egypt ‘due to the pursuing information we maintain for you: telephone number’.

The location code for Bromley, wherever you are living, and the rest of London is +020. The international dialling code for Egypt, is +20.

Someone experienced obviously accidentally designed a miscalculation somewhere and received the first two digits of your phone range the improper way all over, which describes why the letter was despatched.

A Lloyds Bank spokesperson mentioned: ‘All monetary institutions that work in frequent reporting requirements taking part international locations are essential to gather specific customer info and report it to HMRC or the appropriate tax authorities and we may generate to clients who need to affirm this info.

‘We have apologised to the client for the error in the classification of their aspects which resulted in her receiving the letter incorrectly and their details has now been updated.’