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Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) - Travel (179) - Nairaland

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Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) / Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 / Living In The Uk/life As A UK Immigrant (2) (3) (4)

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Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by derbylicious: 1:29pm On Aug 31, 2023
Help needed urgently!!!

The link to pay for Nigeria passport renewal isn’t working, please is there an alternative to pay
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Solumtoya: 1:31pm On Aug 31, 2023
profemebee:
so as long as i pay back within the stipulated time with the bolded below, then i'm interest free right? thanks


Pretty much, yeah. Just set up the Direct Debit to pay in full monthly. Exception is Cash Withdrawals so just avoid them entirely.

2 Likes

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Mryemzyvic(m): 1:45pm On Aug 31, 2023
Solumtoya:


911 on Experian in 7 months?! That has to be a record!




This is my 3rd month in uk and I have 885

1 Like

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Wegetju: 1:50pm On Aug 31, 2023
Hi Lexusgs430,
I just opened this link and it looks like an investment platform. Would you recommend it and whats your advice using it.

Im also looking for other high risk investment platforms if you have suggestions. Thank you

Lexusgs430:


https://etoro.tw/3JMVmSR
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by jedisco(m): 1:57pm On Aug 31, 2023
lightnlife:
This is always been my position on getting a manual license so you can drive both.

What's the point getting a manual license when you'll only be driving an auto? The requirements for driving a car in the UK are not straightforward.

This might motivate someone, I passed my driving test today (first time) without any minor. It's possible, you can do it.


There's so much ado about driving and credit cards on this fora. A huge deal is made out both.

For driving, it's straightforward. First is to recognise that many pass this test daily. The unsaid reason why most fail the practical is almost always fear. Most times, one must have driven that route multiple times with their instructor. Same thing your instructor tells you is what they'd ask. Perception is impo.

Regarding manual/auto. My advise is always to learn what car type you're used to or going to buy. In my time, I tried tinkering with a manual for a day and left it. Wasn't worth the stress and told myself if I needed to drive a manual in future, I can redo the test which would be easier then. Suffice to say, I've never had need to drive a manual vehicle. With ULEZ and move to electric, most cars would soon be autos eitherway.

All said, I wonder is a sticky on these two would help repeat questions bound to come in future.

8 Likes

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Lexusgs430: 3:33pm On Aug 31, 2023
Wegetju:
Hi Lexusgs430,
I just opened this link and it looks like an investment platform. Would you recommend it and whats your advice using it.

Im also looking for other high risk investment platforms if you have suggestions. Thank you


Loads of investment platforms available...... Do you want a self managed or fund manager managed.............

You can also read up on SIPP........

4 Likes

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by gerrald02: 4:05pm On Aug 31, 2023
Asked earlier but no response yet. All please is there any reliable shipping freight company in the Manchester area anyone having used previously can recommend? Looking to ship about 1 cubic meter of general small household items. Thanks
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Thewritingnerd(f): 5:50pm On Aug 31, 2023
Quoting to save 🫶🏾
Solumtoya:


I'd just repost one of my long epistles on Credit Cards below:

Credit Cards (CCs) are one of the best Credit Tools you can have but yes, like every good thing, it does have its dangers.

Most folks here are trying to build Credit Score and to be very honest, CCs are the easiest way to do so. There are so many other ways, of course, and you should do them: Registering in the Electoral Register, Setting up Direct Debits for Utility Bills, Phone/SIM Contracts, etc but from experience since these are not Credit facilities, they may not boost your score as much as a CC.

The rules of CC usage are simple: ensure you pay at least the minimum balance (usually 10% of your usage as at the statement date). So if your cycle is 1st to 30th of every month, on the 30th, you get a statement saying you have used £2,000 and you are given a grace period (typically extra 14 to 23 days) to pay back 10% or more, and whatever balance is unpaid, interest will be charged to the card after the grace period. During this grace period, the next cycle has obviously started running. And the next month balance will sum of what you spent in the month, plus the unpaid balance from the previous month and the interest added. IF YOU DON'T PAY THIS MINIMUM, YOU HAVE DEFAULTED.

Now, the main reasons why CCs are a brilliant facility are evident:
1. Their Interest-free periods means you can use them without ever paying interests: to do this, you must pay everything in full as the interest only starts counting on the unpaid balance after the grace period. An exception is usually Cash Withdrawals, Interest on Cash Withdrawals start counting immediately. Another evil trick of Cash Withdrawal is usually that their interest is higher. There's another evil of Cash Withdrawals but it might be a little technical to explain in this post. Just avoid Cash Withdrawals if you don't want interest
2. CCs are revolving, meaning they are like Overdrafts, not Term Loans, so if I have a limit of £6k, when I spend it and repay, my full limit is re-instated, so I don’t need to re-apply (ever) unless I void the contract.
3. Rewards: Most CCs earn you Miles, Points, etc for usage and referrals.
4. Fees: Many CCs come with little or no extra fees to the Cardholder. I could go on and on.

So, pretty much, you can use your Debit Card for only Cash Withdrawal and use Cash for non-Card payments, while you use your CC for everything else and pay little or no interest while building your credit score.

Now, as beautiful as it sounds, in my 7 years as a Credit Card Product Manager, I have seen so many people wallow in heavy credit card debts. The truth is most humans are not just disciplined enough to handle such an allowance of funds. They deep their hands into it at the slightest opportunity and end up living above their means. CCs are very addictive so don't get a CC if you love to spend, the CC provider would love you and keep increasing your limit and you may land in a gloomy state: you earn just £2k monthly and are given a £6k CC, as you spend and spend, they keep increasing the limit and before you know it, you have a £20k CC fully spent on that Funeral you sponsored inyou sponsored in Oshogbo and that trip to Turkey. How will you pay You break the card and start paying back £600 monthly, but that covers only the interest and the amount is NOT reducing every month. You realize you are stuck and have fallen for our trap and that is how we make our interest income and cover for those who are using the card wisely.

I'm sorry this post was really long, I even had to cut this short because I could go on and on about the benefits of CC (purchase protection, chargeback, acceptance, etc), the financially wise know this and hardly ever use Debit Cards but enjoy the benefits of a CC. The financially foolish use CCs to have fun for a few years or months and spend the rest of their lives as slaves to it. The choice is yours!

EDIT: For those who want the AMEX credit card with NO FIXED fees, you can use my referral link below. You get points for British Airways flights and and Holiday bookings. You get 6,000 points while I get 4,000. I have over 100k points which I can use to travel to anywhere in the world for free now:

https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/jEDIDAgksF?XL=MNMNS

4 Likes 3 Shares

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Schoolhike: 8:37pm On Aug 31, 2023
lightnlife:
If the offer is too good to be true, then, run!

For Facebook market, our strategy was to target private sellers within 10/20 miles radius as against "dealers".

Suffice to say, due diligence is required either when dealing with a private or third-party seller. For instance, we met a dealer who had loads of automatic cars. We test drive like two and we were going to make a deal on one but upon running the plate number, nothing came up on gov.uk. It was suspicious. The seller tried to convince us that the car was registered and listed on gov.uk and we were probably using the wrong link but he was showing us the reg details on his phone.

At that point, we became skeptical as there was no footprint of the car anywhere. Then, I recall reading stories of stolen cars with swapped plate numbers and VIN. It just seemed all dodgy of a deal. We had to let go.

For Autotrader, all the potential ones we saw were far away; 50 - 150 miles away from. We used ClickMechanic for a couple of inspections. The reports and detailed pictures were damning with strong advisory not to purchase. At first, the inspections felt like a waste of money but they usually unveil massive issues that would have been swept under as the cars were looking lovely in picture and description.

The car we eventually bought was from a private sellers within our community via Facebook market. We tested the mechanical and electrical bits ourselves and decided it was fix for purpose. Also, your negotiation skills will be handy in closing the deal for your preferred choice.

Hope this helps!



Thanks for your detailed explanation,

Did you invite Clickmechanic to physically inspect the car or what, could you provide more info?

In regards to negotiations, from how much to how much did you negotiate, because it really affected me last year when I bought a car, I later noticed that I paid over 500£ for the car value, could you give me an example say the listing price is like 3000£, like how much do you think I can start my negotiation, I don’t actually have much experience negotiating with White as I always believe the listing price is the last.

How did you go about the mechanical and electrical test, is it just a physical check or inspection from test drive only.

Could you list things to check for other than normal checks like MOT history?

I wasn’t really happy that I cant use my former car anymore as a result of accident. I spent a lot to get the car into a very good condition after spending 1.5k£ to fix all necessary things. It was when I’m about to start enjoying the car that this unfortunate accident happen.

Can’t imagine buying another car and start seeing issues with the car.
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Schoolhike: 8:41pm On Aug 31, 2023
Solumtoya:


So annoying. I block each of them to reduce it on my feed, I don't even bother chatting them up cos from the ad and the seller's profile, you can tell it's a scam. But they are so many!

Sincerely, too many of them, that Its now frustrating me. It wasn’t bad like this last year.

The only way I filter out scammer is by checking if the account if recent or not, once I see 2023 or 2022 I just ignore.
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by elengine: 9:49pm On Aug 31, 2023
[Tell your husband to pay for a day bus ticket and check through those companies from BD17 where you are to bd19 areas, to Halifax and Leeds and brighouse. There are lots of companies in that axis with sign post outside looking for warehouse staff. Also there are lot of care jobs in bradford if your hubby can get a car. For professional job, he needs to keep applying but he should start doing something to bring money home for bills because that your employer no get job for you oh. And bills must be paid.

1 Like

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Meogom: 1:38am On Sep 01, 2023
Solumtoya:


Pretty much, yeah. Just set up the Direct Debit to pay in full monthly. Exception is Cash Withdrawals so just avoid them entirely.

Does it help if I pay back directly by bank transfer, or does t have to be by direct debit.
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by GlamMrsO: 7:25am On Sep 01, 2023
Solumtoya:


I'd just repost one of my long epistles on Credit Cards below:

y referral link below. You get points for British
https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/jEDIDAgksF?XL=MNMNS

Thanks, just used your link to get this as a second.

1 Like

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by rinzylee(m): 9:13am On Sep 01, 2023
Make I drop update

I usually get cashback and welcome bonuses for using National express or Trainline to book trips.

There is usually a 30days free membership trial period after which you would be charged £15 monthly.

So i usually cancel my membership immediately after Redeeming my bonuses.

I just made £35 from complete savings

Made £23 from Nxrewards


Set reminder to always cancel the membership o within the free period, else they would direct debit you o.


Happy New Month my people!!!

4 Likes 3 Shares

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by LORETA: 9:58am On Sep 01, 2023
Good morning comrades,
Please I have a question.
A company wants tooffer my wife 3 years sponsorship, but the job is not a healthcare sponsor.
Can she request for 1 year sponsorship first only , so the IHS subcharge fee can reduce, then later apply for extension when she started working.
How can she go about this.

Please someone should help with this, its urgent.
Thanks
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by SerendipityHere: 10:01am On Sep 01, 2023
Hi everyone.
I have a few questions please.

How do we pay house rent as a couple in order for it to reflect on our credit score? Do we split it in half and pay our halves to the agent individually or one person makes the total transfer?

How do we make it reflect on a rental exchange partner like Canopy or Credit Ladder?

Also on Council Tax, We both have a total of 174 to pay how do we pay it? One person transfers or we split it and each of us make the payment to the council account individually?

Please help me out on these questions. Thank you
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by jum33: 10:25am On Sep 01, 2023
Kindly help to recommend cheap vehicle insurance for me .I already have a year NCB with my former insurance but I am still getting a quote of 150£ per month with provisional license for a benz c200 2014
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Bourne007(m): 10:48am On Sep 01, 2023
Why don't you just rough am and find a means to pay the 3-year IHS fee? By the time parliament returns and approve the new IHS fees, you will be paying more than it is now.

Note that if you are already on a dependant visa, you don't need to apply together with your wife

LORETA:
Good morning comrades,
Please I have a question.
A company wants tooffer my wife 3 years sponsorship, but the job is not a healthcare sponsor.
Can she request for 1 year sponsorship first only , so the IHS subcharge fee can reduce, then later apply for extension when she started working.
How can she go about this.

Please someone should help with this, its urgent.
Thanks

2 Likes

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Nobody: 11:44am On Sep 01, 2023
SerendipityHere:
Hi everyone.
I have a few questions please.

How do we pay house rent as a couple in order for it to reflect on our credit score? Do we split it in half and pay our halves to the agent individually or one person makes the total transfer?

How do we make it reflect on a rental exchange partner like Canopy or Credit Ladder?

Also on Council Tax, We both have a total of 174 to pay how do we pay it? One person transfers or we split it and each of us make the payment to the council account individually?

Please help me out on these questions. Thank you

For council tax, definitely, one person pays, ideally by direct debit from an account. You can pay by card and so pay separately (one person pays part and the other pays the rest) but there's absolutely no point to that as council tax doesn't affect credit score unless you default and they pursue you in court.

Regarding rent, I guess it's possible to transfer separately but I haven't ever heard of a married couple doing that. Again, rent does not contribute to your credit score, and you don't have to bother yourself with all those services you mentioned. Get on the electoral roll,eEarn and spend normally, and get a credit card each that you'll use wisely, and your credit score will grow naturally over time. Time itself is a big component and you can't rush it.

The credit score you see on those websites are immaterial when you are applying for things. Don't let that be your preoccupation.

7 Likes

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Gift7428: 1:02pm On Sep 01, 2023
Sorted
Thanks
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by tobbyoladejo: 2:05pm On Sep 01, 2023
Gift7428:
Hello NL’s

Trying to apply for police character certificate online but it keeps coming up with an error message
I choose individual
Am I doing anything wrong ?
They have a bug there. What will work is for you to first sign up, before applying. Look for the sign up button.

1 Like

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by LORETA: 2:55pm On Sep 01, 2023
Thanks ,
We have agreed to rough am 3 years,
Are you sure the new IHS fees never apply?
Am on dependent visa already.
My dependant visa ends january.
Thanks.

Pls confirm, I also understand if she has stayed for more than one year in uk, she dont need to show proof of funds


quote author=Bourne007 post=125503230]Why don't you just rough am and find a means to pay the 3-year IHS fee? By the time parliament returns and approve the new IHS fees, you will be paying more than it is now.

Note that if you are already on a dependant visa, you don't need to apply together with your wife

[/quote]

1 Share

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Bourne007(m): 4:53pm On Sep 01, 2023
You've confirmed it with the screenshot. I will suggest you apply for yours as well since January is just around the corner.


LORETA:
Thanks ,
We have agreed to rough am 3 years,
Are you sure the new IHS fees never apply?
Am on dependent visa already.
My dependant visa ends january.
Thanks.

Pls confirm, I also understand if she has stayed for more than one year in uk, she dont need to show proof of funds


quote author=Bourne007 post=125503230]Why don't you just rough am and find a means to pay the 3-year IHS fee? By the time parliament returns and approve the new IHS fees, you will be paying more than it is now.

Note that if you are already on a dependant visa, you don't need to apply together with your wife

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by SerendipityHere: 6:11pm On Sep 01, 2023
Thank you so much for the clarification.
koonbey:


For council tax, definitely, one person pays, ideally by direct debit from an account. You can pay by card and so pay separately (one person pays part and the other pays the rest) but there's absolutely no point to that as council tax doesn't affect credit score unless you default and they pursue you in court.

Regarding rent, I guess it's possible to transfer separately but I haven't ever heard of a married couple doing that. Again, rent does not contribute to your credit score, and you don't have to bother yourself with all those services you mentioned. Get on the electoral roll,eEarn and spend normally, and get a credit card each that you'll use wisely, and your credit score will grow naturally over time. Time itself is a big component and you can't rush it.

The credit score you see on those websites are immaterial when you are applying for things. Don't let that be your preoccupation.

2 Likes

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by dandydrey(m): 6:31pm On Sep 01, 2023
You have to register first.


Gift7428:
Hello NL’s

Trying to apply for police character certificate online but it keeps coming up with an error message
I choose individual
Am I doing anything wrong ?

1 Like 1 Share

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Estroller: 7:13pm On Sep 01, 2023
SerendipityHere:
Hi everyone.
I have a few questions please.

How do we pay house rent as a couple in order for it to reflect on our credit score? Do we split it in half and pay our halves to the agent individually or one person makes the total transfer?

How do we make it reflect on a rental exchange partner like Canopy or Credit Ladder?

Also on Council Tax, We both have a total of 174 to pay how do we pay it? One person transfers or we split it and each of us make the payment to the council account individually?

Please help me out on these questions. Thank you

You can open a joint account, you both pay your share into the account and pay your bills from the joint account.

1 Like

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by Progressivegee: 8:37pm On Sep 01, 2023
Update on my house inspection which was carried out today. I took the advice of not repainting the affected rooms but I also did something different which yielded good result. I saw a DIY video of how to remove crayon stains and dirt from wall using either toothpaste or baking soda. I tried colgate toothpaste and surprisingly the crayon marks and stains were wiped off. I used the baking soda and it was amazing and with very minimal effort. I just mixed with water, applied on the stained portion and wipe it off with a towel.

The inspection agent came and didn't notice anything. We discussed other repair work and that's it.

You can find a video of this process below


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHwEuibV_io

37 Likes 14 Shares

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by TPLTD: 10:25pm On Sep 01, 2023
Anyone travelled from Uk to Republic of ireland? What's the visa processing like?
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by humility101: 7:58am On Sep 02, 2023
rinzylee:
Make I drop update

I usually get cashback and welcome bonuses for using National express or Trainline to book trips.

There is usually a 30days free membership trial period after which you would be charged £15 monthly.

So i usually cancel my membership immediately after Redeeming my bonuses.

I just made £35 from complete savings

Made £23 from Nxrewards


Set reminder to always cancel the membership o within the free period, else they would direct debit you o.


Happy New Month my people!!!

Are you talking about the coachcard?

I can only see the ones for seniors (60 yrs and above) and young people (16 - 25)
Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by rinzylee(m): 9:32am On Sep 02, 2023
humility101:


Are you talking about the coachcard?

I can only see the ones for seniors (60 yrs and above) and young people (16 - 25)

No ... nothing concern me with coachcard.

Download trainline and National express apps and register. When you book through them, you are directed to these platforms that offer cashback and other rewards.

3 Likes 1 Share

Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) by lightnlife: 10:38am On Sep 02, 2023
With 50% pass rate across the UK, I bet the conversations about driving aren't needless. If it's pretty straightforward, the pass rate would reflect same.

Look around; YouTube, Reddit, Facebook, X, there are loads of content and convo on driving generating massive reactions.

It even more important for migrants to have these convo as most have been used to a different driving terrain/rules back home.

Same applies to Credit Cards. Financial intelligence isn't a generic life skill. You need knowledge. Moreso, for immigrants who haven't been exposed to credit facilities in all his/her 30+ years before moving here, but knows credit could either make or mar his/her life, I bet they'll go all out for more insight on it.

People are at different stages of life and that would reflect in their understanding and knowledge quest.

Won't be surprised if someone still comes around to ask either of these questions in the next 2 days. Perhaps, doing some back reading on the issues might help them.


jedisco:


There's so much ado about driving and credit cards on this fora. A huge deal is made out both.

For driving, it's straightforward. First is to recognise that many pass this test daily. The unsaid reason why most fail the practical is almost always fear. Most times, one must have driven that route multiple times with their instructor. Same thing your instructor tells you is what they'd ask. Perception is impo.

Regarding manual/auto. My advise is always to learn what car type you're used to or going to buy. In my time, I tried tinkering with a manual for a day and left it. Wasn't worth the stress and told myself if I needed to drive a manual in future, I can redo the test which would be easier then. Suffice to say, I've never had need to drive a manual vehicle. With ULEZ and move to electric, most cars would soon be autos eitherway.

All said, I wonder is a sticky on these two would help repeat questions bound to come in future.

3 Likes

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