"...transfers from an offshore account." Now you can understand what is so interesting about the Panama Papers - just joking. Hope you get things sorted out. Considering what happened in Cyprus, where money from ordinary depositors was 'appropriated' to pay government debts, maybe an offshore account was a wise move.

Interesting and exact. Thanks for wishing me well with my dealings with the BOC.

"I wouldn't have expected the SPPA, especially as it is a government agency to manage to mess things up." I admire you faith in government agencies. Considering that many agencies- Border Agency, HMRC (tax) - have been subject to massive reductions in their workforce, I'm surprised that there's anyone left to accomplish anything at all! Press 8 to speak to an adviser. All calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes [so control your exasperation and please don't tell us to go forth and multiply]. All our customer advisers are busy helping other customers. Thank you for your patience.

Social Services in the UK dealt with my problems admirably when I was homeless and unemployed at one time in the dim and distant past. Cameron's costcutting policies will probably come back to bite him in the bum at the next general election. I hope so.
Here in China I have re-arranged my financial matters to minimize my visits to the BOC, and more importantly to give my wife fewer financial matters to deal with in the event of my death. She is much younger than me, but her English is poor. My offshore account is now in her name. I transfer each of the two occupational pension payments from my account to her account in GBP as soon as they arrive here, twice each year. So she will only have to deal with the two occupational pension providers to get 60% of each as two annual payments each year after my death. As for my old-age pension, I won't apply for it. My wife and I do not want nor need it.

After the Post Office, the next victim in Conservative Party policy is the Land Registry, which they intend to privatise followed by the National Heath Service - if they are allowed to get away with it.

The Tories are not good for the UK, in my view, never have been.