Change Of Address in the UK
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Have you ever tried to change your address in the UK?
No?
Don't feel miserable about that! It's not something you want to wish upon your best friend, or even your worst friend's best enemy for that matter!
Depending on which method you start of with, you will reach your "I'm too frustated to continue" level with different speed - but you will reach it!
Let's say you start off by making telephone calls to everybody about the change: BAD IDEA, most companies have decided there is a law against that! They might get sued or their grandmothers might fall down a flight of stairs or something. At least I think that is what the not so helpful lady at BA told me the other day! You see, you have to give WRITTEN notice!!
OK, so let's pretend we do just that then... Ah, what happens - well since we are being good citizens, we naturally give ample time for the address change to take place BEFORE we actually physically move, let's say a month or two in advance:
- BHAAAAH, wrong again! Most recipients will update your profile IMMEDIATELY which will, depending on where you are moving, have some rather amuzing effects, such as mail arriving in your house to-be before you are, forcing you to set up a pre-move mail forwarding service to your old house - which for some reason has a slight trace of the Hitchhiker's "Restaurant at the End of the Universe post future" language syndrome!
If you, as an Adult parent, on top of that actually try to move out of the the country (not county) the Child Benefits agency will - on immediate reception of your 2 month advance notice - instantaneously cut off all the remaining benefits payments - otherwise you might actually get to much. The Child benefits officer will explain at great length the great advantage of cutting it off immediately, because then you will instead get to little!
Finally, just to make your day, the lady at the other end of the line will tell you that "No, I'm sorry you can't change your address if you move abroad, because our computer system can't handle foreign post codes!!" This is when most people start looking for that Pan-Galactic Gargelblaster!
So, as a final word of advice - If you ever think about leaving the UK, don't tell anyone about it, just go!!
Over and out, don't forget to log out!
No?
Don't feel miserable about that! It's not something you want to wish upon your best friend, or even your worst friend's best enemy for that matter!
Depending on which method you start of with, you will reach your "I'm too frustated to continue" level with different speed - but you will reach it!
Let's say you start off by making telephone calls to everybody about the change: BAD IDEA, most companies have decided there is a law against that! They might get sued or their grandmothers might fall down a flight of stairs or something. At least I think that is what the not so helpful lady at BA told me the other day! You see, you have to give WRITTEN notice!!
OK, so let's pretend we do just that then... Ah, what happens - well since we are being good citizens, we naturally give ample time for the address change to take place BEFORE we actually physically move, let's say a month or two in advance:
- BHAAAAH, wrong again! Most recipients will update your profile IMMEDIATELY which will, depending on where you are moving, have some rather amuzing effects, such as mail arriving in your house to-be before you are, forcing you to set up a pre-move mail forwarding service to your old house - which for some reason has a slight trace of the Hitchhiker's "Restaurant at the End of the Universe post future" language syndrome!
If you, as an Adult parent, on top of that actually try to move out of the the country (not county) the Child Benefits agency will - on immediate reception of your 2 month advance notice - instantaneously cut off all the remaining benefits payments - otherwise you might actually get to much. The Child benefits officer will explain at great length the great advantage of cutting it off immediately, because then you will instead get to little!
Finally, just to make your day, the lady at the other end of the line will tell you that "No, I'm sorry you can't change your address if you move abroad, because our computer system can't handle foreign post codes!!" This is when most people start looking for that Pan-Galactic Gargelblaster!
So, as a final word of advice - If you ever think about leaving the UK, don't tell anyone about it, just go!!
Over and out, don't forget to log out!
