Question about Customhouse

[Misty1979 0]

Hey guys,

After about two months of cojoling my husband along, I finally registered with custom house. I've been carrying a credit card balance in Canada ever since I moved here, and have been having alot of trouble trying to pay it off by sending checks in every two weeks. (Checks were getting lost...delayed so payments were not always on time, etc.)

Anywho...did anyone here who uses it use your greencard as part of the ID requirements? If so, what did you select in the dropdown box for the question in regards to what state it was issued in? I looked all over my greencard, and it didn't say where it was issued, so I just selected NC, since that was the state I lived in when I first moved here.

Also, does anyone have any reassuring words for my husband about how safe the sight is? I understand his worries since he's never heard of the sight, but I'm hoping some feedback on your good experiences with customhouse might help to ease his mind a bit.

Thanks in advance!

[trailmix 77]

it's cheque eh.

[Krikit 1,163]

Trailmix.

Misty, I have transferred substantial amounts.... and I mean substantial.... using Custom House. Both here to the US and to my bank in the UK. There is nothing to fear. Here is my last post on them if you haven't seen it: Link

Oooh! Oooh! When I got off the seaplane in Victoria Harbour last week I walked right by their building! You should have seen the astonished looks on people's faces when I squealed and jumped up and down in delight!

[Flames9_RN 358]

I have used it since 2005 with no problems! i too transferred over a fairly large sum (cdn RRSP's funds) but normally do a few hundreds of $$$ when I head back to Canada. never once have I had a problem! Staff are great, even chatted hockey with 1 rep for a bit,lol They will even walk u step bystep to make a trade, awesome service. I have walked by their officer in Victoria 100's of times when I resided in vic!!

Can't recall what ID I used, but give them a call, and they can give you the info.

[trailmix 77]

I don't know if I gave them my SSN or not, I can't remember. If it makes him feel any better, Western Union is buying customhouse.

[Krikit 1,163]

I have walked by their officer in Victoria 100's of times when I resided in vic!!

Freudian slip!

[Misty1979 0]

Thanks guys! I think he's starting to feel a bit better about it now..especially after what Krikit said about being able to monitor the exchange rates and if we trade at the right time, possibly profiting a bit at the same time, hehe.

I found out they are on Fort Street in Victoria...I used to catch the bus there all the time on my way to/from work. Ah, the memories.

And sorry about the slipup with the "check", T-Mix, it won't happen again. My hubby informed me if I start losing my Canadian lingo he'll be sending me on a pilgrimage back to Canada. Ruh roh

Edited August 19, 2009 by Misty1979

[Carlawarla 1]

I specifically remember setting up my account at Customhouse before I got my GC, so I didn't use that as ID. I think I used my DL? I'm sure I had to state my SSN and SIN numbers though...

One of the things that struck me from your opening comment however was that your cheques were getting lost while paying your Credit Card off and you wanted something more simple to transfer money? Did you keep an account open in Canada? The reason I'm asking is that I always paid and still do pay my Canadian CC's off by just doing on-line banking from my Canadian chequing account in Canada. Maybe you're just asking how to transfer money from the U.S. to your Canadian bank account in order to pay via on-line banking in Canada your credit card? Sorry, I was confused.

Either way, you have to have an account in Canada that you're transferring money to or from...that's why most of us use it, to have money up there when we need it, and money here when we need it.

I've used it for 3 years and have no problems at all. Everything is secure, easy to use (except that I keep forgetting my password!!!).

If you ever have any questions, they're very helpful on the phone if you need to ask questions. The on-line email contact us questions take a long time though.

Hope it all works out with you and that your husband feels more comfortable about this fabulous service!

[JillA 2]

I love CustomHouse... I actually phoned them this morning because I needed to do a Wire Transfer (to get the $$ faster than regular EFT) they walked me through step by step..... it's so simple and they have superb customer service. Been using them for a year now, and really no problems, it's a great company!

[July09Bride 1]

My husband just got set up with the at the end of last week. Things are going really well now! He originally set everything up before we left for the honeymoon, and kinda forgot about it. (Imagine that... forgetting about real life while in Hawaii! lol) Anyway, while we were gone, he received a couple of email reminders about the continuation of setting up his account. When we got back, he called a few days later and they talked him through EVERYTHING over the phone. He had to give his SSN, but I believe that's because he gave it as part of his original verifcation information. Anyway, everything was worked out and he's good to go!

Customhouse is amazing!

[trailmix 77]

So I did my first customhouse transaction the other night, i've got to say it was a bit frustrating.

When I was adding my bank accounts, for the transfer, it asks for a routing number, but they also mention bank number - so i'm thinking do you want the bank number and the routing number or just the routing number?? (just the routing number btw) - also, did I want a wire transfer or EFT? (EFT)

So I called them, I was on hold for a looooooong time, when I finally got someone he was short and not really helpful. I told him I was doing my first transaction and had a few questions. He basically said 'yes'.

After all the rave reviews I expected him to offer to walk me through it or something

Anyway, transaction did go through - well so they said in the email - since it is my first one it can take up to a week for the transfer to actually happen.

[SapphireDreams 71]

So I did my first customhouse transaction the other night, i've got to say it was a bit frustrating.

When I was adding my bank accounts, for the transfer, it asks for a routing number, but they also mention bank number - so i'm thinking do you want the bank number and the routing number or just the routing number?? (just the routing number btw) - also, did I want a wire transfer or EFT? (EFT)

So I called them, I was on hold for a looooooong time, when I finally got someone he was short and not really helpful. I told him I was doing my first transaction and had a few questions. He basically said 'yes'.

After all the rave reviews I expected him to offer to walk me through it or something

Anyway, transaction did go through - well so they said in the email - since it is my first one it can take up to a week for the transfer to actually happen.

You wanted and EFT, they are free. Wire transfers have a service fee.

They should offer you a walk through, they offered one to me. The routing # thing confused me too, don't worry!

[Peachey 10]

I found out the other day that if you have a Royal Bank account in Canada, you can open a RBC bank account in the US and transfer your funds from the RBC (US) account to the Royal (Canada) account for free. You get everything with this bank account, free online banking, telephone banking a "cheque" card (I think that's a debit card).

That's what I plan on doing when I move.

[trailmix 77]

I found out the other day that if you have a Royal Bank account in Canada, you can open a RBC bank account in the US and transfer your funds from the RBC (US) account to the Royal (Canada) account for free. You get everything with this bank account, free online banking, telephone banking a "cheque" card (I think that's a debit card).

That's what I plan on doing when I move.

Yes, we had that account, I say 'had' as we closed the Canadian account because - well because they were so annoying to begin with I couldn't get rid of their account fast enough really.

That aside, transferring between the two accounts is incredibly easy, all done online and yes, you do get a 'cheque' card which can be used as a credit card or debit card. It's not a real 'visa card' though because although you can use it say to buy something online - the funds are debited just like a debit card - so no 'credit' involved.

[trailmix 77]

So I did my first customhouse transaction the other night, i've got to say it was a bit frustrating.

When I was adding my bank accounts, for the transfer, it asks for a routing number, but they also mention bank number - so i'm thinking do you want the bank number and the routing number or just the routing number?? (just the routing number btw) - also, did I want a wire transfer or EFT? (EFT)

So I called them, I was on hold for a looooooong time, when I finally got someone he was short and not really helpful. I told him I was doing my first transaction and had a few questions. He basically said 'yes'.

After all the rave reviews I expected him to offer to walk me through it or something

Anyway, transaction did go through - well so they said in the email - since it is my first one it can take up to a week for the transfer to actually happen.

Just an update, for anyone wondering how long a first transaction takes. I booked an EFT transfer on September 16th around 7:30 pm - transferring from a U.S. bank to a Canadian bank - they withdrew it from the U.S. bank on September 18th and it arrived in my account yesterday, the 22nd - so around 6 days.

Edited September 23, 2009 by trailmix