Quote from: ivanol on April 19, 2013, 10:01:13 PM

Quote from: libertine on April 19, 2013, 09:17:15 PM

hi im interested in buying some bitcoins im from the uk, i recently signed up on blockchain under the impression i could "ping-it" but, alas, i didnt ping anything and im left with a btc'less account also they have no blue buttons to click or ways i can buy BTC under the uk options of buying.

I've bought bitcoins in the UK from blockchain in the past, but their UK bank account funding option has been closed, and so has their pingit account. The same has happened to other exchanges offering bitcoins by UK bank transfer, and I'm not aware of any currently operating.

Quote from: libertine on April 19, 2013, 09:17:15 PM

so... local bitcoin has some ppl on there offering btc by bank transfer but if i send my bank details to them can they somehow draw more out than is agreed or could they basically rob me? on another note i dont really want to meet people in person unless i really have to but to me this is a big step backwards being a didgital currency an all if its the only way i can get my paws on some.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

I bought a few on localbitcoins. It works, and you simply do a bank transfer from your online banking to their account, so the person you trade with will not have your account details.

The cheapest way of buying bitcoins from the UK at the moment seems to be using transferwise (http://transferwise.com/) and one of the online exchanges (Bitstamp or MtGox). Transferwise do cheap bank transfers from the UK to the EU - they have a UK bank account to which you can transfer money, and will convert to Euros at a decent rate and send it as something called a "SEPA" transfer. Bitstamp and MtGox will both accept SEPA transfers in.

What you do is setup a Bitstamp (or MtGox, but I've not tested that) account, go to "Deposit", and then "EU Bank(SEPA)". Setup the deposit and you will be given a whole load of bank details. Then go to transferwise and set up a transfer, entering the bank details Bitstamp gave you as the recipient. Finally you pay transferwise, either by debit card or bank transfer. Funds have arrived within 36h when I've done it, but it apparently can take up to 3 days.

ok guys cheers for the replies so by the swing of things transferwise is the best way to go....you say direct debit, this is good news. so basically I can be in for a penny in for a pound tonight? minus 36 hours?