Sorry, in a bid to provide as much info about the build I completely forgot to add that when transferring money to the states, I opted for a company called Currencies Direct.
http://www.currenciesdirect.com/I set up an account using their iPayFX system.
The plus sides are there's NO charges and you can set up everything yourself by putting in the details . . .
For example : My bank were offering a rate of $1.550 / £1 (when the actual rate was $1.635 / £1) PLUS a fee of £9.50.
Currencies Direct offered $1.622 / £1 and NO further fees . . . . because I opted to pay C.D via a debit card (as they're a U.K-based company) I didn't get charged by the Bank, either.
As a plus the receiver (Marty) only got charged $20 receiving fee from his bank when normally it's $30 (although this could be coincidental).
My only issue, now, is finding other companies who'll let me do a direct transfer to their banks (and who I feel comfortable paying in this manner).
I'm not recommending this because : blah, blah, blah, disclaimer, disclaimer disclaimer etc . . . . BUT it worked for me and is how I'll be paying Marty (at least) in the future.
Plus I stopped the bank from getting a chunk of my money !! F**kers !!!
