Can a married woman open a bank account in her maiden name?

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Comments

  • iamana1ias
    iamana1ias Posts: 3,777 Forumite
    foxyruby wrote: »
    Thanks Andy L and Biggles

    She may well have to go down the business account route. It's just tantalising because there are married women, such as Lindy Lou on this site, and others elsewhere, who are saying that they've got a variety of bank accounts in their maiden names as well as married names and as long as the National Insurance number is the same throughout there isn't a problem.

    Not really. I'd bet that they had their maiden name accounts first, and their married name accounts after they married.

    If your friend has gone to all of the effort of changing her name and all of her documents to match, can't she just use that name?! Sounds like a huge amount of hassle for not much point otherwise.
    I was born too late, into a world that doesn't care
    Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair
  • foxyruby
    foxyruby Posts: 54 Forumite
    No, I've since spoken to a couple of women who said they opened their accounts in their maiden names after they got married.

    My friend has security reasons for needing her account in her maiden name, something I can't go into here.
    All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy.

    Spike Milligan

    :beer:
  • Sounds to me that it is not having photographic & address ID in her maiden name is the problem. Even when opening an new account with a bank you already have a relationship with, you may sometimes need ID - I've had to supply new ID for my bank.
    Sounds like it would be much simpler to open whatever account she likes in her married name as she'll have all the ID. Can't see why there should be any problems simply changing her name later - all she'd have to provide is her marriage cert AFAIK. A friend did exactly this (but a few years after opening the account).
  • foxyruby
    foxyruby Posts: 54 Forumite
    Hi wee bargain hunter

    Yes, we've just found one bank who have offered to do this. However, they've said that they can't guarantee that their head office will accept a name change afterwards, we'd have to take the risk.
    All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy.

    Spike Milligan

    :beer:
  • iamana1ias
    iamana1ias Posts: 3,777 Forumite
    foxyruby wrote: »
    , we'd have to take the risk.

    How is there risk for either of you? This sounds really dodgy
    I was born too late, into a world that doesn't care
    Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair
  • looby-loo_2
    looby-loo_2 Posts: 1,566 Forumite
    Hi
    I'm with Barclay's. My dad always forgot I was married :rolleyes:and for 20 years he sent me birthday and Christmas cheques and cheques for the children's birthdays etc in my maiden name. The bank always accepted them as they knew me. I don't know if you could have a similar arrangement.
    Doing voluntary work overseas for as long as it takes .......
    My DD might make the odd post for me
  • foxyruby
    foxyruby Posts: 54 Forumite
    Thanks Looby-Loo but her bank (Barclays) has already refused!
    All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy.

    Spike Milligan

    :beer:
  • I simply cannot understand how complicated this seems to be.

    It's maybe because your friend was wanting to open an account in her maiden name that the problems arose as she did not have enough ID or info at the credit reference agencies. Has she actually been credit checked yet ie gone through the application process?

    Women change their names all the time and banks are used to this. I think maybe your friend has got bogged down in details. It's not up to a bank to "allow" a name change. Just open whichever account suits her best (on-line or off-line) in her married name and sort out the name change later. Banks do this all the time. Just do it. In my experience bank staff can tell 5 people 5 different things but when it actually comes down to it they will simply follow proceedure. If you want reassurance your friend could check out FAQ's on bank websites for "name change" etc but I'd be worried about her getting bogged down in details again. Unless the rules have changed for fraud etc, then it really is a simple process to change a name with a marriage cert. Who cares what comments staff make as long as the job gets done?

    Check out Quidco etc in case there are any cashback offers on new bank accounts as they are usually quite good :j. Good luck!
  • foxyruby
    foxyruby Posts: 54 Forumite
    Ah, thank you wee bargain hunter! A couple of days before you posted your message, a man at Lloyds TSB advised my friend to do just what you suggested. She did so, i.e. she let him open an account for her in her married name, showed him her marriage certificate etc. and he credit-checked her on her married name. A couple of weeks later, when her new current account was set up and fully functional, he changed it to show her maiden name and it's gone through without a hitch. She missed out on your excellent suggestion about Quidco, but at least she finally got her account. So thanks for clarifying how it works. You're an absolute star. And of course your solution is now here for any other women who get caught up in all the misinformation between bank employees. Cheers! :beer:
    All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy.

    Spike Milligan

    :beer:
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