Joint Account, which is best?

adam1382

Hello,

I need to open a joint account with my girlfriend for rent, bills, etc to be paid out of. We're probably looking at putting in approx. £1000 a month between us.

Can you advise me on which current account would be best for this purpose?

I'm guessing the Halifax Rewards one or possibly the A&L one which gives £100 for opening the account?

Thanks for any help or advice on this...

Adam

getmore4less

adam1382 wrote: »

Hello,

I need to open a joint account with my girlfriend for rent, bills, etc to be paid out of. We're probably looking at putting in approx. £1000 a month between us.

Can you advise me on which current account would be best for this purpose?

I'm guessing the Halifax Rewards one or possibly the A&L one which gives £100 for opening the account?

Thanks for any help or advice on this...

Adam

You don't need a joint account to manage the bills.

Make sure you are happy being financialy linked if not allready.

adam1382

I know, but we both want an account that we both pay into, rather than it coming from one of our accounts and the other one's contribution not making it in on time and leaving one of us short in our own bank accounts.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions on good bank accounts that I could use to transfer and arrange bills to be paid out of, and money for groceries to go in, etc. i.e. keeping our household finances seperate from our own individual personal finances.


Thanks

CLAPTON

Virtually all banks offer joint accounts on the same basis as single accounts... so if you are happy with your current bank why not use them?

I would say however, if you feel there is doubt that contributions may not be made in time then a joint a/c is certainly not the way to go... if this happens then both credit record can easily be damaged.

I don't know your personal situation and you may be in a long term very secure relationship but the reality is that the majority of 'living together' relationships break down.
Dissolving a realtionship is very easy, dissolving a joint a/c is much more difficult and risks damaging your long term credit rating.

Rafter

Adam,

Worth finding one that does 'faster payments' so that your money is not in limbo for 3 days when you do the transfer.

The same benefit can be achieved by getting a joint account with the same bank you are currently with.

Then it boils down to whether you want an intro gimmick that is unlikely to last (Halifax/A&L) or long term good service (Smile/First direct).

Personally I'd look at first direct, particularly if you are both prepared to move to them. They also do some of the best mortgage deals which you can usually offset against your savings and current account balance.

Good luck

R.

rb10

Rafter wrote: »

Then it boils down to whether you want an intro gimmick that is unlikely to last (Halifax/A&L)

The A&L offer is guaranteed not to last. You get £100 when you open the account, no more.

I would be very, very, very surprised if the Halifax offer did not last. Ok, the monthly payment may go up or down roughly in line with interest rates, but I fully expect it to continue for a long time.