Closing unused current accounts

perhaps_2

My wife and I have a joint current account which we pay our salaries into and all our payments/bills are taken out of. We both have our old pre-marriage current accounts which are sitting at £0. We both agree that these old current accounts are a bit pointless and we could simplify our paperwork by closing them.

Are there any disadvantages to this in terms of credit scores or trustworthiness/stability in the eyes of lenders? We've both had these accounts for well over 10 years. A few times I've been asked on forms how long I've been with my current bank but I'm not sure why they ask?

Thanks for any thoughts on this...

Nine_Lives

I know in the past Nationwide have put up accounts (don't know if they still exist without looking) that have only been available to people who have been with them for x-years. This is the first and only thing that springs to my mind, but then my fountain of knowledge is very limited

CLAPTON

In view of the current situation where money laundering rules, fraud checks, unusual usage, overseas usage etc etc is likely to have your debit card and current account blocked for no real reason, I wouldn't cross the road let alone go abroad without 2 debit cards and two credit cards.

Experience has shown this to be an essential precaution

So I would start using both a/cs on a regular basis just in case the main a/c has a problem.

Consumerist

perhaps wrote: »

A few times I've been asked on forms how long I've been with my current bank but I'm not sure why they ask?

From a lenders point of view, you are probably considered a higher risk if you have only been with your current bank for a short time. If you have had your new account for a couple of years or more then it would probably have little effect on your credit score if you closed the old accounts.

Identity fraud should be your main concern - if you don't keep a check on these old accounts, you could finish up with a nasty surprise in the form of an unexpected overdraft and consequential fees to pay. If you are not using them, it might be safest to close them.
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perhaps_2

In response to a few points:

• We've had our joint current account for about 3 years
• We also have another joint current account with Nationwide (only used as a conduit for mortgage overpayments)

The next time we will need to contact a lender will be in two years when our fixed rate mortgage ends so it sounds like by then we'll have a reasonable history with our joint current account(s).

jadex

Having joint account is fine but it is a good idea to keep individual ones as well (even if only to separate 'pocket money' from main bills).
Besides, "happily ever after" is not always the case...