Banks going against their word

littlestar1981

I spent 3 hours in the Halifax the other week with my ex trying to sort out our joint overdraft.

We signed papers to say that I would pay half the amount then transfer the account into his name. They have since turned round and said they made a mistake it can't be done.

Am now at stalemate with my ex over this (can't contact him) and fear I will have to pay it all. I am paying £40 a month in interest because he won't.

Shall I just pay it all? Should I make a complaint to the Halifax and seek out some form of compensation?

Sorry I know I'm duplicating but am desperate :mad:

M_Thomson

littlestar1981 wrote:

I spent 3 hours in the Halifax the other week with my ex trying to sort out our joint overdraft.

We signed papers to say that I would pay half the amount then transfer the account into his name. They have since turned round and said they made a mistake it can't be done.

Am now at stalemate with my ex over this (can't contact him) and fear I will have to pay it all. I am paying £40 a month in interest because he won't.

Shall I just pay it all? Should I make a complaint to the Halifax and seek out some form of compensation?

Sorry I know I'm duplicating but am desperate :mad:

Hi,
You say you signed papers to say that you would pay half the overdraft. What did the papers say? Are you sure the papers were not just to transfer an account into his name only?

regularsaver1

sounds like it

banks can not really get involved with the dispute - have you consulted a solicitor/CAB?

halifax wouls have to agree tom your ex taking on account in his own name - of which he is credit scored for

maybe take him to court instead of blaming bank? - his debt - but both liable

jonesMUFCforever

A joint account has joint and several liability.
You cannot just say i will pay half and let your partner pay the other half.
Halifax have the right to claim the whole balance owed from both of you.They have probably credit scored your partner and found that he is ineligible for whatever facility is needed to clear the overdraft.
I would certainly (if you have not done this already) open a new bank account for yourself with another bank and then write to Halifax stating the account is in dispute and that it should be blocked immediately.
It won't solve your immediate problem but neither of you will be able to make withdrawals from the account (including direct debits and standing orders) to make the situation worse.
I would also take legal advise from CAB unless Halifax let you have your share of the money that you transferred back until a solution can be found.

littlestar1981

Thanks guys.

M Thomson - the jointly signed form was just to remove my name from the joint account. There was also a letter the advisor wrote and signed on letterheaded paper to say that once I had paid £1250 the form would then be submitted to put the account solely in his name. I transferred the £1250 that day. luckily when it all went wrong I was able to get that back.

The reason they gave (3 weeks later) for not removing my name was because the account was overdrawn.... I understand they prefer 2 names to chase for a debt than one, but to me it's like 'yes you can do this' then 'no i've decided you can't'. Can they do that?

Regular Saver - the CAB said it's a toughie, stalemate. Joint and severable liability, so if I don't want myself paying £40 a month interest (as he won't pay it) I might aswell pay it myself and go through small claims court. Problem is, knowing him he'd probably claim he's no money at all (and i'd then have court costs too) or claim I chose to pay it all myself. Grrr. Solicitor said the same.

EJones999 - The account has been blocked for several months now, and the day we were in the bank being told it was sorted we surrendered all debit cards and cheque books. And the day I found out they were'nt doing what they promised I spoke to the head of Halifax's business centre and got my £1250 transferred back, don't you worry!!

Shall I just pay it all? Should I make a complaint to the Halifax and seek out some form of compensation? It's the financial association on my credit rating I want rid of... I can't even get a balance transfer card for no reason other than the association of he with a pants credit rating.

jamesd

They can do it. Be glad you were able to get the money back. If it's the highest interest rate item or if it's showing as the only active defaulted account on your own credit record, best to pay it and remove yourself from the account.

Whether it's fair or not is another matter.

Debt_Free_Chick

littlestar1981 wrote:

Shall I just pay it all? Should I make a complaint to the Halifax and seek out some form of compensation? It's the financial association on my credit rating I want rid of... I can't even get a balance transfer card for no reason other than the association of he with a pants credit rating.

This is a b-u-m situation :mad:

As I think you know, the problem is that Halifax can currently chase you and demand repayment of ALL the debt if your ex doesn't pay his share. They can see from his credit file that he's bad with money, so they would prefer to keep the option of being able to chase you, rather than him :mad:

The only way you can rid of the financial association is to close the account - and that means paying off the debt.

I hate to suggest this, but I would consider paying it all off, if you can. This way, you know for sure that the debt is paid and you can then deal with the disassociation and get on with your life.

Any other way and you have the dark cloud of him not paying and you getting chased by Halifax - and, of course, the financial association.

Not a very MSE solution - but sometimes there are issues other than purely moneysaving to take into account. This solution is, of course, "not fair" - you need to weigh up the benefits you would get, compared to the money you would have to part with.

Hope this helps you to make a decision.