Advice on joint bank account

dgtazzman

Morning all,I'm currently looking into current accounts as I want to open a join account with my fiancee.We both have current accounts with LloydsTSB and though we're quite happy with them, I'm debating if we should open our joint account with a different bank, under the motto 'don't put all your eggs into one basket'.

We'd be using this joint account solely to pay all our fixed monthly bills (utilities, rent, etc.). This because:- I want to seperate them from the rest of my finances- I'd like my fiancee to have access to these transactions if needed as I travel a lot for work

We'd be keeping our LloydsTSB account for our personal affairs and we'd only be putting enough into the joint account to cover said bills.My worry is, will transferring these affairs to a new account with a different bank harm my standing with LloydsTSB? I've started building up a relationship with them (been with them for nearing 2 years now) and they are slowly starting to offer me additional products, so in this respect, might it be a smarter move to keep our joint account with LloydsTSB too? We will each keep a current account with them and I also have a savings account with Lloyds, which I will keep. Not much can beat their Vantage at the moment for flexible saving on small amounts.

On the other hand, might it be better credit rating wise to have a current account with another bank reporting all nice little green marks, as we are looking to get a mortage about 2 years or so down the road.Currently looking at Halifax as the second bank, for their Clarity account. We'd qualify for the 5 pounds a month, so that would be a nice little extra. Also, we may well be intrested in some of the other financial products Halifax have on offer a bit further down the road, so I'm thinking it might be good to already have a relationship with them in preparation for this.

Suggestions for other bank/account are more than welcome, monthly throughput would be just over 1000 pounds for the bills.Thanks for the advice.

jonesMUFCforever

Personally I woul opt for the same bank - immediate transfers between accounts etc .

If they are good with you and you are good with them do you need another bank?

getmore4less

Don't have joint finances there is no need till you get a joint mortgage.

Don't have the joint account with the bank you have you own accounts.

OH clears off after running up a big OD on the joint account, they can take it out of yours.

DrSyn

Do you understand the dangers you are taking on by having a joint account with anyone!

1. You will become "Finacially Linked" to the other person. This can affect both of you in getting credit now and in the future.

2. You both become reasponsable for any debt on that account.

3. If you fall out or seperate, you can run into problems which you would not have with seperate accounts. You only have to read some of the posts on this site.

I wish you both a long and happy life together.

But one kowns what the hold future holds. Be careful!

DizzleUK

Whilst there are always stories of OH's running up debts in a joint account and then !!!!!!ing off to leave the other with the mess, to me, this is just scaremongering.

You know your partner, what they are capable of, how much you trust them. If YOU are happy to have a joint account, then get one.

I have been with my partner 7 years, we had a joint account with A&L which we closed in favour of Barclays last year (Santander *spit*).

Like you, we both bank with Barclays for our Sole Accounts and we have a Joint Account with them where we put in just over £1000 a month to cover rent, Council Tax, utilities, insurances etc.

It works very well for us. It may for you too.

I do have a basic bank account with Halifax that I have had for about 10 years. I don't use it, but if anything bad did happen I can get things transferred over pretty quickly.

Obviously, online banking is a must, so everything can be monitored (daily). We've never missed a Direct Debit or standing order, nor ever gone overdrawn or incurred charges in any other way.

Both of us know when everything comes out and when money needs to be in there. Communication is the key.

A lot of trouble stems from when one person is left to run things, cocks up somehow or another and then hides it from the other and by the time the other finds out, things have spiralled out of control.

Finally, having the joint account with the same bank makes things a whole lot easier. If we need to transfer money either between ourselves or to/from the joint account, it's one log in and the funds are where they need to be immediately.

dgtazzman

What a shame I've been vaccinated against scaremongering. If you don't even have enough trust in your relationship to be open about your finances and share the joint financial affairs, it's no wonder things go pearshaped.

The account will only have a 100 pound overdraft (for CRA reporting reasons) and won't have a large running balance, so there will not be much to make off with, but if my fiancee had wanted to screw me over, she could have done so 100-fold in the passed. Yes, it's a risk, so is crossing the street and not eating 5 fruit and veg a day.

Thanks for the advice, I think I will indeed stick with Lloyds for the joint account for the ease of it and as it will save a credit check (been pre-approved for a second current account with them). I'll just open up an ISA with Halifax to start a relationship with them, without effecting the longer standing one we have with Lloyds, just a shame Lloyds are in my eyes rather limited with their financial products compared to some other banks.

JournalGirl

I have a joint acc with my OH. We originally had all three accounts at the same bank because otherwise our money disappeared for four days every month transferring between banks, but now with faster payments it's not necessary. Go for whichever bank account offers you the best deal.

PNPSUKNET

I have had a joint account with my wife for over 5 years, never any issue and its just a bill pay account. Go for the halifax but do it in branch! £5 for paying in £1k. The reason I say do it in branch, is due to how much of a ball acke it is online.

Banks also dont repay loyalty

jen245

If you are interested in building a banking relationship with Halifax, you could open a reward account, and you'll earn £5 a month for paying in £1000, and you'll also earn an extra 0.2% on your ISA.

missile

IMHO is no value in having a long term relationship with a bank and in any event 2 years with a bank is not long.

It will not improve your credit rating, nevertheless I would suggest there are several good reasons for having accounts with more than one bank.

With faster payments you should not have an issue over bank transfers. I find my inter-bank transfers, between LTSB and RBS are virtually instant. There are restrictions on transfers from Nationwide and I find they do take longer.

Open a.n.other account with whichever bank takes your fancy.