Adding husband's name to my current account

Terrimarie

I am at that stage of my life when I need to review my finances. :rotfl: I have a current account and savings account in my sole name, which I have held for 10 years, and wanted to add my husband's name so that he can run the account if necessary.

We saw a member of staff who took all our details (my husband had a previous ISA with the Bank two years ago but we still had to go through all the ID requirements even though his details were still on the database:(). We were told that the Bank Manager had to ok the account being in our joint names, which was just a formality, but he was in a meeting.:(

After not hearing for two weeks and noting my statement was still in my sole name, I went in to the bank to see what was happening only to be told that the Bank Manager had not agreed and the reason was because "there was nothing in it for them" (i.e. the Bank). I cannot understand this reasoning as I have my salary paid in each month and I have a fair amount in my savings account. :mad:

I am now considering taking my account elsehwere, after writing a letter of complaint but before I do so I just wondered if anyone out there knows whether this is common practice to refuse a married couple to hold a bank account together.:question:

Any comments gratefully received.

missile

What a farce. I had a slightly different problem with a large cheque for a maturing endowment which was in my name a my wife's maiden name. One phone call and her maiden name was added to my account. I did not even have to supply ID for her maiden name - that could have been difficult.

What bank are you with? I would switch asap.

If you do decide to complain, write to the head office. The manager will hate you for it, but that is a bonus:T

Cmdr_Bond

Question:

Are you just adding your husbands name on to the list of people authorised to control the account (no extra cards, chequebooks, statements, &c...) or are you trying to make it a joint account?

I appreciate that going down the joint account route links your financial profiles and can, in some cases, affect your credit ratings.

May I ask which bank this is, if not could you at least say if it is a proper bank or a building society wannabe bank.

Terrimarie

I just want to make it a joint account with me and my husband able to run it. The Bank is Barclays and I have now written a complaint letter to post tomorrow.

Degenerate

Terrimarie wrote: »

I just want to make it a joint account with me and my husband able to run it. The Bank is Barclays and I have now written a complaint letter to post tomorrow.

I don't believe this is possible. The correct route would be to open a new joint account, transfer over the balance and any DDs/Standing orders, then close the old one.

hermante

Terrimarie wrote: »

I just want to make it a joint account with me and my husband able to run it. The Bank is Barclays and I have now written a complaint letter to post tomorrow.

If you read Cmdr_Bond's post again, the account can be in your name only but your husband can be authorised to run it for you.

There is nothing wrong with having a joint account as well but as Degenerate says, you will need to open a new one with him.

I would recommend you keep a sole name account in the unlikely event that something happens to your husband and the bank blocks your joint account while things are resolved.

Cmdr_Bond

Terrimarie wrote: »

I just want to make it a joint account with me and my husband able to run it. The Bank is Barclays and I have now written a complaint letter to post tomorrow.

Then you will have to open a new Joint account I believe.

I know that Lloyds will let you turn a sole SAVINGS account into a Joint one just by completing a form, but I am not so sure about the BANK accounts, as these are far more liable to abuse and fraud than a savings account.

SpudGunner

Sorry people but that advice is actually incorrect.

YES you can add your husband onto your account(s) and make them joint.

NO you do not need to open a new account and transfer things across.

Cannot for the life of me understand why they would say no because "there is nothing in it for them". How bizarre, surely we are there to help the customer?

Assuming your husband passed the credit checks and ID was acceptable for him (and that your identity could be verified as well) then there is no reason why this could not be easily done.

I am a Branch Manager for Barclays by the way and agree to these types of transactions all the time.

jambosans

SpudGunner wrote: »

Assuming your husband passed the credit checks and ID was acceptable for him (and that your identity could be verified as well) then there is no reason why this could not be easily done.

Surely if the OP requests a second named party added to a sole current account a credit check must be performed? I'm not familiar with Barclays procedure, but know this is the case with other high street banks.

That's the only legitimate reason I can see for Barclay's refusing the application to add an second named party to the OP's account.

Formal complaint, and perhaps a move elsewhere. I agree with other's sentiment about keeping your own sole account and opening up a separate joint account.

SpudGunner

Yes, as I stated your husband would have to have a credit check made as standard practice, but if that had been the reason for the decline then of course we should then be advising him of that fact so that he could then go away and review his CRA file and see the exact reasons.

Otherwise, there are occasions where people get a low credit score and they therefore cannot be added on, or there are times when the account holder might have a full debit card, but for the additional party we can only agree a visa electronic type card. That can cause issues as you cannot have a mixture of card types on the same accounts.

The account holder in that case though could still downgrade their type of card to match.

I would go back and ask to speak to the manager as maybe someone has got the wrong end of the stick. If not then a formal complaint would be your next option.

Best of luck, I do despair sometimes!

BasicBankerDeamon

Just wated to give everyone the correct infomation. I hold a Premier Life account with Barclays and my partner a current plus. When I opened the account my credit was good now its awful. My partners how ever is still fantastic. When we applied to open a joint account we where told we could only have a cashcard account due to my credit score. So instead of that I was added to her Current Plus, a credit check was not required and the account was in our joint names within 3 hours a few days later i recieved a card for that account. Adding somebody to your account does not require a credit check, opening a new account does.

I also have been added to my mothers HSBC account without a credit check, she holds a HSBC advance. I am an account holder on my partners and my mums NO CREDIT SEARCH NESERCARY