Is a joint account a good or bad idea?

Legacy_user

Both my partner and I have got our own separate accounts and we split the bills between us - he pays his own phone bill, the rent, council Tax and the car stuff (tax and insurance), I pay all the utilities such as gas elec water etc.

We were thinking maybe a joint account would be a more streamlined option but he is currently in a DMP. Would that have a derogatory effect on my file? My file isn't perfect (two defaults and some missed payments, hence we are looking at doing things differently with the bills) but I don't want to make it worse.

Would going joint be better or worse? Or if we both have adverse files would it make no odds?

He has a Barclays Current account and I have a Santander 123 account.

GingerBob_3

He has a DMP - then joint accounts of any kind are a bad idea. Also, make sure utility and phone accounts are in a single name. Sometimes these companies illegally create financial associations, and these get accepted by the CRAs due to a lack of quality control on the part of the CRAs.

System

Thank you, I didn't know that. His DMP is well managed in terms of he's never missed a payment and he's about halfway through. But yes all the utilities are in separate names already.