Opening a Joint Account

studentguy

Hi Folks,

Me and my partner are thinking about opening a joint account for bills, joint shopping & emergencies which we both put an agreed amount of money in a month, but keeping our own bank accounts for our salaries and for our own personal bills and shopping etc.

Firstly, we're not married, but from my understanding that shouldn't be a problem, is that correct?

Secondly, I'm not sure what bank to go with. I currently bank with First Direct, and they've had really great customer service, but they don't offer much in the way of extras etc, whereas Natwest are offering the current account that gives 3% cashback on certain bills, but their customer service is rated a lot lower, and it might only be an extra hundred or so a year, it's not to be sniffed at, but it's hardly life changing if the service is so much worse.

What do you guys think? Is there another bank account we should consider? We're thinking of getting a mortgage with nationwide in about 6months - 1year time, will our credit scores recover in this time? (As I know credit scores are damaged by new accounts). Are we best getting a current account with a company we're likely to apply for a mortgage with? Like Nationwide?

Thanks!

TheShape

It might help you get a Nationwide Mortgage if you have an account with them AND manage it well. Check to see if they offer better mortgage deals for current account customers. Don't let that stop you getting a better mortgage deal elsewhere if available though.

A joint account will also create a financial association between the two of you but if you'll be getting a joint mortgage then this will be happening at that point anyway.

studentguy

TheShape wrote: »

It might help you get a Nationwide Mortgage if you have an account with them AND manage it well. Check to see if they offer better mortgage deals for current account customers. Don't let that stop you getting a better mortgage deal elsewhere if available though.

A joint account will also create a financial association between the two of you but if you'll be getting a joint mortgage then this will be happening at that point anyway.

Well, we've both got Help to Buy ISAs with Nationwide already, which we figured would help us.

badger09

Don't worry about credit scores.

What is your credit history like? What is your partner's credit history like?

If they are both good, then there should be no problem, as long as you trust each other to handle the joint account responsibly. However, if one of you has poor credit history, I would suggest you delay opening any joint account or mortgage application, until it has improved.

studentguy

badger09 wrote: »

Don't worry about credit scores.

What is your credit history like? What is your partner's credit history like?

If they are both good, then there should be no problem, as long as you trust each other to handle the joint account responsibly. However, if one of you has poor credit history, I would suggest you delay opening any joint account or mortgage application, until it has improved.

We've both got the highest credit scores according to Experian, I know that isn't the be all and end all, but gives us a clue!

So what would people value? A bank account with additional extras, or just one that's no frills but great customer service?

badger09

I would be looking for the account which gives you the best benefit for your situation. Customer service is only an issue when/if something goes wrong. I operate current accounts with many different providers and rarely need to contact any of them, so customer service is very low on my radar.

What is best for you might be interest on your balance, cashback on your bills, access to high rate on regular savings, or preferably more than one of these.

Have you looked at Nationwide Flexdirect?

xylophone

Do you have sole Flexdirects? You could have joint Flexdirect.

You would each have access to the Flex regular saver.