Cheques in Maiden Name

mrs.butler

Hi, I have recently been successful with reclaiming some PPI charges with MBNA, who my account is now closed with.

They will be sending payment by cheque, but the account was in my Maiden Name.

I have been with First Direct for over 10 Years, so they will have record of my Maiden Name, and have been sent by Marriage Certificate before to confirm the change to my married name.

Will I be able to bank them?

Shakin_Steve

Your best bet would to ring FD, I have no personal experience of them, but I believe they are pretty good on the phone. In my dealings with our own bank,, Barclays, there was no problem with my wife presenting cheques in her maiden name but, I must say, that was only for a short period after our marriage.
A lot of people run accounts in their maiden name, it’s quite legal.

mrs.butler

Thanks. Have always found First Direct fantastic to deal with.

I wish I still had an account in my maiden name, but alas this is my only current account.

xylophone

They will be sending payment by cheque,

Have you asked MBNA if you can send them a certified copy of your MC so that the cheque can be correctly drawn?

firefox1956

First Direct are a pain in the a** when it comes to things like this I am afraid.

missile

firefox1956 wrote: »

First Direct are a pain in the a** when it comes to things like this I am afraid.

and a lot of other things too!

OP might be able to open an account in her maiden name?

mrs.butler

xylophone wrote: »

Have you asked MBNA if you can send them a certified copy of your MC so that the cheque can be correctly drawn?

No I have not in fairness. Was avoiding having to call them, will probably be the best plan of action.

mrs.butler

firefox1956 wrote: »

First Direct are a pain in the a** when it comes to things like this I am afraid.

Oh no that's disappointing to hear. I have always found them really helpful.

Anthorn

mrs.butler wrote: »

Hi, I have recently been successful with reclaiming some PPI charges with MBNA, who my account is now closed with.

They will be sending payment by cheque, but the account was in my Maiden Name.

I have been with First Direct for over 10 Years, so they will have record of my Maiden Name, and have been sent by Marriage Certificate before to confirm the change to my married name.

Will I be able to bank them?

I don't see the problem: No woman is forced to change their surname by reason of marriage and can continue to use their birth name. The process of banking the cheque will be to produce your birth certificate and your marriage certificate. Job done.

JuicyJesus

Anthorn wrote: »

I don't see the problem: No woman is forced to change their surname by reason of marriage and can continue to use their birth name. The process of banking the cheque will be to produce your birth certificate and your marriage certificate. Job done.

Banking law relating to the acceptance of cheques crossed "account payee only" disagrees with you about there being a problem or not.

If it's a small amount the bank would probably take it. If it isn't then they probably won't. Either way, they don't have to if the name they hold for their customer is the married one. That's at their discretion, and in this case then the right thing for OP to do is call FD.

No woman is forced to change their name to that of their partner but if they do and open a bank account on that basis then realistically only cheques in that name should go into it.

Voyager2002

My sister recently faced a similar issue...

While her bank (Lloyds) have a copy of her marriage certificate on file since she opened the account before her marriage, they made it clear that under no circumstances could they accept a cheque made out to her in her maiden name. Eventually she had to get a certified copy of her marriage certificate and send that to the people who owed her money, so that the cheque could be sent using her married name.

Banks are great... at giving their customers lots of trouble!