Joint Account - good idea?

StrugglingNurse

Hi all,
My partner wants us to open a joint account for things like meals out, food shopping.
I’m not a fan of the idea because my credit is poor - theirs not.
They have no o/d, no debt, own properties... me different story.

I said outright I’m against the idea because they would be linked to me financially and I am in debt.
My debt is all manageable, no missed payments and I have no ccj’s.

I’m just not 100% sure of the implications for them.
Any advice on this?

burner04

Joint accounts are almost always a bad idea.

colsten

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/joint-accounts

Only you can tell whether the associated risks are acceptable to you, and whether the benefits outweigh the risks.

MalMonroe

NO. NEVER. Can you tell I've had a bad experience?  I had a joint account with my ex-husband and trusted him completely. Big mistake. Got burned. Lesson learned.

EssexExile

Me and other half have had a joint account since 1976. No problems so far but it's early days yet.

Alexland

My wife and I have a joint account and it's been fine so far apart from she is a bit miffed that after she added me onto her existing account they always treat me as the primary account holder. Still the opposite happened when I added her onto my Nectar card and now they send her all my vouchers. Having manageable debt without missing payments can actually improve someone's credit file and make them more attractive when applying for financial products.

enthusiasticsaver

You are correct in that if you have a poor credit record and you are financially linked to your partner by opening a joint account then he or she may be affected in applications for credit. However you say you have no missed payments so why is your credit record poor? It is not poor just by having debt although if you have a high level it may be deemed unaffordable with new applications but in itself that should not affect your partner adversely.  As @Alexland says having well managed credit actually makes you a better candidate for borrowing (so long as it is not  unaffordable) then someone who has never had it in the past.  My DH and I have had a joint account (and personal accounts) since we first got married 38 years ago and never had an issue.  It makes sense if you have a house together as then bills for utilities, mortgage, rent etc could come from that and if either party had an accident or was incapacitated in any way then the other can access the account to make sure bills etc are still paid. 

StrugglingNurse

MalMonroe said:

NO. NEVER. Can you tell I've had a bad experience?  I had a joint account with my ex-husband and trusted him completely. Big mistake. Got burned. Lesson learned.

Sorry that has happened to you, I had a bad experience from a previous partner of mine - didn’t have a joint bank account but got left with a lot of debt after relationship ended. 

My current partner is in a much better position financially than me - and they are aware of my current situation - I just worry about how it would impact their credit score 

Rich1976

In principal a joint account is a good idea if you trust each other 100% especially for the household bills. Also a good idea to agree any planned spending that the account is to be used for so one person doesnt spend all the money in the account thinking it is theirs and leaving the other person without much.

StrugglingNurse

enthusiasticsaver said:

You are correct in that if you have a poor credit record and you are financially linked to your partner by opening a joint account then he or she may be affected in applications for credit. However you say you have no missed payments so why is your credit record poor? It is not poor just by having debt although if you have a high level it may be deemed unaffordable with new applications but in itself that should not affect your partner adversely.  As @Alexland says having well managed credit actually makes you a better candidate for borrowing (so long as it is not  unaffordable) then someone who has never had it in the past.  My DH and I have had a joint account (and personal accounts) since we first got married 38 years ago and never had an issue.  It makes sense if you have a house together as then bills for utilities, mortgage, rent etc could come from that and if either party had an accident or was incapacitated in any way then the other can access the account to make sure bills etc are still paid. 

Thank you -
I just have a lot of debt, credit cards, loan, overdraft.
I have payment plans in place for some creditors, I’m deemed ‘high risk’ due to my borrowing.
My rating is on the rise due to me reducing my o/d (bit by bit) and I never miss a payment on other creditors and pay more than the minimum payment when I can.

I have been honest with my partner about the situation I am in I just wanted some advice as I did say my history could affect them.

And yes, the reason for the joint account is for practical reasons such as food shopping - put money in every month and that would be for us. None of the ‘you paid for shopping last time or this meal’.

NottinghamKnight

My opinion wold be to keep things separate, agree a sum per month that would cover expenditure and then probably for you to set up a standing order to his account and he pays for it.
One thing that he could do, but there is risk, is take on some of your debt and for you to then pay him, he may well be able to get 0% cards for example which could save hundreds or thousands, however on the point of transfer it would become his debt and he would be liable. It's certainly not for everyone but would be far better than for example a guarantor loan.