Ex wont close joint account

eskbanker

Daliah said:

eskbanker said:

https://www.lloydsbank.com/help-guidance/for-your-next-step/divorce-separation/value-of-a-financial-checklist.html seems to be a fairly generic guide rather than something definitive and binding (such as Ts & Cs obviously!) but may be indicative of Lloyds' approach:

4. Joint bank accounts: you’ll need to agree with your former partner how to deal with any joint accounts. Both of you are liable for any existing debt and for any increases. If you cannot agree on how to split any credit or debit balances then advise your bank. They will freeze the account and only act on instructions from both of you.

This guidance is clearly not in line with their T&Cs.

It undoubtedly contradicts the section you highlighted, but I suspect that they'll be relying on a later one:

16.3 If we become aware of a dispute between you, we may take steps to prevent any of you giving instructions or using the account individually until the dispute ends.

Daliah

eskbanker said:

Daliah said:

eskbanker said:

https://www.lloydsbank.com/help-guidance/for-your-next-step/divorce-separation/value-of-a-financial-checklist.html seems to be a fairly generic guide rather than something definitive and binding (such as Ts & Cs obviously!) but may be indicative of Lloyds' approach:

4. Joint bank accounts: you’ll need to agree with your former partner how to deal with any joint accounts. Both of you are liable for any existing debt and for any increases. If you cannot agree on how to split any credit or debit balances then advise your bank. They will freeze the account and only act on instructions from both of you.

This guidance is clearly not in line with their T&Cs.

It undoubtedly contradicts the section you highlighted, but I suspect that they'll be relying on a later one:

16.3 If we become aware of a dispute between you, we may take steps to prevent any of you giving instructions or using the account individually until the dispute ends.

For an account with a zero balance, that would appear as utter unreasonable pigheadedness to me, not least because of the continuing enforced and unwanted financial association.

cx6

I understand your frustration, but you and your ex instructed Lloyds to open a JOINT account and they did that.

To close it, they require JOINT instructions. You can't blame Lloyds - the clue is in the meaning of the word 'joint'.

eskbanker

Daliah said:

eskbanker said:

Daliah said:

eskbanker said:

https://www.lloydsbank.com/help-guidance/for-your-next-step/divorce-separation/value-of-a-financial-checklist.html seems to be a fairly generic guide rather than something definitive and binding (such as Ts & Cs obviously!) but may be indicative of Lloyds' approach:

4. Joint bank accounts: you’ll need to agree with your former partner how to deal with any joint accounts. Both of you are liable for any existing debt and for any increases. If you cannot agree on how to split any credit or debit balances then advise your bank. They will freeze the account and only act on instructions from both of you.

This guidance is clearly not in line with their T&Cs.

It undoubtedly contradicts the section you highlighted, but I suspect that they'll be relying on a later one:

16.3 If we become aware of a dispute between you, we may take steps to prevent any of you giving instructions or using the account individually until the dispute ends.

For an account with a zero balance, that would appear as utter unreasonable pigheadedness to me, not least because of the continuing enforced and unwanted financial association.

Yes, to be clear I'm not defending Lloyds' actions here, just observing that they are probably compliant with the Ts & Cs.  OP did say that "Lloyds have refused to assist", but hasn't said that the balance is zero....

smashinglynaive

cx6 said:

I understand your frustration, but you and your ex instructed Lloyds to open a JOINT account and they did that.

To close it, they require JOINT instructions. You can't blame Lloyds - the clue is in the meaning of the word 'joint'.

To be fair, they only require it because of the dispute.  Had the OP just walked into the branch and asked to close it, they could have done just that.

If the OP was in a position to close the account at the time (not overdrawn and/or could have brought it to a zero balance) I'd suggest making a complaint to Lloyd's on the basis that they were given rather poor advice.  There seems to have been little need to freeze the account on the day as it should simply have been closed.  If the OP had frozen the account initially and gone back later then fair enough, but as they appear to have had the desire to close it there and then the freezing was unnecessary and frankly a bit bizarre.

Daliah

cx6 said:

To close it, they require JOINT instructions. You can't blame Lloyds - the clue is in the meaning of the word 'joint'.

No they don't. The T&Cs expressly state that the account can be closed on the instruction of any of the account holders.

elsien

Might help if the OP clarified if there is any money in the account or not, 

smashinglynaive

Daliah said:

cx6 said:

To close it, they require JOINT instructions. You can't blame Lloyds - the clue is in the meaning of the word 'joint'.

No they don't. The T&Cs expressly state that the account can be closed on the instruction of any of the account holders.

Which is presumably overridden by

16.3 If we become aware of a dispute between you, we may take steps to prevent any of you giving instructions or using the account individually until the dispute ends.

Daliah

smashinglynaive said:

Daliah said:

cx6 said:

To close it, they require JOINT instructions. You can't blame Lloyds - the clue is in the meaning of the word 'joint'.

No they don't. The T&Cs expressly state that the account can be closed on the instruction of any of the account holders.

Which is presumably overridden by

16.3 If we become aware of a dispute between you, we may take steps to prevent any of you giving instructions or using the account individually until the dispute ends.

we've been round this one already. See my earlier response to it.

cx6

Daliah said:

cx6 said:

To close it, they require JOINT instructions. You can't blame Lloyds - the clue is in the meaning of the word 'joint'.

No they don't. The T&Cs expressly state that the account can be closed on the instruction of any of the account holders.

agreed but NOT once it has been frozen