Can a joint bank account be frozen if the overdraft is being used?

aadviceplease

I am going through a divorce and have a joint overdraft with my ex husband, the account has an overdraft that has been used , can the account be frozen with a dispute so as to get ex husband to take 1/2 the responsibility of the debt? would this help stop defaults for me ? ex husband refuses to communicate.

born_again

Yes.
Speak to the bank about it.

MMW20

I used to work in a collections and recoveries role at a building society. The best thing to do is to call your bank/building society & explain your situation to see what options they have.

But our stance was we can’t get involved in marital disputes & we can’t make both of you repay half each, it was down to all account holders to ensure the account remains within the overdraft limit. If you agree a financial monthly plan that might impact future borrowing as it’ll show on the credit file, depends on the borrower if you apply for future credit.

But generally in terms of standard freezing, the interest would continue cause there is a balance outstanding & if you froze the account so neither can use it, depending on the freeze the other account holder could possibly ask for the freeze to be taken off as it’s still their account too. It can get complicated when it comes to a marital dispute where there’s been a relationship breakdown, sometimes you need both parties authority for things. Also, the bank/building society should confirm they are not allowed to tell you what the other account holders said & vice versa as that’s a GDPR thing.

retiredbanker1

Joint accounts have joint and sole responsibility for any overdrafts.
You can't just say I will pay half and my ex will pay the other half.

The bank could ask  you to pay it all or indeed your ex.

So before you contact the bank make sure that any monies that are received for you are transferred to another account (with a different bank). Once the bank know the account is in dispute it will be frozen.

DullGreyGuy

aadviceplease said:

I am going through a divorce and have a joint overdraft with my ex husband, the account has an overdraft that has been used , can the account be frozen with a dispute so as to get ex husband to take 1/2 the responsibility of the debt? would this help stop defaults for me ? ex husband refuses to communicate.

From the banks point of view you are jointly and severally liable for the debts not 50/50. That means they can pursue both of you for 100% each (though not receive 100% from both of you). They may choose to pursue both of you or may decide one has much greater prospect of success and exclusively chase them. 

Guess it depends what you mean by "frozen"? They may be able to lock the account so neither of you can continue spending from it but it's likely to continue accruing interest/fees on the debt until its paid off.  They may be willing to do a short term arrangement about the costs but they won't freeze them indefinitely and will probably instead issue a demand for repayment and start the recovery process