Totally stupid question: How do we get our two single accounts to a joint under the switching scheme

RubyShoes

I say stupid - but evidently from my experience with my own bank this week - it isn't. Because I can't do it.
So, me and my fiance are moving in officially together next week after living in and out of each others houses for 7 years. We get married this summer, so it's time to be fully fledged grown ups! He banks with Barclays. Me with RBS. I'm the one he's moving in with, I have a mortgage and a gazillion direct debits, so it was decided that mine would become a joint account, and we'd ask for his to be switched under whatever that switch scheme is and become a joint with mine.
Turns out, RBS can't do it. So, how can I do it? We have too many direct debits and wages etc going in to be switching them all ourselves. Can anyone help me with this? Is it possible? If so, which banks? Its hard to get in touch with a human to ask this. And all the !!!!!! branches are closed. So what I thought would be an easy task has turned in to a juggernaut. He moves in next weds and I'd wanted to do it all that evening via online options, but something tells me it isn't going to be that easy 🙄

Emmia

Surely the simplest solution is just to open a new fresh joint account and then move the DDs you need to?

RubyShoes

Noooooooo, that's precisely what we are trying to avoid. I've got like 25 direct debits/payments coming in and he has about 10. Neither of us has time for all that faffing! We just want a straightforward switcher that does what it says on the tin!

Jami74

Open a new joint account together and then both switch your sole accounts into it? We did Lloyds all via app and it was very easy. They've also got a switch incentive at the moment.

friolento

 It really shouldn't be complicated once you have decided that this is what you want to do.

1. turn your existing RBS account into a joint account https://www.rbs.co.uk/current-accounts/joint-account.html#setup
   
   
2. when above is completed (debit card received, online access for your partner established), request a CASS switch of your partner's account to the joint account. https://www.rbs.co.uk/current-accounts/switch-your-bank-account-to-rbs.html
   

You should be able to request all of this online, without the need to talk to anyone in RBS (or Barclays). 

However.

Having all your eggs in one basket is quite risky. What if RBS block your account for one reason or another? What if their systems go down (has happened before, outage for weeks!)? At a minimum, you should each have a credit card with a bank other than RBS / Natwest / Ulster. Having a spare current account each at different banks could also be a good idea, so you have a ready, working, account to e.g. get your salary paid into if your RBS account becomes temporarily unusable.

RubyShoes

We both already have a few different accounts. This is just for our main day to day one. 
Rbs said this couldn't be done. I'm now confused as to why they said that?!

friolento

I don't know why RBS said it couldn't be done, perhaps it's just a big misunderstanding. If you follow the links I posted for you, it should be really easy. It just won't be fast as, at a minimum, some stuff (new debit card for your fiance etc) needs to be sent by post, and CASS switches take a couple of weeks usually, but it's not complicated.

savergrant

'Turns out, RBS can't do it.'

Who at RBS did you ask?
There is a way to do it but it needs to be done in a particular order.
Adding someone to an account gives them access to the money in the account but also makes them jointly responsible for any debt. RBS will need to carry out checks.

Some accounts, like ISA can only have one account holder but current accounts are generally available as sole or joint on the same terms.

vacheron

Not sure about RBS, but when we looked to switch to Lloyds for the incentive last year, their rules for the incentive payment stated that both my wife and I would need to register for internet banking with them, open two individual Lloyds accounts, and then contact them to have these merged into a joint account, (which would have to be done in branch). 

This seemed to me like far too much hassle, and with too much risk of breaking the switch incentive custody chain along the way, so we just went elsewhere. Hopefully it's a bit easier now, or perhaps it's much easier if you don't need to follow the incentive rules?

PRAISETHESUN

Sole --> joint CASS switches are definitely allowed, but the accounts need to be in the same name. You can't just switch your sole RBS account into his sole Barclays account (or vice versa) with first converting the receiving account to a joint account that has the other person's name on it.

Easiest way forward is to either open a brand new joint account and each of you switch your sole accounts into it. Otherwise as above, convert one of your sole accounts into a joint one, and then the other switches into it.

Rob5342

The easiest way would just be to open a new joint account and switch your single ones into that. If you open one with Monzo or Starling it wouldn't take more than about ten minutes to do everything.