Need advice, joint account problems!

Degeneratemoo

Help!

When I lived with my ex a year ago we have a joint account for paying the bills, unfortunately when we split up last July this account was not closed nor did it have a no-ops put on it. There was a reason for this (well the closing, the no-ops i wasn't aware of at the time) being that I needed the account open for the month following our break up to complete any bill payments, after this time I was not able to get a signature from her agreeing to close the account since I did not know where she was.

The account was emptied last August so the balance since then has remained at £0.01.

On Friday my ex withdrew £300 from this account putting it £300 in debt and subject to interest.

I have not spoken to or seen my ex since last July (a year to the month... strange that..) and I don't really have any idea where she is and I do not have a contact telephone number.

I have now put a no-ops on the account so nothing further can be taken but I am still left with a £300 debt to my name (and hers).

I have spoken to the bank today and whilst they were sympathetic they said that there was nothing they could do to assist since the terms of the account are clear and I am as responsible as she is despite that I have not used the account in nearly a year & the fact I did not withdraw the money.

The banks advice is get in touch with my ex and either get her to repay the money or get her to sign the account over to just her and take my name off. To be honest I cannot see either of these happening since she is very far from money savvy and can be a stubborn...er..... lady when she wants to be, that is of course IF I can find her.

So what do I do now? Do I pay the amount off and put it down to experience?

Can I pay the amount off and then pursure the full amount from her in a small claims court if she is unwilling to pay me back?

Do I have any rights with the bank given that it is clear that I did not take the money (they have her signature on the withdrawl slip) and that I have not been using the account (it has been dormant since last year)?

I'm going to do what I can to find her but as I say I can't see her paying up.

The overdraft facility (which is £500) is not interest free either, the adviser that I spoke to could not give me and exact figure but estimated that the interest would be approximatley %23 a month which is a HUGE amount!

What do I do?

Please help!

Rodney

Bossyboots

To avoid the interest, you should probably pay it off.

As they have a slip signed by her, they must know where she was when the money was withdrawn and I would have thought you are entitled to that information. If they say it is a joint liability, they must then accept that you are entitled to all info in relation to the operation of the account. It may even be obvious from your statement? Would that info be any use to you in tracing her?

I think you have to consider whether pursuing her for the money will just stir up more problems than you want to deal with but it is galling that she has done this and I can understand if you do not want to leave it be.

dprovan

hi

I had a very similar situation a number of years ago, although the problem was the partner had run up a number of debts some in joint names and some in only mine. Initially I panicked alot and tried to negotiate with some of the creditors explaining the situation and got the response that you got from some (worst was a bank also). I did speak with a lovely lady from electricity board who took pity and chased my ex partner and got her to repay debt. Anyway to my point I sought legal advice from a very well respected solicitor who told me to not pay a penny and write to each of the relevant parties explaining why ie due to their inability to assist with the matter. His reasoning was if I started paying they would see me as the mug and chase me for all the debt. This worked and everyone started playing ball and things were resolved.

I appreciate your situation is very different due to it being one debt and £300 in total. Im stubborn so wouldn't pay, but to cut free from all the emotional garbage the sensible thing is probably to pay and move on, I guess. But Ive never been sensible and would find it tough paying when someone else is clearing acting the goat...

good luck mate and it sounds as though you are well shot.

Xbigman

If you can afford the £300 then pay it and don't pursue it any farther, its just not worth it.

Try and get a copy of the withdrawal slip from the bank and keep your paying in slip when you clear the debt. This won't do much but is worth keeping in case anything surfaces in the future.
Regards



X

Degeneratemoo

So I should just let her steal £300 from me?

I have worked an entire week to get that, why the hell should she have it?

It is just plain wrong.

Bossyboots

Degeneratemoo wrote:

So I should just let her steal £300 from me?

I have worked an entire week to get that, why the hell should she have it?

It is just plain wrong.

I agree with you. I just thought it might not be worth the hassle but I would be livid if it happened to me and I would move heaven and earth to try to avoid paying.

I wonder whether you could persuade the bank to waive interest charges while you try to track her down.

I think you are going to be hard put to persuade the bank to go after her for the money. Presumably she hasn't given them an address as the statements are coming to you? It might be worth asking. Again, as this is a joint account I don't consider that is information they should keep from you.

My friend had this problem with his (soon to be) ex-wife. He has the advantage on ensuring the money is paid from her share of the divorce settlement but the bank hold him liable for the debt if she doesn't pay. However, they have frozen interest and blocked transactions on the account until their divorce is finalised but I suspect that is only because there are negotiations going on. Unfortunately you do not have that advantage.

I would be absolutely seething in your position and if I can think of anything to help I will post back.

Degeneratemoo

Thanks!

The bank (Natwest) told me that they would ring me back at 16:00 today to confirm that it was 100% sure (the assistant told me that in her mind she was almost certain that it would be) to be my ex. But surprise! They haven't phoned....... but just as I typed that they just did phone (17:18) but told me that they are still waiting for the image of the withdrawl slip to come through.

If I can get it interest free (which I doubt) whilst I sort this out then I will do all I can to pursue her. If the interest keeps gaining each month then I am tempted to pay it off and get her to pay me back.

If what the attendant told me is correct and they charge %23 interest per month that is £69 a month which seems a high amount to me.....

Turning_into_scrooge

Degeneratemoo wrote:

So I should just let her steal £300 from me?

I have worked an entire week to get that, why the hell should she have it?

It is just plain wrong.

I totally agree with you and i would also consider it to be theft. I think if it was me i would go and see a solicitor and seek some proffessional advise - free through CAB but in the mean time i would write a letter to the bank stating that you are seeking advise and don't pay for now. I think i would be blazing angry if it was me.

Degeneratemoo

I was. Thankfully I have managed to sort it all out (phew).

According to my ex, she asked for an overdraft on her current account but was refused (given that she isn't working) however the bank said that she also had the joint account which had an overdraft already on it and it was clear to the bank that I wasn't using the account.

They said that if she could get me to sign the account over to her then she could use the overdraft facility on there. My ex claimed to have tried to contact me but I never received a call so she went ahead and took the money out.

Thankfully I was able to make contact with her today so we have signed the account over to just her now.

So, it is all sorted..... just hope I don't have to see her again about something else...

Bossyboots

I'm glad it has worked out. Maybe now is the time to go through all your accounts and dealings and make sure they are all watertight so you don't get caught again.

Degeneratemoo

ARRRRRGGGHHH!

Received a letter from the bank today now saying that they are not willing to remove me from the account until the balance is settled and I should wait 3 months before applying again!

I'm getting just a little fed up with this now!

Where do I stand transferring money from my natwest ISA to another ISA, i currently have £4,300 in my Natwest one, can I transfer it to another ISA without affecting my £2000 pay-in limit as I have only paid in £1000 so far this year.

If so what ISA (mini) is good, I am currently in the process of transferring my current account to A&L and I am sick of Natwest messing me around now...

I will just take my money & go (once I have sorted out the joint account problem!)