Current account for stay at home mum?

westernpromise

My other half is a SAHM looking after our 2 year old. She's currently with the NatWest.

The mortgage on the place we live in is in her name, and the NatWest has lately started bouncing mortgage DDs, even though she's inside the overdraft limit, because "we can't see any money going into the account". They have done this even after I started paying money into the account, and I suspect some suit at NatWorst has been told to get her overdraft down by whatever means.

What I'd like to do is move her out of the NatWest account and to a bank account which provides a basic but free service. I'd then pay the mortgage dosh into her current account and it would service the mortgage. She'll still have her own credit history and once she goes back to work can start doing socially useful stuff such as stoozing in her own name :-)

The catch is it appears to be tricky to find someone who will provide a non-earner with a current account. Does anyone have any suggestions? If you are on benefits and they insist on paying your dosh into a bank, what banks will let you open one?

As a moneysaving nerd, I am well fed up with chasing a few quid off this and that, only to find that the NatWest has added another £35 gimme charge to the old lady's overdraft...

tamtam10000

I'm after a similar thing:

I want a number of current accounts, accessible online, that DON'T require me to pay my salary in each month, so I can use Martin's budgeting method.

Anyone got any ideas? All that I've tried so far want my salary!

Penny-Pincher!!

Hello There

I bank with the woolwich and have done so for the past 3 years. I have had no problems at all and can not praise them enough! I have a main current Openplan account with them with a chequebook and Visa Delta with a £100 cheque guarentee card. I also have linked pots that pay 3.5% when you have over £50 in them and you can name these and easily move money from one account to the other all online. I have a pot that I move over our excess grocery money each month and this is going towards a conservatory early next year(have saved £635 in past 4 months). Also have a pot for Ebay, holiday, car etc. I also was offered a Barclaycard at the same time of opening the account with a healthy £2500 credit limit-I took it but dont use it-unless I put shopping on for the Nectar points (which finish end of aug) then pay in full from current account. I also have a cardsaver account which is an electron card (yuk), I use this mainly to pay in cheques from ebay that I receive so that its kept seperate from my normal banking. I think you ca pay DD's with this account

I used to bank with Halifax and was disgusted at their customer service, their branches and the constant slash of their interest rates. On the other hand-I have a Halifax One credit card and that side of Halifax has always been fantastic.

Do you have a good credit rating? I know some accounts, that if you pay less than £1000 a month through it the interest rates are terrible.

Good Luck

Penny-Pincher!!
xxx

Spendless

westernpromise wrote:

My other half is a SAHM looking after our 2 year old. She's currently with the NatWest.

The mortgage on the place we live in is in her name, and the NatWest has lately started bouncing mortgage DDs, even though she's inside the overdraft limit, because "we can't see any money going into the account". They have done this even after I started paying money into the account, and I suspect some suit at NatWorst has been told to get her overdraft down by whatever means.

Why don't use just change the DD to come out of your own bank account, it must be your wages that pays it anyway if your partner is a SAHM. That's what we did when we were in the same position living in a house that was in my name but only my husband working as I was looking after our child. If the bank is getting funny about no income at all coming in, what about having the child benefit and tax credit money paid into it?

supersaversam

Try the HSBC. They do a current account with online banking, DD facilites, switch/solo card etc- my friend opened one and the only income that was going in was child benefit

frepol

'NatWest has added another £35 gimme charge to the old lady's overdraft'

And you're paying it?????????????????????

BWZN93

frepol wrote:

'NatWest has added another £35 gimme charge to the old lady's overdraft'

And you're paying it?????????????????????

I know!! I cant believe that - surely they cant possibly bounce a DD when the money is there because they cant see any going in!!!!

Id be making a MASSIVE fuss - us students only get a couple of payments in a year, if they stopped my DD's then there would be hell to pay quite frankly! As long as the account has money in it - they should be paying it, should be in their t&c's!!

Write to the bank manager - if no joy, to the complaints department, if no joy, go to banking ombudsman - there is simply no way they can squeeze you for £35 a time when the money is there!! Its none of their goddamm business where money is coming from (so long as its not laundered or the proceeds of crime - naturally!) when there is money there and DD waiting to go, its thier duty to do so - they could lose your house for you - and also - they have a duty of care to pay the money when you tell them, and if the money is there, there is no excuse for not doing so.

Jo xx

Bun

I opened a Halifax current account when I went on maternity leave, and although I was working full time then, the only money that is paid in electronically is child benefit and tax credits, and they weren't applied for at the time of account opening.
I have many web savers (the pot system) with money in from various places, but all paid in by cash or transfer, and I've never had any problems.

If what you are after isn't possible if your wife is a SAHM, how about a joint account you can get the bill money put into to keep it seperate?

I would defintely find out about her overdraft though, it sounds as if they have reduced it so she goes over it without her knowledge.