closing a joint account, help please

hackneygaz

im getting confused.

i am trying to close a joint bank account,which i had with an ex partner. which i havent used for years and i know that she doesnt use it either.
i am the principle account holder.(halifax, by the way,lol)
and i have no way of contacting my ex partner to sign

i have tried several times now to do this,to no avail, some parts of the halifax, (the ones on the end of the phone)
say that i can close it no problom, all i have to do is go in and sign a form, job done.
but when i go in to a branch, everybody says i cant coz they need both signataures.
and when i explain that, that i have no contact with ex and the customer teams say i can close the account under those circumstanses, i get flatly refused and told they are wrong. has anybody had this problem
can anyone please help me out, because i want it closed.

natweststaffmember

The likelyhood is that both signatures will be required because both of you opened the account and so both of you need to close it. Is there any money in there whatsoever?

robertjonesuk

if it is a joint account then either of you ca close the account. if the account is overdrawn then it must be put back in credit before being closed. and if it is overdrawn, bank can claim money back from either of you.
this is perfectly legal.


if you agreed to operate the account on a ''both to sign'' basis, then you must contact your expartner as the bank will require two signatures to close the account.

this is perfectly legal and correct.

natweststaffmember

If both people have to sign the mandate, one of the parties cannot close the account without the other one then that can lead to all sorts of problems. Most joint accounts are run on a "any one to sign" BUT that does not mean to close the account as both have signed to open it.
Robert, I don't agree with the logic. Both agree to a joint account which is on an anyone to sign for issuing payments and taking them out on an account yet to close it only one signs it. Sorry that does not work where I work and I would assume that is the same for all banks.

EDIT: when thinking about this last night I realised that a further suggestion is needed if you believe that the other person may possibly use the account and run off with the money remaining. If there is a dispute on the account then the account could be stopped because of it. That is the process for NatWest ie marital dispute, partner dispute etc,etc,.

robertjonesuk

Please check the banking code and terms and conditions of the account. if natwest does not have this in their t&c then it is a different situation, but majority of the banks allow to close joint account only with 1 signature (if not both to sign)

jonesMUFCforever

Sorry Robert but I believe the reverse is true. A joint account needs the signature of all parties to close.

Voyager2002

You do need to ask the bank to remove any credit facilites linked to that account. Otherwise, one account holder could borrow money from it and leave the other one liable.

r.mac_2

A friend and I opened a joint account when we were fundraising for charity. We forgot all about it and we wished to close the account.

I wrote to the bank asking them to close the account (there was no money in it) and they did so without requiring my friends signature - although she did know about the closure and had agreed it with me before I wrote to the bank.

I would write to them asking to close the account and see what their response is?

feclmum

hsbc need both parties to sign also

mum63

my hubby just rang the bank and gave the account number and they closed the bank account just like that,how was this possible?he could have been anyone who knew my account number