More Natwest problems

We went to a differant branch today & they said I could be added on his account even though I haven't lived here for 3 years, so I brung my passport and all the papers I have with my name & address on it which is our NTL bill,a letter from the Home Office,letter from the suffolk registry ,our marriage certificate that has our address on it and a letter from the NHS. They then say that I have to have a letter from the council tax or some benefits with my name & address on it. I explained to them that the council tax isnt in my name & I dont apply for any benefits ,and said I can't have any type of benefits because I'm on an FLR. So neither of those can work for me.. So they refused to add my name on Dales account. And not only that but they said I can't have my payroll direct deposited into his account either, and I also can't endorse the check & have him deposit it in his account..so I am screwed. I can't get paid now. Dale is very pissed off at the situation and Monday morning we are going to try & open an HSBC account,(if they'll let me be added) and he is going to close out his Natwest account.

Your name should be on the council tax, but at the bottom...it'll say something like " The following people are jointly and severably liable...." and list your name. 

I don't know where banks are getting that 3-year rule.  I opened my own account (Barclays)when I'd only been here nine months or so.  I took my passport, marriage license, a water bill, the council tax statement, and the offer letter from my employer (to show that I had a job and additional proof of address).

Switch banks, I was added to my DH's account at Barclays with no problems once I had a bill in my name.   Barclay's also opened up a checking account in my name solely with a small overdraft.  I wish you luck, sounds very frustrating.

I am not on the council tax bill, I had my name on the water bill and cable bill.

Here's a link to my Barclays experience...granted, it wasn't good, but it did get sorted and I'm very happy w/ my account now.   

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=5567.msg55171#msg55171

I've read these threads and I am just so surprised.

I was added onto my husbands basic account at Halifax.  They urged us to get a check book, well, okay, we did (no extra cost anywhere on the line).  Now, everytime we go in they want to upgrade the account.  We are just too lazy to do it and we don't want an overdraft. 

What we have works for us, but I guess my point is, as an American who was on FLR when I was added, why no hassle?

I wonder if US/UK credit will ever get merged- might make it easier for some....

Molly was able to open an account of her own at barclays whilst on the FLR.  We had to go into the branch and explain the situation, but there was no problem.  We had to take all the usual certificates etc but other than that, fine.

What makes my husband angry is hes been a customer of theirs for almost 5 years and always in good standing. And now they won't add me,his wife. Its not like I came off the street & want to open up an account of my own. We're married so obviously we live at the same residence
 So much happier without them. This isn't the only problem we've had. Prior to this , about 10 months ago, my husband didnt have a license,all he had was his bank card and his work ID which has a photo & his name. And they've always accepted his work ID without a problem since his employer is well known,  but that  one day he went in to withdraw money from the counter (since he didnt have his bankcard on him) they wouldn't let him. My husband explained that he didnt have a license and he always used his work ID without a problem... and she had the cheek to take out £5 from his account and said "Take a taxi home then" He called up the main office & complained about it. And then obviously applied for his license so he wouldn't run into that problem again

I am about to cancel my Natwest account as well.  I have an offshore account (joint with husband) and while he was out of town I received a cheque for him.  I went to my local branch to deposit it and couldn't find his paying-in book so I took mine along.  I went to the counter and told them that we have a joint account, here is my paying-in book, can I please deposit this in our account.  They said, no it is an off shore account, and we have no way of verifying that he is on your account so you cannot pay it in.  They called the offshore branch to try to verify it but the offshore people would not do it.

The most galling part is that they never even sent him a paying-in book!!  When I got home I checked and we have 2 in my name and none in his!

So when he got back in town he went and deposited it in our Barclays account.  I have since moved my direct deposit of my paycheck to that account and plan to close the Natwest account.   

I am about to cancel my Natwest account as well.  I have an offshore account (joint with husband) and while he was out of town I received a cheque for him.  I went to my local branch to deposit it and couldn't find his paying-in book so I took mine along.  I went to the counter and told them that we have a joint account, here is my paying-in book, can I please deposit this in our account.  They said, no it is an off shore account, and we have no way of verifying that he is on your account so you cannot pay it in. 

I know that NatWest are crap, but this is true about offshore accounts... if you have an offshore account, you cannot use high street branches.   They dont share the same computer system, and have different rules about lots of things.

I know that NatWest are crap, but this is true about offshore accounts... if you have an offshore account, you cannot use high street branches.   They dont share the same computer system, and have different rules about lots of things.

Yeah I know that but I still think it is bad that they act as though they are totally separate banks.  Part of the reason point of having an offshore account with a bank that has high street branches is so that you can go into a branch and talk to someone/do your banking/etc.  I have found that there is really no advantage to it - it's just like having an offshore account with a random old bank that doesn't have bricks-and-mortar locations. 

Anyway I have had other issues with NatWest other than just the check depositing so that's not the only reason I want to get rid of the account.  I tried to deposit a check there that was made out to my married name (account in my maiden name).  I went in and showed them my marriage certificate but they said no - you have to get the check reissued.  What the heck?  I went to Barclays and they did it in about 2 minutes.

I was able to get on my husband's Natwest account by having him write a letter of introduction concerning me.  We had just moved over so we did not have a council tax bill
He has had that account for a long time (15+ years) and I have an ILE so I don't know if that helped us or not.  Or it could have been the hissy fit that I threw in the bank....

I think alot of the problems with being added on to bank accounts all stem from 9/11...

especially with banks offshore..ie...Isle of Man...well this is the explanation we get from the banks here..

something to do with money laundering and osama whatshisname....

Ive noticed a lot of you have switched to barclays, anyone gone with cahoot/abbey national?

My fiance is tired of natwest too, good thing cause I dont wanna be hassled when we want to add my name to his accts

we are switching to HSBC.......but have been with Lloyds for 8 yrs

Yeah I know that but I still think it is bad that they act as though they are totally separate banks. 

They are totally seperate...  Nat West plc, and Nat West International.  They are actually 2 different companies.   When you set up the account, if they led you to believe that you could use Nat West plc branches, then they totally lied.    It's all to do with tax law, i believe.    They really have nothing to do with eachother...    It's a shame that you had to find out the hard way.

Incidentally, not trying to defend Nat West, cos i hate them as well, but it would be the same with any other bank that offers off-shore accounts.