Being added to DH's bank account

I know this has been asked, but all the information I find through my searches seem to be pretty outdated when it comes to this sort of thing. If anyone knows of where this has been answered with recent information and can link it here, I would be very grateful!

I got married August 16th, and moved here officially with my Spouse Visa November 6th 2008. My husband has a bank account with Halifax, and Nationwide. We went into both places in September( after the honeymoon before I went back to get my visa) and tried to be added onto his account. My Grandparents live here, and have a bank account with HSBC. They added my parents onto their bank account for incase something happened to them. All my parents needed to show were there passports, and US drivers license(this was 2 years ago). So we assumed it would be the same for me. Apparently not!

Both said I need "proof of address" even to just be added onto his bank account. They kept saying get a utility bill. Can't get one until I have a way to pay for it...! So, my husband signed up for a Visa credit card, and had my name added to I got a Visa card of my own under his account. So, when the Visa mailed a letter with Halifax on the header, giving me my PIN for my credit card, I figured finally, proof of address, and something from Halifax! So today, we took it in, along with my passport. Again, a no go. They will not accept it because even though it has Halifax on there, it was really issued by Bank of Scotland..and even though my card is in my name, the statements will be coming to him(we called visa to see if they would address it jointly, they wont), so still am not "verified" so cannot use that as proof of address. Then she was asking me for my official letter from the home office stating I can live at this address. I said I didn't get one, the Visa in my passport is my proof of eligibility to live here. She then told me to register with the NHS and get an NHS card or something, and that can be proof of address.

So, then we walked into Nationwide. Again, the letter from Halifax for my credit card was not acceptable. She asked about getting a utility bill, and I explained that everytime I tried to have my name added to one, they say "only one name can be on this"..and it cant be mine, because they want everything verified with your bank account information to ensure you can actually pay for it! So I said "so if I just get an NHS card that'll work?" and she said "NO. We do not accept NHS letters or cards anymore because there is too much NHS fraud"...

I just have no idea what to do anymore. I need things in my name for when I apply for ILR(if it will even exist when I am eligible!) and I can't even get a mobile phone in my name on a pay monthly plan without being able to give a bank account number/sort code, even if I pay for it monthly with my credit card. And a mobile phone bill isn't acceptable as a bill either. Nor is my Amazon bill, mailed to this address.

I went ahead and registered at a surgery this evening, have my new patient visit January 13th. But Now I am thinking the NHS thing wont work, and the halifax woman had out dated information. Unless it just differs from bank to bank.

Currently we are living at a place my family owns(but they dont live here now) but all the bills are in their name, since it is just direct debited from their UK bank. We are only living here while we house hunt..we hope to buy basically any time, it's just a matter of finding a home we like.  But even then..I cannot be on the mortgage unless I have a bank account with proof of address, or be on any utility bills. I just don't know what to do at this point, and I just wanna cry! I also transferred my entire savings to his UK account, 5 days ago, and my bank said it went through fine, but it still has not even been put into his account here. So I literally have no money of mine to spend right now, lol. And I just want a mobile phone in MY name, for ILR purposes. 

I guess we are going to try with HSBC to see if he can open a THIRD bank account with them, what they would need for my to be added to his account.

Has anyone recently been added to an account? How did you get acceptable proof of address...or did you need proof of address simply to be added to an account? And which bank did you go through?

H Ashy, I feel for you.  I just went through the exact same thing.  No, they won't accept an NHS card.  At least NatWest wouldn't.  I went four different times thinking surely what I had would be acceptable.  I tried to use a letter addressed to both of us from Kent County Council, A bank Statement (unopened) forwarded to me from my bank in the states, a letter from the shippers showing that belongings were going to be delivered, my NHS card. Even a letter addressed to me from customs. NO NO NO they HAD to have a utility. An actual bill.  Not just a letter.  And NOT a cell phone bill either.  We live in a housing scheme that pays the water and tv license, the trash service and heating costs are paid by his benefits.  The ONLY two things we pay separately are telephone and electricity.  DH finally called NPower and had my name added.  I didn't need to give them any financial details about myself.  I didn't need a bank account or anything.  It took a month to get bill from them but three months after I started trying to open a bank account, I was finally able to. 

Lisapower, Nat West didn't let you use a bank statement?  They told me on the phone they would, and HSBC does as well, as long as there's activity in the most recent month.  Your UK address was actually printed on the bank statement itself and they wouldn't take it?  Or was there a sticker on the envelope with a forwarding address on it?

No, my UK address was not the address on the account statement.  It was simply MAILED to me by the bank.  I thought since it was in an unopened envelope addressed to me with the banks return address, it might suffice.  It didn't. 

It is a headache.  Even when I had utility bills in my name, I was not able to get a joint account at with my husband's Nationwide account.  Unfortunately it took all kinds of back and forth and multiple visits to Nationwide before we found out (each time they seemed to say something different about what we needed to bring).  What it came down to was that he had a good sized overdraft protection account and checking and since I had no credit history, I was not eligible to be a part of that so they wouldn't add me.  It was really frustrating.

We finally ended up getting me a separate account at another bank (RBS) which was actually not very difficult at all, although I did have to go through a brief period with no debit card, only a cash card--although I was still able to set up direct debit payments for utility bills and such. 

The tricky bit was getting the required evidence before hand.  I would encourage you to go back to some of the places that are saying they can't add you to the accounts.  I was able to change the bills to my name on most of our household accounts with very little trouble.  If they wouldn't put them as a joint account, we asked that they be changed to my name.  Several of the big utilities (council tax, TV license, British Gas, our cable/internet bill) were very happy to do this, even though we left the payment details on my husband's account under his name.  Those that weren't we left in his name to cover his side of my ILR documentation. 

Push them a bit--after all, you probably got some kid at a call centre who doesn't want to put any effort into it.  If they won't consider changing the name ask if it's worth you closing the account and going to one of their competitors who will set the account up in your name.  There are plenty of places that will allow you to have the account in your name but set up the direct debit from your spouse's account as long as you are both able to talk to them and verify that it is okay.  I now actually pay for many of my husband's bills out of my account even though they are in his name because we use my account for our family finances.

Once you have an accepted utility bill or council tax bill, then take your passport with a visa in it (they did look at the visa at several of my banks) and if you are putting it in a married name that isn't on the visa you will also need a marriage certificate to show your change of name.  You will likely get a lower level account at first, but I only had to show income for a few months with no major problems to get checking and debit abilities.  In the meantime I was still collecting stuff for ILR (like the letters I got from my GP when I registered). 

I was able to get added to my husband's British Gas bill without too much of a hassle shortly after I arrived -- and I was just his fiance then. I haven't tried since then to get added to his bank account (Halifax) but they told us I would need to be on a utility bill first...and I am now. Since then, I have had my own account opened with Lloyds TSB and we're thinking now of maybe having him added to my account with Lloyds to make things easier.

The companies that are refusing to add you to accounts...see if they will be able to send you something in writing stating why they cannot do this and maybe this could be your proof? Shot in the dark at least. Good Luck!

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm going to get a provisional drivers license...hopefully that will be proof enough. If not, I guess I will just wait until we buy a house and I can hopefully be added to a utility bill since you all seem to not have issues getting on one. The only utility we have now is internet, and they reviews to have two people on the account. So, hopefully gas or electric or something will work.

I only got joint accounts for a couple accounts, but we changed several of the ones that were in DH's name to mine, just for the sake of having correspondence.  The payment on those ones remained in the same account they had been in before we changed the name on the account.

I know it's been a few weeks since the original post, but I had this exact problem with NatWest.  They gave me 3 options, with no wiggle room:  Prove I had another UK bank account (I don't); Get a driver's license (that will take a while); provide a utility bill with my name and address on it (finally worked). 

The utility bill was a nightmare to get, since, as everyone has discovered, almost none of the companies will allow a second name on the account.  Finally, our electric provider added me, but because we're billed quarterly, they only sent a confirmation, not a new bill.  It took ages at the bank to get them to accept this as proof.  Eventually, logic prevailed and I was added to the account. 

Now to wait for debit card activation.  Surely that will only take a few more months...

Oh dear, Im sorry you were having the same issues!

Until I move...I still cannot be on his account. It's making me really nervous, in terms of saving evidence for ILR.

I did get my NHS card today though. I know it really isnt supposed to be used for proof these days...but perhaps if I get the same woman at halifax she will just accept it without looking since she is the one who told me to get one for proof....we shall see on tuesday!

I just think it is funny..I have a credit card here, but my husband cannot vouch for me to be put on his account, and no bills sent to me from various things, to my address...count either. What a strange system. I understand being tight for opening an account..but not simply being added to one.

I know it's too late to do you any good -- and you need a bit of scratch and a fixed address in the UK to use my method -- but I started a separate savings account in the States over a year ago and gave DF's address for the statements. I let the money sit and mellow (in part to support my fiancee visa, since I knew my current account was going to be all over the place while I fixed up the house to sell) and he held onto the statements for me.

With a nice, long paper trail, I was able to open a Lloyd's account in my name with no trouble. I can't imagine adding me to his account is going to be a problem next month.

I say again--for the thousandth time on this forum--you don't have to be added to his bill for ID purposes.  It can be just in your name.  We changed our gas and electricity over with no trouble.  DH just rang them up.  Some wanted to speak to me and verify it, others didn't.  We did all of them over the phone though.  I know it feels tricky at first, you are right, not many will allow joint names, so why does it need to stay in DH's name?  We changed several of the bills over with no trouble and left some in his name so both had bills in their individual names for the ILR purposes.  Some of the bills were eventually changed to my bank account.  Others remained on his.  

By the way though, Swalec (gas and electricity) does do bills in joint names, if you want to go that route.  I think it was Swalec.  We changed some names on British Gas too with no troubles.

As for the joint bank account thing.  I found that very frustrating at first.  I didn't understand that the accounts work differently here than in the states and they like to look for certain levels of credit rating or history with them before they will give you an account.  Just getting checks and a debit card are not freebies here like in the states, but a privilege. You can still set up direct debits, but may only qualify for a cash card during the first few months.  Many bank accounts also have overdraft protection that requires certain levels of security before you can use them.  Invariably, your spouse will have built up a very different credit level than you with absolutely no credit rating.

Because of this, I found it much harder to get added to my husband's account.  They just wouldn't do it.  I had no problem setting up a basic account though once I had a utility bill in my name, my passport, and a copy of my marriage certificate to show it was okay to put it in my married name (the passport was in my maiden name).  Three months after I'd had that I was able to get a debit card.  They are going to be strict now days about giving things out b/c of the credit crunch, but you can still get accounts.  Just give yourself a little time to get a utility bill.

Oh, another thought--one of the bills that was easy to change to my name was the council tax.  We called our local council and told them I had moved in (which you have to do quickly anyway) and asked that it be listed in my name rather than my husbands.  Then we asked them to send us out a new copy of our bill immediately rather than waiting to the next quarter.

Why not just set up a new joint account?  Isn't that easier than adding your name to his account?

Vicky

To get a new joint account, wouldn't that require me having some official proof of address as well?

Until we move, the only things I can get in my name are...my NHS card, my credit card bill, and stuff billed to me from Amazon which doesn't count.

I don't know if we can switch my name to the internet(since that is the only bill we have not included in rent) if that would even work, since even a cable bill or mobile phone bill won't count as "official" but its worth a try I guess.

My cable bill is a package that also includes my phone rental and line.  It is a bill people will use as proof of residency.