Joint accounts driving wedge between couples
June 20, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
Almost a quarter of people who share a joint bank account with their partner suspect that their other half is using it to make selfish purchases.
Research by Abbey shows that 24 per cent of joint account holders are suspicious of their partner’s use of the account and they may have good reason to be.
The study also highlights that 20 per cent of joint account holders do use the money held in it to by things for themselves.
With all this suspicion and dishonesty, it is hardly surprising that 25 per cent of couples have argued over the use of their joint account and this may be down to an aversion to setting ground rules.
Abbey found that nine per cent of joint account holders have never set any ground rules for the use of the money, while ten per cent had only done so after having the account for between two to six months.
“Money has always been a common source of dispute between couples and joint accounts are proving to be no exception,” commented Steve Shore, head of banking at Abbey.
“It’s important that couples are open and honest with each other from the start and discuss exactly what the joint account rules are, to avoid arguments at a later date.”
The majority of couples (93 per cent) open a joint bank account to pay for household bills such as gas and mortgage payments, while 83 per cent use it for supermarket shopping.
