Can a bank take money from a joint account...

[Pavlov]

...to pay a bill from an individual account with the same bank, if there is not enough money in that individual account to cover it?

They sometimes will, depending on the bank, and available funds. It's called "right to offset" or something. I think. Can be helpful sometimes, in my experience. Sometimes not so.

Yes I think so. They can certainly take money from a bank account to pay off a credit card they've issued.

If you need it not to happen, you need an account at a different bank.

Yes, Barclays did it for us when our first mortgage payment came out earlier than expected. Sounds like a great service until you realise that they had already paid the direct debit and sent 2 unauthorised overdraft letters at £35 each before they decided to take the money out of our savings account.........

I know they can do it between normal bank accounts, but wondered if they can take the money from a joint account? Would they not need the permission from the other person, as the money is 'jointly owned' so to speak.

My bank has just done this to pay a bill from the joint account that we had forgotten about, and used my own personal account to pay it. I wondered if they can do the reverse...methinks I shall shut that account down.

If you only require one signature for the joint account, then I expect they can do it.

oh what do you mean, one signature? we needed both to open it, i think?

I really dislike the idea that they can take money effectively earnt by my DH to pay something that i might owe.

Could you withdraw money from it without your DH's signature? If you wrote a cheque would it need both signatures, or either signature? If the latter, then you have equal access to the account, and the bank will use it, if it sees fit, to pay into your individual account.

Do you see what I mean? Even I'm getting now!

I think so. I only need my signature to use it, say, in a shop, to withdraw money from the bank etc, we each have a card, allows us equal access without the permission of the other.

Not sure why that means the bank would be able to take money from that account to pay my personal account bills though? They are completely seperate.

In fact, it is making me quite annoyed that they can do that, as it pretty much implies I am no longer a 'person' in my own right, and nor is DH. The money, and the bills, in the joint account, they are our shared bills, the money/bills in my own account, that is my money. The money in DHs own account, that is his money. Morally, we do not bother with this whole mine/yours. We share equally, but in terms of legalities, they could not pay my bills with his personal money, so why our shared money? He is not responsible for my bills!

and in terms of the signature, I am not giving them permission to do it, like if I was using the card in a shop...

They have right of set-off between accounts in the same name, so this covers a credit card and a bank account or 2 bank accounts for the same individual, but not a sole account and a joint account.

Joint accounts have joint and several liability, which means that both parties are responsible individually for the whole debt. i'e if 1 party disappeared the one who was in contact could be called on to pay the whole amount, not just their share.

This means that the bank can debit a sole account to cover a debt on a joint account, but it doesn't work the other way, so no, they can't debit a joint account to cover a debt on a sole account.

create that is what I thought/hoped. Thanks! I am not really too bothered they took the money from my own individual account, as I would have transferred it from there anyway.

Thanks for reassuring me! I am still likely to shut my individual account as the bank is an arse (yes yes, most are, but these are the shits)