I can only open a bank account in my married name : Can this REALLY be right?

[Katisha]

I have ranted before about how Barclays will not let me use both my maiden and married names for cheques, and have made me standardise both joint and single account to one name. (Married). They will no longer accept cheques in the name I have had all my life. I don't want to have to change over all my savings accounts and everything else to the married name, so...

...have just tried to open an account in my maiden name(for which I have all the right ID) at Alliance and Leicester, only to be told that any account I open HAS to be in my married name? Can this really be true? So much for women's rights if so. I am gobsmacked.

Sounds odd. All my accounts are in maiden name.

I think if you changed your name on marriage, then it is your name now.

I operate under both names. Maiden name at work, and for some savings accounts etc that were mine before i got married. Married name for joint account (big mistake) and passport etc.
Where does it say you have pick one name for everything?

When I got married I didn't take any action to preserve my maiden name, I just carried on using it for everything. Is this not ok?

Does getting married actually change your name legally?

If you have all the ID for your maiden name, how do A&L know that you even changed it?

The issue isn't that you can't use your maiden name, though, so much as that you can't use two names at once (which is the same for men, after all). If you keep your maiden name then you can open all the accounts you like in it.

I have accounts at the Royal Bank of Scotland in both my married and my maiden names.

I use my maiden name at work, and still get a few cheques to pay in, and it created HUGE problems to pay them into my joint account. RBS did agree quite readily to let me open a separate account, but it did involve filling in some kind of form, over and above the usual one for opening a Bank account.

Gettibg married doesn't by itself change your name legally, but if you are a woman and choose to change your name on marriage then the marriage is sufficient legal evidence of the change of name.

I think you're only allowed to have one name for official purposes, if you changed your name on marriage then that's the name you have to use for bank accounts. You can continue to be known by your maiden name for some purposes, eg work, and if someone writes you a cheque addressed to you as your maiden name the bank should accept it if you provide proof of ID.

However banks do seem to like women to use their married name. I did not change my name on marriage and shortly afterwards applied for a joint mortgage with dh. Despite my filling in the forms using my real, legal name the bank still opened the account in the name of Mr and Mrs Dh and it took them ages to sort it out.

But I have kept it and have kept some IDs in it.
A&L know because I rang up to check whether they would manage to object to moving my current account from Barclays (married name) to a new one with them in maiden name. which they do.

So it is legally not OK to operate part of life in maiden, part in married? This is coming as news to me.

Getting married doesn't automatically change your name, it just gives you an easy way to change your name to the name of your DH if you want. There are lots of us on here who decided to keep our own name when we married.

To be honest, one of the things that put me off changing my name was all the hassle that it involves.

I'm pretty sure that in the UK you can call yourself whatever you like and getting married does not make your married name your legal name, any more than your maiden name.

Whilst I can accept that a bank won't accept cheques to be paid into an account that has a different name, I can't see why you can't open an account in your maiden name if you have proof of ID.

sorry lots of posts since I tried to answer portandlemon!

well, if it isn't legally ok, I've been illegal for 10 years!

Surely you have to make the decision on your name when you marry? Either keep your maiden name and don't change any documents.

Or use your marriage certificate as proof and change everything to your married name.

I can see why you can't use both. It's just confusing and doesn't make sense.

Yes it's your right to choose which name to use.

But it doesn't make sense that you'd have one name on your passport. And, say, a different one on your driving licence and cheque book.

So I do think you need to pick one. It makes sense to me.

Isn't it only wrong to use different names if there is intent to deceive?

all the women I know in my line of work are "Miss Something" at work and "Mrs Somethingelse" at home. It's not uncommon.

Yes but which one is my LEGAL name??

It's not a legal problem as such (operating part of life under one name and part under anothet), it's a bank policy problem. Since the money-laundering regulations were tidied up they have been utterly paranoid about doing anything without cast-iron proof of identity or where there's any possibility of dual identities.

You can call yourself whatever you like, but a bank doesn't have to open an account for you in that name.

I have everything in my maiden name. I don't use my married name at all so our joint account is Ms Lazycowsurname & Prof Dhsurname.

I ran into this problem the first time I was married. I had planned to keep my maiden name but used my married name on a couple of accounts/credit cards and it caused me no end of problems when I then wanted to use my maiden name.

This time round I use my maiden name all the time and never even think of using my married name.

Your married name will be your legal name as you changed your passport into it, I think.

I am married name at home & maiden name at work - & se so wantd to open bank account in my unmarried name - tried both HSBC & First Direct (banked with both with my maiden name) & neither would open an account for me (both were apologetic