HALIFAX BANK, I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS ON THIS

[MrsClown]

I have a bank account with the Halifax that I have my salary paid into. I also have a joint account with my husband, and I pay some of my salary into the account to take care of bills, mortgage etc. Whilst I have been a customer with the Halifax I have also bought a house on my own and a car on my own, I have banked with them for years.

Recently, any correspondence we receive regarding the joint account is addressed to Mr and Mrs A ........ My husband's name is Andrew. I contacted the Halifax to advise them I am not called Andrew and wished to have my initial included on the bank account correspondence. They tell me that the way they do it is automatic and they cannot change it. I told them I would be changing my bank accounts to a more ethical and at least gender equal on the surface!!!! I was nearly through the ceiling I was so angry.

I cannot believe that in 2011 this is an acceptable way to address married couples. I felt like I was in a time warp. I did tell them that 30 years ago when I was in the RAF I went to my bank (TSB) and asked for an overdraft facility and they asked my husband to sign as guarantor!!!!! We havent really moved on that much have we?!!! Needless to say, I changed from TSB. 30 years later I am changing my accounts for a very similar reason.

The manager who I spoke to (a woman) totally agreed with me, she couldnt believe it herself but could do nothing about it. She also said that the people she had spoken to regarding this problem had advised her that they had had a lot of calls on this issue from married women who are really really not happy with this.

Quite frankly the whole business of banks and names is fraught. They just hide behind "The Computer".

When I was trying to change banks because Barclays were being difficult about me keeping a long-standing account in my original name alongside a joint account with DH in married name, I rang round quite a few.

One of them actually told me that married women "weren't allowed" to open accounts in their maiden names.

Ironically at that time, I got the most sense from Halifax and opened an account with them.

Katisha I find most people talk rubbish about 'married' women and not being able 'to do' things!

A prat at work told me that only divorced women can call themselves Ms.
Another prat told me only female barristers are allowed to retain their own name.

My father thought that even though I've kept mine/his surname 'legally' I was Mrs DH Surname and wrote me a cheque in that name. He then, a short while later put me on his car insurance as Mrs DH Surname because 'legally' that's my name! I explained both times, 'No Dad, my name is legally the name you gave me at birth!' I think he's trying to tell me he doesn't like me sharing his name anymore .

MrsClown, good for you (and MrClown), and thank you for your years of activism. I hope you're going to write a very angry letter to them explaining exactly why you're taking your custom elsewhere.

Can't believe the other posters saying you should suck it up because you took your dh's surname. I took mine too, for the simple reason that I have no relationship with my father and would rather hold the name of a man I chose rather than one whose sperm happened to be involved in my creation.

I had a related problem with HSBC, in that when I changed my name on my bank account, they changed my title to Mrs and told me it 'wasn't possible' to remain as Ms. Still fuming about that nearly ten years on. Although admittedly still with HSBC and still with Mrs on my bank card. Grr (at them and myself).

I wonder why British banks even think the title should be on the bank card. I have credit cards from 3 different countries, none of them have any titles, just my name.

I don't know. I am pretty feminist, but I just don't get wound up about titles. It is fairly low on my list of issues affecting women and it doesn't bother me to see Mr and Mrs on an envelope.

However, I do defend your right to be addressed as you wish.

I also bank with Halifax, but my bank correspondence has both our initials on it (I got a statement yesterday addressed to "Mr AB and Mrs CD Marriedname", so their excuse is clearly BS IMO.

Halifax are crap - I agree you should take your business elsewhere and write to their head office to explain why, but I don't suppose they'll give a damn. We banked with them very briefly about four years ago (pre-takeover by Lloyds) and they managed to mess up everything about the account, so we moved away again sharpish. I complained (they were racist as well as sexist and I absolutely hit the roof) and didn't even get an acknowledgement.

I don't entirely understand the titles on bank cards thing. I'm Ms DogIncident for all purposes, and I did ask when I got my Nationwide account whether I could just be Initials DogIncident, but they said I had to have a title on the card.

Branching out. The Mr and Mrs thing isnt the problem, its the fact that they only use my husbands initial.

Just change accounts and tell them why. It's ridiculous that financial institutions persist with this nonsense.

I am having problems with the National Trust, which insists on dealing with DH as he is the first named member. The subscription goes out of a joint account!

ALL of our banks and utilities do us as Mr X Sardine and Mrs Y Sardine. Some of them put me first - Mrs Y Sardine and Mr X Sardine. Which is because I do all of this stuff and they transfer my name first as it is written first . Good.

I have never received a letter to Mr and Mrs X Sardine and that would get a from me in a big way. It is the correct way of doing it if you are my Gran, the normal and standard way these days is to give each person their own initial.

So YAR boo sucks to the "suck it up" crew.

ALSO I find it bizarre that the Halifax have changed to this? So their old system did it normally and they have put in a new system with 1950s coding? Why on earth would they do that? Ludicrous.

Good for you for changing accounts, I would too.

Men could get offended by not being called Gentlemen though.

Often you have a Mens section ina shop or web site and a Ladies, not Gemtlmen.

There are many things that work the other way. Ladies swimming at local pools.

Lots of men prefer to be reffered to as Gentlemen but they seldom are but you look how many times women are reffered to as Ladies.

I think you are over reacting.

My bank account is in joint names but not once has the cheque book been sent to my husaband always comes to me even though he pays into it.

Oh Alison, you are just sounding quite silly, but I'm guessing that's what you mean to do. Ah, must not be much interesting on TV then . . .