Current accounts

[xud]

Yesterday, my mrs went to open a current account. She was told that she had to close down her existing account in order to do so. Why?

What is the problem wih having two accounts?

[CheekyChops]

I used to work for NatWest and they usually asked that you closed any existing accounts first. If you caused a fuss they would usually let it go but they sometimes refused new accounts until evidence was seen that the old one had been closed.

No idea why as they wouldn't know if you went out and opened another one elsewhere 2 mins after opening one with them, would they?

[WendyS]

I can't understand why. My husband and I have two joint accounts with our bank. His income goes into one and my goes into the other. We use them for different purposes but keep them joint so either of us can have access to both if needed. I think she should refuse to close the existing account. or threaten to take her custom elsewhere if they start being difficult.

[cascarelli]

Perhaps she could have asked when she went into the bank?

[johnny37]

The only reason I can think of (if you have free banking) is the running costs. As Cheekychops says ask them what they would do if you went to the next bank and opened one.

I have two accounts, one for all my business and the other just had a small balance but it is virtually dormant. For reasons which i dont remember I wanted to increase my overdraft limit to something quite large. The bank wouldn't give me the limit I wanted even though i worked for them but let me open another account so that the combined limit was what I wanted! They did try to get me to close the second account once on the basis of rationalisation but i like the comfort of knowing it is there if I need it. and occasionally use the overdraft limit on both eg when buying a car

[scoobysoo]

I have had, what I think, is a really good idea for a new product. I thought it might be a good idea to approach manufacturers, but how can I do this safely, without them ripping me idea off (providing they liked it in the first place!)?