Gah, why does banking have to be so difficult?

Nationwide tell me I can't pay in cheques addressed to "Mr and Mrs Snape" or "M and E Snape" to an account in the names of Mr M Snape and Ms E Blair, even if I show them a marriage certificate to prove I did in fact marry him.

I could change my name on the account if I wanted, and then I can still have cheques in the name of Ms E Blair for a whole 6 months before they'll stop accepting those. And if I don't change my name I'll just have to get the people who wrote the cheques to write new ones in the right names. There's absolutely no way to keep both names on the account.

I've written to Nationwide to double check if this is *actually* their policy. And if it's just their own pig-headedness or something imposed externally by law or by the cheque clearing process or something. If anyone knows of a bank which *will* let us open a bank account and accept that I use both names then let me know - I'm seriously thinking of moving if it will solve the problem.

My advice if you're ever sending a couple a cheque as a wedding present: address it to just one of them, and if it's a female partner then use their maiden name. It's not romantic, but at least they'll be able to cash it!

Addendum: Right, I've written to HSBC too to ask if they can accept cheques to Mrs Snape even if I'm not changing my name from Ms Blair. We'll see what they see! And if that doesn't work we'll ask Lloyds too, since that's who Mike's current account is with.