Woman Claims Bank Requires Husband's 'Permission' To Use Her Account

In a series of videos—one of which has been viewed more than 250,000 times—a woman claimed she is unable, without the "permission" of her husband, to get information about a bank account she opened.

TikTok user @allegedleigh posted the first video to her account and said she tried to get information about her own credit card with an account that she opened at PNC Bank—an account that she later added her husband to. However, she was told by several employees that they could not speak to her about the account without her husband's permission. You can view the first video here.

Viewers were equally upset, and some cautioned against having a joint bank account.

Should You Have a Joint Bank Account?

A piece published by Forbes discussed some of the benefits of having a joint bank account while outlining some of the drawbacks.

For married couples or those in a domestic relationship, finances can be contributed into one account that may be used for shared expenses, or saved for vacations.

There were some cons to having a joint bank account

The article noted that there may be a feeling of inequity, shared liability and the risk of someone draining the account.

"Money in joint bank accounts belongs equally to all owners of the account," the article said. "At any time, any account owner can make deposits or withdrawals from the account up to the bank's maximum daily limits."

Whose Account Is It Anyway?

In her video, @allegedleigh said that she opened the bank account in question after getting her first job. She added her husband to the bank account after they got married, and they opened a home equity line and other accounts for their children with the bank.

Although @allegedleigh said there were several acquisitions of the bank she first opened her account with, she did not experience any problems.

When PNC Bank bought the previous institution, she said a problem arose.

'Permission'

@allegedleigh called the bank to ask why her credit card did not appear on her online account.

"I was told by someone at PNC—multiple someones at PNC—that they could not talk to me about my credit card account, which was attached to my bank account, which I had many years prior added my husband to, because they needed my husband's permission to talk to me," she said.

@allegedleigh ultimately paid off her credit card bill and the equity line and intended to withdraw the remaining balance from the bank. She noted in her video that she is the primary income earner and monitors the account.

Additional Issues

The problem did not stop there. She said she received an email from the bank notifying her that $800 was transferred from her account to pay the equity line that was already paid off.

"They need his permission to talk to me about why they wrongly transferred $800 to an equity line that was closed and paid off," she said.

TikToker Reactions

In addition to the viewers who warned against opening a joint account, others spoke about their own experiences in dealing with banking institutions, specifically PNC.

"I closed my PNC account a month ago for them being sexist in the way they treated and talked down to me," a viewer wrote.

"Had to close the account and he needed to be present to sign that we were closing the account that was mine but he was added," another commenter wrote. "I no longer use PNC."

One viewer said her bank refused to list her name as primary on a loan that her husband would co-sign.

"I had a bank that wouldn't let me change the online password on my account without my [husband's] permission," a TikTok user commented. "I closed it that day."

Follow-up Videos

Some asked if @allegedleigh's husband did anything to the bank account, but in a follow-up video, she said he has little involvement with the account.

She explained that he has a direct deposit set up for his paychecks, but she is the person responsible for monitoring the account and setting up bill payments.

In a third video, @allegedleigh said that she received a phone call from PNC Bank regarding her video. She claimed they called her about "a social media post," but Newsweek is unable to independently verify that claim.

While showing what appeared to be a call log, she claimed the bank called her after she attempted to empty her safe deposit box to finalize closing the account.

"You may be wondering, 'But Leigh, if you closed your safe deposit box, how is it you have both keys to said box?'" @allegedleigh said. "I'll give you one guess. And when my husband gets home and gives me permission, I'll tell you if your guess was right."

Newsweek reached out to @allegedleigh and PNC Bank for further comment.

Others have taken their stories about experiencing sexism to the internet.

A woman wrote a viral Reddit post in which she said her husband canceled an upcoming job interview, while another woman was praised for leaving her boyfriend on the side of the road after making sexist remarks.

One female mechanic posted a video that captured the moment a male colleague told her she did not belong in the mechanic world.