unmarried partner - PEO or postal?

Hi all,

Firstly, thanks for all the great advice on this forum. I've found all the information really useful, and I'm hoping to get some reasurrance on my situation!

I am currently here on a HSMP visa, but am planning to switch to an unmarried partner visa (I have changed jobs and because of the gap in employment haven't earnt enough in the past 12 months to renew as Tier 1). My partner is British and we've live together for almost 4 years, but almost all our documents are in separate names - just one joint bank account that we hardly ever use. I was hoping to apply via PEO because my partner needs to travel frequently for work so he can't be without his passport for months on end. But I'm worried that because our documents aren't in joint names, it won't be a straight-forward application. Also, my partner won't be able to come to the appointment with me because he can't get time off work - will that count against us?

Thanks in advance for your input.