Non Status / Bad Credit - Small Business Banking Account.

[Kris2005]

I am a small business (myself T/A), I am ex Bankrupt (discharged) and had a lot of financial problems including House reposition during my Bankruptcy. I recently tried a few High Street banks for a simple Business Account but have been rejected without reason (prob. Bad Credit Rating), although I know I need to Rebuild my Credit Rating, I urgently need a simple Non Status or Bad Credit Business account (t/a) so I can deposit cheques into, My major Customers are Large Companies who prefer to pay BAC's Directly into the account, but will only pay into the business Name and not a personal name.

Can Anyone Help? are there Non Staus Business accounts available without credit checks or online accounts?

[twiglet4frog]

bankrupt means u cant run a business for several years (7 or 10  i think) so they will refuse for that, u are regarded as totaly unable to run a business of your own and therefore banned from owning or being involved in ownership of any business

[nfn]

can you not put the account in someone elses name? It's not fraud, it makes sense. Incidentally, you cannot be a director of a company for many years also, so you would really have to trust that person

[Oneeyedvic]

twiglet4frog - It does sat very clearly in the question that Kris is a discharged bankrupt. THis means they are allowed to be a Director of companies, run a business, take out credit agreeements etc.

The old period for bankruptcy was usually 3 years. Under the Enterprise Act it is now 1 year (under normal conditions).

Kris - I fyou are a sole trader, I would suggest that you speak to your personal bank and ask them to change your account to Kris 2005 / T/as Blah Blah.

If you are a limited company, then go and see a business bank manager, show him a business plan, explain why you went bankrupt, and ask them for an account with no facilities (oveerdraft loan etc).

Other than that, if you are not a limited copnay, againyou can do as nfn suggests and ask a friend/spouse to open an account in the business name

Don't know of any Finance companies in particular though I am afraid.

[twiglet4frog]

so u think a bank will happily hand over an account or anything else to someone bankrupt or discharged?? think u will find that is the reason they wont, whether u have served your time or not so to speak they wont want to touch u with a bargepoll, i would try everyone, maybe one of them will take u on

[Oneeyedvic]

I think (in fact I know) that you will find business bank managers a lot less assuming than twiglet4frog if yours is a genuine case.

Forgot to mention - Take along your statement of affairs with you.

 

Twiglet4frog - you obviously have no clue about bankruptcy and are making certain assumptions. Bankruptcy can occur for a variety of reasons - not all of them are sinister. Due to the nature of my job, I see a lot of innocent bankrupts - if you are self employed and another company decideds not / cannot afford to pay you, it can easily cause bankruptcy.

As to whether a bank will give an account to someone who is a discharged bankrupt, under government schemes - yes I do belive they will. It will be a very basic account with no facilities (ie overdraft, cheque guarantee card etc), but it will be a bank account.

[scorpio61]

To back up vic, in November 2000 the government issued new guidelines effectively ordering the banks to allow bad credit and bankrupts the facility of a "basic bank account" There is no credit facility but cheques and BACs transferes can be accepted and monthly standing orders and direct debits can be set up. There are no cheque books or cheque guarentee cards issued but there is a whole in the wall card for withdrawing money. After 2 years the bank can do an inhouse review and choose to upgrade the account if it has been run in "good order".

Credit reference agencies are not the B all and end all of credit, they are exactly as there name describes them. They are used to "guide" an application for credit but it is of the creditors own choosing if they issue finance.

I thought this forum was to give help on matters you know about and/or from personal experience, not to pass an opinionated judgement on someone's unfortunate past!!

[intakhab]

Hi Kris there be a solution available i know of a company that can get you an account even if you are bankrupt but of course your not this company has an arrangement with the bank of scotland the only thing is there is a small set up charge �25 and �8 a month but you get a cheque book and ATM card the only reason they can do this is because this company will keep an eye on your account and make sure there is no funny business going on.

Try Them

http://www.gregorypennington.com/OtherservicesBankacounts.asp

And Good Luck

Ali

[scorpio61]

Why pay anything???? Go to any bank and open a basic bank account, go to RBS direct!!! You can deposit cheques, draw money on a cash link card most anywhere, set up direct debits and if you need to send large sums you pay �10 or �15 for each bankers draft. Why use a middle man???

[echoman1979]

Scorpio/Vid,

You say that the Government changed the policy and banks have to offer a basic business account. How do you go about getting this as my wife is trying to start a business as a sole trader and due to a poor credit history she has been rejected by 3 banks and in order to get funding from the Business Enterprise she must have a business bank account. It is very frustrating when someone is trying to do something to improve themselves financially banks do not want to know!

Thanks

Echoman

[PureAccountants]

Incredibly late to the party but here are some facts. Being bankrupt doesn't prevent you from running a business, it does however preclude you from being a Director of a limited company. Poor credit rating will limit your ability to open bank accounts regardless of whether you require overdrafts or loans, banks don't like poor credit. They may grant you a personal basic account but will get grumpy if you use for work.

You can 'own' a company as a bankrupt but not run it (the difference in being limited). Therefore you may use your spouse who has good credit to be the director whilst you run the business under their direction. Of course is husband and wife team there are some tax planning issues to consider too.

Alternatives include PayPal, so all your payments are received electronically or there are some bank accounts which will accept any applicant regardless. These are currently based on a Mastercard pre-paid system. They work exactly like a bank account but limit you to holding £15,000 in cash. You can order and issue bank cards (for limited company too) as necessary, put in place capped spending and many other facilities Charges vary from £29 pa to £15 pcm depending on level of service.

Online banking facilities exist to boot.

Indeed banks do not help anyone who doesn't fit that profile. As accountants we have worked with bankrupts that have gone to make millions, or even just a solid income each year. The UK is appalling with regards to its attitude to these cases.

if you'd like more info then please contact us info at pureaccountants.co.uk

[donnahuber5]

Most of the payment transaction now a days is in online, Just look for any possible way in your problem or just consult an bank adviser to be sure.