A client has been trading for two year as XYZ.
He has just formed a company XYZ Limited for a new venture.
Barclays have told him they will not open a limited company account because "it has the same name as the sole trader business"
I have spent three hours battling with them and they are adamant that this is "the law". Have any other members experienced this?
Replies (10)
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You must have been put though ...
... to the work experience trainee! Ask to speak to someone that has at least a basic understanding of business or take your business elsewhere.
What a load of tosh!
I've had loads of clients who lack the imagination to come up with a new name and never heard of a problem.
Funny
I have a client who had a very similar comment at Barclays. After speaking to the bank, the client asked me if they could use their sole trader bank account, as it had the same name without "Limited" on the end. I said no, do it properly. They eventually went to a proper bank (HSBC) and got a better service, but I can't tell you exactly what the conversation was with Barclays.
When we changed from Sole Trader (ABC) to...
a Ltd Co. (ABC Ltd) we were told by one of our banks that they would use the same account number and just change the name. I was surprised, but that is what they did. It made it easy for all the receipts via standing order and there have been no problems since. HSBC insisted on closing the S/T account and opening a new Ltd Co account.
Canary Boy - HSBC
But when I phoned HSBC last week to check before incorporating I was told we just had to bring the certificate of incorporation in and they'd change the account!
I guess I called on the right day of the week then!!!! But who knows what will happen when we walk through the door...
Pat
Hmmm - they are all at it
And when one of my clients died very unexpectedly and the bank closed his limited company account along with his personal accounts when his personal affairs were wound up and gave all of the money to his wife, even though there was another director/shareholder involved they were suitably embarrassed after I pointed out the error of their ways....
Abbreviation
My suspicion is that banks always feel the need to abbreviate long trading names to fit them onto their cheques and the first word to get the chop is the Limited at the end - either reduced to Ltd or removed completely. Having done that, they cannot recognise any difference between XYZ and XYZ Limited.