Business bank account for a sole trader query
Discussion
Hi all. I just had a quick query for a friend of mine who is trying to set up a business bank account.
She is a sole trader and works with many different clients. She trades as her first name but with a different surname to afford herself a little separation from her professional and private life. It would also be useful if she gets married in the future so she won't have to update her contacts.
The problem is that she needs to get money made payable to her real surname and this is often confusing for the people she is working for. To resolve this she has tried to set up a business bank account in her business name but has been told that this is not possible because it could be the name of someone real.
My question is whether this is a bank rule, a law or whether the person behind the desk has just made it up. I can see why you wouldn't allow people to set up personal accounts like that but what if you have a company name that sounds like a real person's name? If you can't do this is there a solution? Perhaps "Jane Smith Decorating" for example rather than just "Jane Smith"?
Thanks in advance.
She is a sole trader and works with many different clients. She trades as her first name but with a different surname to afford herself a little separation from her professional and private life. It would also be useful if she gets married in the future so she won't have to update her contacts.
The problem is that she needs to get money made payable to her real surname and this is often confusing for the people she is working for. To resolve this she has tried to set up a business bank account in her business name but has been told that this is not possible because it could be the name of someone real.
My question is whether this is a bank rule, a law or whether the person behind the desk has just made it up. I can see why you wouldn't allow people to set up personal accounts like that but what if you have a company name that sounds like a real person's name? If you can't do this is there a solution? Perhaps "Jane Smith Decorating" for example rather than just "Jane Smith"?
Thanks in advance.
gingerpaul said:
Hi all. I just had a quick query for a friend of mine who is trying to set up a business bank account.
She is a sole trader and works with many different clients. She trades as her first name but with a different surname to afford herself a little separation from her professional and private life. It would also be useful if she gets married in the future so she won't have to update her contacts.
The problem is that she needs to get money made payable to her real surname and this is often confusing for the people she is working for. To resolve this she has tried to set up a business bank account in her business name but has been told that this is not possible because it could be the name of someone real.
My question is whether this is a bank rule, a law or whether the person behind the desk has just made it up. I can see why you wouldn't allow people to set up personal accounts like that but what if you have a company name that sounds like a real person's name? If you can't do this is there a solution? Perhaps "Jane Smith Decorating" for example rather than just "Jane Smith"?
Thanks in advance.
Am I right in assuming that her real name is "Jane Smith" but she's trading as "Jane Jones"?She is a sole trader and works with many different clients. She trades as her first name but with a different surname to afford herself a little separation from her professional and private life. It would also be useful if she gets married in the future so she won't have to update her contacts.
The problem is that she needs to get money made payable to her real surname and this is often confusing for the people she is working for. To resolve this she has tried to set up a business bank account in her business name but has been told that this is not possible because it could be the name of someone real.
My question is whether this is a bank rule, a law or whether the person behind the desk has just made it up. I can see why you wouldn't allow people to set up personal accounts like that but what if you have a company name that sounds like a real person's name? If you can't do this is there a solution? Perhaps "Jane Smith Decorating" for example rather than just "Jane Smith"?
Thanks in advance.
I'm not sure why she couldn't open a bank account as "Jane Jones" although the bank account would probably say something along the lines of "Jane Smith T/A Jane Jones".
The issue about her business name potentially being the same as somebody else's REAL name is also confusing. "W H Smith" and "John Lewis" seem to be able to cope fine
She is Jane Jones but trades as Jane Smith. She gets cheques for Jane Smith for example but has to get new ones issued as Jane Jones which causes quite a lot of confusion, particularly if the person who writes the cheque isn't on site.
As you say there are examples of businesses doing this so I don't see what the big deal is. Is it because she is a sole trader as there is less distinction between the company and the person? I don't know enough about it!
As you say there are examples of businesses doing this so I don't see what the big deal is. Is it because she is a sole trader as there is less distinction between the company and the person? I don't know enough about it!
Countdown said:
Am I right in assuming that her real name is "Jane Smith" but she's trading as "Jane Jones"?
I'm not sure why she couldn't open a bank account as "Jane Jones" although the bank account would probably say something along the lines of "Jane Smith T/A Jane Jones".
The issue about her business name potentially being the same as somebody else's REAL name is also confusing. "W H Smith" and "John Lewis" seem to be able to cope fine
I trade exactly like this and receive monies in both names - HSBChave never batted an eyelid when paying-in.I'm not sure why she couldn't open a bank account as "Jane Jones" although the bank account would probably say something along the lines of "Jane Smith T/A Jane Jones".
The issue about her business name potentially being the same as somebody else's REAL name is also confusing. "W H Smith" and "John Lewis" seem to be able to cope fine
David
Elderly said:
My wife used her maiden name for her sole trader business.
She's retired now but has kept the bank account (dormant) and there's no T/A,
it's just in her maiden name.
I'm guessing when she opened the "maiden name" account she provided loads of paperwork which proved her name WAS her maiden name? Banks tend to check names very thoroughly due to money laundering regs. You couldn't open an account in just anybody's name.She's retired now but has kept the bank account (dormant) and there's no T/A,
it's just in her maiden name.
but IIRC, just her marriage certificate was required.Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff