Bank charges for company accounts

[Smallfry]

I have never been self employed or had a company, so am ignorant of this .............

SWMBO has a rental flat which is leasehold. The management company are really taking the p**s with their service charges, so the other leaseholders have decided to to exercise their "Right to Manage" which means forming a company. Its all going fairly well, except for some of the participants not wanting to do anything, but wanting the benefits.

Anyway, in trying to open a company account, she finds they have a monthly charge, and not free banking.

Is this normal for a company account ? I sort of think it will be across the board, or are there places that don't charge. Any other pitfalls ?

 

[northwest]

If you shop around you will find someone offering free banking for the first twelve months, then you move to another bank offering a free period, ad infinitum. I am pretty stuck in my gae there is only Barclays will entertain me.

 

[Kayos]

Starling business is free for anyone with a turnover under £1.2m

 

[skotl]

First off - business accounts are all mostly chargeable now. Although you'll likely get a free year from most, you will still end up paying.

Edit:

Starling business is free for anyone with a turnover under £1.2m

I didn't know that - that's a good deal!


My RBS Business account was free for the first year then I had the choice of paying a monthly fee or 35p per transaction. I went with the latter because I had few transactions but now that I'm doing more trading I may well switch over.
RBS family business accounts come with FreeAgent for nothing, which is actually a worthwhile benefit.

 

[Kram]

I believe a great proportion of the self employed, get around this, by simply using a second personal account. Theres nothing wrong with that although the banks dont like it, if you told them so. That may not work in your situation if its a company with many equal partners.

 

[MetalMonkey]

There is mettle and a whole host of other similar options thesdays. Or you could just chance it with a personal account.
Although this sounds like its a collective, so probably something you are going to want to go a more established route on as there is going to be issues at some point down the line (as there always is the moment you involve other people).

 

[Bullet2012]

have a look at, www.zemplerbank.com
been using them for a couple of years now. just the basic “free” account

 

[Blobber]

TSB charge my business account £5.00 a month, probably have special deals for new customers

 

[brightspark]

just phone round and get quotes

 

[Craig-SM]

I believe a great proportion of the self employed, get around this, by simply using a second personal account. Theres nothing wrong with that although the banks dont like it, if you told them so. That may not work in your situation if its a company with many equal partners.

Not so easy with Resident Management Companies as they are still separate entities unlike sole traders.

 

[Craig-SM]

I have never been self employed or had a company, so am ignorant of this .............

SWMBO has a rental flat which is leasehold. The management company are really taking the p**s with their service charges, so the other leaseholders have decided to to exercise their "Right to Manage" which means forming a company. Its all going fairly well, except for some of the participants not wanting to do anything, but wanting the benefits.

Anyway, in trying to open a company account, she finds they have a monthly charge, and not free banking.

Is this normal for a company account ? I sort of think it will be across the board, or are there places that don't charge. Any other pitfalls ?

You’re going to have fun. Resident Management Companies usually end up as a series of never ending arguments between residents.

You will need a business account and most charge but a lot of the online banks offer no fees up certain turnover or number of transactions.

Ensure your agreements with residents are detailed and not vague as you will need to resort to them a lot to end arguments

 

[badabec]

I'd sell the flat.

 

[brightspark]

i wouldn't have a rental where you have to pay a company ground and maintenance fees along with agents fee for managing the property getting the rent of the punter

 

[Agroshield]

As above, some business bank accounts are no annual fee. Read the details of what an individual bank offers.

Co-Operative have one with no monthly charge, but they charge 1.5% fee for cash deposits. They offer another business account more suited for shopkeepers with a high cash turnover, with a different fee structure.

Shop around and read the terms of what is on offer. Do not confine yourself to the high street name banks.

 

[harveyp6]

Co-Operative have one with no monthly charge, but they charge 1.5% fee for cash deposits.

Deposit cash in the bank? Oh no no no, only cheques go in the bank.*

*(BTW, I don't take cheques. Cash only here.)

 

[roofman]

I get charged £65 per month for my natwest buisness account..they charge for every transaction in and out.

 

[carbon]

Co-Operative have one with no monthly charge, but they charge 1.5% fee for cash deposits. They offer another business account more suited for shopkeepers with a high cash turnover, with a different fee structure.

I have a Co-operative business account that is linked with the federation of small businesses. I pay my anual subscription to the FSB and get free business banking with the co-operative. There are some charges if depositing larger amounts of cash I believe

 

[Smallfry]

Starling business is free for anyone with a turnover under £1.2m

She doesn't like the Starling Bank.

Because Starlings are a bit aggressive and have raucous and unpleasant calls

Will pass it on though.

 

[Smallfry]

Deposit cash in the bank? Oh no no no, only cheques go in the bank.*

*(BTW, I don't take cheques. Cash only here.)

Your mattress must be nearly touching the ceiling then ???

 

[Smallfry]

i wouldn't have a rental where you have to pay a company ground and maintenance fees along with agents fee for managing the property getting the rent of the punter

I agree, but I guess you would have to have the freehold for that ?

We were blissfully unaware at the time, that a management company could put up service charges as they felt like it. When she bought the flat, the service charges were £900 pa. 18 months later the management company was changed to a London based one. Three years on, they are charging £5000 pa, and the leaseholders get nothing worthwhile for it, and not much maintenance get done.