"^%£$ English Banks.

[james.hill]

Why is it that it's so "*&"^£ hard to get a bank account in the UK!? OK, I know it's due to money laundering precautions, but it's still a major pain.

I'm a UK citizen born in the UK, but didn't require a bank account until age 20 due to an "extended" (10 years) holiday in New Zealand. It took me 3 months of constant badgering to get my personal bank account.

Now as my limited company is turning a profit, I need a business bank account to store my goodies. Previously I've just been paying cash directly into my personal account and taking it off the directors loan account.

For my limited company, as it's just me right now I've had myself as director + secretary and my father as a second director... so far so good.

Walking into the bank with all the relevent documentation and forms, they tell me I need a passport or similar identification from my dad. Unfortunately my dad is in New Zealand and there is no way I'm entrusting such important documents to the post.

Talking to a colleague, I think the answer is to get a justice of the peace, or lawyer, or someone official in NZ to make a certified photocopy, and use the photocopied documents. It'll be a pain finding a bank that'll accept these, but this seems to be the way to do it.

The other way is to use one of these secretarial services that is offered for limited companies. I'd rather not as I'm not sure if I'd still have the same problems, and I don't like the idea of a 3rd party having that kind of power over my business.

Or I could find someone else to take the post from right here in the UK. Again I'd rather not, but it's certainly a possibility.

Does anyone have any thoughts/advice?

[Alpha]

Do you have any other friends or relatives in the UK?

All you would then have to do is appoint one as company secretary with you being the director.

The company secretary is not classed as an employee of the company so it should be straight forward to have someones name for a non contributory role.

Then just remove your father as a director and approach the bank (or probably a different one) :)

[autolycus]

The other way is to use one of these secretarial services that is offered for limited companies. I'd rather not as I'm not sure if I'd still have the same problems, and I don't like the idea of a 3rd party having that kind of power over my business.


The Secretary does not have to be a director and does not have to have signing powers on the bank account. So if you did go for a 3rd party secretarial company, their power over your business woul dbe pretty limited.

Dave.