Paying Company Money into a Personal Account

[GillsMan]

I was with HSBC for a couple of years originally before switching, ironically, to Lloyds.

I have to echo the other thoughts on HSBC - very quick to set up and, get this, their business managers worked on Saturdays! Which was super convenient. Never had any problems with them (or with Lloyds tbh), I only moved because I didn't like their website/online banking. So definitely consider HSBC.

[D3K]

Thanks for the responses. I'll try and get an appointment with HSBC but it sounds like there's a long wait at the moment.

Ultimately it's going to come down to who can get an account open for me sooner, but frankly I've found Lloyd's customer service to be pathetic so far and would prefer not to give them my business. I've called them four times on different days and at different times and never had less than a 20 minute wait on hold. Worse is that their business department is so departmentalised that by the time I speak to someone, odds are they can't help me and they'll have to transfer me internally where I'll spend more time on hold. i.e. While the new business accounts team works extended hours and Saturdays, they can't tell you anything about an on-going application, and refer you to the follow-up team who only work business hours. /rant.

[JRCT]

Thanks for the responses. I'll try and get an appointment with HSBC but it sounds like there's a long wait at the moment.

Ultimately it's going to come down to who can get an account open for me sooner, but frankly I've found Lloyd's customer service to be pathetic so far and would prefer not to give them my business. I've called them four times on different days and at different times and never had less than a 20 minute wait on hold. Worse is that their business department is so departmentalised that by the time I speak to someone, odds are they can't help me and they'll have to transfer me internally where I'll spend more time on hold. i.e. While the new business accounts team works extended hours and Saturdays, they can't tell you anything about an on-going application, and refer you to the follow-up team who only work business hours. /rant.

Did someone on here not suggest HSBC to you nearly 3 weeks ago?

[D3K]

Did someone on here not suggest HSBC to you nearly 3 weeks ago?

They did. As mentioned in my other post, at the time I'd already applied to Lloyds and was expecting a much better turnaround then what they've been offering. Hence why I'm now looking at HSBC again. And yes, in hindsight it's looking like I should have just gone with them 3 weeks ago.

[Glencky]

I had my first 2 invoices paid into a personal account when I started contracting. I was contracted direct to the client, who was overseas. I put my personal bank details on the invoice and they'd have had no way of knowing it wasn't the company. I was bothered about the whole thing (for the reasons previously said i.e. I do understand that my company and myself are 2 different things). However it was a lot better than waiting a long time more to get paid. Apart from the current account I presently use (and have been using for years), I also never closed my previous current account, formerly my student account with NatWest. It had about £8 in it. So I was able to ringfence the money neatly from my regular outgoings etc. £xyz got paid in; a few weeks later, when I got my bank account sorted, £xyz got transferred to the company bank account. It's a little irregular but I think the paper trail is very clear, and the reasons for it also clear.

I had tried to apply to Cater Allen as my accountants assured me it'd be easy. I filled out the forms before flying overseas for that first contract, only to find out that they booted me out. I then couldn't start sorting it out till I was back in the UK. I went to NatWest, the same bank my student account was with, in the end. I've got no problems with them and it was certainly fast enough to get the bank account sorted - a few days, from memory.

I think though that there are a lot of people on here quoting 'immediate' set-up who are UK citizens and don't get the potential complications NOT being brings. My degree happened to have a study abroad year in Australia and I can tell you it works both ways! at the time when UK banks were throwing increasing overdrafts at me, I had to keep a balance of AU$1000 in my Aussie current account at all times!

Anyway good luck OP - hope you get it sorted.

P.S. If you produced a letter on company headed notepaper and signed by you as company director, setting out the circumstances and giving them authority to make payment into a different (personal) account, I'd have thought the agency should be happy to pay the invoice into your personal account. Might be worth trying that again whilst you faff around getting it sorted?

[malvolio]

Thing is, the bank won't be happy if it finds out. There are different disclosure rules between corporate and personal accounts, and they are nervous about unwittingly supporting breaches of money laundering rules, among other things. I have heard of accounts being closed immediately when misuse was suspected.

[D3K]

Anyway good luck OP - hope you get it sorted.

Thanks. I've ended up getting my agency to process my first month and a bits pay under PAYE, as frankly I need the cash. I'm losing out tax wise but not much I can do about it. They were adamantly against paying to a personal account.

[borderreiver]

Thing is, the bank won't be happy if it finds out. There are different disclosure rules between corporate and personal accounts, and they are nervous about unwittingly supporting breaches of money laundering rules, among other things.

HSBC has "historically" been rather relaxed about that ...

[pmasoft]

Quick and Easy option

there is a company called APS that are at mycashplus.co.uk. Does personal and business so choose right tab.
You can get an account approved within minutes. It is a credit card based account, not a normal cheque book account (Account is physically with Cooperative bank) However for £49 per annum you can use credit card with no additional fees and also 5 transactions per month online before fees of 99p per transaction kicks in. Only stumbling block is a £15k upper limit until they "know" you. Hope this may help