Reply to: A good business account?

[philip@wellwoodhoyle]

I applied to Cater Allen last week. Any experiences on how long they take to setup the account?

The accounts we set up for our clients take about a week to set up, but we "spoon feed" them all the documents and information they need, so they don't have to do much checking themselves. We did have one that took about 3 weeks, but that was because they tried to phone one of the proposed signatories who was abroad on holiday at the time and forgot to set his mobile to international!

[Technically Blonde]

Bank of Scotland

Could anyone give me some recommendations on business accounts...

No charges, good internet account

[boredsenseless]

Well there is always the option of an Internet Based account for your current account and Cater Allen for a high interest deposit!

[simes]

Cater Allen internet banking go live

Yes, but they said that about 3 years ago. Would be nice, but don't hold your breath.

No it's not - and I have been waiting and listening to crap excuses for five years.

Not only is it not going live at Xmas, but, unlike previous experiences, they now have no idea when it might go live but, 'sometime in the New Year'. Santander Bank have 'not liked something about their deal' that they have to look into it from square one.

Unfortunately, they have had a string of takeovers and mergers that can keep them supplied with system ratification excuses until hell freezes over. Blah blah blah.

But as it is, their interest rate is good, the tel banking is good, and costs are nil - what do you do?

[Lucifer Box]

Cater Allan.

The only problem is that they change their name so often I never know what they're called. Fleming, then JP Morgan Fleming, then Cater Allan, then, Blancmange. No High street presence is the only problem, if any.

Avoid the high street banks like the plague.

Leif

I think they've always been called Cater Allen, it just so happens they bought Flemings so I think all the name change stuff is Flemings poncing about.

They do have a sort of High Street presence - they have done a deal with RBS to front them. Only basic stuff mind (paying in cheques, etc) but it's better than nowt. Anyway, who really needs to go into a branch much these days?

[Fungus]

Cater Allan.

The only problem is that they change their name so often I never know what they're called. Fleming, then JP Morgan Fleming, then Cater Allan, then, Blancmange. No High street presence is the only problem, if any.

Avoid the high street banks like the plague.

Leif

[MikeB]

I applied to Cater Allen last week. Any experiences on how long they take to setup the account?

[hyperD]

I use Cater Alan (formerly Fleming Private Bank) - good telephone banking, reasonable interest rates (>£5000 balance).

Agree, don't hold your breath about internet banking but with good telephone service and a < 30 transaction count, it's not essential (unlike maybe a prvate a/c).

Can setup the usual D/D, SO etc

[MrsGoof]

Agree with Abbey, but they took 5 weeks to set up my account

[ladymuck]

Ditto Abbey

Free banking for life (within certain limits but they're not harsh), they set up the account within 14 working days and pay interest on your current account balance. No minimum balance required, good internet banking resources (takes a little longer to set up).

Don't bother with Alliance & Leicester. They also offer free banking, etc but I waited two months for the account to be set up and finally received a letter with my account number but no sort code. Not very useful! Their customer services can't tell you what stage your application is at or why it takes them so long, and I have worries about their data security. My mum is my co sec (ahhhh...) and she was receiving dodgy phone calls from someone claiming to be from A&L pumping her for infomation about the company but refusing to tell her who they were! Grrr...

[planetit]

Cater Allen account internet access is due to go live this xmas.

Yes, but they said that about 3 years ago. Would be nice, but don't hold your breath.

[Bumboclot]

Cater Allen account internet access is due to go live this xmas.

[malvolio]

Possibly, I've never used their service so I can't comment. Personally, I'd rather do my own typing to manage the accounts, so when I get it wrong I know who to blame! The benefit of CA is that you keep all the interest, which in my case would be a difference of a couple of hundred quid - not quite enough to make it worth changing over for IMHO.Cost is not critical anyway, to my mind - I make a lot more on interest than I pay in charges, especially since I don't use many cheques (and those go to HMG departments...).

[planetit]

Cater Allen for the basics. If you want all the toys (internet access, BACS/CHAPS, charge card, etc., ) go with HSBC and use the interest to pay off the bank charges.

Cater Allen gives you all of those except Internet access. Can't see it's worth paying for since their telephone banking is excellent.

[LordF]

Abbey Business

www.anbusiness.com