Reply to: Proof of Business Account

[Wanderer]

A dishonest business can create any proof they like and send it electronically - this is the MODERN age!

If the agency just accepted the bank details and paid the money blindly into the account then there are all manner of frauds which could go on. It is also possible that HMRC could hold them liable for paying a person without deducting PAYE/NI and the liability on the agency could be substantial unless they can prove that they took reasonable steps to verify the payee.

If a contractor sent their bank details to the agency (without any proof) then it would be easy enough for the contractor to "accidentally" give the account details of their mum/dad/granny/whatever personal bank rather than the company ones and if they got caught out in the future they could claim it was a "genuine mistake". Depending on the merits of the case, there may be a small penalty and a slap on the wrist for being careless.

If a contractor scanned a bank statement and then deliberately altered the details to misrepresent the account details then they are committing fraud which could very well result in criminal charges and a large penalty.

My recommendation to the lunatic agencies that really want to ensure that I am genuine? Post cheques to my Ltd company address.

Eh? You'd rather go through all that palava rather than just sending them a copy of your bank statement?

[TheFaQQer]

They could spend some of their own money and do a full credit cheque and get company accounts

check

[RasputinDude]

What PM said.

How do you expect to be paid if they don't know what your bank details are?

[Project Monkey]

Never been asked before. You could give them your Bank name and account number to confirm them self from the bank..!

Probably a good idea to do this anyway if you want to get paid.

[dominicf]

Waste of time

Asking for an electronic copy of a bank statement is a waste of your time and theirs. What does it prove? It proves that the honest people with an honest bank account can send unaltered digital data. A dishonest business can create any proof they like and send it electronically - this is the MODERN age!

All that the agencies are doing is creating a smoke screen of compliance without understanding/caring about "sensible requests". They could spend some of their own money and do a full credit cheque and get company accounts, but instead they choose to create longer paper trails in the hope that they might be able to claim that they had done all that they can to prevent crime!

My recommendation to the lunatic agencies that really want to ensure that I am genuine? Post cheques to my Ltd company address.

[evilagent]

There is an increasing amount of paperwork that is legally required.
It is a pain, but hey-ho.
We, agents, have obligations to make sure we cross "t"s and dot "i"s.
We are just covering ourselves.

The fact you have done business before, unfortunately, is no answer.

As previously suggested, you can be cheeky and ask the agency for proof of business, too!

Pleas understand its legal requirements, or just processes, rather than any nefariousness on the part of agents.

We have better things to do, believe me.

[Wanderer]

Had this recently with a large IT agency, they wouldn't accept scans they needed to see the original. So I gave them a crossed out blank cheque.

Send them a paying in slip.....

[Mr.Whippy]

Had this recently with a large IT agency, they wouldn't accept scans they needed to see the original. So I gave them a crossed out blank cheque.

[warrenboon]

Asking for proof of company bank account seems to be increasingly common, last two times I've used an agency they've requested it. I don't think there's anything dubious, they just need to know that the money is going where it should. I send a scanned statement with the transactions blanked out...

[Taita]

At the risk of incurring NLUK's wrath, a quick question.

An agency I have worked with before (from December 2012 to March this year) have found me another contract. I've been chasing them to get the contract over, and it finally looks like it's coming today. However, one thing came up which I haven't seen before. Along with saying they "need" a signed copy of the Opt Out form (not happening) they've said they need proof that my business account is in the company name - either by way of a bank statement (they're not getting this), confirmation of the account being set up, or a blank cheque. Apparently this is to conform with money laundering regulations.

I've never been asked for any of these before. Has anyone else? I'm starting to get the feeling that they're just stalling - which isn't good since I'm meant to start my role on Tuesday and need to get the contract reviewed first.

Box ticking and unnecessary (from the Agency angle) in my opinion as you will not be paying the agency money so there is no need to establish the provenance of your lucre. On the other hand you could insist that the Agency does the same for you!

[SueEllen]

Sign the contract, forget to sign the opt-out and get on site.

Quite a few agencies I've been with I "forget" to sign the opt-out. One I got into a nasty fight with but I won.

[quackhandle]

I've been asked for this before. Nothing sinister. Just sent them a pdf of a bank statement with the transactions blanked out.

This +1. Many contractors I have spoken to do this. One guy when asked to show account details (for ID, not biz acc) had a dormant acc with 1p in it and he would give the pimp a pdf of that.

qh

[Ticktock]

Well, thankfully the contract actually came through, and with no nasty surprises in it. Of course, with the timescales it means I'm having to pay QDOS to prioritise the review (one of my 3 freebies) instead of leaving it with them. They're normally quick, but better safe than sorry.

I wouldn't have even raised the query about the bank account if it wasn't for having worked through, and been paid by, this agency before in the last 6 months - that's what made it seem strange. A scan of a blank cheque was enough though.

[Sausage Surprise]

I've been asked for this before. Nothing sinister. Just sent them a pdf of a bank statement with the transactions blanked out.

[Ticktock]

Personally I would be careful about calling clients you haven't even started with TBH. The first impression could be you are a trouble maker. Let the client and the agent fight it out and you just turn up as instructed and everything is ready IMO.

Many people seem to forget that part of Opting in is the agents are committed to more stringent checks and are obliged to check references, qualifications etc. Kinda funny when people want to opt in then complain about agents taking references.

Yeah, I get that. The problem of course is that I won't be turning up as (verbally) instructed unless I have a contract in place.

Like I say, my issue is more that I've done business with this agency before (and never had problems), so this time it feels like they're stalling. It could be that they don't have a contract in place with the client yet, that they know there's something in my contract I won't like and are trying to use time as pressure, or that for some reason they don't want to allow enough time for a contract review - or it could just be that they're having some admin delays at their end, who knows. I guess we'll see if / when the contract comes through - which apparently will be just after lunch.