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TCM_3

Thanks Horace!!!
Knew you'd know the answer! Choc-fest here I come!

Horace

Thanks chaps re the website - when I look at it I see a bit of the old and all the of new:rolleyes: At least its getting there.

TCM - have fun at cadbury world - they don't give out much free choc though and they will let you have some warm melted stuff to slurp too. My favourite bit was where I sat on a bench and pretended to be a cocoa bean being shuffled around (now how sad is that?).

moneymabel

Not sad...just a bit worrying lol

Ok-random question-when I'm doing the wedding fair in September and I buy lunch there-can I write it down as an expense on my tax return? Not that worried if I can't -was just curious!

Horace

Mabel - I note lunches as a business expense sometimes - say I am at the NEC and I have eto buy lunch (when I am there for business reasons) so I would do the same for a wedding fair.

Yesterday continued being a bad day when I received a bank statement from Lloyds TSB (not bad in itself) but it had been sent to me by the chamber of commerce. It would appear that my bank account still isnt mine:mad: because the bank haven't received notification from the chamber of commerce despite them claiming it has been sent. I have subs to pay for my insurance as well as my FSB membership so I am wondering if these are going to be refused? I am really really angry - I don't want the chamber knowing my business and feel that I as a business owner should have full control of my bank account, blimey if I don't have control then I won't be able to move it:mad: (Horace hops around the room like rumpelstiltskin).

TCM_3

Horace - sitting pretending to be a bean? Ok............ I thought my house was strange ............
Thanks for the info, am not a good one for hanging round airports so thought I'd best find something to do to kill time.

As regards your bank, make sure that YOUR name ALONE is the name on the account. I had a huge row with the OH when we were starting up here as the Start a Business crowd had to have something to do with the bank account and the stupid bank opened a joint account in his name and the name of one of the girls who ran the course. I blew a complete gasket as this is WRONG WRONG WRONG. The bank account should be in the name of the business with authorised signatures (yours and chambers if necessary) and all correspondance should come to you. It took an argument with the bank with ME pointing out that if a complete stranger to us defaulted on her mortgage etc the fact that she had a joint account with my OH could mean they could clear out that account! Me thinks not. Stand your ground with the bank - it turned out that I was right and about 20 other accounts through the same scheme had to be changed.

I had forgotten how cross that made me!

Batfink

Sorry if I'm being a bit dumb here - but how do you end up with some organisation involved with your business account? Is it because banks aren't wanting to give you an account without it or for some preferential rate?

TCM_3

Batfink - when the government are giving grants etc to get you off jobseekers and what have you I suppose they want some sort of control that you are genuinely opening a business and not just going to take their money and run. My OH was on Jobseekers and he did the Start a Business scheme because he had been claiming for over 8 weeks. This was about 4 years ago but there had to be someone involved in the course that could sign on the cheques and keep an eye on the business etc for the first 6 months. They gave us a grant of £750 and I financed the rest from a divorce settlement yet I could not countersign the cheques with the OH!!!

The whole thing was infuriating and I really had forgotten how hopping mad I was. At one stage I refuse to pay any of my money into the joint account the bank where trying to open for the OH and this complete stranger until they listened to me. All I could envisage was a silly little bimbo not paying her own debts and defaulting then her creditors could have had a licence to OUR business!!!!! AGGGGGGHHHHH.

Thankfully I stood my ground with the bank - I only knew this because I am a Girl Guide leader and we have our own account in the name of the Guide company but with 2 leaders to countersign the cheques.

moneymabel

Thanks Horace-thought that would be the case but thought i'd better check!

Hope you get your account sorted out soon :-/

Darth_Trader

Thanks for asking that last question Batfink (#1217), and TCM for the reply! I was starting to get a little confused about that myself.

I just use my Paypal account for businesses and transfer to a savings account if I need to 'stash' money away for any period of time, but importantly, it is ME in control of these accounts and nobody else. I was starting to wonder if the Chamber of Commerce was 'supposed' to be involved somehow. Never been myself - if this is the same thing as Business Link, I did try once, and found them packing up their offices preparing to leave town! Now that's really useful. lol.

Horace

I was on the New Deal for Self Employment Scheme which ended on 26 April and the Chamber of Commerce were supposed to have sent the forms off to the bank telling them that they were no longer signatories on the account, it was only because I received a bank statement showing the chamber of commerce address that I had a go at the bank and then at the chamber of commerce. Why the hell should they know what money I have moving through my accounts? I keep it going with funds from the change jar, my back to work grant and mystery shopping cash - as long as it ticks over enough to pay for my insurances then that's fine by me for the time being. Hell, I can't even move the account because the chamber still have control:mad:

Still onto different matters - more for Mabel, I received my copy of Attire Bridal magazine today (a free trade magazine produced by Kline Davis - last week I had a copy of Gift Focus mag too). I notice that in next month's edition of Attire they are doing a feature on wedding jewellery - you can get free copies of the magazine by registering on their website https://www.attirebridal.com

TCM - how did you get on at Cadbury World? - silly me, you're going on Tuesday...doh. Hope you have a good time.