Finding company details

sertav

Quick question: If I want to check info relating to a Limited company I'd go to Companies House. Is there a similar resource for Sole Traders?

Cheers

Sertav

Debt_Free_Chick

sertav wrote:

Quick question: If I want to check info relating to a Limited company I'd go to Companies House. Is there a similar resource for Sole Traders?

Cheers

Sertav

Afraid not. There is no requirement for a sole trader to "register" with an equivalent of Companies House. In fact, there is no equivalent of Companies House or any other register for sole traders (or partnerships).

What are you looking for?

RichyRich

But they do need to register with the Inland Revenue (and Customs and Excise if turnover £50k+), so maybe they could help you out.

Just a thought
R

WHA

Because of confidentiality and data protection act etc., you are very unlikely to get anything from the HM Revenue & Customs - as far as I know, the only thing they can help you with is confirming whether or not a VAT registration number is valid.

Even though sole traders and partnerships have no "register" like Companies House, there are quite a few ways of checking them out, but it depends what information you are interested in.

Firstly, if they are reputable, they are probably members of a trade association, and these days, most of the best trade associations have lists of their members on their website, i.e. Federation of Master Builders, Institute of Chartered Accountants, etc.

Secondly, sole traders and partnerships must make it clear to anyone doing business with them, the names of the proprietors and their main trading address. They can't hide behind a trade name of "ABC Joinery". If they are a sole trader, official documents like invoices/letterheads must show their personal name, i.e. Fred Smith t/a ABC Joinery. If they are a partnership, the names of all partners must be shown on the letterhead or if there are a lot, you can ask them for a list of the partners.

Thirdly, using various websites, you can find out who lives at a particular address, sometimes even their date of birth and other personal information, you can also search a name to find their address.

Finally, for now, there are firms that collate financial information about businesses, whether they are ltd, partnerships or sole traders. These can be expensive, but are likely to give quite detailed information regarding the business activities, financial information, staffing, liquidity, average payment timescales, etc. They get their information from a variety of sources, often including from the firm themselves and the other organisations they do business with.

Try http://www.creditgate.co.uk/
or
http://www.icc.co.uk/Home/Content2.aspx?SiteCode=web&PageID=BusinessServices

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