Can a sole trader have a bank account in a "business name" ?

cupid07

I understand a sole trader can have a bank account that is under a business name if they are "trading as". e.g john smith trading as vilegreen windows
But what if the company was vilegreen windows LTD - now dissolved and now the person in charge is a sole trader and using vilegreen windows as the Bank account name accepting payments. If this was the previous LTD company bank account would it have LTD at the end?
I'm trying to understand if my rights are affected as i thought i was dealing with a limited company when in actual fact i'm not, due to the names used being so similar/the same minus the LTD part. 

[Deleted User]

You can't have an account with LTD on the end without being a limited company. Someone can set up a similar name without the LTD but they are 2 very different things. As far as I know, you can't have an account as a LTD company and not have LTD on the account name. 
A director wouldn't be able to convert a LTD account to a non LTD one - it doesn't belong to them, it belongs to the company. Once the company ceases trading, the bank account would also cease too.

Ectophile

I think the answer would be "yes".  If the company no longer exists, then there's nothing to stop a sole trader using the name.

cupid07

Ectophile said:

I think the answer would be "yes".  If the company no longer exists, then there's nothing to stop a sole trader using the name.

Should the bank statement then read john smith trading as vilegreen windows and not just Vilegreen windows? I am presuming this is the sole trading bank account but if they are Trading as then their name should come first on the statement?

davidmcn

cupid07 said:

Ectophile said:

I think the answer would be "yes".  If the company no longer exists, then there's nothing to stop a sole trader using the name.

Should the bank statement then read john smith trading as vilegreen windows and not just Vilegreen windows? I am presuming this is the sole trading bank account but if they are Trading as then their name should come first on the statement?

Can you explain why you're asking? 

unholyangel

You can't use the bank account of a dissolved Ltd company. If you are, I would advise you to stop immediately. Before you dig yourself any deeper. 

ETA: just caught tail end of your post now. I'm not sure why you'd be disappointed at it not being a limited company. It's called a limited company because it's liability is limited to company assets. If they're a sole trader, then it's their personal assets that are at risk (which includes any assets used by the "business"). 

cupid07

davidmcn said:

cupid07 said:

Ectophile said:

I think the answer would be "yes".  If the company no longer exists, then there's nothing to stop a sole trader using the name.

Should the bank statement then read john smith trading as vilegreen windows and not just Vilegreen windows? I am presuming this is the sole trading bank account but if they are Trading as then their name should come first on the statement?

Can you explain why you're asking? 

Incase I have to go to the small claims, I would need to know if its a limited company or a sole trader.

davidmcn

cupid07 said:

davidmcn said:

cupid07 said:

Ectophile said:

I think the answer would be "yes".  If the company no longer exists, then there's nothing to stop a sole trader using the name.

Should the bank statement then read john smith trading as vilegreen windows and not just Vilegreen windows? I am presuming this is the sole trading bank account but if they are Trading as then their name should come first on the statement?

Can you explain why you're asking? 

Incase I have to go to the small claims, I would need to know if its a limited company or a sole trader.

If it's a limited company then it has "limited" at the end of its name (and so will its bank accounts, pretty much invariably as far as I know). And it'll be listed on Companies House, and all their other paperwork should have the company name. If it isn't a limited company then it won't (though then you should really be suing "John Smith", not his trading name).

Don't you have any clues other than their bank account name?

MattMattMattUK

cupid07 said:

davidmcn said:

cupid07 said:

Ectophile said:

I think the answer would be "yes".  If the company no longer exists, then there's nothing to stop a sole trader using the name.

Should the bank statement then read john smith trading as vilegreen windows and not just Vilegreen windows? I am presuming this is the sole trading bank account but if they are Trading as then their name should come first on the statement?

Can you explain why you're asking? 

Incase I have to go to the small claims, I would need to know if its a limited company or a sole trader.

If you are already thinking you will need to take them to a small claims court then do not deal with them and find someone you are happy with.

sheramber

yes, a business account could be in the name of the business . 
Perhaps if you explained the problem it would be easier to answer you. 
Do you have an invoice or something with the business name on it?
Why did you think you were dealing with a limited company

Sandtree

No, the account has to be in the name of the legal entity that is operating it, so in the case of a sole trader it will be their personal name.

A business bank account however can have trading styles added to it such that the bank will accept a cheque etc made payable to that trading style (eg vilegreen windows).

You cannot use a trading style that would cause confusion for customers over which legal entity they are trading with, so whilst you could be Billy Bob t/a Vilegreen Windows you could not call yourself Vilegreen Windows Ltd as that would imply that its a limited company and not a sole trader.

Under rules about fraud and moneylaundering etc banks have to be careful what they allow to go on but it is ultimately at their discretion what they allow you to pay into your account.  With a rather unusual surname I have received cheques with all sorts of spellings over the years and back in the days when cheques were reasonablly common I'd just batch them up, stick the odd spelling one near the back and hand them over and they never got questioned or rejected. So if you have a trading style of Vilegreen Windows and receive a cheque for Vilegreen Windows Ltd the bank may or may not allow its deposit.

That said, if its a cheque that was intended for the limited company but you as a former director try to bank it in your own account then that would be fraud and theft even if the bank allowed it. If it is truly for you and just a mistake on the part of the issuer then thats a separate matter.