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Please help me to choose a new business/personal account
Options
travelodger
Posts: 216 Forumite


Like many I have just been told that Santander will be charging me £10 a month for my business account so I need to close it.
I run a hobby business with a small income of about £1500 a year and outgoings of about £500 a year. Money comes in from sales and I just leave it in there, then when it's reached about £3000 I transfer it into an ISA. No way I am going to lose £120 a year paying fees to Santander!
I'm not very knowledgeable in financial matters, nor up to date with banking: I've had the same personal current account with Nationwide since 1983! and this Santander (prev Abbey) Business Account since 2005.
I could easily open a 2nd personal current account with Nationwide, but would that be my best option?
I have read on here masses of info about personal and business accounts and all it's done is made my head spin.
I'm hoping that someone clever will help me decide what to replace my Santander account with.
Some points that may be helpful to know:
I run a hobby business with a small income of about £1500 a year and outgoings of about £500 a year. Money comes in from sales and I just leave it in there, then when it's reached about £3000 I transfer it into an ISA. No way I am going to lose £120 a year paying fees to Santander!
I'm not very knowledgeable in financial matters, nor up to date with banking: I've had the same personal current account with Nationwide since 1983! and this Santander (prev Abbey) Business Account since 2005.
I could easily open a 2nd personal current account with Nationwide, but would that be my best option?
I have read on here masses of info about personal and business accounts and all it's done is made my head spin.
I'm hoping that someone clever will help me decide what to replace my Santander account with.
Some points that may be helpful to know:
I will not ever need an overdraft facility.
I don't use a debit card or cheques or take money out in cash.
I only have one direct debit going out, for £6 a month.
I don't use a debit card or cheques or take money out in cash.
I only have one direct debit going out, for £6 a month.
All my incoming and outgoing payments are by direct bank transfer. A small handful per month.
There is no reason why the new account cannot be in my personal name rather than the trading name I have used for the past 20 years.
I currently have £2,500 in the account at 0% interest. I would love to make interest on my balance as I always have at least £500 and sometimes as much as £3,000 in the account.
I would love to get paid a sum for transferring my Santander account to the new account.
Because I'm disabled I do not have a current passport or a driving licence, but I can prove my ID with my old passport, house deeds, Council Tax, etc.
I'm a sole trader, aged 67.
I cannot get on with apps on my smartphone - I use a PC for everything.
Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.
I currently have £2,500 in the account at 0% interest. I would love to make interest on my balance as I always have at least £500 and sometimes as much as £3,000 in the account.
I would love to get paid a sum for transferring my Santander account to the new account.
Because I'm disabled I do not have a current passport or a driving licence, but I can prove my ID with my old passport, house deeds, Council Tax, etc.
I'm a sole trader, aged 67.
I cannot get on with apps on my smartphone - I use a PC for everything.
Many thanks in advance for any suggestions.
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Comments
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Personal accounts cannot be used for businesses according to the T&Cs and in theory the bank can close your account if they discover thats what you are doing but in practice thousands get away with it for years.
Why would you want to open a second account though? in principle putting it into your current account rather than a dedicated one is going to make it much less likely to be spotted as a business account. Having a seperate account would increase the risks and the bank may well close all accounts you have with them not just the one you are breaching the terms on.
Personally would look at a fee free business account, most obvious choices normally would be the new challenger banks but they predominately won't be an option for you given your aversion to smart phones. However in response to challengers HSBC and Natwest Group now offer business banking without a standing fee. They do still charge for cash handling or large volumes of transactions but as long as money is moving in/out electronically you can generally avoid all fees.1 -
When did you open your Business Bank Account with Santander? Was is while they were called Abbey?
If so, you can complain to them about the charges. the Abbey account was advertised as being "Free forever". I've complained and have had a decision from Santander that allows me to take my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. The more people that do this, the more this petty decision will cost Santander.
Most of the free acounts have very small transaction volumes going through them, no overdrafts, and no customer service requirements - the only time I have ever contacted Santander after opening my account with Abbey was to complain! Santander UK made nearly £1billion profit last year, so there is not even a commercial imperative to make this change.The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.1 -
MyRealNameToo said:Personal accounts cannot be used for businesses
Why would you want to open a second account though? in principle putting it into your current account rather than a dedicated one is going to make it much less likely to be spotted as a business account.
Personally would look at a fee free business account.. HSBC and Natwest Group
I want to keep my business accounts separate from my personal as it's easier for tax purposes.
I will look at those two banks, thanks!0 -
tacpot12 said:When did you open your Business Bank Account with Santander? Was is while they were called Abbey?
If so, you can complain to them about the charges. the Abbey account was advertised as being "Free forever". I've complained and have had a decision from Santander that allows me to take my complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. .
I phoned today to complain and the clerk said they were receiving hundreds of calls and complaints about this and that many people are already complaining to the Ombudsman.0 -
I just phoned HSBC and they said that their business account has no fees at all and also that they do not require me to use a smartphone/app but I can operate it via the PC.0
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travelodger said:I just phoned HSBC and they said that their business account has no fees at all and also that they do not require me to use a smartphone/app but I can operate it via the PC.
If you plan to switch from Santander, I assume you can use the Current Account Switch Service to make the move easier - thought you may want to wait until you see if Santander change their minds about their planned changes.
HSBC also offer a business savings account which I guess you can open afterwards.1 -
I've also read online that it's ok to use a personal current account for business if you are, like me, a sole trader with a small turnover!0
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travelodger said:I've also read online that it's ok to use a personal current account for business if you are, like me, a sole trader with a small turnover!
Let's Be Careful Out There0 -
travelodger said:I've also read online that it's ok to use a personal current account for business if you are, like me, a sole trader with a small turnover!
Even if you have found a suitable option like HSBC, they may need a valid (non expired?) form of ID, as will any other bank.0
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