Having been dangled in front of SMEs since back in February, the SME Brexit Support Fund was designed to help small business owners obtain a grant of £2000 to help them get their heads around new rules and regulations regarding importing and exporting now that Brexit has happened, and as I hinted at back then, it was an accident waiting to happen. […]

If you have a nose on your face, then you will be more than aware at how the Recovery Loan Scheme is helping very few SMEs, and with the current chance of a BBL MKII Scheme looking highly unlikely, today I want to enlighten you on the Start Up Loans Scheme which has helped many people with a business that has been established for up to 2 years and those wishing to start a new business secure funding, and I have been getting good feedback on it too (makes a pleasant change). […]

I have been busy of late trying to make sense of the constant stream of snatch back letters many banks have been sending out, which are basically demands for the full and early repayment of Bounce Back Loans, and whilst some of the reasons they are sending such demands/letters out are obvious, some border on the downright outrageous, let me explain. […]

Information has been pouring in about the Bounce Back Loan scheme including repayments, defaults and even those repaying in full, and with that in mind today I will give you a quick insight into what is happening out there, as I know many of you are trying to make sense of it all. Keep in mind that […]

As we are now in month thirteen since the launch of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, that does of course mean that if you got one of those loans in the first few days of the scheme going live, your first repayment will soon be due. I am however receiving reports that some SMEs have had the full monthly repayment amount taken out of […]

A quick warning for any of you who may need to book the 2 and 8 day Covid tests if you are planning a holiday abroad or a business trip overseas, there are some, what appear to be Government approved rip off merchants out there who will threaten you if you attempt to complain to them (not that they can be contacted speedily anyway) when they fail to deliver the goods. Atruchecks let me down and they may let you down too. […]

It might be easier to list MPs and Members of the House of Lords that do not have shareholdings in companies that were accredited by the British Business Bank as CBILS, CLBILS and even Bounce Back Loan lenders. This time it is Chris Philp MP for […]

I do like the team over at the National Audit Office, for when they get their teeth stuck into something, they will investigate and are never afraid of revealing what they have discovered. They have just announced that they are now planning a follow-up investigation into the Bounce Back Loan scheme, so make sure you give them […]

If proof was needed that even now, after the Bounce Back Loan Scheme has come to an end, just how messed up that scheme is and was, it is the revelation by the British Business Bank that lenders that offered those loans are not mandated to offer the PAYG options but are simply expected to offer them. Not everyone is […]

In this guide you will be able to see the self-reported data by local authorities on the number of Additional Restrictions Grants paid out and the total value of those grants as at 25 April 2021. […]

It has certainly been something of a lottery when it comes to business grants, however today the Government has published the final allocation amounts they have issued to all Local Authorities to distribute as Restart Grants. […]

Those who had asked the British Business Bank for the names of businesses that had secured a CBILS loan were told in no uncertain terms by that organisation to do so could put those businesses at risk, however with scant regard to that dire warning the EU has started to list them on one of their websites.  The same may shortly happen if you got a Bounce Back Loan too […]

As the clock struck midnight last night, bank bosses across the UK probably collectively put out a sigh of relief as that marked the end of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, but now its time for Rishi and Co to put their thinking caps on, for if additional help and support is not forthcoming, many SMEs will, for want of a better word, be in the sh*t! […]

Just before the start of this Bank Holiday weekend, and with banks having until today, the 31st of May 2021 to process any Bounce Back Loans in the system before the curtain falls on that scheme, BEIS have decided to start promoting another finance scheme for SMEs, that being Merchant Cash Advance which is being offered by […]

With no real idea yet on the number of Bounce Back Loan defaults that are likely to occur in the coming months, all you will see is estimates from those involved in the scheme, however I have seen a plethora of BBL Breach Letters being sent out by some banks, and today I will give you an insight into what an Official Default Notice looks like from one bank. […]

One of the bosses of Santander has admitted that bank will be snooping in business customers accounts if they got a Bounce Back Loan to see if the account is being run as they would expect with regard to certain aspects of the application for a BBL those customers made/supplied, and today that boss gives an insight into how they handled business account openings during the BBL scheme. […]

Lloyds Bank did fire out plenty of Bounce Back Loans rather quickly when they were available, however today you can find out in their own words how they did when it came to customers trying to open a business account with them when the BBL scheme was available. […]

Having seen one of the bosses of NatWest waffling on, in what you could call a befuddled way about Bounce Back Loans, you can today read what that boss (Paul Thwaite) has to say about how that bank handled things for those wishing to open a business account whilst BBLs were available. […]

Metro Bank made a complete hash of things when it came to opening new business accounts and also processing Bounce Back Loans, and today you can find out what one of their bosses has to say on how that bank fared (in their opinion) during the BBL scheme regarding opening accounts for new business customers. […]

I heard plenty of complaints about Barclays relating to SME’s trying to open business accounts with that bank with the aim of getting an account opened and then going on to try and apply for a Bounce Back Loan, today you can find out what one of their bosses has to say on that subject and other related questions she has answered. […]

As someone who may have tried to apply for a Business Account with HSBC with the aim of getting a Bounce Back Loan, you will know whether you experienced any problems or not, and below you will find the official response from HSBC regarding such accounts and how they handled things during the time BBLs were available. […]

You can now apply for a Recovery Loan from Funding Circle as they have just been accredited by the British Business Bank, and they claim that you can find out if you are eligible via their online checker tool in 30 seconds, and they also claim within 10 minutes you can apply for one of those loans and will be paid out your funds promptly if approved. Good luck with that. […]

The fashion guru and “Westminster hairstyle trend setting” MP, Alok Sharma, he who oversaw the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, has decided the time is right to demand you all start wearing or selling (if you are a clothes retailer), hand me down clothes, or if you operate a beauty salon you must go green, so no more punk or beehive hairstyles held in place with […]

As most people sat in amazement watching Dominic Cummings lay into Boris and Hancock yesterday, the British Business Bank announced the accreditation of two lenders on the 26th of May 2021, one of which is BCRS Business Loans, however they are a regional lender and one that does charge some hefty […]

The British Business Bank are currently accrediting several additional Recovery Loan Lenders, and one that is now offering those loans is Close Brothers, who will allow you to apply if you are currently one of their Invoice Finance customers or are prepared […]

As you may recall I made contact with Charles Leslie from the Credit Services Association in the hope that he could explain the code of ethics and standards that all debt collectors and recover agents signed up to that Association he heads will be expected to adhere to when asked to attempt to recover funds from those defaulting on Bounce Back Loans, and a range […]

It looks like Starling Bank have finally given in to pressure to get their PAYG BBL Options live but be warned they are monitoring Companies House and demanding repayment of Bounce Back Loans in full if anything is amiss, and HSBC are delaying the activation of those options for some SMEs too. Feedback received also indicates that HSBC […]

Worryingly, I have had a slew of complaints about Barclays demanding repayment of BBLs sent to me over the weekend (for various different reasons) and today I will give you an insight into what they are offering one of those customers by way of options for repayment before they farm them off to their collections team and/or debt collectors. […]

Kwasi Kwarteng is Secretary of State for BEIS that organisation instructed the British Business Bank to launch the BBL, CBILS, CLBILS and Recovery Loan Schemes. Well, he must have been giddy with excitement when Helios Investment Partners LLP bunged him £4,500 for his election fighting fund. Then would you believe it, the BBB pick Henry Obi from Helios Investment Partners to become Chair of one of their Working Groups. […]

It just never ends dear website visitor, let us face it with Rishi and Co launching CBILS there was some chunky money to be made with that and all other Government backed loan schemes, and Kit Malthouse MP must have been rubbing his hands with glee when the finance company he founded was accredited by the British Business Bank to offer CBILS. I wonder if that firm will become a Recovery Loan Lender too. As of the […]

The saga that has become the Bounce Back Loan scheme never ends, and I am getting plenty of messages and emails from those waiting for Starling Bank to offer all of the PAYG BBL options. Whilst it is possible to take the […]

You have to hand it to NatWest, they do like pulling plenty of tricks, and I have just received word they are pulling a rather interesting one when it comes to Bounce Back Loans but are offering compensation for their “errors”. […]

It is as if banks that are accredited to offer Recovery Loans are issued with a handbook in which they are told to do everything possible to stop people getting one of those loans. It was the turn of Cynergy Bank to become accredited yesterday and according to […]

I will be revisiting a real corker today, that being how the British Business Bank use third party companies to handle their Social Media output and make up fake Tweets and other rather dodgy promotional campaigns that do somewhat deceive the unwary. […]

I have invited Chris Leslie the Ex-Shadow Chancellor to have a chat with me in the hope he will answer many questions about how the collection agents, that are members of the Credit Services Association, the trade association he is CEO of, will handle any Bounce Back Loan defaults they are sent to try and recover. […]

I noticed that Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng was somewhat giddy with excitement as he announced the list of business leaders spearheading the government’s new Help to Grow: Management scheme. Alas when I saw who they were and recall what they have said and done in the past, I am wary about whether that scheme is going to be any use at all. […]

Bank staff really do need to get it into their heads that customers with complaints about their banks are going to communicate with other people about those complaints. Below you will find a prime example of one staff member binning off their customer complaints and telling them they have left their job roles so do not contact them again, when that appears not to be the case. […]