Well, there is no nice way of putting this, yesterday the shit really did hit the fan, and when that happens everyone gets covered in the brown stuff.
I am of course talking about Tide, and their decision to “suspend” lending as part of the Bounce Back Loan scheme. For those of you that had been very patiently waiting for them to start working their way through their “waiting list” and invite you to apply for a Bounce Back Loan, it looks like you are not going to be able to do so for quite some time, if at all.
Having said that, most of you on that list will have realised quite some time ago that Tide didn’t have any money to lend out anyway, for weeks now they have been telling you that they were trying to raise more money to lend out as part of the BBL scheme, but for one reason or another they couldn’t find anyone daft enough to lend them any money.
When they became accredited by the useless and toothless and gormless British Business Bank, they had some £50 million to lend out, but with the average loan amount being £30,000, it doesn’t take a genius to work out there were only going to be able to give out around 1666 loans and that £50 million will have then been used up.
Tide have tens of thousands of customers eager for a Bounce Back Loan, and to try and pacify them they put in place their infamous “waiting list”, and many of you over the last few weeks have messaged me with your position on that list.
Some of you were told your position on the list never changed, sometimes it did change, and you would be given a higher or lower numbered position on that list, and Tide said they were going to bring out a system so that you could check your position on that list automatically without needing to contact their support team to find out your position on that stupid list.
That never happened, and yesterday they told their customers that they could not raise more money to lend out due to the Bank of England / HM Treasury, namely the way the scheme had been designed, that being the way the scheme has been set up which stopped their investors from lending to them and then allowed them to lend out to their customers.
To make themselves look even more gormless than they have proven to be over the last couple of months, someone at the British Business Bank, put out a series of tweets, defending Tide and saying that they were happy with them as a lender and would not be pulling their accreditation.
Basically, if you are with Tide you need to forget about getting a Bounce Back Loan anytime soon off them and you need to start hunting around for another lender asap, which is sadly easier said than done.
For reference two banks that are accepting new customers and allowing them to apply for a Bounce Back Loan are Clydesdale Bank and Metro Bank.
Be aware Clydesdale Bank will allow you to apply for a new business bank account online, but it will take a good couple of weeks for you to do so and Metro Bank operate an appointment system whereby you need to book an appointment at one of their branches to then apply for a new business account.
Keep in mind that Tide much like Starling Bank are very eager to get a multi-million Pound grant for acquiring so many new business customers as part of the ‘alternative remedies fund’ which was set up to encourage competition in the UK banking market as part of Banking Competition Remedies (BCR), and Tide will be eager to bag that money even though they have right royally pissed off so many people, for they have acquired plenty of new business bank account customers, albeit with false promises/hopes of giving them a Bounce Back Loan.
Maybe you should drop your MP an email and let them know what Tide have done and ask that MP to ensure they do everything in their powers to stop Tide getting any of that grant money.
Below are the tweets from both Tide and the British Business Bank about this topic.
;
NEWS FLASH
Just announced: @FundingCircleUK has been approved for accreditation under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
Find out more: https://t.co/ZOD7U03TiC #BounceBackLoans pic.twitter.com/Ik2ndSw3LC— British Business Bank (@BritishBBank) July 8, 2020
Been Declined a Bank Account or BBL?
Please read below for some reasons as to why you may be declined a bank account and/or a Bounce Back Loan with some lenders.
Many people who are declined tend to fear it is their credit rating/score that is the cause of a decline, and whilst that can and may play a part obviously, there can be a whole host of other reasons, some of which can be sorted out, and when the latter is the case you may find it much easier to open a bank account and/or obtain a Bounce Back Loan.
Some Lenders can and will and are in within their rights to decline anyone for an account and/or BBL based on their own criteria in additional to that laid down by the British Business Bank.
With that in mind, if you have checked all of the following and/or have been declined by one lender then you are also within your rights, and encouraged to apply to any other lender that is part of the Bounce Back Loan scheme.
Potential reasons not relating to credit score/rating
SIC Code – not matching on companies house vs application.
SIC Code – considered a reputational risk – you would be surprised how many business types fall into this category.
Directors/owners name not matching companies house and/or
Voters roll e.g. Chris vs Christopher, is middle name included etc
Business address not matching, has accountant used their address for registered? What is your correspondence address at companies house?
Business name not matching e.g. Ltd v limited
Recent changes of directorship and/or ownership – red flag at the moment due to BBL fraud
Markers registered against the company or director
Previous financial relationship with the bank or one its subsidiaries that did not end well
Compensation
Many Bounce Back Loan applicants that have been through hell and still are experiencing problems have been offered compensation, ranging from £50 up to £2500 for the more complicated problems.
It is your choice as to whether you a accept any offer of compensation and the amount you accept too.
Bank and Lender Updates
Be aware things can change in an instant at any bank and as such I will now give you an overview of how things are going with each bank, and let you know how and where to contact if you want to try and chase up your Bounce Back Loan application and find out where things stand with each bank.
Each bank will have their own criteria for opening accounts, and some lenders also have their own set of rules regarding who they will allow to open an account and/or apply for a Bounce Back Loan.
HSBC
They appear to have now launched their online Feeder Account Portal, which hopefully does away with the exceptionally long and drawn out process for applying for such an account.
Many people who had previously applied for a Feeder Account are still waiting for their call backs to set up the account, and/or to receive all related documents and many people are still waiting for payment.
HSBC Feeder Account Portal Link
Be aware many people have been declined for such an account when using that portal, and also when they have applied for a feeder account during the telephone interview for such an account.
Link to the HSBC BBL section of their Website
Useful Email Addresses for Contacting HSBC:
Ian.Stuart@hsbc.com
Sally.A.Williams@hsbc.com
commercial.executive.complaints@hsbc.co.uk
amandamurphy@hsbc.com
marissa.k.adams@hsbc.com
julienapier@hsbc.com
feeder.account.team@hsbc.com
oliver.james.exley@hsbc.com
Lloyds
Lloyds continue to do what they do best, process, and pay out BBL applicants quickly and with no fuss or hassle.
Be aware that if you hold a Bank of Scotland or a Halifax or Lloyds personal bank account you can use the Onboarding Portal to get a Lloyds Business Account and then can apply for a Bounce Back Loan.
Be aware though the dates listed on the website, as you will have had to have a personal bank account in operation before those dates to be able to onboard with Lloyds, if you have opened an account after the dates you will not be able to use that onboarding system.
Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Onboarding Link
Lloyds CEO Email Address
vim.maru@lloydsbanking.com
Metro Bank
Metro Bank have now launched their Bounce Back Loan scheme, which is a sight to behold.
Due to the speed at which applicants are processed, and the rapid pay-outs too, many people wish they had an account with them, as their Bounce Back Loan journey would be an easy one for sure.
Metro Bank will let you register an interest in opening an account with them online and they will then make contact with you to arrange an appointment in one of their banks or ”stores” as they like to call them. Click Here to register for a Metro Bank account.
Applicants simply join an online queue and when it is their turn to apply for a Bounce Back Loan (which can be after a few hours), they then fill in the application form and once done they are then either approved on the spot, declined or told whether any additional information is required.
The feedback from many people is that Metro Bank are the game changer, as unlike most other banks people get to know at the end of their application their fate, without having to wait for days or weeks to discover what is going on with their application, as has been the case with other banks.
Visit the Metro Bank BBL Section of their Website
Email the CEO of Metro Bank Dan.frumkin@metrobank.plc.uk
Tide
Tide have run out of money to lend and are desperately scrambling around trying to raise more to increase the number of applications they can process, as such you can expect a huge delays before any application you have put in will be processed.
Visit the Tide BBL Section of their Website
Co-Op Bank
To be fair to the Co-Op not many people have been complaining about them, I have had a few here and there and some have been sorted out but every now and then I get someone appearing and asking for help.
Co-Op Bank CEO Email Address
chris.davis@co-operativebank.co.uk
Visit the Co-Op Bank BBL section of their Website
Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank
I get the odd complaint about both Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale and it is always worth checking out their respective BBL sections of their websites for updates, seen reports of those banks taking applications for new bank accounts by the way, but check that out as it can change at any time.
Visit the Yorkshire Bank BBL section of their Website
Visit the Clydesdale Bank BBL section of their Website
Yorkshire Bank CEO Email Address
david.duffy@cybg.com
Clydesdale Bank CEO Email Address
david.duffy@cybg.com
Barclays
I am still getting all manner of weird and wonderful complaints about Barclays, it does appear though that many applicants now fly through their Bounce Back Loan system, but many are still experiencing problems with applying, getting paid and contacting the bank.
Visit the Barclays Bank BBL section of their Website
Barclays CEO Email Address
Jes.staley@barclays.com
NatWest and RBS
The usual complaints about NatWest and RBS, including poor communication, problems applying for a BBL and even people being declined. Once again you need to start haranguing the right people to have any chance of your problems being resolved.
They have been paying many applicants out obviously, so if you do manage to have a hassle free experience then you should get paid out fairly quickly, even if it is not in the time scale you had hoped for.
Be aware that you may apply, not hear anything and then out of the blue get an email saying they are so busy your application is being dumped and not looked at.
Visit the NatWest BBL section of their Website
Visit the RBS BBL section of their Website
NatWest / RBS CEO Email Address
Simon.Separghan@rbs.co.uk
Santander
Much like some of the above banks Santander have attracted plenty of complaints, but in all fairness many followers, and many long-time ones too have found emailing their CEO does get a response and their claims processed quickly. They too have also been dumping applicants via a mass cull type of email so be warned.
Visit the Santander BBL section of their Website
Santander CEO Email Address
nathan.bostock@santander.co.uk
Starling Bank
Starling Bank operate a waiting list type of system, however, be aware they have additional criteria of their own as to whom they will supply a Bounce Back Loan to. Therefore, there are no guarantees you will get a loan from them. They have declined many thousands of applicants.
Visit the Starling Bank BBL section of their Website
Skipton Building Society and JCB Finance
Both Skipton Building Society and JCB Finance (who have just been accredited) operate a different business model than most mainstream lenders so you will need to check their respective websites to find out more about what they have on offer to applicants.
Visit the Skipton Building Society BBL section of their Website
Visit the JCB Finance BBL section of their Website
TSB
You will be asked to sign away your rights to be able to apply for a Bounce Back Loan if you try to open a new account with TSB. As such do not waste your time trying to get such an account with them if your intention is to apply for a TSB Bounce Back Loan.
Visit the TSB BBL section of their Website
TSB CEO Email Address
debbie.crosbie@tsb.co.uk
Other Bounce Back Loan Lenders
The following are other Bounce Back Loan Lenders, be aware I receive very few if any complaints about any of the following.
Visit the AIB BBL section of their Website
Visit the Bank of Ireland BBL section of their Website
Visit the Danske Bank BBL section of their Website
Visit the Ulster Bank BBL section of their Website