June 29th Bounce Back Loans Update

BBL Helpline

It has been eight weeks now since the Bounce Back Loan scheme started, and plenty of people have secured such a loan, with the average amount being applied for being £30,000.

The terms of the loan are of course extremely generous, and I doubt any businessman or businesswoman is going to be offered a better loan deal moving forward.

With the first repayment not being until month thirteen,  and with the interest rate being a tiny 2.5% if you do need such a loan to save your business or even just want to have the funds there as a handy cushion then you should seriously consider applying for such a loan.

As it stands, and this is unlikely to change, as long as you fit the criteria/eligibility for the loan, remember it is a loan and have a pulse then you will get a Bounce Back Loan.

Even after the last eight weeks, there are 10,000’s if not 100,000’s of people who are sadly still unable to access a BBL, due to the way that banks have now shuttered up their new bank account application systems, due to them being swamped with applicants.

It has always been a waiting game, and if today you are beginning to come to the conclusion that unless something changes, regarding you being able to open a bank account at a BBL accredited lender, you are not going to get a loan, well you are not alone in those thoughts.

There should be more accredited lenders coming onboard with the British Business Bank soon, and as such do not give up faith, as there is always the chance one of those lenders will be able to offer you a BBL, or one of the current crop of banks and lenders may once again reopen their new account application systems, and you may get a BBL via one of them.

If on the other hand you are one of the people who applied in the first week of the scheme going live or any time thereafter, and are still waiting for the bank you applied for a loan to get back to you, then keep hounding them if you haven’t yet done so, as there are lots of you out there that are still waiting for banks such as Barclays, NatWest, Santander and HSBC to sort out your applications.

As for what will be in store for all BBL applicants this coming week, well expect the unexpected as something new and sadly usually outrageous/scandalous seems to happen each week.

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