Set up a companies ltd by mistake

[Username52626]

I opened a business account with tide for my eBay sales but I have set up a companies ltd instead of sole trader. Can I close the companies ltd? Really worried about fines I might receive.

Do you mean you’ve set up the bank account as a limited company, rather than as a sole trader?it should be impossible to do that, as the bank wouldn’t open a company bank account without the relevant company info including the registered number.

If you have somehow managed to incorporate a company by accident (how did you do this?) then you can have it struck off by filing form DS01 at companies house, but the company needs to be dormant for three months before you can do that, so you’ll have to run the eBay business outside the company for three months then make the application

@Keepingthingsinteresting

Do you mean you’ve set up the bank account as a limited company, rather than as a sole trader?it should be impossible to do that, as the bank wouldn’t open a company bank account without the relevant company info including the registered number.

If you have somehow managed to incorporate a company by accident (how did you do this?) then you can have it struck off by filing form DS01 at companies house, but the company needs to be dormant for three months before you can do that, so you’ll have to run the eBay business outside the company for three months then make the application

@Keepingthingsinteresting I received a letter this morning saying I have a companies ltd account. It also shows online with my name and address on the companies ltd website

@Keepingthingsinteresting

Do you mean you’ve set up the bank account as a limited company, rather than as a sole trader?it should be impossible to do that, as the bank wouldn’t open a company bank account without the relevant company info including the registered number.

If you have somehow managed to incorporate a company by accident (how did you do this?) then you can have it struck off by filing form DS01 at companies house, but the company needs to be dormant for three months before you can do that, so you’ll have to run the eBay business outside the company for three months then make the application

@Keepingthingsinteresting I don’t know how I managed it, it was meant to be a sole trader account

I received a letter this morning saying I have a companies ltd account. It also shows online with my name and address on the companies ltd website

Who was the letter from and what is tide?

@RoyKentsChestHair

I received a letter this morning saying I have a companies ltd account. It also shows online with my name and address on the companies ltd website

Who was the letter from and what is tide?

@RoyKentsChestHair tide is a online bank. The petter was from companies house

*letter

I did this too during the lockdown. I have a full time job so I assumed that I needed to set up a company for my sideline. You obviously don't. I closed mine recently by phoning HMRC and telling them it never operated, and then filing to close it on company's house. Cost me £8. Bit of a faff but not impossible to fix. You need to sort it soon though if you did it a while ago...?

@surlycurly

I did this too during the lockdown. I have a full time job so I assumed that I needed to set up a company for my sideline. You obviously don't. I closed mine recently by phoning HMRC and telling them it never operated, and then filing to close it on company's house. Cost me £8. Bit of a faff but not impossible to fix. You need to sort it soon though if you did it a while ago...?

@surlycurly it was last week it was opened, I will phone companies house tomorrow to explain. Do they remove all your details off the website once it’s closed? Thank you for your help 😊

They can't close it straight away. They have to leave it open and notify the local newspaper (I kid you not) and see if any creditors appear. If not then it will be properly closed after two months.