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Occasionally clients use a shortened version of their Christian names or give an incorrect spelling of a colleague’s names when registering a company at Companies House.
When the company is registered, the information displayed on the Companies House website will be as given.
Problems usually arise when an application is made to open a business bank account for the newly registered company. The bank will follow its compliance procedures and check your identification documents and match them to the details at Companies House. If they don’t match your application for a business bank account will be rejected.
You can offer explanations and proof identifying you, your co-shareholders, and your co-directors. You can transfer shares into correct names and even issue new share certificates showing the correct names, but none of this will help. Banks are intransigent on this issue. The only way to deal with the problem is to change the records at Companies House.
It is easy to change the name of a director at Companies House. Using our free portal, simply login and add the correctly named director and resign the incorrectly named director. The records at Companies House will be updated immediately. However, correcting the details of a shareholder or member is much more difficult.
Companies House has no interest in the change of shareholders or members during the course of a year. No register is maintained by Companies House that shows the change of shareholders. However, Limited Companies are required to file an Annual Return (AR01) once a year. Limited Liability Partnerships have to file a LLAR01. Amongst other things, Annual Returns are required to show who the shareholders or members are at the date of the Annual Return.
Annual Returns are required yearly. However, returns can be filed early which affords you an opportunity to correct your records and satisfy the banks requirements. Simply log into your account with Companies House and file an Annual Return immediately showing the correct spellings and details. Companies House will charge you £34 as a filing fee, but it is money well spent.
To form your limited liability company, limited liability partnership or limited by guarantee company with us go to our company formation page. For more information on completing your annual return call us on +44 (0) 02032395591.
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