My God - it is happening again

[Trilby274]

OK - time for an update .

 

No joy with any of the high street banks whatsoever, so liaising with Forum of Private Business people (who have given me a long list of other banks/finance institutions to have a go at).

 

Decided in late December that there was no way I was going to give in to the B*******s and kept the company going. At the end of December I was still just within my overdraft limit hooray!

 

Now mid-January and the work is pouring in (well - a fair sized dribble anyway). Despite getting money into the account as quickly as possible, there have been a lot of bounced direct debits (charged £350 so far) with them being successfully met on second presentation. Got all my current creditors paid too .

 

Bit unhappy that I didn't get a reply from my MP but I also copied my letter to my trade organisation and they have printed it with a selection of other similar letters. I have had a deafening silence from my relationship manager at the bank - and as things stand, I'm happy to keep it that way.

 

Thanks for all your moral support guys and gals - long way to go but I think we are going to make it. I'll post again if I have any further news.

[angel_1]

hiya Trilby

 

happy belated new year wishes hope its a lucky one for us all

 

well by the skin of your teeth, you are still there well done, just so pleased that sometimes all this adversity somehow makes you a stronger person and you gain a will to continue with your efforts, really pleased for you

 

i was just thinking when i read your post what about other aspects of what the government said yesterday about helping small businesses, i know you said about the business forum and trade organisation, but not knowing too much about running my own business like you, is there other avenues you can venture albeit a direct request to Mr Brown for a bit of help,,,

 

i saw info on teletext yesterday was just my thoughts, what or how to businesses like yourself need to do to gain what the governement is so obviously trying to do...ie loans etc etc

 

sorry for rambling, i hope it helps though,,,,,laters off to update my threads, take care of yourself and your family and your business

 

angel x

[Trilby274]

Thanks very much Angel - glad someone is paying attention

 

Lord Meddlesome will be hearing from me very shortly as I think the banks are playing silly tricks again. I have just been reading on my trade forums that the banks are phoning companies who are reasonably cash rich and asking them if they want a loan . The answer is 100% no, but of course now the banks can say to the government - hey, we're offering the loans but nobody is taking them up

[fedup74]

So happy that things seem to be on the up for you Trilby.

[charleyfarley]

 

Lord Meddlesome will be hearing from me very shortly as I think the banks are playing silly tricks again. I have just been reading on my trade forums that the banks are phoning companies who are reasonably cash rich and asking them if they want a loan . The answer is 100% no, but of course now the banks can say to the government - hey, we're offering the loans but nobody is taking them up

 

Hi Trilby...................just been reading your thread...........it's very interesting and well-written.

 

Good on you for managing to keep going and bringing in the work. It just goes to show how well small businesses would manage if the banks actually worked with them rather than against them.

 

And as always, the banks only want to lend to anyone who's got money, as opposed to those that actually need the support.

[underdog13]

So pleased for you Trilby - good on you for hanging in there:)

 

Hope the steady trickle of work turns into a raging torrent;)

 

Watch out for this new offer to medium size businesses being touted at the moment - it seems the terms are pretty dire. OK as a last resort maybe, but that's about all, from what I've heard!

[Trilby274]

Hello everyone subbing this thread. Many thanks also for all the support from you. Time for an update, and an apology for being 'absent' for so long. Fortunately, the reason for that is that we have been mega busy

 

Apparently there is now a new 'animal' in the banking world. Their task is to identify a number (I'm told between 20 and 30) of businesses in their area that are having short term problems but have long term viability. I don't think they are that much different to what has gone before as his first words to me were 'don't expect miracles' - my response was 'I don't expect miracles, just a bit of common sense'. End of that conversation!

 

Rambling a bit but bear with me. The rules for the new Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme introduced at the end of January have done away with the bit about not being available to firms who already have a Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme in place, which is a huge step forward. As the new scheme has been backed up with £1.3 billion of government (our) money, it only remains to convince the banks that they are actually lending taxpayers money, not their own, although, of course, they still have to do the usual checks and balances. Anyway, my request is in and I will update the thread in due course.

 

Again, many thanks to everyone for the support. It made me all the more determined to carry on. I certainly feel more positive now than I did in early December. Good luck to you all in your own quests.

[underdog13]

Glad you've been busy:) Hope the enterprise loan scheme comes good for you. Best of luck.

[angel_1]

hiya Trilby

 

fab news, and like you say, its our taxpayers money in effect and when the banks finally get that bit via their brain cells hopefully you get the money to do what you and your business deserve,,,,

 

i saw a bit of tv the other day when the guy from dragons den was on,, cant remember his name the cypriot who made his millions by taking over and buying out likes of partners etc

 

he went back to the home they had in cyprus and it really hit me home that from humble beginnings he has come a long way whatever your dream is you have to have one to succeed - and now does a lot of business in his 350,000 car,,,,

 

so wishing you lots of success and dont forget us when you hit the millions pounds league lol

 

keep positive and keep happy yes you have come a long way since your initial postings

 

take care laters angel x;)

 

ps when you need a chauffeau i can drive really good no points or accidents in my driving for the past nearly 25 years lol

[Mr lex]

Hi Trilby,

 

This all seems like good news and common sense, for a change.

 

I'll follow your thread with interest

 

Lex

[Trilby274]

Thanks everyone. I did forget to mention that, in the period from December until now, the only 'help' I have had from my bank is them helping themselves to 'referral fees' and the like to the tune of £490. As last time this happened, if I need anything sorting out, I will have to do it myself. They really are t*****s.

[Trilby274]

Wow - has it really been that long since I updated this thread? Apologies to everyone who took an interest.

 

First point - absolutely nothing has changed on the banking front. Failed to get anywhere with my proposals for easing the repayment burden on the debts; nothing positive from my MP, only vague utterances about writing to the Chancellor and many businesses being in the same situation; The outcome from the 'new animal' was laughable - call in an insolvency practitioner!!!!!; they have continued to hit us with rejected direct debit charges despite money being paid in regularly (I know, it is done by a Bot, but that is no excuse as far as I am concerned).

 

Second point (and the good news) - We have reduced our debt burden by more than 50,000 since the last post; increased turnover by 8% and maintained the same profit margin so that we have increased our bottom line slightly; continued to meet our creditors in a satisfactory way (albeit a bit late sometimes).

 

Again - huge thanks to all you great guys and gals for the support during the really difficult period. We are not out of the woods yet, but another 6 months should see us through.

[underdog13]

That's great news Trilby - thanks for the update:)

 

Good to know things are going well. Congratulations on sorting the problem yourself; no surprise that the banks and government 'solutions' were worse than useless.

 

Best of luck for the future:)

[Trilby274]

Knew you'd be there UD. Many thanks. I've promised myself at least half an hour on the site daily now, so you can all be prepared to be bored s***less.

 

As you say, both the banks and government have actually done not a lot to help anyone through this downturn (except each other) and I think that their past performances have caused people to realise that they are pretty useless and have buttoned down and got on to helping themselves.

[underdog13]

As you say, both the banks and government have actually done not a lot to help anyone through this downturn (except each other) and I think that their past performances have caused people to realise that they are pretty useless and have buttoned down and got on to helping themselves.

 

Completely agree, Trilby.

[underdog13]

Once you are home and dry it might be an idea to claim those charges back from the bank:D

[angel_1]

hello Trilby and underdog

 

that is a fab update and also shows that when your back is against the wall somehow you find the strength to resolve matters yourself - this is what im finding out myself

 

even though im only dealing with my own debts family wise of course understand yours are far more complex with your business, its really the same in the way i have got treated by banks and debt collection agencies

 

but if nothing else ive learned from these past couple of years is that I do have the power to make my own decisions and to find out what my individual rights are and not to feel any longer bullied by these creditors who even after id tried to explan our circumstances and offered initial offers of reduced payments they treated me as a second class citizen

 

now im fighting back, fighting my first defence to what they thought was an easy ccj - but id rather see them in court first before they get such an easy attempt

 

im no longer afraid of their threats of ccj's, baliefs, door visitors, phone calls, threatening letters, attachments to earnings, court appearance, charging orders, statutory demand for bankruptcy just to name a few

 

so wishing you lots of luck and hoping the new year is a success for us all

 

take care and thanks for the update laters all angel x:)

[Trilby274]

:) Hi Angel - thanks for still following. It's the inner strength that we all possess that keeps us going. It just takes some of us a little longer to find it. But with all the great people on this site, it does become easier. And you are right, it doesn't matter whether the problem is personal or business, it all boils down to the same thing and is just a matter of scale.

 

UD - I thought the jury was still out on reclaiming unfair charges for businesses? Haven't been around for a while so I may have missed something.

[underdog13]

:) Hi Angel - thanks for still following. It's the inner strength that we all possess that keeps us going. It just takes some of us a little longer to find it. But with all the great people on this site, it does become easier. And you are right, it doesn't matter whether the problem is personal or business, it all boils down to the same thing and is just a matter of scale.

 

UD - I thought the jury was still out on reclaiming unfair charges for businesses? Haven't been around for a while so I may have missed something.

 

Haven't heard anything definite about charges, Trilby. The banks are still fighting (a losing battle) about the personal accounts, so probably the same with business accounts I suppose. Fingers crossed they have to pay us all back eventually. After all, unfair charges are unfair charges regardless of the type of account surely?

[The GodMother]

Knew you'd be there UD. Many thanks. I've promised myself at least half an hour on the site daily now, so you can all be prepared to be bored s***less.

 

As you say, both the banks and government have actually done not a lot to help anyone through this downturn (except each other) and I think that their past performances have caused people to realise that they are pretty useless and have buttoned down and got on to helping themselves.

 

Hi Trilby.

 

Just read your whole thread and would like to say well done for all ur hard work and i completely agree with you.

[Trilby274]

Thanks Godmother. Your support is really appreciated.

 

The fight is by no means over yet. Every month that goes by puts me in a stronger position as the debts melt away. My next big task is to make a formal complaint about the amount of security they are holding. I have mentioned it and got just a fuzzy answer, so now I am going to write a formal complaint and if they refuse to reduce it, I'll pass it on to the FO.

[The GodMother]

Good on you