Beware of MintFormations.co.uk

[wanderingcloud]

After seeking advise here I decided to incorporate in the UK. The provider I went with was Mint Formations. Kindly look at their International package advertising page:
https://www.mintformations.co.uk/international-package/

Notice the section on assistance with opening a bank account:

Introduction and help with setting up UK bank account​

Upon incorporation and depending upon your country of residence, requirements, and budget, we will advise the right banking option for you.

When I enquired about this service after payment and incorporated, here was their reply:

Kindly note that bank account setup is not included with the international package. If you’re interested we can assist you with the virtual account setup for £279+VAT.

I appreciate it's difficult to open a UK bank account as a non resident, however if they cannot assist with the process or even a virtual bank account (which they do not mention they charge for), they should not advertise it as an included service of the package.

Some further feedback about them:
After I signed up and they submitted my documents to Company House, even before being incorporated, I was immediately asked by them to leave a review on Trust Pilot. If you look at all the 5 star reviews for them on Trust Pilot, they're obviously from customers that left a review at this point in time, before receiving any services. Filter by 1 star reviews. It seems they are a highly misleading company.

Putting this out there for anyone that's interested, as I notice even this website recommends their services here: https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/threads/the-complete-guide-to-uk-company-formation.37087/

 

[Sols]

I appreciate it's difficult to open a UK bank account as a non resident, however if they cannot assist with the process or even a virtual bank account (which they do not mention they charge for), they should not advertise it as an included service of the package.

They do not offer bank account opening service as part of the international package. As per the text you quoted, they "will advise the right banking option for you." Advising is not the same as opening a bank account.

It seems like the advice they gave you was to proceed with a virtual account (probably meaning an EMI like Wise or similar), for which they charge the price they quoted you.

I'm not saying they couldn't be clearer. But it seems that they did deliver what you paid for, unless your argument is that the phrasing "banking option" does not cover virtual/EMI accounts.

 

[wanderingcloud]

They do not offer bank account opening service as part of the international package. As per the text you quoted, they "will advise the right banking option for you." Advising is not the same as opening a bank account.

It seems like the advice they gave you was to proceed with a virtual account (probably meaning an EMI like Wise or similar), for which they charge the price they quoted you.

I'm not saying they couldn't be clearer. But it seems that they did deliver what you paid for, unless your argument is that the phrasing "banking option" does not cover virtual/EMI accounts.

The wording of the title is quite clear: "Introduction and help with setting up UK bank account". There is no way around that.

 

[Sols]

The wording of the title is quite clear: "Introduction and help with setting up UK bank account". There is no way around that.

There is a way around that. Keep reading. However, that's something I think they could make clearer. While "help with setting up" could mean "Provide advice in relation to setting up", "introduction" is less ambiguous. However, if one keeps reading, they provide further details whereby the would-be buyer is informed that it's merely an advisory/informational service.

You have a valid concern, though. It's understandable how it might come across as a bank account opening service when it's not. Just pointing out that they haven't really done anything wrong, other than being a less than crystal clear in every sentence written.

 

[wanderingcloud]

There is a way around that. Keep reading. However, that's something I think they could make clearer. While "help with setting up" could mean "Provide advice in relation to setting up", "introduction" is less ambiguous. However, if one keeps reading, they provide further details whereby the would-be buyer is informed that it's merely an advisory/informational service.

You have a valid concern, though. It's understandable how it might come across as a bank account opening service when it's not. Just pointing out that they haven't really done anything wrong, other than being a less than crystal clear in every sentence written.

I do agree with you mostly, and had they provided actual information/advice based upon my "requirements, and budget" as they state, then them recommending a specific virtual bank, with an optional fee for them to assist with the process, would have more or less satisfied what they said. However the reply: "Kindly note that bank account setup is not included with the international package. If you’re interested we can assist you with the virtual account setup for £279+VAT." is not in any way advise in my opinion. On the balance of probabilities, I doubt it would be interpreted as advise by a reasonable person either, and thus (without preempting a judicial decision) in my opinion it's false advertising. There was no discussion of my requirements or budget, rather I just asked a simple question of how we proceed with that service, and that was their reply.

And that's conceding that all they offered was indeed advise. I still believe it could be argued they represented assistance with opening a bank account. Notice in the title "Introduction and help with setting up UK bank account". Whilst "Bank Introduction" is not specifically mentioned, I wonder given the context of the service advertised, if a reasonable person may assume that is what was meant by "Introduction"? That is something neither of us of course can say for sure but would be up to a judge. Not that it would get to that level, although I will be filing a chargeback if they don't refund, so who knows.

Regardless of the legality of it, it comes across as scammy in my opinion, or in the very least misleading. Not an incorporation provider I would trust or recommend. I've used other providers who have given links to virtual banks when they've offered similar services, along with a free referral. And definitely without the inference of any "introduction" or "help with setting up a bank account". When I've availed of paid bank introductions, there was a fee explicitly stated for such on the order page. This is the first time I've encountered something such as this.