A warning from a girl who simply obtained some pandemic help cash… to maintain her small enterprise afloat.
The issue: her bank has frozen her account!
We present how to make certain this doesn’t occur to you, so that you don’t waste your cash.
Greater than 5 million small companies have stayed alive due to the Paycheck Safety Program this yr.
However one girl has a warning for anybody making use of for help.
Kellye Thomas, who’s a house day-care supplier shut down for 3 months as a result of pandemic.
She was saved by a paycheck safety loan, however that lifeline has change into a nightmare.
“I applied for that through the Small Business Administration,” Thomas mentioned. “I was granted the loan for $2,500.”
However earlier than she might even start utilizing the funds, she says her bank shut her account down.
“The check was deposited, and a few days later I noticed there was a freeze on my account,” she mentioned.
Panicked, she referred to as the bank.
“They let me know I needed a business account to receive the funds from this loan,” Thomas mentioned.
A variety of unbiased staff and small enterprise homeowners use only one account for all the things, as a result of it’s so a lot simpler.
However in case you are getting any form of federal help, doing that may be very dangerous.
Enterprise Insider says PPP loans have to be put right into a separate account to forestall …
- Payroll errors.
- Unintentional misuse
- Questions out of your bank
That is what occurred right here, the place the bank’s investigation locked Thomas from all her cash.
“Are there some payments now which you can’t pay this month? My mortgage, shopping for meals, paying my bank card payments,” she mentioned.
So we contacted Fifth Third Bank for clarification.
A bank spokeswoman tells us:
“We take potential fraud critically and are diligent stewards of our buyer’s cash,” she mentioned.
However since there was no fraud on this case, the bank has unlocked Thomas’ accounts.
Now she’s warning others.
“I’ve all the time had my day care cash deposited into my private account, nobody ever mentioned something about it, or mentioned I wanted to open up a enterprise account,” she mentioned.
Enterprise Insider says there’s another reason to maintain PPP cash separate: getting the loan forgiven.
Maintain tight information, so you do not waste your cash.
