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George Gilder

Dear Companies House,

It’s lovely that you have a website and that you even allow Companies to file (some) documents online. And wait until Google and others find out about your revolutionary business model of paid search! (Imagine if Google caught on and started charging a pound for every search! I can’t believe they didn’t think of this, but think I should buy some shares in case they see this. Just imagine – they would make billions!) Isn’t modern technology wonderful? But although you do seem to be quite ‘au fait’ with this whole internet thingy, there are a couple really neat newfangled things that could make your site even better. Things like relational databases for example. And if you really want to live on the edge, check out what the crazy kids at places like LinkedIn and Facebook have done. And then there’s this stuff called UI and UX, but I understand if you think this is perhaps a step to far. Maybe in 2015. In any event, the blue is very nice. Most people like blue. Very clever! Best regards, – A. Director

Say you are a Director of a UK limited company. Say you are a Director of many UK limited companies. You would think that in 2009, you’d be able to go to the Companies House website and ‘manage your profile’, no? (Address, contact details, present and former Directorships, qualifications, etc.) Well, you’d be wrong. You can’t even search on a person. Only on Companies. God help the poor bastard who is Director of 50 companies and has the stupidity to move: 50 change of address forms to fill in and submit. Online. Sort of. (Only for Limited companies, by post for LLP’s.) Aaaarrgh! I mean c’mon! WTF?!? Just because it is a government organization doesn’t mean it needs to be devoid of innovation, especially since:

The Minister responsible for Companies House is Ian Pearson MP, Minister of State for Science and Innovation. The agency also has Trading Fund status which allows the agency to directly manage its own finances.

Maybe next time he’s in the UK, Reid Hoffman might want to spend an hour with the Companies House Board…(could be mistaken but a cursory google search would suggest that none of the Companies House directors are on LinkedIn so perhaps they do think they are on top of their game…)

In the ten minutes I’ve taken to write this one could sketch out the business model for Companies House 2.0 and given it’s key monopoly status, I’m sure you could build a killer revenue model (without fleecing your customers.) Better service. More revenues. Smarter business.

Please?

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What he said. No Country for Old Men
  • Research?
    You need to read the Companies Act. Some of the "simple" things you talk about fail quite easily:

    - Charging structure (£1 a search) - Fees order. Law. Stops CH from undercutting the private companies it supplies information to, you know, abuse of that "monopoly position". Google the Irish Company Registry experience.

    - CH registers information - It has no power to change the information that is registered e.g.it has to be very careful with merging of director records, so Facebook, etc...

    - Multiple director updates across company records? Not allowed on the basic premise of proper delivery of a filing. Companies Act 2006. Law. Simples.

    So. Have another look at Companies House 2.0 and try again big boy.
  • I just stumbled onto some related stuff at http://libbymiller.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/com.... This would suggest that the back end to do what's needed is there, but behind far too much bureaucracy and old thinking
  • Stan Ho
    It is even more bizarre! I tried to find info on a registered company using "WebCHeck" (what a cute name!) just to get this message: "Access to the service is closed. Companies House is available from Monday to Sunday 07:00 - 12 Midnight UK Time"
    I am not sleep-deprived but just happened to live 8 time zones away from London. I guess they do not have a real server there but a buch of clerks typing back answers to queries. Maybe even using quill pens.
  • Chuck Farley
    A buddy of mine is working on a Ruby API that will hopefully wrap up some of the Companies House misery:

    http://rubyforge.org/projects/companies-house/
  • Thanks. By the way one of our portfolio companies - FX Capital Group - is looking for one or two Ruby developers; if this is something he would be interested in he can contact them via www.fxcapitalgroup.co.uk or nigel AT rabbitfx DOT com
  • When I first registered a company there they didn't even have a conventional bank account, just some arrangement with the Bank of England. This was their explanation for not accepting BACS transfers. At least they've now moved on from the 18th century.
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