[vessenes]

Let me see if I understand what's happening.

-------------

You live somewhere not in England.

Apple has a bank account SWIFT Code and International Wire Address (thingy?) for you with:

1) Your personal account number

2) Your Fake Business Name

in their database.

The account is with an English Bank.

They will not send a wire to any account but your personal account, and they will not send the wire to any name but your business name for the money already accrued to this account.

---------

If all this is true, this is not Apple's fault. The only people who can help you are your bankers, at least in the near term.

You should change your account now so that at least new payments can go to the proper place. (Did I understand that part of your story correctly?)

Again, if I understand your story correctly, I think your only solution is to sit down with at least a medium-level banker from the bank in question, explain the situation, and get them to add the Fake Business Name to your account for the purposes of this wire.

You might reasonably be expected to register such a business name in England first, and prove that you are in control of the company. You might also need to sign affidavits or pay some sort of withholding tax.

If you're not in England, this is going to be an expensive process, as you will likely have to travel. I know this from reading your e-mail and evaluating your English skills: what you need done is so close to fraud and so sketchy sounding that only if you present well in person and can find someone helpful are you going to get this done.

The other, longer, solution is to send Apple a signed affidavit explaining the situation and demanding that they release the money to another account. You'll probably have to take them to court to get someone to ignore the internal controls rules they have in place.

In the great scheme of business costs, this would usually be considered a write-off, meaning you're likely going to spend many months and many thousands of dollars to get your $11k back. You'll need to decide if it's worth pursuing; in the interim, make sure you get some cash in the bank and don't let the rest of your financial world fall apart!

[netsp]

Are you reading between the lines here? I didn't read fake business name. I read 1) business name 2) personal account.

[ars]

Fake business name is just another word for business name, also called doing business as, and fictitious name.

It just means it's a name you are using, but it's not your name.

All non-corporation company names are legally fake names.

[netsp]

I think the implication of 'fake business name' is business name that is not registered as your business. Otherwise, why have a qualifier?

Anyway, what I mean is that the OP messed up with registering his business.

[ars]

Not all states require businesses to register DBA (doing business as) names.

[netsp]

An unregistered DBA wouldn't have a location.

[qaexl]

You guys are assuming that the specifics of DBA works the same in England.

There's no point in setting up a DBA with a limited liability entity. Why? You're basically saying, "I don't want the limited liability".

I don't know the specifics of this transaction, and it really, really looks sketchy. The only reason I even think it has credibility is because it was posted in detail on HN. In most other forums, I would chalk this up to a Nigerian scam. Seriously.

I still think there may be a way to pull out the money if the English Ltd has actually been established and the OP has control over it. Having the English Ltd establish a bank account, pull the money from that. If Apple balks over that, than that really is Apple's fault. As the situation stands though, if the OP went public over this, I think I'd have the same reaction as the lady who sued McDonald's over spilling her own coffee on her lap, or those patent trolls out in Texas.

[aaronblohowiak]

"what you need done is so close to fraud and so sketchy sounding that only if you present well in person and can find someone helpful are you going to get this done." -- can't you just get a lawyer to do everything on your behalf?

[vessenes]

Yep, if you front them the money (in England, probably $500 US an hour) to go through this, first explaining the situation, then having them work through the bank's structure. It might be worth it. If you can convince the lawyer they're not participating in fraud.

[zoomboy]

I do have an english LTD. I cannot sit down with the bank, because it is a private account. I cannot make a business account because the english ltd is not recognized.

[qaexl]

I am not familiar with the laws out in England. What do you mean it is not recognized? I had assumed that to have an English limited company, you have to register it here. I make this assumption because all corporations and limited liability companies in the US has to file paperwork with the State Secretary in their home state... otherwise it isn't an entity.

Now I'm really curious. I'm going to forward this link to a friend of mine out in Manchester. He's set up his own limited company so he may know what you're talking about.