Free company check
Free company check: see who is behind any UK business website
Enter a website address, e.g. aurelia-kitchens.co.uk
A free company check shows which limited company is behind a website, how long it has existed, whether its accounts are up to date and whether anything on the official register is a serious warning sign. Paste the website address — no company name, no account, about a minute.
Key facts
- More than 5 million companies are on the UK register, and every one has a public record: number, status, address, directors and filed accounts (Companies House).
- The brand on a website and the company on the invoice are often different names — a check starts from the website address, not the trading name.
- Overdue accounts and a strike-off notice in the Gazette are the two most common serious flags; both are shown free, always.
- A deposit paid by bank transfer is unsecured. Paying any part between £100 and £30,000 by credit card brings the whole contract under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
- For bespoke trades — staircases, kitchens, windows — a deposit of 30–50% is normal; for building work, 5–20% in stages (SafeToPay deposit guidance, methodology v1.1).
What a free company check shows
The free check identifies the legal entity behind a website and tells you whether anything on the register is seriously wrong. The full report completes the verification and tells you what to do about it.
| What you see | Free check | Full report |
|---|---|---|
| Legal name, company number, status | Yes | Yes |
| Year on the register; whether the site states its company number | Yes | Yes, with exact dates and age |
| Serious warning signs (overdue accounts, strike-off, no company at all) | Always shown | Yes, with the filing they came from |
| Green / amber verdict and Record strength score | Preliminary only | Yes |
| Every website claim compared with the register | Count only | Each one, weighed: “does not match” or “worth asking” |
| Directors’ history, owners, latest accounts | — | Yes |
| Deposit guidance: normal for the trade, what the balance sheet says, how to pay | — | Yes, with a staged schedule |
| Three questions to send before you pay | — | Yes |
The split is deliberate. Everyone should know who they are about to pay and whether the register shows a serious problem — that is free, and easy to share with the person about to send the money. The verdict, the comparisons and the advice are the work, and they cost £14.99 for one report or less in a pack.
Why the website name is not the company name
A trading name is just a label; the limited company is the party you contract with, and it is the only one that can owe you money back. “Aurelia Kitchens” might be AK Fitting Services Ltd, incorporated eleven months ago at a serviced office — or a 20-year-old company with a factory. The website usually does not say which, and it is not required to say so on every page.
That is why a useful check starts from the website address rather than the brand. From the address we read what the site claims about itself, find the company number if it is stated, and otherwise match the brand, domain, postcode and Google Business profile to the register. When the match is uncertain, the report says so rather than guessing.
One rule that never changes: a red flag is shown free, in the first line. If there is no company behind a site, or the company has a strike-off notice or overdue accounts, you see it before you decide whether to pay for anything.
How the check works, step by step
- Paste the website address. Just the domain — example.co.uk. No account, no email.
- We read the site. Company number, VAT number, address, phone, emails, social links, trade scheme logos, and every claim the site makes about itself (“25 years”, “our own workshop”, “family-run”). Claims are quoted verbatim with the page they came from.
- We find the legal entity. By stated company number first; otherwise by matching the brand, domain, postcode and Google Business profile against Companies House. HMRC confirms a stated VAT number.
- We pull the record. Status, incorporation date, registered address and how many companies share it, directors and their other companies, owners (PSC), the latest accounts, charges, Gazette notices.
- We compare. Each website claim goes next to the register. Discrepancies are weighed, not counted: “30 years” from a 15-year-old company whose domain dates back to 2005 is a question to ask; the same claim from a company formed last year is a warning.
- You get an answer. Green, amber or red under fixed, published rules; a Record strength score out of 100; deposit guidance for the trade; and three questions a genuine firm answers in a sentence.
Every step reads from a named public source. The rules are on the methodology page, including the points behind the score.
What a free company check cannot tell you
The register records companies, not people, so a check has honest limits — and the report states them rather than papering over them.
Sole traders and partnerships are not on the register
If no company matches, the report says the party you would pay is not yet identified — not that the business is fake. Ask for a registered address and a landline, and pay by card. More: how to check a sole trader.
A new company is not a bad company
Every firm was once a few months old. What matters is whether the website’s story matches the record: a young company claiming a long history is a different case from a young company that says it is young.
Accounts are a snapshot
Small companies file abbreviated accounts up to a year after their year end. Net assets of £342 usually mean profits are drawn out, not that the firm is failing — but it does mean a deposit by bank transfer is unsecured.
Reviews describe the work, not the money
A firm can have 200 five-star reviews and net liabilities. We show both and keep them separate.
A check is not a guarantee
It cannot see next month. It can tell you whether the firm has been honest about its past, which is the best predictor available for free.
Three real examples
Names changed. Every figure from a public register.
Bespoke staircase maker, 15 years on the register, 96 Google reviews
The site says “30+ years”; the company was incorporated in 2010 — but the domain dates from 2005 and the archive from 2006, so the business plainly predates the company. That is a point worth asking about, not a warning. Net assets £207,000, accounts on time, landline and postcode shown. Guidance: 30–50% deposit is normal for the trade; pay the first stage by credit card.
Loft company, five years on the register, 21 reviews
Mobile number only, one director previously ran a company that was dissolved, and the domain changed hands in 2021 — the archive before that belongs to a different owner. Nothing here is a warning on its own; together they leave three open questions. Score 66, below the 70 needed for green. Guidance: 5–20% in stages, contract in the company’s name.
Building services company, TrustMark and NICEIC logos on the site
Companies House shows a strike-off notice in the Gazette; the latest accounts report £16 in cash; no reviews anywhere; the site claims “10 years” for a company formed in 2020 with a domain registered the same week. A firm in this state can still take deposits. Once it is dissolved there is no one to claim against. Verdict: do not pay a deposit.
Enter a website address, e.g. aurelia-kitchens.co.uk
When to run a free company check
Run a check whenever money is about to leave your account for a firm you found online — and again before each later payment.
- Before the deposit. This is where most of the risk is decided. Check before you agree the amount, not after.
- Before each stage payment. Companies change between the deposit and the final invoice. A director can resign, an address can move to a serviced office, accounts can go overdue — all within a week.
- The moment the bank details “change”. An email saying “please use our new account” is the single most common way a deposit is stolen from a genuine job. Check the company, then phone the number on the original quote — not the one in the email.
- When someone you care about is about to pay. The free check shares with one link and any red flag is in the first line.
Free company check vs Companies House vs a credit check
Companies House is the source; a credit check is built for businesses extending credit; a SafeToPay check is built for a consumer about to pay a deposit. They answer different questions.
| Companies House | Business credit check | SafeToPay free check | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Company name or number | Company name or number | Website address |
| Finds the company behind a brand | No — you must already know it | No | Yes |
| Compares the website’s claims with the record | No | No | Yes |
| Reads the accounts for you | No — PDFs and iXBRL | Yes, as a credit score | Yes, as deposit guidance |
| Reviews and domain history | No | No | Yes |
| Built for | Anyone | Trade creditors, lenders | Consumers paying a deposit |
| Cost | Free | Free trial, then subscription | Free; full report £14.99 |
If you already know the company number and are comfortable reading a balance sheet, Companies House alone is enough. Most people paying a kitchen fitter do not know the number and should not have to learn iXBRL. That gap is what the check fills. The rules behind the check are on the methodology page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a company check really free?
Yes. The free check identifies the company behind a website and shows any serious warning sign on the register, with no account and no card. The full report — the verdict, every claim compared, directors, accounts, deposit guidance and the three questions — costs £14.99, or less in a pack of two or five.
How do I check if a company is legitimate in the UK?
Find its company number and look it up on Companies House: status should be active, accounts not overdue, no Gazette notice. Compare the incorporation date with what the website claims, check the registered address is not a mailbox shared by thousands of firms, and look for reviews older than a year. A free check does all of this from the website address.
What if the business is a sole trader?
Sole traders are not on Companies House, so no company will match. That is not a warning sign in itself. Ask for a trading address you can visit, a landline and a VAT number if they have one, and pay by card so Section 75 or chargeback applies.
Can a company pay to change its verdict?
No. Verdicts follow fixed rules published on the methodology page. A business can request a correction if a fact is wrong, and can add context; it cannot change a fact, a date or a verdict.
Is a big deposit a warning sign?
Not by itself. For bespoke staircases, kitchens or windows, 30–50% up front is normal because materials and workshop time are committed before delivery. For building work it is 5–20%, in stages. What matters is who the company is and how you pay.
Will my bank refund a deposit if the company goes bust?
Usually not. A bank transfer to a genuine company that later fails is a commercial dispute, not fraud. Pay at least £100 of any purchase between £100 and £30,000 by credit card and Section 75 makes the card issuer jointly liable for the whole contract.