Any question answered...

http://www.companiesmadesimple.com/silver-company-formation.html

Is this going to be some scammy nonsense with hidden charges galore? Or is it, as it appears to my, possibly naive, mind - pay 50 quid up front and you've got yourself a Limited Company?

What about down the line?

In theory, if you used the Barclay's Business account that it comes with - (though you could just apply for your own) what happens if you don't have any clients - ever? What are the minimum payments you would have to make if the business venture didn't succeed?

Is it just a case of paying for services you use and interest you accrue? Or is it more like a subscription - pay* x* amount per year for banking with us? Cancellation fees if it goes tits up? (90% of small businesses don't get through the first year blah blah)

Their own site doesn't seem to say what happens after the year is up:

http://www.barclays.co.uk/Businessbankaccounts/BusinessAccounts/Startupbusinessaccounts/P1242558530035

Positives of the first link:
Apparently easy to set up
Companies House fee included
Necessary certification (It appears to include all the necessary ones)
Fancy EC1 postcode for a registered address for a year.

Negatives:

Hit me:

None of them are scams, but it pays to read up on what your responsibilities are and what you get for the package.

I use http://www.completeformations.co.uk/companyfaqs/index.html and http://www.brightonformations.co.uk/ both provide an efficient service.

As regards a business bank account I'd recommend Co-op business.

If you're serious it's also worth getting to grips with HMRC online demos for webfiling with respect to NIC&PAYE, allowable expenses, Corporation Tax & VAT.

Hope some of the above provides clarity; running Ltd Co's isn't very hard as long as you keep everything tidy and on-time