Rude store manager?! Take my money elsewhere

I recently had flooring fitted and paid a deposit for materials up front (which were delivered to the house) and the balance to the fitters on the day, the deposit by card and the balance by bank transfer.

The previous time I had carpet laid, I looked at samples in a carpet shop (John Lewis?), decided what I wanted and how much they were charging. I then got comparative prices from local fitters who didn't have the overheads of the shop and went with one that I paid after he'd done the job, by bank transfer. He was much cheaper and could have brought samples round for me to see if I'd wanted

Many self-employed people now use card machines - hairdressers, beauticians, taxis etc

It is fairly safe to assume that if it's cash only, some of it will not be declared.

So you don’t pitch a fit if someone wants to not pay cash? So you’re not like this scenario.

I've never heard of such a reaction towards a customer's reasonable request. independent business, money troubles, who knows what all else would lead him to behave in such an abominable manner. One thing springs to mind and only one: he has got money problems. Go to the more expensive store, you might have been spared a lot of problems with your new carpet purchase, some things are not a bargain.

You do realise there are lots of different, legitimate ways to be self-employed?

I'm self-employed and while the majority pay by bank transfer, a few prefer cash and it's not an issue. I provide receipts and all the money goes into my business account and through the books.

So in summation, you don't want to follow the normal practice, and got huffy at the carpet place over it, flounced and now you have to use someone much more expensive.

It does sound a bit like a you problem...

Why is that relevant? Small businesses not paying tax cost the country billions. Why allow them to get away with it? Why be complicit in it?

I don't know what so difficult here. You like the more expensive (actually professional) company, you can afford it, you need them, just go ahead with it.

Business accounts costs money to run, personal accounts don't. The person that did my floor recently was semi retired, why pay for a business account to deposit a few hundred quid a week.

I don't know if anyone has already mentioned this as havent RFT but I only buy carpets from a carpet shop who use their own fitters and are responsible for the whole transaction from the supply to the fitting. I used carpet right many years ago where I paid the fitters on the day. Once they were gone I noticed lumps out of all the paintwork where the carpet had been fitted and it was nothing more than laziness on the fitters fault and not taking care. Not a massive thing and DH sorted with some wood filler and a lick of paint but not really acceptable when all the skirting had been painted prior to the carpet being fitted. Went back to carpet right and they wiped their hands of any responsibility because the fitters are contracted so nothing to do with them and of course the fitter had been paid in cash, I didnt have his details and even if I did I doubt he'd have given two hoots

Now I use an independent carpet shop who might cost a bit more but I pay the whole cost to them and they have ultimate responsibility for the whole thing

I was going to keep my beak out but I must say I've never paid the fitters and never paid any of the cost in cash .
So many companies, small and large, offer free fitting and/or 0% finance paying the fitters in cash wouldn't work.
I accept it happens but not from the retailers I've used. Again, small and large.
Edited to add, there is no reason the carpet shop can't pay the fitters as subcontractors.

When I worked in retail, the most bonkers, irrational and aggressive customers usually sent in complaints making out they had been calm and polite in the face of irrepressible rage. We would all have a good laugh at those ones.

Yes there seems to be something about plasterers in particular. I've known 3 plasterers over the years, and all were completely mental and would have been a nightmare to have working in the house. My niece is having huge problems with hers atm. Keeps leaving mid job to get pissed or not bothering turning up at all. It sounds like you found a good one, 60 miles isn't that far, hopefully he will travel to you (apologies in advance to all MNetters with plasterer DHs!

Fitters are always subcontractors and generally not on "good" wages. They are often working with other contractors and cash always splitting of payment for the job. Paying cash doesn't necessarily mean they are dodgy but of course there are always a few. But why is that your responsibility? The reason they get het up and angry over these interchanges is that what happens is that when the client is not happy with a job for whatever reason - justified or not they usually are the ones that don't get paid rather than the responsibility being with the shop

And how many billion from huge corporations?

It is not normal to pay fitters in cash unless it is cheap.

I always use a carpet company where I pay the full amount to the shop.

• “HMRC estimated £5.5 billion lost due to tax evasion in 2022-23 – 81% from small businesses (up from 66% in 2019-20).”

www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/small-businesses-evading-tax-leave-hmrc-billions-out-of-pocket/

We paid for our flooring upfront, then paid the fitter on the day. However, even though they say cash, all the tradesmen I’ve come across in the last couple of years- which is a lot because we’ve had so much work done on the house & garden, we’ve paid them all via bank transfer, they all requested that’s how we pay. So there is a legal financial trail because they all come up that you’re paying a business & not a personal account.
When they say cash I’ve found they don’t mean actual physical cash, just they don’t accept credit card payments, just bank transfers. Whereas the shops themselves you can pay that bit on a credit card if you so wish.
However the manager at your shop you went to @Sellotapeandlime sounds totally unhinged!!

To all those people saying it is normal to pay the fitters on the day in cash, your experience is not universal
I have, over the past ten years, had six separate lots of carpet fitting
Not one of them required the fitters to be paid in cash
All from one company had to be paid on the day via bank transfer, all from the other two were paid to the company upon invoicing

They are cheap for a reason. The fitters are paid in cash and probably don't pay tax on their income.

I would always go to a shop where you can pay by credit card or at least debit card.

There is already lack of funding. Those who can get away with not paying tax or paying less tax already do. Especially big corps. They know all the loopholes. I’m not about to get all worked up about Fred the builder not paying the right amount of tax. Whatever. He can pay whatever he can get away with. Until the big corps pay all the tax they are due Joe blogs saving himself a few quid isn’t going to make the slightest difference

All the big companies (Carpet right, Tapi etc) do this and have always done so, at least since I bought my first carpet (1982). The fitters are self employed and don't always need to be paid in cash. The most recent time, we carpeted and floored a whole house (3 storeys) and couldn't have got hold of that much cash because there are no banks here.

Well, as I said upthread, my instincts were right with this particular person as a friend had a nightmare with him. Whereas the plasterer I eventually went with had a business account, didn’t accept cash, and was really good and trustworthy. Bit more expensive. Annoyingly has moved 60 miles away as we need a different room doing now!

cash to pay the fitters on the day of the carpet

Totally normal to pay the fitters in cash on the day.

Im thinking you’ve misunderstood him, he wasn’t asking for you to pay the rest of the carpet money in cash, just the fitters. In fact was it just a deposit you were paying for the carpet, because that would be pretty unusual? It’s generally pay in full for the carpet and then cash for the fitters on the day.

I feel that you’ve dodged a bullet here. The saying buy cheap, pay twice comes to mind.
when I had my carpets fitted I paid the balance on the day they were fitted by card. Sounds like a tax avoidance tactic to me.