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Tree works and payment

3 replies

BigBreakfast · 05/06/2020 17:51

I've had some work done on the trees in our garden.

I'm always cautious about this kind of work because you hear so many horror stories. The company I used are used by my employer and I know they do insurance checks and make sure they are properly registered for tax, so I felt reasonably sure they were legitimate.

It seemed like quite a lot of money but in the region of what I was expecting, four men working for about 2 hours £400, proper safety equipment, took all waste away etc and left things tidy. I also knew I'd probably pay more that if I'd accepted a quote from some random who put a card through the door.

They never asked for cash, we'd agreed in advance that I'd pay electronically. After the work was done they asked me to make sure I paid today and sent a text with the bank details. I asked them to email an invoice, which they did but there were no bank details on it.

My bank has started checking bank details as part of the payment process. It told me that the details didn't match - it was a personal account in the name of the business owner.

Would you still send the money or would you want to pay the company whose name is on the van etc?

I've got no real reason for concern but something feels off, although of course I do owe "someone" the money.

OP posts:
WhoWouldHaveThoughtThat · 05/06/2020 18:22

Assuming they are accredited tree surgeons I think the price is not bad for in effect 8 hours work, with all the equipment they need and clearing away the debris.
Is it a proper invoice, did the invoice include Vat and have Vat registration number on it? They might be trying to avoid passing the Vat on, although their auditors might uncover this if there is no matching payment for an invoice. If it worries you, you could email the company and say the bank have raised it as an issue...
Reading this back, I don't think I have helped at all! Confused

BigBreakfast · 05/06/2020 18:26

No there's no VAT or VAT number but then for a small business there wouldn't necessarily be?

I suspect that the "business" is claiming the government help (they did close for several weeks) and they may be trying not to show they are back at work through the books, but does that matter to me, now the work has been done?

Yes, the price was fine for a properly registered and insured expert company but now I'm not sure that's what I got!

OP posts:
WhoWouldHaveThoughtThat · 05/06/2020 18:37

If you happy with the work I'd just pay the bill and carry on with my life! Smile

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