Can a tradesperson insist on being paid in cash?

[LegoTherapy]

They have been found via Checkatrade but I can't find anything about this on their website. The job is around £500 and they have asked to be paid in cash. I'm reluctant not to have a proveable payment history after being burnt with the previous tradespeople. I am using checkatrade to try and avoid cowboys. Do I have to pay cash? TIA.

Look for a different more professional company.

This tradesperson has said if OP wants the job above board he's charging £200 extra so clearly just not putting job through books so as not to pay tax.

As long as the job was done to my satisfaction I wouldn't be worried about that. He's clearly a one man band, or doing this as a side hustle if he does have a limited company. If he chooses to pay his taxes that's on him. If he has good reviews then it should be fine.
Just get a receipt and ideally he should be guaranteeing the work for a set period, say 5 years, depending on the level of complexity of the job.

Yes, but as said above, you don't need a business account as a sole trader.

Companies like Mettle (for example) offer free accounts for sole traders and don't charge anything to pay in cash.

He didn't mention cash at all in his quote. Just gave the price. It was only when I asked about a deposit that he said cash for the job. We are not using him after all this but I'm pissed off about it. It's proving a nightmare to find someone reliable.

You obviously mix in pretty scummy circles!

I’m self-employed and of all the self-employed solicitors, designers, personal trainers, translators, business development people, and yes tradespeople, I know, no one that I know on a personal level boasts of not paying their tax.

Besides the fact it would make them ‘scroungers’ (not a term I really use but I guess what you call people who parasite off the system), it would also make them look and sound like seedy amateurs.

Our garage regularly gets asked to join Checkatrade, but we don’t need to as we have a constant stream of customers.. I would use word of mouth recommendations if you can.

Im presuming you’re not going to use this guy after this. He sounds like he might be difficult.

OP, I’ve generally found Yellow Pages good for finding reliable, professional tradespeople.

My husband's bank charges the same for each transaction, in and out. He keeps cash in the safe then uses it to pay his suppliers. Before I'm pounced on, his customers can pay by card, bank transfer cash or cheque, everyone gets an invoice and it's all declared.

Anecdotally, it's his more elderly customers that prefer to pay cash, even for the bigger jobs he does.

I used a plasterer and an electrician last year who did jobs under £500 and asked for cash at the end.

They both ensured that our conversations were recorded by SMS. While the plasterer is not VAT registered, the electrician is so charged VAT. The electrician does jobs for well-known retailers.

The plasterer explained he wanted cash at the end of the job as he didn't want to chase for the money. The plasterer actually did a job previously that was about £700 and I paid in cash.

The one time I used a builder who I later found out was a complete tax dodger, I paid by bank transfer in parts. He did invoices, was VAT registered and was a recommendation.

They can ask for whatever type of payment they like
Im afraid I’m very scepticle of anyone that wants cash I assume they are not declaring their earnings to avoid tax.
As I pay my tax so should everyone.
So I don’t pay cash.

In terms of them chasing for the money.
We have found people we use take bank transfers, bacs. You literally stand there and transfer the money to their account which they can check on their phone before they walk out the door.

We are not using him after all this but I'm pissed off about it.
I assume you have asked neighbours, friends, family for recommendations? If that is no good, I'd ask on nextdoor.com or local facebook group.

How's the view up there on your high horse? That's a really nasty thing to say & assume

Plus all the "scroungers" are then inevitably spending it all in the local economy so I can't honestly see your point? It's hardly on par with squirrling it all away in the Cayman Islands 🙄

Also who said anyone was "boasting"? are we reading the same posts?

And you obviously don't have a clue 🤣

You can't have both.

Either it is a cash job no receipt no warranty

Or an above board invoice taxed job with warranty

You support people not paying their tax, got it. 👍

You do realise that’s it’s not some noteworthy noble endeavour to pay your tax?

You can add between £10 and £500 at any one time. There is a daily deposit limit of £500, and an annual limit of £23k

From the Mettle website, so as I have said, ok for micro business, but not for a full time business that only accepts cash.

I suspect there are very, very few businesses who only accept cash.

And many will use cash to buy materials anyway, so it won't ever see their bank account to begin with.

Most I've looked at charge more for cash than Bacs.

I know lots of businesses run as you do and are above board, and of course business accept cash.

I don't support tax evasion. But when you look at what the wealthy and powerful get away with, the way that they can and do rig everything in their favor.

We had a trader ask this to avoid paying VAT. I wasn't happy about it but dh was and paid with cash for a cheaper cost. It sounds like your guy is doing the same.

That only works if the payer is there though.

I have family members who are tradies & you’d be surprised how many people are absent on payment day due to ‘insert imaginary excuse here’ and have a neighbour / friend / family member let them in instead so unfortunately they can’t always ensure payment before walking out the door.

Stay clear of any so called recommendation sites all the 10 out of 10 reviews mean nothing. Try to find somebody recommended from a friend who has used them for a job.

If they are insisting on cash I would be reporting them for possible tax evasion to the relevant people.

@LegoTherapy I’d try searching Which for the relevant tradesperson you need - they have really stringent criteria to be a member and are a lot more thorough than Checkatrade.