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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

...to have expected to be able to pay by bank transfer?

77 replies

Marigo · 24/09/2019 17:54

Hired a professional to provide a service in my home. Discussed price in advance but not payment method and I assumed I’d be able to bank transfer. After consultation she asked if I wanted to pay cash or cheque but I don’t have a cheque book and I didn’t have cash so I asked for her bank details. She said she didn’t know them or keep a copy on her! I had to load 3 children into pushchair and walk to the cash point with her to get cash out.

I know I should have confirmed payment method in advance but WIBU to expect someone who provides services in clients’ homes to accept bank transfer payment?

OP posts:

cookiemonster5 · 24/09/2019 18:31

The correct process is she should have given an invoice with payment options and time scale.

I had a tradesman round to quite work for me but had time to do the job so we agreed to carry out the work there and then. He then demanded payment but obviously I wasn't prepared so didn't have the cash on me. He followed me to the cash machine and had his worker stand behind me while I withdrew the cash. I rang trading standards who informed me of the correct procedure in these circumstances then rang the tradesman and informed him what he had done was illegal and under the circumstances was not entitled to the money He returned it that night with an apology.

malmi · 24/09/2019 18:40

If she thinks that cheques are still a valid form of payment in 2019 then she should carry a cheque book with her on the assumption that she could use it in Asda or whatever.

MissSueDenim · 24/09/2019 18:42

RBS group banks don’t have account numbers on their debit cards.

Teddybear45 · 24/09/2019 18:44

Sounds like a tax dodge to me

combatbarbie · 24/09/2019 18:47

But she surely has mobile banking, she could have just logged in?

I have been moaning at my window cleaner for months because I rarely carry cash.... He turned up other week with an izettle card reader that I recommended lol he even said himself he had taken £1200 that month on card instead of multiple visits back to houses!

IsobelRae23 · 24/09/2019 18:47

@malmi why would she need her cheque book????? Bizarre lol

Yabbers · 24/09/2019 18:51

My debit card doesn’t have bank details on it. Hasn’t done for a couple of decades now.

Why not suggest a payment app like the cash app? She doesn’t have to give her details, money goes straight to her bank.

I haven’t paid any trades in cheque or cash for a good few years now. Even the window cleaner has an online pay option.

MoreCuddlesForMummy · 24/09/2019 18:51

We had a lot of bit and pieces done in the house the year DD arrived. Painting, flooring etc. All paid by transfer or card. I even bank transfer to my window cleaner, he sends a text to let me know it’s done as I’m at work and I just ping him the money. I’m a bit surprised that she couldn’t look up bank details on the spot. I happen to know mine but I could easily look them up on my banking app. If I was asking for payment for services I would most definitely check with people they knew it was cash/cheque only. Hardly anyone has cheque books anymore!

Yabbers · 24/09/2019 18:52

Sounds like a tax dodge to me

Unlikely if she is taking cheques.

MoreCuddlesForMummy · 24/09/2019 18:53

@yabbers how many people actually write her a cheque though?!

Teddybear45 · 24/09/2019 18:53

She offered the use of cheques but most people in the UK no longer pay by this. In my experience tax dodgers often don’t even bank cash and may declare the odd cheque they receive.

Thesearmsofmine · 24/09/2019 19:00

My mum still pays the window cleaner by cheque 😂

I think it depends on the service. If it’s a small amount I would expect to pay cash.

Original poster

Marigo · 24/09/2019 19:19

It was a lactation consultant and the amount was £120. I’d have thought most of her business is home visits.

OP posts:

Newsheet · 24/09/2019 19:26

She knows no one will write a cheque, and so expects cash.

Bank transfer is no use if your account is really overdrawn as the money she might need to buy food that evening will just get swallowed up by DD and overdraft fees.

I know most people here are minted, but that’s the reality for a lot of people

PrayingandHoping · 24/09/2019 19:26

As someone who is SE bank transfers tbh are a pain.

So many people can't/won't do it there and then (husband does it/no internet blah blah blah) and then you are left chasing for payment.

I do let my clients but every single week I am chasing payments

amusedbush · 24/09/2019 19:43

Did she not have her business debit card in her purse? Her bank account and sort code are on that.

Not necessarily, I’m with RBS and my account number isn’t on my card.

Hecateh · 24/09/2019 19:50

I pay my window cleaner by bank transfer or Paypal
Have paid electricians, plumbers, plasterers, joiners, even handyman by bank transfer. I have just built (project managed) my own home. Anyone asking for cash got told that I need a paper trail and they wouldn't be getting cash - I've had no problems with this.
Weirdly - the only issue I had was with the mortgage company who would send me stage payments by cheque for free but I had to pay £30 per time for bank transfer (CFs as it's clearly cheaper and easier for them to pay by transfer but they know that people will pay for not having the delay)

PerfectPeony2 · 24/09/2019 19:52

Honestly I wouldn’t want to pay someone in cash as I never have it in the house and I would suspect them of tax avoidance!

In that situation I would have asked to pay later and have her send me her bank details.

AlexaAmbidextra · 24/09/2019 20:11

If she thinks that cheques are still a valid form of payment in 2019 then she should carry a cheque book with her on the assumption that she could use it in Asda or whatever.

Oh don’t be ridiculous.

Newsheet · 24/09/2019 20:13

She is broke and needs the cash.

Seems pretty obvious to me (having been in the same situation)

Zaphodsotherhead · 24/09/2019 20:14

I keep my cheque book around because it's the only way I can pay cheques in (have to pay in through the PO, no banks left in our town and you have to fill in a 'paying in slip').

Haven't written a cheque in years.

CheeryB · 24/09/2019 20:22

You can walk away with cash or a cheque in your hand. Maybe she's had trouble chasing people up for a Xfer. I still use cheques, people occasionally ask for them. Not everyone has online banking let alone on their mobile.

CheeryB · 24/09/2019 20:26

In that situation I would have asked to pay later and have her send me her bank details
Maybe she's lost money that way. Seems possible.

Byebyebyebyebye · 24/09/2019 20:27

This day and age with banking apps and PayPal, Apple Pay etc etc i think that she could have provided you with the information. I paid by card to someone’s phone at a tiny fair stall just the other day!!

Dongdingdong · 24/09/2019 20:29

I find this incredibly annoying, especially as I don’t use a cheque book and barely ever have cash on me these days! What’s so wrong with a bank transfer exactly?

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