Joiner charging £15 for invoice

[clothearedpotatohead]

Had someone come out a couple of weeks ago to do a small job.

Quoted £55. Came and did it, all good.

Asked after if he needs my email for the invoice. Crickets.

2 weeks later he’s come back and said it’s £55 cash or £70 with an invoice. “Let me know which works best for you”

I think it’s bullshit. He obviously doesn’t want to declare his income (again, bullshit – pay your taxes) and if he wanted to charge £15 for an invoice he should have said so in advance.

I did want to pay him there and then – we were in touch by text, I told him I wasn’t going to be there in person, as soon as he said the job was done, I asked if he needed my email to send the invoice, as this is what every other tradesperson has done.

He didn’t ask for cash – he just didn’t reply and disappeared for 2 weeks. I have not delayed on paying. He literally texted like an hour ago with a new price if I want to pay by bank transfer / have an invoice/receipt.

I have not refused or delayed payment at any point.

It seems a bit shifty on his part, he could have just said pay me in cash, I prefer it. A lot of them do say that, but most invoice if they are an actual Ltd Co.
I'd say cash is fine. Unless you want to pay more?
Just don't use him again I guess. £55 doesn't sound much for a tradesman to come and do joinery, even if a small job.

It's tax dodging.
Not VAT - unless he meets the threshold.
I'd pay £70 and then report to HMRC. HMRC are busy but tax dodging, cash in hand does cost the UK money.

I won't pay cash for anything like that.

I want my invoice for proof the work was done and for a paper trail if thr job was done poorly and needs repair.

Get quotes in writing to prevent it happening again.

Surely you could have just sent the money & asked for a receipt???? Why do you need an invoice to pay/why does anybody need an invoice to pay a personal expense ... ?

I get that your self employed so obviously have a differnt mind set around businesses but still it was a personal expense ?

Just pay the money - even if you report it/complain the money should have been paid on the day if you had it & a invoice if you wanted it should have been requested first & seems very pedantic for what will ultimately be you just paying him £55 for work he's already done & obviously moved onto other jobs

Banks are definitely more wary of allowing large cash withdrawals and bank transfers. I replaced my car last year and needed to transfer the funds between my own accounts. The funds were in a recently opened savings account (it was an inheritance) so I had to find a bank branch to do the transfer. The branch had to put me onto their fraud department who asked me what the money was for, the reg number of the car, its make and model and colour.

I have not delayed payment!

As soon as the work was done I asked if he needed my email for the invoice – not thinking anything of it. I always pay immediately.

He just didn’t reply, and has popped up 2 weeks later for a new price if I want evidence of the work done or to use bank transfer

Some of these responses are bizarre. I had to have a gardener in to do a small job, we agreed 50 quid. Family friend for years. Offered bacs or cash on the day and he said bacs was easier for him. Had an invoice saying paid a week later. That's how you do business.

This guy is screwing the system and the twat put in writing. Why are so many people happy to give him a pass?

He isn't charging you £15 for an invoice, he is just adding the VAT which is totally normal. Most traders will give you a quote without VAT, it's better to double check with them.

If you pay cash he doesn't charge the VAT, and as he said it's up to you to decide.

I couldn't get worked up over it. You managed to find a joiner that would come out to such a small job and didn't rip you off. Most won't come out for such little money.

I would just pay cash unless you need the invoice for something. Not worth the drama.

If you need the invoice for something I'd point out that you know he's tax dodging and like whatever but your not paying extra so when he sends you his invoice you will send him the £55

I don't care he's offered a cash option but he should have offered that as the cheaper option in the first place.

Just pay him, £55 cash or £70 if you think he’s avoiding tax and you don’t agree with him doing that. What’s the problem?

My DH never quoted a cash price, always the V.A.T price but every single customer would ask if they could get away with the V.A.T. Don't blame the tradies, it's the customers who want to save the money.

No, our experience has been the opposite with most being upfront that they won’t charge vat if we pay by cash, even for large amounts. That’s without us asking! They make it sound like it’s for our benefit but they save more in terms of income tax and nic evasion!

Agree.

I had a second job for two years and was paid 1200 cash per month.

Mumsnet is a crazy place.

I don’t know why so many posters are chiding the OP for not paying there and then, she asked him for an invoice, he didn’t supply it, how can she pay him without an invoice if she doesn’t have his bank details and he didn’t specify cash when he gave the quote?

I agree. I never pay in cash there and then. I always pay the minute I receive the invoice - literally straight away, I'm a stickler for it. It's never been an issue with people I've had doing work - they've always finished the work, said they'd send the invoice, and left.

You do understand it’s the invoice that provides the payment details? It also provides proof of work if things goes pear shaped and you need rectification. The OP couldn’t make payment because she hadn’t received the invoice - it’s not rocket science. Sometimes I wonder what world people live in.

Exactly. While it might seem 'nice' to do a cash payment, it IS illegal. Also remember, that if people don't pay the tax they are supposed to, whoever they are, WE will end up paying more instead.

He should have quoted both

It's probably what he does to swindle child maintenance. That's what my ex does with his own business

This is a very MN thing that you are meant to pay people right away. I wish it were so for all the other freelancers who often don't get paid for months! 30 day payment terms are normal and many clients won't even cough up within that time. It is perfectly reasonable to ask for an invoice, and pay once received. I usually pay within minutes of getting an invoice by email.

If someone asks for payment before they leave the house, that's fine as long as you can see they've completed the job.

But if they say I'll send you an invoice but then don't, because they don't want to put the job through the books, that is not ok.

Sometimes I have to chase people to get their invoice!

Well quite. It's a very silly MN thing that you see a lot on here. In real life, you get the invoice and you pay it. Or they say "that will be £x please" and you give them the cash or they have a card machine.

He's not charging you for an invoice he's offering you a discount for cash.