Rude store manager?! Take my money elsewhere

[Sellotapeandlime]

Hello everyone,

Had a bit of a shit day but I want to know if AIBU.

I have been to three carpet stores and have been comparing quotes and have decided to (of course) go for the cheapest quote. I get there and I'm ready to pay for my deposit. However, the manager said that I need to pay the rest of the money in cash to pay the fitters on the day of the carpet. I told him "no" that I prefer to pay the rest of the money by debit/bank transfer on the day so that I have a digital record of the payment. I said I was happy to put down a higher amount for the deposit- but it would be too much money to cash out and due to the large amount, I prefer to pay the rest of the balance by card.

All of a sudden he got very angry, face red, shaking and said "NO! You pay all of the money upfront or half on the day in cash or nothing at all". I replied to him "Well, I can see that you are angry and I don't feel comfortable with the way you are behaving, so I'm going to leave and look elsewhere. Then he said "Bye!", and I left.

I mean what the hell???? Can anyone please tell me if AIBU?? Was I wrong to request that I would like to pay the rest by card?

Also! I'm now stuck as my only option is to pay for the expensive carpet place who are known to do a very good job but are very expensive. We need to move into our new home within three weeks. What should I do????????

Limited sympathy here. It’s normal practice to pay the fitters separately. Odd that the manager was red-faced and angry with no provocation? I would like to hear his side of the story.

Agree that it is common to pay fitters directly. There should be an invoice and option to pay cheque, card or bank transfer.

That's not true HMRC can access your paypal and personal bank account if they choose to. Banks can also flag and report any unusual deposits. So, the type of bank account you have doesn’t make much difference. You might try to argue that a £500 deposit into a personal account was a birthday gift, but if HMRC is investigating you, they'll figure it out.

There are some people who are easily tempered. I don't think that should be surprising. Plus, I did say that he didn't look like he was in a good mood.

Fair enough.

biught carpets for a few places in my time. Always paid the fitter in cash.

*bought

Mettle are free because it's internet only. No cheque books, paying in slips, cash bankings, etc. It's basically all BACS in and all BACS out - all electronic. So it costs the bank a lot less to run the account, especially as they have no branches.

I don't remember the last time I paid a tradesperson in cash. We use a small local flooring company, they take a deposit on card then the balance by card on the day of fitting. My plumber and mechanic ask for bank transfers, the new guttering was paid direct to the company (half before and half after installation). People have said it's to avoid tax by paying in cash, I'm self employed and find it bizarre if people think we would want to take cash to avoid paying tax. I'm autistic, a lot of behaviour seems quite strange to me - I can't understand not wanting to pay tax and contribute to public services.

Never heard of paying the fitters in cash on the day. That’s a dodgy tax avoidance move. Don’t know where all the commenters shop that do do that. I’d go somewhere more reputable.

Yep, the carpet fitters are sub contractors and paid separately. This is perfectly normal and has been the process forever.

No idea why the op thinks this is suspect???

agreed, all I can think is it’s his own business and he’s under some serious financial pressure

It's to avoid VAT. If you pay the carpet shop, it's VATable, but if you pay the fitter directly it's VAT free assuming the carpet fitter isn't VAT registered.

It also abdicates the store of any responsibility for damage or mistakes during fitting - they'll just say it's the subbies fault, but you as the customer didn't choose the subbie, won't have their name/address/phone number, so you're stuffed.

It's why we always ask "who" does the fitting etc whenever we buy a carpet, partly assembled furniture, even kitchens and bathrooms, etc. If the shop doesn't have their own staff, then we walk away, as we've had too many bad experiences with "subbies" who walk away and then the store deny any responsibility.

Luckily, we have an independent carpet/furniture store near us who have their own delivery guys, carpet fitters and furniture assemblers - they don't use subbies and make a big deal of it in adverts etc. Never had a single problem with them during 20 years of using them. And none of this nonsense about paying cash so that they can avoid tax!