To change my mind when he asked for payment in cash?

[Wardrobefred]

I wanted some work done in my garden. I know I should get 3 quotes, but I just wanted it done. Price was £1200 and he could start the following week so I accepted it.

Then he asked for a deposit to "secure the date" which seemed a bit much when he clearly wasn't turning down other work! I was going to agree, just to get the job done, it was £50 by bank tf. Then he said he'd want the rest in cash on the day of completion "so he could pay the men". TBH it never occurred to me anyone would want that much in cash and it certainly wasn't mentioned when we were discussing price.

I said I'm not comfortable getting out £1200 in cash, which I'm not. It's a faff because you have to go to the bank and then walk across town carrying it. So he said pay half in cash, which still presents the same issues. By this time I was thinking my quick decision to give him the work was a bit rash, so I said I'd decided to take more time to think about it.

I'm now on the local FB page as a timewaster...

Totally agree. I'd like to see the end of cash completely so that money can be tracked more easily. We're heading that way anyway but the sooner the better!

Santander, for one.
And how is PayPal not an option?
Sorry but you were very likely lied to.
I'm really sorry that she suffered domestic abuse but that is a totally separate issue from cash in hand, i.e. tax evasion.

Santander, for one.

And how is PayPal not an option?
Sorry but you were very lijwly lied to.
I'm really sorry that she suffered domestic abuse but that is a totally separate issue from cash in hand, i.e. tax evasion.

Did you write that with a straight face?
I have no reason to doubt your figures you are the expert. But the real problem isn't unpaid taxes it is the fact that all kinds of methods exist to allow the mega rich (and large companies) to minimize their tax bills, yes it is within the law. I would like to see things change, but I doubt they will

A tradesman's tax is not "just his affair". It's my way of proving the work has been done, my way of claiming if any of the work was faulty, and my way of making sure he contributes to society the same way I do. I request invoices from every single job I get done and, on the long term, it is really much, much cheaper this way. For starters, it weeds out the frauds and the non-certified cowboys.

I wouldn’t pay cash. If he’s avoiding tax fair enough (my local Chinese only takes cash and I have no qualms about paying) but he could just run off with the money and not finish the garden. It needs to be bank transfer incase you need to open a case against his workmanship.

I wouldn't comment publicly but would get the admin or FB to take the comment down and report him to HMRC. It's slagging off potential customers which tips it for me. You might, quite reasonably, be getting a few quotes before picking someone to do the work.

I doubt she was earning the personal allowance. so tax was unlikely to be her motive.

even opening a basic bank account isn’t always that easy and your allegation that Santander just don’t do any KYC would be pretty serious if you believed what you wrote.

I guess I could have gone out of my way to explore noncash methods like PayPal. Maybe you were right there. But why on earth should I bother? the simplest answer worked fine for both of us.

I'm struggling to understand why you’re so invested in karensplaining why a person you’ve never met is a liar rather than a victim.

Karensplaining?? Oh please.
I never said Santander don't do any KYC, I said it takes literally seconds.
I sent my scanned passport and driving licence, which is all they need. So yep, it took seconds.
I think you're very naive if you believe a grown woman is incapable of opening a bank account.
And I also said, regarding the issue of her being a victim, that I wasn't commenting on whether or not she was a victim of domestic abuse. I wasn't saying she was a liar. I was simply saying that her reason for needing cash in hand (i.e. she didn't have a bank account of her own) didn't ring true, as it's very easy to open an account or to just use paypal.
Some people also take cash in hand as they're claiming benefits.
If you earn more than £1000 a year you still need to declare it, even if you don't need to pay tax. I doubt she was declaring it.
People who think the rules don't apply to them infuriate me, that's why I'm "invested".
Have a great day.

Not gonna engage with you any more, but you literally did say Santander don’t do KYC. And you literally said I was being lied to. So yourt contradicting yourself on both of those which tells me you just want to win an argument so well done. You’re wrong on the £1000 too by the way

your attitude reminds me of Alan Parridge - why didn’t the famine victims just find a reasonably priced restaurant?

Santander don't do credit checks for a basic account.
Of course they need basic identification, that's pretty obvious.
And yeah actually I did say you were 'likely' lied to, which I think is true.
The reason she wanted cash was either a) to avoid taxes, or b) because she was also claiming benefits.

Wake up.

I've also repeatedly said that the money issue is entirely separate from the abuse issue, but you keep insisting on using the word 'victim' to try to paint me as the bad guy here.

And I'm not wrong about the £1000. Anything over that has to be declared. Look it up.

The choice is yours, do the due diligence or go with the first one you see and do as he asks. You can’t have it both ways.

This person is a stranger not her friends or family

@GoodbyeRosie The bank basically interviewed them and they had to lie through their teeth as to why they need £12k in cash.

No, they didn't have to lie at all. They just had to say, "I'm paying someone to build my kitchen." It's not illegal to pay cash. It's the legal obligation of the payee to declare it.

Now, the bank might have said - as they are wont to do - 'would you mind telling us why you want so much cash? We're afraid you're being scammed.'

But perfectly legal and valid responses to that question would be...

"I'm going to put the lot on a sure-fire tip in the 3:30 at Cheltenham."

"I'm going to by twelve thousand lottery tickets."

"I'm going to blow the lot on cheap brandy and seedy sex."

"I intend to give it away in fistfuls to people sleeping rough in doorways."

"Mind your own business."

....and the bank would still be obliged to hand over the money.

If he’s paying the workers in cash it’s probably to avoid tax, so one has to wonder if he’s paying their full National Insurance, or compulsory workplace pension contributions either. Better to hire someone who puts it all on the books properly, and doesn’t get aggressive about clients wanting to pay by a method that is safe, reliable and happens to be traceable.

YABU. Cash is completely legitimate and unless he/she offers to accept other payment methods is the payment method you should assume. There is no obligation to pay fees to banks or other institutions just to accept payment - cash is expected and required unless they've agreed to otherwise, and if your other payment methods didn't work you would be expected to produce it in any case without delay.

There is no reason to assume tax fraud, and frankly that's their legal obligation not your concern.

Yeah but the thing is if he does a shoddy job or runs off with the money OP hasn’t got a leg to stand on. With banks you can do chargebacks if something bad happens or he’s a scammer.

frankly I am not arsed if he’s not paying his taxes, but I want security in my purchase

He's a cowboy. If he's slagging you off online I would just comment saying you were quite happy for him to do the work but your agreement fell apart when he demanded to be paid cash in hand.

And everyone should be concerned about whether builders are paying their taxes or not. Unless you like paying more tax so they don't have to.

My local Chinese takeaway insists on cash but will take card begrudgingly. Are they dodging tax?

It is very hard for physical services to achieve a chargeback, but for reasons of customer card fraud many trades would not accept card schemes, but only bank transfers - which have no chargeback. Your route for quality issues is the courts.

In that case he won't have any problem providing a legal invoice for work done and cash received. Which does not seem the case the OP has explained.

Really? I’ve managed to achieve a chargeback for two physical services before.

a bank transfer can also be reversed