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...

You're very naive if you think everyone has a passport and/or driving license. I changed banks last year and it was a pain. Not impossible, but took far longer than "seconds"

I don't think everyone being paid in cash is dodging tax, but most people I know who earn "cash in hand" do it for that exact reason. My SIL thinks the fact that her DH (my brother) earns mostly cash in hand is brilliant. They declare just enough between them to be able to claim the max they can in UC without any more work commitments. Everything else is cash in hand. I wonder if she'd be so happy if he left her and dodged paying CM in the same way!

Not for any of the reasons that the PP indicated such as quality issues, and not if the recipient disputes it.

Cash is safest for concluding a transaction definitively, followed by bank transfer. Never accept cards for significant payments - and there is no obligation to do so. However, if no other payment method is agreed, there is an obligation to pay in cash.

I’ve managed to reverse a transaction due to quality issues.

i Would only ever pay in cash if the job was done already, never upfront.

"You're very naive if you think everyone has a passport and/or driving license."

Hi - well then I may be very naive.. How can someone not have a passport? Or any other form of photo ID?

The driving license was just an example - for a bank account, you need a form of photo ID such as a passport) and a proof of your address (it could be driving license, utility bill, various other forms of proof of address).
But passport? Surely everyone has a passport.... am I wrong in thinking this?
Doesn't everyone just have a passport as standard? Happy to be proven wrong but it does seem like the norm.
I have all my family's passports and other documents scanned, so I can send them to whichever authority needs them.
(I know that, for example in Italy a lot of people didn't used to have passports, just Identity Cards, but I think that's changed now)

I didn’t have a passport or license until this year.

I had a bank account, I’d been with nationwide since child with my child passport I believe so I was fine to make another account there as an adult without ID. They never asked for it.

not everyone has one as standard, it’s expensive and I never go abroad.

I applied for PIP without needing any id except a doctors letter. I’ve been on UC before and it was a bit of a faff and I had to go up in person but bank card sufficed

i am epileptic and my fits aren’t controlled so wouldn’t ever be entitled for a license

i bought my first passport this year as I needed it to get my Vinted earrings out as they went past a certain amount. Purely for that.

My nearest bank is 45 mins away. The only card machine in the village works about twice a week. I don't know how I would get that much cash out locally!

I'd say no as well - bank transfer or forget it.

If you are paying the "men" get your own cash out you tax evader!

Staggered by the casual acceptance of tax evasion in this thread. It really is disgusting how many people think tax evasion is a good thing if it saves them cash.

I mean it’s not, but it’s the best chinese takeaway in the town I’m in so. 🤷‍♀️

I don't have any problem paying cash to tradesmen. I have ordered doors and floors and they requested the fitters are paid in cash on the day, no issues.
No tax evasion involved.
Got a store receipt from the company for the full amount supplied and fitted.

I dont go abroad and dont want to drive for various reasons. I dont have enough spare money to pay for a passport or provisional for the once in a billion years I need them for ID.

In the last 2 years I've applied for (and got) a new bank account, a DBS check, UC, all with out photo ID. All took slightly longer than usual, but all perfectly possible.

To all the people who don't have passports or a driving license:
a) a passport is just a form of ID. A bank will need a form of ID, and everyone should have that. Passport, driving license, some other form of ID.Identity card, whatever.
b) the second thing a bank needs is proof of address, So that could be a bank statement, a utility bill, etc.

So, just prove that you are who you say you are, and that you live where you say you live..... Not that difficult.

I was approved for a basic bank account (no overdraft etc) in about 5 minutes after sending my passport and a utility bill.

absolutely agree.

My bank didn’t need anything photographic

Congratulations on having enough spare money to buy things "just" as a form of ID

There is no legal requirement here to have photo ID. My BC and various proofs of address can also be used.

I was also approved for a basic bank account pretty quickly. Only difference was I had to visit the bank in person to show my ID rather than upload it online. Which wasn't an issue for me.

welcome to the 21st century, we're all here for you!

Why would you shop someone to HMRC? As long as you're given a receipt, it's not your problem what method of payment they prefer.

Well, these are things that people generally have in the course of their usual lives... a form of ID... a form of proof of address. It's fairly standard stuff. Hardly luxury living! Wouldn't you say?

You do need photo ID to vote now.

Yes. I have a form of ID and multiple forms of proof of address. None of which cost money to get. Or have my photo on.

Photo ID is neither a legal requirement, or the only form of ID. What are you struggling to understand?

And yes. Spending £40 on a provisional that you neither want nor need can be a luxury to some.

Yes, but there is a free voter ID. You can't use it as proof for anything else though. Which is bonkers.

Photo ID will be compulsory for everyone soon. Not sure how much it will cost though.

Source?

i can’t have a provisional as I’m epileptic and not seizure free, and a passport was far too expensive for me until this year. Not everyone has the money you have