Paying tradesmen in cash versus bank transfers

[SylvanMoon]

We arranged with a tradesman my DH found on checkatrade to replace all the radiators in our house. We have purchased the radiators and are going to pay this company £1500 to remove the old ones, flush the system and fit the new ones. This was arranged about a month ago and they're due to come tomorrow (Monday). The process will take two days, so they're due to finish on Tuesday. On Sunday, in response to an email from us to confirm their arrival time, the tradesman asked if we could pay them in cash.

I've no problem paying self-employed people cash if they want to avoid paying tax or whatever. So it's not any kind of moral issue for me. But that's generally for amounts closer to a couple of hundred pounds. If we are to pay this company in cash, it will require us to make several trips over two days to a cash machine and withdraw the maximum amount from at least two bank accounts in order to have that much cash ready for Tuesday. But we can do this relatively easily I think.

We had intended to pay via a bank transfer, which I understand has less consumer protection than paying with a credit card. So I guess my question is are we putting ourselves or our property at any more risk by paying in cash?

Hmm. I wouldn't want to hand over this amount in cash.

A small odd job sorted of money maybe but not a large sum!

Presumably you won’t have a proper invoice/receipt so if anything goes wrong you wouldn’t be able to prove it was them who did the work?

Id be happy to pay cash if I got a proper invoice and receipt, not one from a copy book

Not for that project as you need a better trail. Say no and what can they do?

I really dislike the assumption many people have that self-employed traders are dodging tax if they ask for cash. I have been self-employed. Cash was often much easier. It’s there, in your hand, reliable. I was still declaring all earnings, paying tax and NI. Don’t make judgements based on false assumptions! Presumably you are getting a receipt!
You can withdraw that amount in one go by going into a branch and doing it at the counter.

I was advised to avoid Checkatrade a few years ago, and what you have advised makes me feel the person was right.

Paying some amount upfront for a deposit is fine enough, not large amounts of cash. I understand some people are slow payers or try to avoid some in the hope of getting work on the cheap, but this is not a good answer to that.

Only if you get a proper receipt saying what work was done. You should always get this anyway, but especially with cash transactions

I wouldn’t be keen either. Although yes, he’s most likely wanting cash for tax avoidance purposes, it’s also a method of not leaving a trace that he did the work, so if there was a issue with his work you may have a problem. As others have said, you need a decent receipt if you do go ahead, not some crappy piece of paper with the amount written on it in biro!

This and did you get a written quote as well.

As long as they provide a receipt/invoice. And why not just go into your bank and get it all at once?

I paid cash for a big job recently. I went to the bank with my ID and withdrew rather than mess around with cash machines.

I just made sure I got a receipt to prove I’d paid.

i have a neighbour who paid 50k cash for a loft conversion. They are Londoners and say nearly all tradesmen prefer cash and usually negotiate a discount for it.

if you get a receipt I can’t see there’s any more risk than with a bank transfer. Just pay after the work is done and you’re happy.

No paper trail no liability and no comeback for you if they fuck up the work.

It's not just about tax avoidance. (Or child maintenance avoidance).

In terms of cash flow, cash is always king though - less and less credit is being offered and if you owe on lots of other things if you go through the bank it can be chewed up on this rather than the raw materials that allow you to keep trading and generating income to get yourself through a cash flow problem. This in itself though is a potential risk to you about how close to the wire they may be from insolvency and being unable to complete the job even if they are 100% above board.

£1500 is pocket change to a plumber at the moment. Just ask for a receipt if you’re at all concerned about anything.

I used to pay cash in hand but because I know that some people use it as a way to avoid paying child maintainence I would now only do it if the person is happy to invoice me, so I know it is going through their books.

checker trade, eh?

do you know the real name and address of the trader?

I have checked out details and addresses before. I used to also only use people that had land line numbers not just a mobile but nowadays a lot of people don't have land lines anymore.

As long as you get a receipt for the work done then there shouldn't be any problem.
Paying cash doesn't necessarily mean the dont want to declare it, it just means they get to keep 100% of the profits without having to hand iver large amounts to pay transaction and bank fees etc. This takes a massive wedge out of your earnings just for the convenience of the customer. We need to start getting back into the habit of using cash again before our government sneakily does away with it. Then they will have 100% control over your money and can stop you being able to make purchases whenever they want.

I had a work done on my roof - paid cash - because they asked me to. Said it was easier. I asked for a receipt for the job - he said his wife would send one. Never received. Ghosted when I contacted. No evidence work done, no guarantee.
So pay cash. As you have no problems with colluding with tax evasion, I hope you get completely scammed.

This! DH always declares his cash receipts, 9 times out of 10 he will have purchased items for each job, these all have an audit trail, so taking cash doesn’t mean you don’t declare.

OP, missing the point slightly but is it a straight swap or are they larger/smaller radiators which require extra plumbing work?

I know someone who asks payments to be made by bank transfer into his business account. It makes preparation of business accounts very easy.

Purchases made on a debit card make costs easy to track

I'm self employed and it really irritates me when people want to pay me in cash. I'll still declare it as income but I have the added inconvenience of having to go to the post office (and queue for ages) to pay it in.
I get that card payments cause a fee but bank transfers don't so I can't see what the benefit is of asking cash unless you plan not to declare it.

I had work done on my solar panels. They asked for cash payment. They gave me a full professional quote with their name, contact details and UK solar license number. I checked if they were legit before agreeing to the work. When it was done, they showed me a full time stamped video of the completed work on my roof- panning to my garden and such. When I said I was satisfied, they took out two copies their pre-printed invoice listing the work on the quote, we both signed as completed and they signed it had been paid in full with cash. I got one copy, they got the other. They on the spot emailed me a copy of the video for my records (just in case home insurance or energy company might need it).

You were not scammed because they asked for payment in cash. You were scammed because you failed to do any due diligence. In your shoes, I would have said come back for your payment when you have an invoice in hand.

tanstaafl · Today 13:22
OP, missing the point slightly but is it a straight swap or are they larger/smaller radiators which require extra plumbing work?

They are pretty much a straight swap and shouldn't require extra plumbing work. I think two of them are not as tall or taller than what was there, but only one might be a different length. I can't be specific as my DH did the new radiator purchases.
(how do you get a bit of the post you are replying to copied into your reply?)

(how do you get a bit of the post you are replying to copied into your reply?)

I use a tablet to view mumsnet, so I copied the text, hit quote and pasted the text in. I also surrounded the quote with an asterisk at the start and end to turn it bold.

anyway, I should have asked if the new radiators were a different width as that would require new plumbing and connectors, though new wall mounts will likely be required anyway so there’s that work. It was just that I initially thought £1500!!! But it’s probably a fair price.
How many radiators are being replaced OP?