Cash please..

Basgetti

No of course not! Just seems odd that a registered plumber would ask for cash.

Cash is still legal you know.

petra

Basgetti

No of course not! Just seems odd that a registered plumber would ask for cash.

Cash is still legal you know.

Perhaps he needed cash to pay his cleaner!

No I don’t think OP was being unreasonable at all. Why would you go through the discomfort and absolute inconvenience of getting cash out for someone unless they are in a worse position than you. He is not! He wants cash. In this situation it seems he’s being selfishly greedy.
We always have £1000-£2000 in the house which covers window cleaning, a tonne of coal, oil tank filled, groceries etc. but if I’d have been let down by a tradesperson (and I happen to think hthis one made up the van story) I’d be reluctant to do him the favour of paying cash.

😲

Maybe he is not as nice as you think.
He seems to be taking advantage of you as a soft touch.

Builders are notorious in lacking integrity, being on the fiddle and wanting cash in hand. Take what they say with a large pinch of salt.

Don't give him any cash. And always ask for a receipt which itemises the work he has done before paying up. He needs to guarantee his work.

Is he part of some kind of Builders Organisation?

As for his van breaking down. That's an old excuse. He was probably doing a new job or finishing a job that was more lucrative than yours.

My friend once had to work around a builder whose whole life was based around picking up his kids from private school a no d showing off in his really expensive van.

That's when he wasn't arranging his latest long haul holiday to the Caribbean.

Give him the boot.
🫵🦨🥾

Pretty sure he could pay his cleaner by bank transfer, Allira.

WithNobsOnIt wow!

I can only assume by your post that you have had a problem with a builder/s, plumbers, electricians in the past.

Not wise to tar them all with the same brush

MickyD

No I don’t think OP was being unreasonable at all. Why would you go through the discomfort and absolute inconvenience of getting cash out for someone unless they are in a worse position than you. He is not! He wants cash. In this situation it seems he’s being selfishly greedy.
We always have £1000-£2000 in the house which covers window cleaning, a tonne of coal, oil tank filled, groceries etc. but if I’d have been let down by a tradesperson (and I happen to think hthis one made up the van story) I’d be reluctant to do him the favour of paying cash.

£1- 2K in cash in the house??!!!
I’m unlikely to have £50.
I pay everything by bank transfer/direct debit/card.
In fact the £20 I have finally spent out of my purse had been there since before Christmas.

Basgetti

Pretty sure he could pay his cleaner by bank transfer, Allira.

It was a joke.

I have been involved in the antiques trade for many years and still sell a few bits on Ebay or direct to dealers. Cash is still widely used ifor face to face transactions n the trade although most dealers now use a card reader at fairs, I would still ask for a discount for cash.

A few days ago I called a taxi to my relative. As I got in the driver asked if it were cash and I said yes. He set the meter at $3.50. My relative always pays by card and told me the driver routinely sets it at £5 for the identical journey. So he is paying £1.50 more at the onset.

argymargy

I don't like being asked for cash, as it always makes me think someone is avoiding their taxes. I don't keep more than £10 in the house so it's always a faff to go & get some. If a tradesman is reliable and trustworthy I will give them cash but I think you were right to stick to your guns in this instance.

I would never pay a workman in cash, where is your workmanship guarantee without paperwork, would he still have given you a receipt, I doubt it, he was probably trying to avoid paying tax on it. You was not unreasonable at all.

Basgetti

Presumably your plumber is Gas Safe registered, Ferry? Did you check? If not, installing a new gas supply is illegal.
I’m asking because it seems odd that a registered plumber would ask for cash.

That isn’t true as I know someone who paid cash & got a certificate. Like someone on here said, it’s up to the tradespeople to declare their earnings.

Only pay cash if it suits you like he’s offering money off which he wasn’t. You may need proof your boiler was serviced if ever you need to make a claim on the insurance if it breaks down. I am surprised you had to contact him when he didn’t arrive and he didn’t contact you first. It’s annoying to plan your day round someone coming and they don’t arrive. Mind you trades people often seem to let you down these days.

Btw he may not be VAT registered so is not guilty of tax evasion and can issue an invoice.

petra

Basgetti

Pretty sure he could pay his cleaner by bank transfer, Allira.

It was a joke.

Thanks petra 😁

25Avalon

Btw he may not be VAT registered so is not guilty of tax evasion and can issue an invoice.

You still pay income tax on the ensuing income whether you are VAT registered or not.

Sorry, Petra 🤦‍♀️.
Hard to tell sometimes.

Basgetti

Sorry, Petra 🤦‍♀️.
Hard to tell sometimes.

It was me who said it 😂

I’m obviously having a great evening 🤣

(In my defence, I’m quite new. I’ll get my coat ……)

Basgetti

(In my defence, I’m quite new. I’ll get my coat ……)

Pyjamas and cocoa time 😴

Ps I'll pay for our cocoa
Cash ok?

Allira

Ps I'll pay for our cocoa
Cash ok?

😂

That he usually wants a bank transfer suggests that this request was a one-off. Perhaps whoever fixed his van as an emergency job, maybe a local garage rather than an AA/RAC call out, would only do the job quickly for cash and he said he’d pay them the next day? Maybe he negotiated a better price for cash? Who knows?

Maybe the job came to more than the limit that one can take from an ATM. If he’s local and the nearest ATM is 3 miles away for you then it will be similar for him.

There could be any number of reasons why he asked for cash not necessarily connected to tax evasion.

I can assure people that when people are suspected of tax evasion, HMRC employs techniques which easily reveal whether someone is doing a cash jobs which haven’t been declared.

The fact is that a lot of older people do keep a lot of cash in the house in sums that would far exceed the costs of a boiler service and a tap replacement, say £200.

He probably has other clients who do pay him in cash. Whatever the reason for him needing cash, he was probably taking a punt that you might be able to pay him that way this time but you were perfectly within your rights to say no.

I agree that it's not always convenient to have a lot of cash available, nor can it feel particularly safe to do so. As the OP stated, there's also the question of not knowing just how much they need to pay. Also, how trustworthy are the workmen? Is it a good idea to let them know you keep quantities of cash in the house? Most reliable and honest tradesmen will be happy to accept a bank transfer or even a cheque.