Always get it in writing

[A10 Ray]

Hi all,
           About 2 weeks ago I took my A10 crankshaft in for a regrind, unfortunately the chap was ill so i decided to take it to a well motor engineers near the leicester city
centre, I asked how long would it take (I don't have alot of patients I what done now ha) he said 2 days good I said how much £40 was the reply I said ok do it.
2 days later he phoned said crank is done great I'll come and collect it, I give him the £40 and he said no should be £50 ( now I might be getting on in years 75 but I have all
my faculties I know what he said), I said no you said £40 and that all you are going to get, he said being it's you ok £40 (I thought don't try that one.)
My eldest Daughter said Dad you should have got it writing she is right of course as Daughters very often are.
So always get it writing lessons to be learnt.

[limeyrob]

This whole area is a minefield. Years ago I dropped off a B31 wheel to have the brake skimmed.  No rush I said, cash job, no paperwork - big mistake.  A month later the company went into the receivership and the whole place was locked up with my wheel inside and no paperwork.  Took months to get it back, I got an employee who had access to sneak it out.

[CheeserBeezer]

With reference to Limeyrob's post I suspect 'cash' means no paperwork and the business doesn't pay tax. I also suspect the crankshaft job, for £40 was also a 'cash' job. You get what you pay for. So, the consequence of that is you don't have any comeback or warranty, and schools and hospitals are denied the resources they need. If you swim with the sharks, you'll get eaten...eventually!

[limeyrob]

Of course, and in my case the mate who said "I'll get that done for you" was one of the Directors and the company employed hundreds of staff.  Yesterday i dropped off a brake plate, cylinder head and barrel at a local fabricators for welding.  There was no question of paperwork and had I suggested I wanted some I think I would have been shown the door. 
This week I sent rather a lot of money (for me) to the HRMC on self assessment so I feel more than comfortable spending some of my tax-paid cash with a local tradesman.

[Swarfcut]

 Ask for the fella's business card and get him to scribble the date and the money on the back. That way there is some reference. As to the cost, fool that I am, I'll always give the fella a drink for his trouble, providing the job wasn't an outright Dick Turpin rip off to start with, bearing in mind some simple jobs turn out to be far more time consuming than expected and a certain amount of leeway has already been factored in. That way you are a little more welcome next time.
 Cash jobs for "labour only" are fine...it's cash that will go back into the economy. Flair and enterprise need stimulus, not the multiplicity of rules and regulation that means our economic activity is more boxes ticked at the expense of less boxes made.

 Swarfy.

[CheeserBeezer]

It sounds to me that some people are advocating tax evasion which is breaking the law and one of the reasons why our health workers and teachers are emigrating to Australia. I sometimes wonder what proportion of potential 'taxtake' is going into back-pockets. This may sound as though I'm dragging the post off-topic but it is at the very heart of the problem for those who are victims of shoddy workmanship. Getting some workmen to do a decent job in the first place is difficult enough without aiding and abetting them by 'knocking a bit off for cash'. Precisely why should a 'cash job' be cheaper than a properly invoiced or receipted job?

[BagONails]

Its going to get harder as there seems to be a lot less cash around these days in terms of people carrying 'folding stuff' in their pockets.  I can see both sides of the argument, not wishing to condone anything illegal, but also taking Swarfy's point about the plethora of petty rules and regulations swamping every aspect of running a business to the point that people are finding its just not worth it anymore.

As regards the quick crankshaft regrind, I think I would be checking very carefully that it has the correct corner radii....

[Black Sheep]

Veering slightly further off topic, why do people fall for politicians' promises of tax cuts and then kick up a fuss when we don't pay health care workers and others enough and the roads get neglected even further. To mention just a couple of examples.
Then there are the massive interest payments on the national debt which no-one mentions.
Back at bikes, some years ago I gave my Star Twin front wheel to a friend with a bike repair business to have a new rim laced on. Months went by, no wheel. It eventually turned out he had sold it. Who can you trust?   

[CheeserBeezer]

At the next general election I shall vote the party that provides a cohesive plan to catch tax-dodgers, pay teachers and NHS staff properly, recruit intelligent police officers, and overhaul the justice system. This can only be achieved by a considerable increase in taxes which, in the long term, will benefit us all.

[Rex]

Without getting too much into the politics, do some really believe NHS workers aren't well remunerated, and that if more cash is thrown their way things will instantly improve?
All the while the NHS has "Diversity managers" (and similar non-jobs) on huge salaries don't tell me the NHS is cash-strapped.

[Triton Thrasher]

I’m quite happy to pay cash to help them dodge tax, so long as the price is discounted a bit.

 

[Triton Thrasher]

At the next general election I shall vote the party that provides a cohesive plan to catch tax-dodgers, pay teachers and NHS staff properly, recruit intelligent police officers, and overhaul the justice system.

You should bear in mind that the cohesive plan will fail.

[Topdad]

Are NHS staff poorly paid well by comparison to private hospital staff yes  so I would be very happy to pay an  additional % to basic rate tax to increase there pay .
I love the rose tinted policies suggested by cheeserbezzer  except it relys on mp's to implement the changes needed and you simply can't trust 'em well except when it comes to increasing the already inflated salarty/expences 
I'm 75 and still paying tax would I get a job done for cash .....possibly.

[berger]

brilliant , " a plan to catch tax dodgers" the ones who make the rules for us plebs to obey are the BIGGEST tax dodgers and rule breakers ever to breath air. Lets cast the net!! when they get found out they say things like " sorry " and i did it in the SPIRIT of the rules. the WHOLE system is FULL of corruption and dodgy dealing at the heart of governments everywhere, and the more dodgy they are the more they get promoted , just look at dodgy Dave Cammoron!! ffs i need the revolution  as for a geezer doing me a bit of welding for 20 quid and not declaring it -- well good on him when you see what the rule makers are getting away with, ROBBING us BLIND while giving our money to their mates for big contracts and then getting some of our money passed back to them for party propaganda broadcasting.. rant over.

[Rex]

When I need more specialised welding than I can do (crankcases, cylinder fins etc) I use a one-man-band of long acquaintance.
He likes to do little cash in hand jobs like these on a Friday afternoon while doing much bigger tasks during the week.
When I give him the £20 or £30 quid for something like this I don't consider it "tax evasion" just recognising that the bigger account jobs pay his bills while mine pays for his fags over the weekend.