The Mystery Shopping thread - VII

MikeLB

Dont know if its been mentioned already but had anyone noticed that the out of this world Electrical shops which reside on RE are now appearing on GR .......

Which is quite funny as it means I have now done the same branch twice in under 12 days and with identical questionairres so I think competitor visits are ruled out. Have RE lost it or are GR doing some pilots I wonder to bid for contract ......
The job notes say its a competitor visit but it doesnt feel like one, the questions are too smiliar to a RE questionairre.

minniepoos_2

I need some advice!!! I've completed a couple of catalogue jobs for ABA-i today, and I thought they went ok. I've just submitted one report and all was fine. Got almost all the way throught the 2nd one, and its asking me questions on something I wasn't asked to do! I've gone back and had a look at my briefing notes, and I've only gone and printed the same one out twice :mad:!!!! The 2nd visit had an extra little bit on it, which I obviously missed, and it has to be done by today, so I don't know what to do (and can't believe I made such a stupid mistake!!!!!!).
I've tried phoning but no joy. I can't submit it without completing it. Help!!

MikeLB

Is this the bit you are meant to order something into store by any chance ......

minniepoos_2

MikeLB wrote: »

Is this the bit you are meant to order something into store by any chance ......

Yep, that's the bit

mharzuk

TractorGirl327 wrote: »

You need to be referred. If you PM me your full name, email address, and areas you can cover, I will send your details off to ABAi.

Me too please.....

MikeLB

minniepoos wrote: »

Yep, that's the bit

PM me, there is an easy way round it ........

KSG1970

KSG1970 wrote: »

Hi, I have a question re GR - I have been a member since February but have had nothing from them. Is this normal ?

Also, quick question re tax. I registered as a MS end of February with a few companies but have just done my first job today. Does the 3 months I have to register as self employed start from receipt of 1st payment of the day I registered to do MS ? I am now employed part time so will the self employed part be totally separate from my employment ie does my employer need to know about the MS side of things ?

Thanks.

Sorry, I know this thread moves very quickly so just adding this again. Can anone help ?

MikeLB

KSG1970 wrote: »

Sorry, I know this thread moves very quickly so just adding this again. Can anone help ?

Answering in turn -

1 - GR can be total hit or miss. I personally get work weekly from them but plenty of stories on here of people not hearing from them for months. Check you address options, you can register five postcodes for work. That will increase your chances or being offered work. If you want PM me for some details of their clients as what I do is actually register some of their clients locally as one of my 5 postcodes to ensure the jobs do appear. So according to them I have 5 supermakrtes as my alternative addresses!

2 - You only need to tell the Tax man you are self employed as a Mystery Shopper within 3 months of your first actual MS job, not payment. Also ensure you fill out your National Insurance Class 4 contributions exemption for your MS work asap. This is seperate from telling the tax man his bit.

3 - Your employer does not need to know, but remember that being self employed means you will be liable for tax on the MS income and will have to fill out a Self Assesment form for the tax year as well to declare the income. So remember to keep good records of your expenses and payments for the end of the year. And also register for self assesment.

4 - The Self Assesment will also require to complete income information on your main employment as well as MS work, so seek advice if you think this may affect any benefits or allowances you may currently receive. It has happened to people in the past as the two incomes will be combined to give the tax man a bigger figure to use to work out your income for the year.

minniepoos_2

KSG1970 wrote: »

Hi, I have a question re GR - I have been a member since February but have had nothing from them. Is this normal ?

Also, quick question re tax. I registered as a MS end of February with a few companies but have just done my first job today. Does the 3 months I have to register as self employed start from receipt of 1st payment of the day I registered to do MS ? I am now employed part time so will the self employed part be totally separate from my employment ie does my employer need to know about the MS side of things ?

Thanks.

I was registers with GR for just over a month before I got offered anything. It's been 3 months now and I've still only been offered 8 (and was only able to do 3). As long as you can log in ok I presume it is working. Might pay to give it another month or so (Sorry - that didn't help much, did it?!)

As far as the tax goes, I don't think your employes needs to know - my two don't. Hopefully someone a bit more knowledgeable will be along soon to say something more intelligent!

Edit -oh look, he beat me to it!

jdan9

KSG1970 wrote: »

Hi, I have a question re GR - I have been a member since February but have had nothing from them. Is this normal ?

In a word, yes. They have few clients and it's fastest finger first when the jobs do come up. Make sure you have a city centre in your areas - if you live in the suburbs, you might not see jobs in your city centre, the radius is quite small. Get an address in the city added on your areas (I used the postcodes of train stations to get the centre of a city).

KSG1970 wrote: »

Also, quick question re tax. I registered as a MS end of February with a few companies but have just done my first job today. Does the 3 months I have to register as self employed start from receipt of 1st payment of the day I registered to do MS ?

No idea, sorry. I'd guess the latter though, since it's technically about a 'business' you're running.

KSG1970 wrote: »

I am now employed part time so will the self employed part be totally separate from my employment ie does my employer need to know about the MS side of things ?

Again I don't know this, but I think, from a tax point of view at least, you wouldn't need to tell your employer - you just deal with it yourself thru a self-assessment return. However, depending on the job you do, your employer might need to know for H&S reasons. For example, if your job is safety crit, you might need a minimum number of hours rest between shifts, and technically MSing might cause problems with that.