MYSTERY SHOPPING THREAD XI ** New people make sure you read the first 2 Posts **

AnthN09

Can anyone help me with a question on mileage, I'm just wondering what people exactly claim for.

For example, if you're not travelling to the shopping location from home, say if you're going on the way home from work or something, do you simply claim for the miles that the shopping trip has added on to your normal journey home, or for the full amount of miles from work to the shop, and then from the shop to home?

TractorGirl327

wishface wrote: »

This thread is 45 pages long and nowhere within the first 4 pages does it answer my question. Surely it's simple enough; either these companies pay people - or they don't!

This thread might be 45 pages long but the previous 10 Mystery shopping threads are all over 200 pages long. If "these companies" didn't pay do you think the threads would be so busy?!!!!!

Matt567 wrote: »

Wow,

Well I'm still relativly new this and this forum however the tone of some peoples post is really putting me off contributing. I used to think this was a usual forum full of people who wanted to help, and now those people don't appear to be posting as much as they used to.

Maybe we should lighten the tone here and not get so heated and repeatative posts.

Surely the point of it is to use it as a source of information and to share information?

Rant over

A lot of the more experiences posters do seem to be absent nowadays. I don't know why. Maybe they're fed up with same old, same old?

vicz123 wrote: »

i am pretty new to this forum and have always found everyone helpful and friendly. whilst it was not realistic for me to be able to read every post in previous threads i certainly read all the info in the first few posts and found it very helpful. i still look at that if i'm not sure before i ask a question.

whilst i agree it can be heated in here at times and there is no need for rudeness, it does annoy me when people ask questions that are covered in the first few posts. if people can't be bothered or don't have time to read them then i personally don't think ms is for them. they will spend much longer having to read notes and fill in questionnaires.

i think everyone needs to remember that the people that help in here do if off their own back and that in effect all us newbies are taking jobs in their areas away from them. i can totally understand why everyone in here, myself included, would not want to hand people who don't want to read a few pages the info on a plate!

rant over! :lipsrseal

Very well said matt and vicz. Some of us (mainly Timmne and Josie) worked VERY HARD to write the opening posts to help people out. Would they have bothered if "these companies", as wishface calls them, don't pay?

And I'm sure we've all of us on here have had to glean information for ourselves the hard way, by trial and error, sometimes doing jobs wrongly and not getting paid for them.

So I'm sorry but if new people can't be bothered to read the opening threads where the information is virtually being spoon-fed to them, why should we answer the same question when it is asked mid-way through the thread?

WELCOME TO THE THREAD all you new MS-ers, we are here to help, but try reading the thread first, your answer will probably be there!!!

Oh, and I was going to have to go to the cashpoint this morning but just got 3 nice envelopes from ABAi for petrol jobs :rotfl::rotfl:

Nataliejane

Morning peeps! Looks like I went to bed too early and missed the sandwiches





I admit to lurking sometimes

mharzuk

AnthN09 wrote: »

Can anyone help me with a question on mileage, I'm just wondering what people exactly claim for.

For example, if you're not travelling to the shopping location from home, say if you're going on the way home from work or something, do you simply claim for the miles that the shopping trip has added on to your normal journey home, or for the full amount of miles from work to the shop, and then from the shop to home?

Without meaning to sway you in any way have you done the calculation on how profitable the job is using each of the scenarios?

Just a thought but if did this and then placed your answers in 2 categories, one titled “this is what profit I'll make” and the other titled "this is what the tax office will expect me to pay back to them because the job was very profitable" than you may answer your own question.

If you think its not worth doing that for one job then you could project your answer over the year using an average number of jobs you think you might get and then look at the answer again.;)

Sorry for the long post, I’m looking for excuses not to start an essay for Uni :A

look_after_the_pennies

AnthN09 wrote: »

Can anyone help me with a question on mileage, I'm just wondering what people exactly claim for.

For example, if you're not travelling to the shopping location from home, say if you're going on the way home from work or something, do you simply claim for the miles that the shopping trip has added on to your normal journey home, or for the full amount of miles from work to the shop, and then from the shop to home?

I personally just add on the extra miles that the shopping trip has added onto my journey if I'm doing a job on my way home from work.

AnthN09

I find excuses for that kind of thing easy to come by too!

I know what you mean, of course recording the mileage for the entire journey will reduce your taxable profit, and so in turn reduce the tax you pay, but as you would have done so many of the miles anyway if going direct from work to home, is it deemed 'right and proper' to claim for any more miles than was added to your normal trip, in other words is it actually allowed to do that, in the eyes of the taxman?

red_fox

MO2 wrote: »

I received very nice envelopes this morning from ABAi for the cheap designer store I did on 7/10/09, but I am still waiting for one of a department store group voucher for a job completed on 20/9/09 - Is anyone else expecting this voucher to arrive or just me?? Thanks

I received one of these last week but I am still waiting for one more that I did on the 29/09/09.

mharzuk

AnthN09 wrote: »

I find excuses for that kind of thing easy to come by too!

I know what you mean, of course recording the mileage for the entire journey will reduce your taxable profit, and so in turn reduce the tax you pay, but as you would have done so many of the miles anyway if going direct from work to home, is it deemed 'right and proper' to claim for any more miles than was added to your normal trip, in other words is it actually allowed to do that, in the eyes of the taxman?

And how does the tax man (and woman) know where you were before making the trip to do the MS job?

Indeed I have heard the opinion put forward that those who do not have mobile internet access return home after each and every job to input thier results. (Not that I am advocating that at all but) who is going to be able to prove otherwise?

Dannydebt

Having a bit of a problem with Amber Arch, done all the jobs for them as normal this month, tried to log into the online system to submitted the invoice and cant log in, requested the password incase its wrong and all I get back is a blank email !, have emailed them every day for the last 2 weeks and no reply !. Just wondering if I should just do a manual invoice and fax it to them, but if they don't reply I am stuck. I am due about £50 and the reports were all filed on time and purchases returned.

AnthN09

mharzuk wrote: »

And how does the tax man (and woman) know where you were before making the trip to do the MS job?

Indeed I have heard the opinion put forward that those who do not have mobile internet access return home after each and every job to input thier results. (Not that I am advocating that at all but) who is going to be able to prove otherwise?

Very true, another scenario I'd thought of was if you were just visiting a friend who lived nearby a visit you were doing then I certainly would claim for the entire trip. But in the first instance, where we are talking about a shop between work and home, if the taxperson was to dig deep into your affairs which they do on occasion and study your mileage log, they would know where you work and live and so would have a good idea of the miles you could claim.

Maybe I've been thinking too over-cautiously! I now have a good idea of what to claim and when, thanks for helping me clarify it all