MYSTERY SHOPPING THREAD XII - ** New people please read posts 1 & 2 **

Hollypear

Right this is my take on it. I saw a thread several years ago about "Has anyone tried MS'ing". Now it was a footie site so most replied "Nup"

I thought I would check it out as I hate getting ignored in shops or the person behind me getting served before me. But I shop a lot and saw it as a way to get my travel and maybe a snack paid for.

1st company I joined was GfK. So I printed off my briefing notes and copied onto my make a note bit on my mobie things I had to do such as left, right, time in, out, name of MOS. I did exactly what they advised ie have another read of the briefing notes so everything was fresh in my mind. The minute I got out of the shop I would jot down lots of notes.

For tax I looked up the government tax website.

After a lot of hard work where I was on my own as everything I learned was through Google or asking the companies themsleves I became quite confident. It was a bit lonely though as I knew no one who did MS'ing.

One day while Googling I came across this forum and thought wow. People who will understand, people who I can share some of the funny things with and confess to making howlers. Like forgetting the MOS's name and having to return to the shop.

In summary I didn't have the luxury of a neat website...I had to work it out myself. I hope in my own little way I have helped people out on here and thank the many who have become friends and who have helped me.

cte1111

Originally Posted by catwoman150
Can anyone help me. I am doing my tax return and nearly finished all my working out apart from I work for a company who give me £4.50 in travel expenses. On a couple of jobs I have only travelled 3 miles. Thats £1.20 that the IR allow. Where do I put the £3.30 ???? Does it go with my expenses??

The extra £3.30 counts as part of your income, as it is effectively extra fees for the job.

catwoman150

cte1111 wrote: »

Originally Posted by catwoman150
Can anyone help me. I am doing my tax return and nearly finished all my working out apart from I work for a company who give me £4.50 in travel expenses. On a couple of jobs I have only travelled 3 miles. Thats £1.20 that the IR allow. Where do I put the £3.30 ???? Does it go with my expenses??

The extra £3.30 counts as part of your income, as it is effectively extra fees for the job.

Thats great, thanks a lot :T:T

St00zer

Just exactly how much reference information do you require to do mystery shopping? You just need to read the first few pages on this thread, do a search of the forums for any specific queries, or ask a question if your search proves fruitless.

Agreed. It is just that when I ask a question a few people have asked me to read old threads.

Are you saying the old threads are no longer required as reference and the OP can remove those links?

Because essentially all I suggested was consolidating all the information into one source making it more efficient for readers to absorb.

St00zer

I am very hopeful someone can answer the following please:

When claiming back travel expenses would it be possible to claim the cost of say travelling on the train/bus as opposed to mileage?

How would you claim if you paid a flat rate for a bus pass/train ticket per month? Would you work it out based on mileage or would it be based on the cost of per journey to the MS destination?

I understand mileage is about 40p/mile and paper is about 6p/sheet.

Also what about using the telephone to carry out phone jobs? I assume one can reclaim the full cost of a phone call for a MS ?

Would I be able to claim for mileage to get to the client as well as coming back home?

TractorGirl327

St00zer wrote: »

I am very hopeful someone can answer the following please:

When claiming back travel expenses would it be possible to claim the cost of say travelling on the train/bus as opposed to mileage?

How would you claim if you paid a flat rate for a bus pass/train ticket per month? Would you work it out based on mileage or would it be based on the cost of per journey to the MS destination?

I understand mileage is about 40p/mile and paper is about 6p/sheet.

Also what about using the telephone to carry out phone jobs? I assume one can reclaim the full cost of a phone call for a MS ?

Would I be able to claim for mileage to get to the client as well as coming back home?

SEB

TractorGirl327

Timmne wrote: »

Directed here from a chat between some good MSing friends who also use this thread.

For some reason L00zer you're testing the good people on this thread. Perhaps you want to go and set up your website, choc full of original, useful information so that everybody can [STRIKE]enjoy the peace [/STRIKE]enjoy reading the extra helpful information?

It's such a shame that those starting out MSing aren't able to use this thread to its full potential as it's full of irritating drivel (yes, like this post, before you say it...).

Alternatively, I'm sure everybody would love to make you feel welcome if you'd just read the sodding OP!

Hey Mr Timmne, good to see you, did you have a good Xmas?

ChefBungle

St00zer wrote: »

I am very hopeful someone can answer the following please:

When claiming back travel expenses would it be possible to claim the cost of say travelling on the train/bus as opposed to mileage?

How would you claim if you paid a flat rate for a bus pass/train ticket per month? Would you work it out based on mileage or would it be based on the cost of per journey to the MS destination?

I understand mileage is about 40p/mile and paper is about 6p/sheet.

Also what about using the telephone to carry out phone jobs? I assume one can reclaim the full cost of a phone call for a MS ?

Would I be able to claim for mileage to get to the client as well as coming back home?

Did you know that HMRC also let you claim back the cost of a Boots Meal Deal if your MS visit is between the hours of 12noon and 2pm?

Also, you can claim back the full cost of your grocery shopping, as without food then you wouldn't be able to function as a mystery shopper, would you?

AND finally - I'm sure I read somewhere that you can claim up to £1000 for a new digital camera (but I can't be bothered searching on the forums to verify this....). After all, the quality of photos from a semi-decent camera phone just isn't good enough for any MS company.....

Happy MSing!

:beer:

borders

St00zie. Do you ever find out anything by yourself?

Phone the tax office and ask them. They're very helpful and can answer the follow on questions that you're bound to have. There are also other threads on the MSE forums that cover tax, self-employment etc.

You do know you there's a search option at the top of the page that lets you search the forums to see if your question's been covered before?

TractorGirl327

Timmne wrote: »

Yes thanks mate - it was brilliant. Am not looking forward to returning to work though!

You should become a full time mystery shopper. I hear you can earn a fortune by getting 6 or 7 jobs in the same area each day !