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

domesticgoddess

Has anyone done a Bare visit where you had to spend a lot in a specialist shop and claim re-imbursement as item is non refundable? I'm done to do one but just want to check that there will be no probs getting paid sorry if too vague but don't want to break any rules

TIA
DG

gallygirl

Re taxable, non-taxable, when I spoke to the tax office I was told if it was a requirement of the job to purchase that item (or one of a range of items) then it was not taxable. Some examples:
Coffee shop - buy & comment on coffee - not taxable
Petrol station - buy & comment on coffee - not taxable, rest of minimum spend - taxable. At the mo with one job there is a requirement to purchase any of the special offers then say if it went through the till correctly - not taxable. So, buy a coffee at around £2 and spend rest of £5 spend on a special offer then no goods are taxable.
Clothing - spend £15 - taxable
Beauty shop - ask about product & see how they demonstrate, then purchase - not taxable.
Eggs - not taxable (could maybe claim for laxatives if you had a lot of egg jobs :rotfl:)
Chemists - if have to buy certain product - not taxable. So, if size not specified and it's something you would buy anyway, may as well buy big size.
Car that you buy because you fall for it when getting quotes - must be tax deductable, surely .

THT.

jc2703

Repeating myself but can everyone log into RE ok?

squidgeum

jc2703 wrote: »

Repeating myself but can everyone log into RE ok?

Yes everything fine here.

jc2703

squidgeum wrote: »

Yes everything fine here.

very odd - I just can't get passed the home page... have emailed them but I'd like to be able to check the site before the next millenium....

misssarahleigh

gallygirl wrote: »

Re taxable, non-taxable, when I spoke to the tax office I was told if it was a requirement of the job to purchase that item (or one of a range of items) then it was not taxable. Some examples:
Coffee shop - buy & comment on coffee - not taxable
Petrol station - buy & comment on coffee - not taxable, rest of minimum spend - taxable. At the mo with one job there is a requirement to purchase any of the special offers then say if it went through the till correctly - not taxable. So, buy a coffee at around £2 and spend rest of £5 spend on a special offer then no goods are taxable.
Clothing - spend £15 - taxable
Beauty shop - ask about product & see how they demonstrate, then purchase - not taxable.
Eggs - not taxable (could maybe claim for laxatives if you had a lot of egg jobs :rotfl:)
Chemists - if have to buy certain product - not taxable. So, if size not specified and it's something you would buy anyway, may as well buy big size.
Car that you buy because you fall for it when getting quotes - must be tax deductable, surely .

THT.

thanks as that makes it slightly clearer, although, at the end of the day the tax man is basically trying every possible way to get every single penny off you. if this were not the case it would be more clear cut as there would be no need for so many different distinctions.

Tarasam

misssarahleigh wrote: »

thanks as that makes it slightly clearer, although, at the end of the day the tax man is basically trying every possible way to get every single penny off you. if this were not the case it would be more clear cut as there would be no need for so many different distinctions.

Oh dear, it is pretty clear....... the link i posted was very clear, well I thought so anyway - granted I do work for them. What's annoyed me mind is that even though I posted the official link, it was still not believed.
I've actually stopped posting on the Cutting Tax forum as the HMRC staff on there were'nt being believed there either.
The media has created a whole completely un-neccessary view of HMRC and when / how they collect tax, yes as a nation we are highly taxed but they do not want every penny off you, in fact I would dare to say that a lot of people on here probably receive tax credits (me included), thats HMRC giving money out.

Sorry rant over.

proshopper

nehpets81 wrote: »

Has anyone else had a non burger mystery shop that resulted in a bit of a "floor show"? I had an eat in donut job where I must have stuck out like a sore thumb - "hmm.. I'll have 6 donuts and will just sit at this table and munch thru them all!". As soon as I said I was eating in, the server told me to sit down, he leapt out from behind the till (leaving bemused people still queuing) to fetch me napkins and a stirrer for my coffee and told me to have a wonderful day etc... Also, I'm pretty sure I noticed a glimmer of recognition at a station outlet when I asked where the nearest ATM was...

One of the best ones I had was a while ago. It was a car showroom (fairly straightforward customer service assessment). The sales team had obviously been warned. The salesman did all the customer service things to the letter, with a bow and scrape thrown in. It all seemed just a little bit too good. In the course of my enquiry, I had to ask a specific, but rather odd, question. The salesman left me to go and get the answer. While he was gone, I had a peep around his desk. There was little laminated checklist of points for mystery shopper visits. The salesman had kept notes on his pad and scored himself out of ten for each of the points. Needless to say, I put this in my report. The company did a reshop!!!

Just when he thought he'd secured his bonus, eh?:)

Jo_Mc_3

domesticgoddess wrote: »

Has anyone done a Bare visit where you had to spend a lot in a specialist shop and claim re-imbursement as item is non refundable? I'm done to do one but just want to check that there will be no probs getting paid sorry if too vague but don'y want to break any rules

TIA
DG

Hi, If I have guessed the right store yesI have done one - I have sent you a PM.

misssarahleigh

kellyshay wrote: »

Oh dear, it is pretty clear....... the link i posted was very clear, well I thought so anyway - granted I do work for them. What's annoyed me mind is that even though I posted the official link, it was still not believed.
I've actually stopped posting on the Cutting Tax forum as the HMRC staff on there were'nt being believed there either.
The media has created a whole completely un-neccessary view of HMRC and when / how they collect tax, yes as a nation we are highly taxed but they do not want every penny off you, in fact I would dare to say that a lot of people on here probably receive tax credits (me included), thats HMRC giving money out.

Sorry rant over.

without getting into a political debate i do agree the media paint a very poor picture of tax in this country. but i have also experienced first hand the mess many governement agencies make. I live in a bad area because they stopped the rent suppliment my mother recieved for no reason for 8 months. they paid alll the money owed but by this time it was two late as we had been evicted from our privet rented home. I've had random people knocking on the door saying my mum owes thousands in overpayment on tax credit yet fail to provide a scrap of evidence dispite numerous request. theres many more, which i feel creates a negative attitude. Although you working for them may see the overall picture everyone else has a vry personal view of what happened to them, which is only what they know.