Being threatened by contractor

Enterprise_1701C

It is my understanding that, if he is VAT registered, he has to display his VAT number on the invoice, or that he has to give you a VAT invoice if requested.

patman99

If he is not VAT registered and is charging VAT, then he is in line for a £50k fine. It really is an offence that is punishable.

Catherine_Johnson_2

Pay him what you agreed (I assume you have it in writing?).

He wont take you to Court, considering the VAT element etc etc.

gas4you

The police would have never got involved in the first place.

He is talking absolute bo**ocks.

If he was VAT registered he would charge you VAT on his labour.

Firstly you said it was clearly a typo, now you say 'if it was'.

Sounds to me that you are both at fault and there there are deeper issues that you are not revealing to help promote your side of the argument.

paddyrg

mollieminall wrote: »

...he has been advised by police to warn me of court action if I don't pay £1190 in cash at once. Says he is VAT registered but as I'm not I cannot be given his registration number.

Hogwash. The Police do not advise people to pay up in full in cash at once - they have a real job to do, they could not be less interested unless you start threatening violence against one another. If he is VAT registered, the invoice must carry the VAT reg number.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/managing/charging/vat-invoices.htm

What a VAT invoice must show

A VAT invoice must show:

• an invoice number which is unique and follows on from the number of the previous invoice - if you spoil or cancel a serially numbered invoice, you must keep it to show to a VAT officer at your next VAT inspection
• the seller's name or trading name, and address
• the seller's VAT registration number
• the invoice date
• the time of supply (also known as tax point) if this is different from the invoice date - see below
• the customer's name or trading name, and address
• a description sufficient to identify the goods or services supplied to the customer

For each different type of item listed on the invoice, you must show:

• the unit price or rate, excluding VAT
• the quantity of goods or the extent of the services
• the rate of VAT that applies to what's being sold
• the total amount payable, excluding VAT
• the rate of any cash discount
• the total amount of VAT charged

It's cut and dried. If he wants to add VAT to his invoice, you need one of these. It's not ambiguous, it's not a grey area, it is balls-out black and white.

Pay what you owe, pay the VAT on the materials if broken out, or not at all if it isn't. Let him try to take you to court for the 'VAT'. Tip HMRC off.

mollieminall

gas4you wrote: »

The police would have never got involved in the first place.

He is talking absolute bo**ocks.

If he was VAT registered he would charge you VAT on his labour.

Firstly you said it was clearly a typo, now you say 'if it was'.

Sounds to me that you are both at fault and there there are deeper issues that you are not revealing to help promote your side of the argument.

When I said "if it was " I meant that at the time I assumed it was a typo but now given his conduct I'm not so sure he didn't mean it as some sort of try on. He is now demanding two different amounts. One with threats of pay up or he removes the fence and the other pay up or he takes me to court.
As I did say in my first post I have no problem with a Small Claims case. I do have a problem with his use of threats.

terra_ferma

mollieminall wrote: »

When I said "if it was " I meant that at the time I assumed it was a typo but now given his conduct I'm not so sure he didn't mean it as some sort of try on. He is now demanding two different amounts. One with threats of pay up or he removes the fence and the other pay up or he takes me to court.
As I did say in my first post I have no problem with a Small Claims case. I do have a problem with his use of threats.

I would pay the amount you agreed, as you are happy with the work, and want to avoid further hassle. I would send an email stating you will consider paying VAT if he sends you a valid VAT invoice/VAT number etc.
good luck

Mistral001

mollieminall wrote: »

When I said "if it was " I meant that at the time I assumed it was a typo but now given his conduct I'm not so sure he didn't mean it as some sort of try on. He is now demanding two different amounts. One with threats of pay up or he removes the fence and the other pay up or he takes me to court.
As I did say in my first post I have no problem with a Small Claims case. I do have a problem with his use of threats.

There has been a big misunderstanding here. I suggest you forget about the invoice. He does not have to give you one as he is not VAT registered. The contractor is unlikely to remove the fencing if you pay him what was agreed before he did the work. Why would he do that. He would have spent time and effort putting in the fence and removing and get nothing from you.

He is claiming extra over and above what was agreed. If it was because he made a mistake in not including the VAT that he is charged by the builders merchants in the original quotation then that is his fault and he has to take the loss and you have gotten a cheap fence.

If the extra is for more fencing than what was agreed then you should pay the extra if it is pro rata or near pro rata the original quotation.