Mystery Shopping Thread 24 *PLEASE READ THE OP FIRST**PLEASE NO CLIENT NAMES OR FEES

gallygirl

Is it still an incidental benefit if you are told what product to buy? E.g. I'm going out for a meal and told I MUST have a steak - surely this is different to 'we will reimburse you for an item of clothing up to £15'? If you are being asked to report on the product as well as the service I would argue that is different?

PS - can I claim the meal for OH & DD as an expense .

HappyMJ

gallygirl wrote: »

Is it still an incidental benefit if you are told what product to buy? E.g. I'm going out for a meal and told I MUST have a steak - surely this is different to 'we will reimburse you for an item of clothing up to £15'? If you are being asked to report on the product as well as the service I would argue that is different?

PS - can I claim the meal for OH & DD as an expense .

I think by having the smiley face there you already know the answer. I always get a big steak with an extra side and then share the meal and have 2 drinks keeping the total meal cost with drinks just under the reimbursement. The job that I think you are talking about is for 2 adults and the reimbursement is only to cover 1 meal and 1 drink. The rest is at your own expense.

samtastic7

whitelabel wrote: »

you mean people can earn a living and do this full time ?
I read on here this whole MS/audit/merch thing it was just free meals and days out

i work for one company who I merchandise 12 hours a week , i have been with them 5 years and do the same store on a regular basis

whitelabel

samtastic7 wrote: »

i work for one company who I merchandise 12 hours a week , i have been with them 5 years and do the same store on a regular basis

maybe the smilies at the end wernt clear enough



Have FINALLY been paid by FF for January.. but its come as a cheque... and being a Canadian company (despite the Uk office and address on the cheque) the date is listed in US format as 4/12/13..... instead of 12/4/13....:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

has any one had this issue before and have banks been ok... or am I stuck with a cheque that I cant cash till December this year !:mad::mad::mad:

mimi1234

GR paid today so I guess that will be in the bank early next week. Woohoo!

JohnnyG

I registered on line, for Self Assessment, in Feb and I'm all up and running, it was pretty simple really. There was no way I was not going to register.

Surprisingly though, the tax man wants me to complete a self assessment for 2012/13 . As I was on the higher tax bracket in my previous job, I'm sure he's thinking he'll have 40% of my profits.....shame I made a loss

Lil_Me_2

JohnnyG wrote: »

I registered on line, for Self Assessment, in Feb and I'm all up and running, it was pretty simple really. There was no way I was not going to register.

Surprisingly though, the tax man wants me to complete a self assessment for 2012/13 . As I was on the higher tax bracket in my previous job, I'm sure he's thinking he'll have 40% of my profits.....shame I made a loss

I've filled in my return for 12/13 and based on my last payslip from work it would appear that I was over taxed on the PAYE side of things! Waiting for my P60 to confirm the figures, but based on the current calculations I've covered the tax owed from the SE side and am expecting a three figure rebate :cool:

JohnnyG

Lil_Me wrote: »

I've filled in my return for 12/13 and based on my last payslip from work it would appear that I was over taxed on the PAYE side of things! Waiting for my P60 to confirm the figures, but based on the current calculations I've covered the tax owed from the SE side and am expecting a three figure rebate :cool:

Happy days indeed

I'm waiting on my P60 but won't be expecting any rebate. I'll be happy with not owing any more tax

skivenov

Test purchases are a tricky one. I generally deal with them on a case by case basis. IE if I get something I want or is useful (eg steak dinner or a pair of shoes), I declare it as a benefit in kind, but still deduct milage allowance. If what I get isn't my reason for doing the job (a drink, some food for the fish I don't have), then I book it as expense. The third way is what I try to do where I can and buy something that the business will use (ream of paper, batteries for the camera, bucket and a sponge to wash the company van with). In which case, it just crosses the books.

whitelabel wrote: »

maybe the smilies at the end wernt clear enough



Have FINALLY been paid by FF for January.. but its come as a cheque... and being a Canadian company (despite the Uk office and address on the cheque) the date is listed in US format as 4/12/13..... instead of 12/4/13....:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

has any one had this issue before and have banks been ok... or am I stuck with a cheque that I cant cash till December this year !:mad::mad::mad:

That's one of those questions where there's a right answer, a wrong answer and the realistic answer, and people will argue it out.

In law, post-dating a cheque doesn't have any standing. IE Whitelabel megacorp could write Skivenov industries a cheque for some work done next week and date it two weeks down the line, the fact that they've done that, in itself doesn't mean anything, as it wil generally say in the very, very small print of the writer's bank account.

Although if it could be shown that Skivenov industries was in breach of contract, comitting fraud, or obtaining by deception by banking it early, then there's an offence there. However, that's obviously not the case here.

But realistically, banks hardly even look at cheques and just throw them and see which ones bounce. I know someone who wrote over a grands worth of cheques to pay household bills but accidently used her son's chequebook, luckily, while they were in the post, she realised what she'd done and gave him the money. Worryingly, they were all accepted :eek:

whitelabel

mmm well bank wouldnt take the cheque..., mos said even if she processed it, it would most likely be returned and id be charged for the pleasure. !

Instead ive sent FF an email requesting payment via bacs as before and payment of all the jobs they owe me from since jan as 3 months is taking the p*$$ and not doing their reputation any favours