Invoice/bill and receipt

freespirit4all

Hi,
I was wondering, if i am charged for a service, am i LEGALLY entitled to ask for an itemised invoice/bill, and once paid can i demand a receipt, i cant seem to find any legislation on this.
Many thanks.

DieselASFC

I don't know about legally entitled. It would be in the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, if it was. But any decent tradesman would have no problem supplying this, if you asked for it.

freespirit4all

Thanks for your reply, it doesn't mention any of this in the supply of goods and services act, also i mean for any service that has been paid for, not neccessarily a tradesman. I would have thought that you are entitled to know what you have been charged for, and once paid aren't they obliged to provide a receipt for payment on request?

DieselASFC

I would think so. Any services rendered usually provide an itemised bill, without being asked.

FOREVER21

It would seem common sense to have some documentary evidence of what has been supplied /undertaken, and any genuine dealer/supplier would do this.
Regadring how you pay a cheque/ credit/debit card would produce the required receipt.Only paying by cash with no receipt could cause a problem.
Only curious but what have you got that you did not receive an invoice or receipt for?

InsideInsurance

Certainly if they are VAT registered and you ask for a VAT invoice/receipt then they must provide one to you, but for a transaction under £250 it can be a simplified one. If they are not VAT registered then this does not apply.

I dont know of any other piece of legislation that requires receipts and invoices to be given

arcon5

freespirit4all wrote: »

Hi,
I was wondering, if i am charged for a service, am i LEGALLY entitled to ask for an itemised invoice/bill,

Depends what the agreement was between you and the supplier.

If for example they said 'we will build this conservatory for you for £x' then no. If though the agreement was 'we charge x per day + materials@cost+10%' then yes.

and once paid can i demand a receipt, i cant seem to find any legislation on this.

A receipt isn't necessarily needed to enforce consumer protection rights, merely proof of purchase. I don't believe shops legally have to give a receipt, although not doing so is certainly bad practice.

If believe it's only a requirement if they and you are VAT registered.

This is what HMRC say:

When a VAT invoice must be issued

If you are registered for VAT you must give any VAT-registered customers a VAT invoice for any standard-rated or reduced-rated goods or services you sell them.
If you are a retailer, you do not need to issue a VAT invoice or receipt unless your customer asks for one.
As a VAT-registered supplier, you may be liable to a fine if you do not issue a VAT invoice for a supply you have made when asked to do so by a VAT-registered customer.
There is a time limit within which VAT invoices must be issued – see the section in this guide on time limits for issuing VAT invoices.