Entitlement to a receipt when paying cash?

Miró

Is there a legal obligation for a retailer to supply a receipt when a customer pays in cash?

A couple of days ago I made a rather expensive purchase from a high-end furniture store. I paid in cash and declined to give my name/contact details. The very chatty assistant put the sale through their computer system, took the cash and locked it in a drawer as there did not appear to be a till at the desk and then faffed around wrapping the item rather extravagantly in tissue and bubble wrap before making a bit of a show of carrying the item to the car for me. I, with hindsight, rather foolishly assumed that the receipt has been enclosed within the packaging but when I got home and unpacked the goods this was not the case. In fact I cannot recall a receipt, or any paperwork being produced at all! The salesman was a bit of a 'showman' and his 'performance' flustered me a little at the time but I really do not think he was up to no good as it is a very reputable company but I am puzzled as to what my rights are here. Can I insist upon a receipt? I feel I need one in case the item develops a fault and for insurance purposes. I hope that they have details of the transaction on their system to prove that I did indeed purchse the said item. I have since telephoned the store and emailed them but have not had any response yet.

Does anyone know where I stand with this now?

Many thanks.

bris

There is no legal obligation to provide you with a receipt as such. They do have to provide you with a VAT receipt if requested though so if you want a receipt make sure you ask them for a VAT receipt.

Nukumai

Mir! wrote: »

I paid in cash <snip>. The very chatty assistant put the sale through their computer system, took the cash and locked it in a drawer as there did not appear to be a till at the desk...

Speaking as an ex-Auditor with experience in the retail sector (many years ago), the excerpt I have quoted above would have me raise my eyebrows.

I have seen many instances of shop assistants either not ringing up the full sale amount on the till, or not ringing it up at all, with a view to pocketing the cash after the customer has departed. The non-issuance of a sales-receipt ensures that the shop's tills balance at the end of the day (though, even the ringing up of the full amount can still result in theft, so long as the assistant keeps the sales receipt).

I'm not saying that your friendly sales assistant was dishonest in this case...merely that his actions are consistent with a method of stealing that is as old as the hills.