builder wont give me receipt & wont respond to contacts.

I am a self employed child minder and had my back garden landscaped last august including resurfacing wiith resin set stone. It is beautiful and was completed professionally and on time. I asked for a receipt when I paid cash and he said he didnt have one with him but hed drop one round. It was for £1200 cash. I Asked again a week later by text then another week later. Then I left a message on his machine and got no reply and then I let it lapse until last week when j started my tax return and I remembered that I should have this receipt. Despite many attempts this week and last I still have not had any contact from him. What can I do to balance my books? Am I ab le to write out a receipt or my own proof of payment to show how I spent this money on a play surface and how can I force a receipt if this fella has ceased trading or changed his name which is what I suspect has happened? a

Comments

  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 18,733 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    aab wrote: »
    if this fella has ceased trading or changed his name which is what I suspect has happened?

    It's far more likely that as you paid cash, this job has not gone through the builder's books, which is why he didn't give you a receipt.
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
  • mountainofdebt
    mountainofdebt Posts: 7,795 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I suspect, that its not a case of him ceasing trading but ignoring you because if he wrote you a receipt then it wouldn't be a cash in hand job would it ......not suggesting that it was that but that's I guess he's treating it.

    I doubt very much you can write your own receipt - can you claim for this work in any case?
    2014 Target;
    To overpay CC by £1,000.
    Overpayment to date : £310

    2nd Purse Challenge:
    £15.88 saved to date
  • bris
    bris Posts: 10,548 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Nothing stopping you writing your own receipt.

    If you know his name and address just write your own receipt, the tax man will accept it and he would be the one having to do all the explaining if it gets a pull.
  • pinkshoes
    pinkshoes Posts: 20,513 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Send him a message saying that you have written a receipt on his behalf as you need to balance your books, and have passed his details onto the tax people so that he can send them the receipt directly.
    Should've = Should HAVE (not 'of')
    Would've = Would HAVE (not 'of')

    No, I am not perfect, but yes I do judge people on their use of basic English language. If you didn't know the above, then learn it! (If English is your second language, then you are forgiven!)
  • bod1467
    bod1467 Posts: 15,214 Forumite
    Is the work that was done a valid claim to offset against taxation?
  • I recon hes working on the side.
  • payless
    payless Posts: 6,957 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    bod1467 wrote: »
    Is the work that was done a valid claim to offset against taxation?

    I agree, this does not sound like exclusive business use, so make sure you are clear on what percentage you are a claiming and why, also this sounds more like capital expenditure , so if claimed this may mean that you are opening up doors with regard to loss of a percentage of PPR against cat when selling you house.
    Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as (financial) advice.
  • mountainofdebt
    mountainofdebt Posts: 7,795 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I may be a bit thick here but how would the OP writing the receipt work?

    If that was the case then theoretically they could write receipts until the cows come home.

    Would the taxman accept a 'I paid joe bloggs builders £1200 (honest governor) note'?
    2014 Target;
    To overpay CC by £1,000.
    Overpayment to date : £310

    2nd Purse Challenge:
    £15.88 saved to date
  • Spank
    Spank Posts: 1,751 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    If he was doing it on the sly & he has to pay tax expect a new bill to reflect this.
  • bod1467
    bod1467 Posts: 15,214 Forumite
    Not necessarily. He can't just charge extra if he hasn't made that clear previously.

    But this was a B2B transaction (it must be if OP thinks it can be tax-deductible), so it all depends on what were the T&Cs of the contract.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.8K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.2K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.2K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 597.6K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.5K Life & Family
  • 256.1K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.