Mystery shopping thread 26 *please read the op first**please no client names or fees

bluetail14

missy- wrote: »

OK, I am getting back on the Mystery Shopping wagon (did it several years ago but making a stab of working self employed again). Can anyone give me tips on the best companies to work for now and if you want to refer me to any for a bonus I'm happy to help out with that :-)

Missy,

I can refer you to Gfk.. however, i cant really give any advice on the others..I like Gfk because of the decent pay, they mostly offer assignments on broadband and energy providers, consumer electronics, furniture, mobile contracts that sort of thing. however, they have very lengthy questionnaires.
Some companies as you can read from the above, offer you free flights, meals and hotels but no cash.

Floxxie

You will have to post your referral under the referrer's board.

bluetail14

Floxxie wrote: »

You will have to post your referral under the referrer's board.

if that was meant for me, where is the referrers board?

Big_Graeme

Floxxie wrote: »

You will have to post your referral under the referrer's board.

What are you talking about?

thedogsmum

MysteryMan00 wrote: »

They want us to reveal ourselves as mystery shoppers all for a soft drink?

Sorry, MSing pays some of my bills. I won't compromise myself like that. If you want to give them an award, I don't see why you can't do it yourselves.

I wonder if they have shot themselves in the foot, this time? Usually, when there's well over 100 jobs on offer for the same client, you can see them disappear before your eyes. With this one, only 2 have been taken, some 12 hours later!

Claire454

Should I declare myself as self employed now or wait until the next tax year?

I am just about to start mystery shopping and I understand the need to declare as self employed within three months, but I was wondering if it'd be acceptable to hold off until the new tax year because finding the info to declare the interest on my savings etc. would be a real pain.

Also not sure if it's relevant but I am currently a student.

TheCyclingProgrammer

I'm not a secret shopper but I was brought here by the above poster who posted in the Cutting Tax forum. Whoever is able to edit the original post of this thread may want to update some of the advice regarding registering for tax:

* There is no 3 month deadline for registering for self employment and there hasn't been since around 2008/09
* You now have until the 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you started self employment to notify HMRC and register as self employed (see: https://www.gov.uk/set-up-sole-trader/register)
* If you earn under the small earnings threshold for class 2 NIC you will not need to apply for a small earnings exemption - NI is now collected through the tax return rather than by direct debit (this is the reason for the rule change regarding registration)
* If you genuinely do just a single job as a one-off with no intention to do another, its highly unlikely HMRC will require you register as self employed, but you must still report the income to HMRC (they can probably collect the tax through your tax code but it depends how much you've earned). If in doubt give them a call.

Hope that helps!

skivenov

So, I've got a regular collar and tie merchandising visit booked in in a store that I'm well known in. I get a phone call from an agency and in the course of conversation, they mention there's an audit needs doing in that store. I tell them the time and date I'm in the store already, mention that I know one or two of the staff, and we book it in for the same day as my merching visit.

8pm the night before, I open the brief up and start reading it - yep, you've guessed it, it's not an audit, it's a mystery shop.

skivenov

Claire454 wrote: »

Should I declare myself as self employed now or wait until the next tax year?

I am just about to start mystery shopping and I understand the need to declare as self employed within three months, but I was wondering if it'd be acceptable to hold off until the new tax year because finding the info to declare the interest on my savings etc. would be a real pain.

Also not sure if it's relevant but I am currently a student.

Unless you've got a large amount of savings or are getting an awesome rate, just guesstimate it as 0.5 or 1% of how much you've got saved, it's likely to be a fairly trivial amount in relation to your tax code.

If your money's in an ISA, then the interest is tax-free.

Claire454

I can really just guesstimate? :O

What if I get it wrong? I won't be in trouble?