Being paid in counterfeit notes. Need advice!

Lrnwrhrst

Hi there, I'm new to the forum and weren't entirely sure where this thread should go, I just need some advice.
Im a student, now got my first 'secure' job, just a little one working in a local convenience store. It's a little dodgy, I get paid cash in hand and I don't have a contract. Anyway last week I covered for a workmate who was off ill, was exhausting but the thought of earning a nice sum of money was getting me through it. I picked up my wages yesterday and went to the bank to put them in a savings account, only for the lady to say most of my notes are fake! I am furious, out of £300 I earned, £120 worth were fake. I understand the odd fake note may get into the system but I'm finding it a bit suspicious that I was given so many of them. I'm going to my work tomorrow to talk to the manager about the situation but I'm worried that he'll just turn around and say I have no proof they gave me the money. Obviously the bank confiscated all the fake notes I had so I'm not left with a huge amount, but is it worth going to the police about? I just want my wages

naedanger

Lrnwrhrst wrote: »

Hi there, I'm new to the forum and weren't entirely sure where this thread should go, I just need some advice.
Im a student, now got my first 'secure' job, just a little one working in a local convenience store. It's a little dodgy, I get paid cash in hand and I don't have a contract. Anyway last week I covered for a workmate who was off ill, was exhausting but the thought of earning a nice sum of money was getting me through it. I picked up my wages yesterday and went to the bank to put them in a savings account, only for the lady to say most of my notes are fake! I am furious, out of £300 I earned, £120 worth were fake. I understand the odd fake note may get into the system but I'm finding it a bit suspicious that I was given so many of them. I'm going to my work tomorrow to talk to the manager about the situation but I'm worried that he'll just turn around and say I have no proof they gave me the money. Obviously the bank confiscated all the fake notes I had so I'm not left with a huge amount, but is it worth going to the police about? I just want my wages

What did the bank say beyond confiscating the notes? I would have thought they would have told you that they would be contacting the police. (Given the high proportion of fakes I would have thought the police would probably get in touch with you.)

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/retailers/whattodo.aspx

dj1471

Obvious question then... Do you check notes from customers before accepting them?

It may be that the shop has been targeted and your manager has unknowingly passed the notes off to you. Obviously they would be liable for that and you're entitled to ask for the rest of your wages. Of course proving it will be difficult, but if it's your only/main source of income then that supports your claim that the notes came from there. You could seek payment through the courts but with no proof of employment/salary/anything it'd be your word against your employer's, naturally you'd need to look for another job too...

arcon5

Did they issue any documentation about the fake notes?

KeithP

Did your bank give you a receipt for the alleged fake money that they confiscated?

stuartJo1989

Looks like the shop owner could have palmed off the fake notes onto you. One of life's possible lessons when engaging in those sort of backhand jobs I'm afraid

I suspect that your only legal recourse would be to take the shop owner to small claims court for the wages owed (you'd benefit from having proof of wages/contract etc). I must, however, caution you that any court action has the potential of alerting HMRC to your earnings and your possible lack of paying tax on those earnings = a nice big tax bill.


Only other practical advice I can give you for future instances is:

- Insist on payment in £10 or £5 notes (I used to gamble and would flat out refuse to be paid out in £20 notes for the same reason)

- If the shop owner has a note checker, scan them right in front of him and advise him about any fake notes. Never let the cash go out of his sight.

- Failing preventative measures, simply go into a large retailer and palm the money off on them/get the £20 broken.

SouthUKMan

stuartJo1989 wrote: »

- Failing preventative measures, simply go into a large retailer and palm the money off on them/get the £20 broken.

Are you for real? That in itself is fraud, and the likelihood is that another unsuspecting person will end up with the fake £20 and have it confiscated!

[Deleted User]

SouthUKMan wrote: »

Are you for real? That in itself is fraud, and the likelihood is that another unsuspecting person will end up with the fake £20 and have it confiscated!

I agree it's not good advice, but it's one of the many ways in which counterfeit notes end up in circulation in the first place.

Retailers will generally just refuse to accept such notes (if they spot them), but attempting to Bank them is a surefire way of having them confiscated just as the OP found.

unholyangel

stuartJo1989 wrote: »

Looks like the shop owner could have palmed off the fake notes onto you. One of life's possible lessons when engaging in those sort of backhand jobs I'm afraid

I suspect that your only legal recourse would be to take the shop owner to small claims court for the wages owed (you'd benefit from having proof of wages/contract etc). I must, however, caution you that any court action has the potential of alerting HMRC to your earnings and your possible lack of paying tax on those earnings = a nice big tax bill.


Only other practical advice I can give you for future instances is:

- Insist on payment in £10 or £5 notes (I used to gamble and would flat out refuse to be paid out in £20 notes for the same reason)

- If the shop owner has a note checker, scan them right in front of him and advise him about any fake notes. Never let the cash go out of his sight.

- Failing preventative measures, simply go into a large retailer and palm the money off on them/get the £20 broken.

Cash in hand & no contract does not necessarily mean the OP isn't "on the books" paying whatever they are due in tax & NI.

Many small businesses aren't aware of their obligations (such as providing employees with written contracts of employment within 2 months of them starting) and pay cash in hand so they're paying less in banking fees. Instead of paying a deposit fee on £1000 and then paying to transfer £400 in wages, they can just pay a deposit fee on £600 and no transfer fee.

Also, I believe a FTT (tribunal) has previously decided that in those circumstances (employer failing to make the deductions) that the liability to HMRC is the employers as they are under an obligation to make deductions under PAYE. Although it can transfer if the employee knew his employer had deliberately failed to make the deductions (or something along those lines).

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

unholyangel wrote: »

Cash in hand & no contract does not necessarily mean the OP isn't "on the books" paying whatever they are due in tax & NI.

Earning £300 exactly suggests that they are not on the books, though.

unholyangel

ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »

Earning £300 exactly suggests that they are not on the books, though.

OP didn't say they earned £300 exactly, OP only said "out of £300 I earned" - which he could have been simply rounding up or down/only giving the value of the notes he received rather than earning exactly £300.

If you were telling someone how much you earned, would you give them the exact figure of your take home pay? Or are you likely to round the figure?