32A socket

[pipme]

Years ago 60's, a mate worked for a jobbing printer, he ran off a little stack of billheads for U & I Autos ... worked most of the time .. don't know about these days .. VAT numbers etc
There's a thought, what if one borrowed a companies vat number for a fictitious billhead to use on a brief flurry of buying for cash, trade, on a home project ?

P

 

[ban-all-sheds]

There's a thought, what if one borrowed a companies vat number for a fictitious billhead to use on a brief flurry of buying for cash, trade, on a home project ?

What would be the point of that?

 

[pipme]

An attempt to gain the trade discount, when not actually a trader ?

I seem to remember, certainly years ago, certain motor vehicle factors requiring a vat number to even gain access to their sales area.
Others required a 'billhead' to obtain a discount.

P

 

[ban-all-sheds]

An attempt to gain the trade discount, when not actually a trader ?

Just being a cash-paying walkin, with no purchase history and not opening an account? Would you get much?

I seem to remember, certainly years ago, certain motor vehicle factors requiring a vat number to even gain access to their sales area.
Others required a 'billhead' to obtain a discount.

Been there, done that.

Does anybody care these days?

 

[pipme]

An attempt to gain the trade discount, when not actually a trader ?

Just being a cash-paying walkin, with no purchase history and not opening an account? Would you get much?

I seem to remember, certainly years ago, certain motor vehicle factors requiring a vat number to even gain access to their sales area.
Others required a 'billhead' to obtain a discount.

Been there, done that.

Does anybody care these days?

If spending largish sum, say £1k cash .. I really do not know, not bought in bulk for many years. ... Did get a 'Macrow?' card organised by guy who fitted a blind for us .. never used it !

Care ? Buyers or sellers ? ... guess you'll say both !

P

 

[kai]

I just show them my 714 tax registration card (or CIS4 card as it is now known as...sorted).

 

[pipme]

Always thought a bundle of filthy lucre did the trick !! Times have changed far more than I thought.

P

 

[AdamW]

All the trade suppliers round here seem to be perfectly happy to serve me and colleagues of mine. I always know what I need before I go in, not sure if they would be so happy if I ummed and arred about it, asking a hundred questions as a queue of angry tradesmen grew behind me. But they accept Switch, credit cards, cash. Perhaps they have changed their approach over the years, like how used car salesmen were allegedly all wideboys a few years ago, but the ones I have met all seem perfectly nice.

Perhaps the supplier you went into had a rule against serving the public because they were worried you would ask too many questions and tradesmen would get bored and wander down the road to another one. Or more likely, you just encountered a nasty little man.

When I worked in a pl**bers' merchant J. Public would occasionally try it on to see if they could get trade discount on the silliest of things (you want 10% discount on a dozen olives?!). Saying that, if you are self-building or doing a major renovation project it is worth setting up a trade account as the savings do add up.