Why do Plumbers quote "plus VAT" ????

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I always find this strange, you go to a mechanic or a plumber ask them to do something small like service the boiler or do the brakes on the car and the price the job and say plus VAT.

Why, I don;t sell furniture "plus VAT", I can understand it when it comes to commercial orders but dripping taps ? brake pads ? Just give a price like every other industry/ commercial operation/ service industry.

Seems strange.

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Ferg said:

Possibly because some are VAT registered and some aren't so they are 'explaining' in a way where a quarter of the bill is going compared to other quotes the customer may have?

I think it is just the standard for the industry, when I start my upholstery company I wasn't VAT registered for the first few years but I didn't start separating out the costs when I was.

One price then the price broken down underneath. Labour, materials, extra costs, tax. Simple.

I just feel it is a strange practice, and I get a little irked. Ask for a price, they tell me, then I have to increase it by 20% afterwards. I want to know what it is going to cost me, not work out their invoicing habits.

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Ferg said:

It also may be that it's just habit because they are quoting ex-VAT to a lot of customers who are VAT registered.

I thought that but I was talking about domestic plumber who go and deal with joe blogs most days.

Just a strange industry habit I suppose.

Don;t get me started on "administration fee" now popping up every where, used cars, gym membership etc etc, utter bks to get a few extra quid.

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Engineer1 said:

The annoying one is when they forget to mention you need to add the VAT, 20% extra may be enough to make you take the job elsewhere or leave some till later.

Exactly or better yet, they add the VAT and tell you price like everything else I buy !