Credit/Debit Reward Cards, Discounts etc

[PeterW]

This  is a lovely complex situation for which HMRC have a fact sheet. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-7007-business-promotions/vat-notice-7007-business-promotions#face-value-vouchers

 

The difference depends on whether it is a generic or a retailer voucher, and the process by which the voucher is obtained. If it is a retailer card purchased direct from the retailer then the VAT is not accounted for until the retailer transaction takes place i.e. B&Q sell you a B&Q voucher, they do not treat it as a VAT sale until redeemed; if its a third party retailer then it is a grey area as you may have already paid VAT and B&Q may have already accounted for the VAT at point of selling the card to the intermediary. (Lebara vs HMRC is the case law)

 

I'm not sure what would happen though if you bought a B&Q gift card (at full value) with a discounted Gift Card..... that is a real VAT nightmare !

[Stones]

I would write an explanatory note to accompany the receipt for the goods, attaching the receipt for the gift card purchase, when you submit your VAT reclaim.

 

You could phone the helpline to ask?

[Ferdinand]

38 minutes ago, Stones said:

I would write an explanatory note to accompany the receipt for the goods, attaching the receipt for the gift card purchase, when you submit your VAT reclaim.

 

You could phone the helpline to ask?

 

I would be inclined to ask them before I buy anything :-).

 

If say you have put 20k through a gift card for an extra 2k saving, then claiming the 4k VAT back proves difficult, it is a big loss.

 

Edited August 5, 2017 by Ferdinand

[Temp]

21 hours ago, Grosey said:

i purchased £1750 at 9% off for b and q through work. I have an invoice for that which includes the vat. 

 

I then bought a kitchen to the value of £1738 but all my paperwork states "this is not a VAT invoice" - I paid at the till and my till receipt just states the amount taken from the gift card and the remaining balance.

 

When I purchased stuff at BnQ and other DIY stores I just asked the lady on the till for a VAT receipt. Usually they fished out a pad and hand wrote one. Sometimes they had to call for a manager to do it. They need your address to put on it.

Edited August 5, 2017 by Temp

[Stones]

6 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

 

I would be inclined to ask them before I buy anything :-).

 

If say you have put 20k through a gift card for an extra 2k saving, then claiming the 4k VAT back proves difficult, it is a big loss.

 

 

Absolutely, prior to making any other purchases this way I would check / call the helpline, as I stated earlier.

 

However, for the purchase already made, which was the original question, an explanatory note along with the receipts when submitting the VAT reclaim would seem sensible.

[Grosey]

Thanks all, doe anyone have the phone number for the helpline several have mentioned? Will give them a call on Monday. 

 

My gut thought now is that it's a great way to save for normal purchases. But for anyone doing a new build and looking to reclaim VAT, it's probably a risk not worth taking. I'll report back next week once I've spoken to HMRC. 

 

Thanks all all for your help and concern, happy to be a guinea pig, worst case scenario is I've lost £190, quite a pain but I won't let it consume me if it is to be the case. I'll make that back Savings on other things in my day to day life now I've realised how many different gift cards I can buy through my employer. 

[Temp]

The number on the self build reclaim form is 0300 200 3700.

Edited August 5, 2017 by Temp
typo

[daiking]

Mr @Ferdinand, what do you know about CSSC?

[Ferdinand]

2 hours ago, daiking said:

Mr @Ferdinand, what do you know about CSSC?

 

Nothing, except they are a long established social club.

 

Could you explain?

[daiking]

4 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

 

Nothing, except they are a long established social club.

 

Could you explain?

 

I'd just read something about it today. It seems to offer similar discounts to a number of other schemes including the 10% with, ever the floozy, Wickes. I'm eligible to join but costs £4 per month. 

 

[Ferdinand]

10 minutes ago, daiking said:

 

I'd just read something about it today. It seems to offer similar discounts to a number of other schemes including the 10% with, ever the floozy, Wickes. I'm eligible to join but costs £4 per month. 

 

 

Do you have a link?

[daiking]

12 hours ago, Ferdinand said:

 

Do you have a link?

 

It obviously doesn't say on https://www.cssc.co.uk/

 

but the literature I saw said under "MySavings"

 

shopping discounts including: 5% off Sainsbury’s, 4% off Tesco, 7% off Marks & Spencer, 10% off Boots, 10% off Argos, 6% off B&Q, 6% off Arcadia, 10% off Wickes, 10% off Halfords, 8.5% off Currys, 10% off House of Fraser, 10% off Debenhams, 10% off Costa, 10% off Caffe Nero, 5% off Thomas Cook, 10% off Wyevale, 8% off National Trust, 6% off Love2Shop, 10% off Patisserie Valerie, 15% off Cotswold Outdoor Shop etc… Spa days, Vitality (health insurance), Days out and Holiday savings

 

bolded a couple for relevance

[richi]

15 minutes ago, daiking said:

https://www.cssc.co.uk/

 

Interesting. Looks like you need to be a civil servant of other public-sector worker (or retired from same). So @Coopers and @JSHarris might be interested

[Jeremy Harris]

I used to be a CSSC (used to be called the Civil Service Sports and Social Club) member for several years, mainly because having "shares" in it allowed access to the badminton courts and swimming pool at work.  Also, when I first joined, the "social" bit allowed establishments to get a "grant" towards the cost of things like the Christmas Party.  The social thing got dropped some time ago, because some establishments (like Farnborough, I believe) used the social "grant" funding to run a lunchtime bar at work.  The law, or goivernment policy, put a stop to that, so I think that was around the time that the "social" bit was dropped.  When I changed locations, to an establishment where there were no on-site sports facilities, I dropped the monthly "share" subscription.

 

They've offered discounts to members for a fair time, I believe, and used to publish a booklet every year detailing them all (there were literally hundreds, some quite local).  They operated the discount scheme in conjunction with those run by the services, so very often members would get the same discount as service people.  TBH, most of the discounts weren't really worth having, as the limitations often meant you could get a better deal elsewhere.  The ones that were useful were almost always those negotiated with local suppliers, often in conjunction with the service discounts.  I bought car parts from one local factor for years, solely because the discount meant they were always cheaper than elsewhere, but this was in pre-internet days, when choices were far more limited.

[daiking]

16 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

I used to be a CSSC (used to be called the Civil Service Sports and Social Club) member for several years, mainly because having "shares" in it allowed access to the badminton courts and swimming pool at work.  Also, when I first joined, the "social" bit allowed establishments to get a "grant" towards the cost of things like the Christmas Party.  The social thing got dropped some time ago, because some establishments (like Farnborough, I believe) used the social "grant" funding to run a lunchtime bar at work.  The law, or goivernment policy, put a stop to that, so I think that was around the time that the "social" bit was dropped.  When I changed locations, to an establishment where there were no on-site sports facilities, I dropped the monthly "share" subscription.

 

They've offered discounts to members for a fair time, I believe, and used to publish a booklet every year detailing them all (there were literally hundreds, some quite local).  They operated the discount scheme in conjunction with those run by the services, so very often members would get the same discount as service people.  TBH, most of the discounts weren't really worth having, as the limitations often meant you could get a better deal elsewhere.  The ones that were useful were almost always those negotiated with local suppliers, often in conjunction with the service discounts.  I bought car parts from one local factor for years, solely because the discount meant they were always cheaper than elsewhere, but this was in pre-internet days, when choices were far more limited.

 

I've never bothered joining the CSMA either.

[dpmiller]

OH is a member, and the wee book of discounts is handy occasionally. Mostly for days out kinda things, I'm not sure the NI version has the other"shop"  discounts?

[oldkettle]

Not sure whether it was flagged before or whether there is a catch but right now Kindle edition of Spon's Architects' and Builders' Price Book is £30.50 on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B075V3V7QB/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1514478362&sr=8-1

[Cambs]

 

2 hours ago, oldkettle said:

Not sure whether it was flagged before or whether there is a catch but right now Kindle edition of Spon's Architects' and Builders' Price Book is £30.50 on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B075V3V7QB/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1514478362&sr=8-1

 

Good spot.....  just bought it. 795 pages long.  No catch as far as I can see.

[newhome]

Bumping this to say that the B&Q Diamond Club is changing on 3rd Sept. The last date for applying for a card is 2nd Sept and it will be restricted to gardening related categories going forward. Details in link. 

 

https://www.diy.com/diamond

 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

2 hours ago, newhome said:

Bumping this to say that the B&Q Diamond Club is changing on 3rd Sept. The last date for applying for a card is 2nd Sept and it will be restricted to gardening related categories going forward. Details in link. 

 

https://www.diy.com/diamond

 

 

 

 

Yes, the last chance to use the card for normal DIY stuff was yesterday.  I needed some plumbing bits and bobs, so was going to take advantage of the card one last time, but it turned out that Wickes was cheaper, even allowing for the 10% off in B&Q.

 

I doubt I'll bother going into B&Q again now - perhaps they'll notice my absence there on most Wednesdays!

[Triassic]

15 minutes ago, JSHarris said:

 doubt I'll bother going into B&Q again 

I stopped using B&Q about 18 months ago. I can get cheaper stuff elsewhere.

 

So far today we’ve had 9 internet deliveries !

[newhome]

35 minutes ago, Triassic said:

I stopped using B&Q about 18 months ago. I can get cheaper stuff elsewhere.

 

So far today we’ve had 9 internet deliveries !

 

Just check that the invoices are 100% ok for VAT reclaim purposes. I found that some of the online ones from places like eBay or smaller suppliers were too casual for HMRC and I had to ask for replacements. 

[Pete]

2 hours ago, Triassic said:

I stopped using B&Q about 18 months ago. I can get cheaper stuff elsewhere.

 

So far today we’ve had 9 internet deliveries !

We used to get that many for our son, a student, until I had a word with him.

[newhome]

8 minutes ago, Pete said:

We used to get that many for our son, a student, until I had a word with him.

 

Whereopon he just got them delivered elsewhere ... ?

[daiking]

Does anyone one have an “Amex Preferred Rewards Gold” card? And wish to earn a referral bonus?

 

@Ferdinand