No wonder this country is in a mess!

[Peter Normington]

Calm down David.
its obviously an error, unless of course the "jobs on the side" were discovered? then they will look for the maximum recompense, based on what they estimated you earned, I’m sure you will get it sorted.

Peter

[John Childs]

It’s the government mate.

They can’t get anything right. 🙁

[Phill Fenton]

I feel for you David but you’re not alone in feeling persecuted by large companies and government agencies.

I was getting screwed by Scottish water when I first moved premises. Apparently they couldn’t look up the rateable value of our address so they just applied an arbitrary rateable value of £100,000 to calculate our water bill. They wanted more than £2000 from us in the first 6 months. All my phonecalls were ignored and I was sent letters threatening me with court action for not paying the bill.

All these big organisations and government agencies are highly suspect and bordering on the criminal with the way they treat people. They need a good kick up the arse

[David Rogers]

I feel for you in light of the probable clerical errors and the stress of being chased.
I was chased for several years worth of council tax ‘discount’ after I’d got married, promptly informed them in person at the office, had it noted on my account…and they did nothing about it…so i kept getting my 25% single occupant for years (not like I actually check my bank statements…also why I paid Virgin Media £500 for a package I didn’t have for over a year…)…then they ‘noticed’ and demanded it all at once under penalty…blah, blah….

But to be the devil’s advocate – you titled the post "No wonder this country is in a mess!" and then proceeded to tell us of your tax dodging by doing a bit of work on the side. OK, maybe not the crime of the century.

Although the Borders region may be a centre of low pay – it’s not inconceivable that some individuals will make in excess of £100k.

However it goes – keep all correspondence, note all the calls and reply by ‘signed for’ letters and request reference numbers and contact names for everything.

Dave

[Michael Potter]

I must have missed something..where did David say he wasn’t going to declare his earnings or is it done differently in the UK.Here he can declare at tax time if he has made the right arrangements.
cheers Mike

[Peter Normington]

quote Michael Potter:

I must have missed something..where did David say he wasn’t going to declare his earnings or is it done differently in the UK.Here he can declare at tax time if he has made the right arrangements.
cheers Mike

mike
even if David was going to declare his "additional income" he would still be liable to repay any benefits claimed, and taxes during that period.
If claiming benefits but earning money on the side (Davids words not mine)
then he could be liable for a serious fraud prosecution.

I am not pointing fingers, just explaining how our system is supposed to work.

Peter

[David Rogers]

quote Michael Potter:

I must have missed something..where did David say he wasn’t going to declare his earnings or is it done differently in the UK.Here he can declare at tax time if he has made the right arrangements.
cheers Mike

Semantics, inferred…

Could have said: ‘purchased a plotter" A) As a second job B)also worked from home C)was also self employed v’s "did a few small jobs on the side"

working ‘on the side’ denotes a lack of accounts for these earnings…people don’t normally ‘work on the side’ and keep a note…it’s "off the record".

Of course, someone could include this income in their taxable income – nothing to say they can’t…but then it wouldn’t be ‘on the side’…

If David was just being flippant / colloquially jovial (about having a secondary income), and has of course been diligent in his record keeping & accounting then no harm done and just the wrong end of the stick grabbed by some of the respondents to this thread.

[Michael Potter]

Hi David
Interesting how things can be interpreted Here to have a job on the side or a sideline activity just means it’s not your primary income. Can mean it’s dishonest, not accounted for or on the record. But can just as easily mean it’s not my main activity, often the difference is the tone or facial expression used upon delivery.
As I am from the UK originally I was referred to as a Pommie Bast**d by all & sundry, Sometimes it was a term of great friendship but sometimes it meant we were going to have a punch-up. Same words just delivered differently.
cheers Mike

[David Rogers]

quote Michael Potter:

Hi David
Interesting how things can be interpreted Here to have a job on the side or a sideline activity just means it’s not your primary income. Can mean it’s dishonest, not accounted for or on the record. But can just as easily mean it’s not my main activity, often the difference is the tone or facial expression used upon delivery.
As I am from the UK originally I was referred to as a Pommie Bast**d by all & sundry, Sometimes it was a term of great friendship but sometimes it meant we were going to have a punch-up. Same words just delivered differently.
cheers Mike

Also here…having a ‘sideline’ would also mean a non-primary source of income (declared or otherwise) – differing significantly in MOST peoples eyes to ‘on the side’ which is synonymous with ‘under the table’, ‘backhander’, off the record’.

The delivery of insults remains the same here…all in the tone & inflected meaning rather than just the words…joys of the English language…

[David Litster]

sorry ladies and gents to clarify just so you know my plotter has not been on for the duration of my signing on because and i have quoted to friends and customers i would be the one that got caught!! if i could find premises i would start on my own equipment was always bought with that in mind as for the couple of jobs i’ve done never even covered the vinyl favours 4 old clients because old company don’t know what there customers want
and just to add the reason that am being harrased is because someone added a 0 on to this years salary and when i went to the benefits agency informed them that i wanted to start up hoping for advice?? Still waiting for there help!!!

[Shane Drew]

quote Michael Potter:

I was referred to as a Pommie Bast**d by all & sundry, Sometimes it was a term of great friendship but sometimes it meant we were going to have a punch-up. Same words just delivered differently.
cheers Mike

I always thought the difference between being a nasty statement and a friendly one was the prefix

.. ie lazy Pommie Bast**d or Funny Pommie bast**d :lol1: 😮

[Michael Potter]

Yes Shane that happened as well.but sometimes the statement was simply "your a Pommie B"
Doesn’t happen anymore must be my personality & charm have taken over. having said that I was involved in a car park dispute just before Christmas & was told to go back home to South Africa by a lady who hasn’t lived here as long as I have. Really amused me that did.
cheersMike

[Phill Fenton]

Is "pommie b@stard" an English or British insult?

The reason I ask is because there are Scottish, Welsh, Irish and English that are all termed "British".

So Is pommie b@stard a generic term for British people or just English people?

The reason I ask is in case I ever decide to visit Australia. I want to be prepared with background information just in case I encounter a showdown in a pub one night 😕 😉

[Peter Normington]

quote Phill:

Is “pommie b@stard” an English or British insult?

The reason I ask is because there are Scottish, Welsh, Irish and English that are all termed “British”.

So Is pommie b@stard a generic term for British people or just English people?

The reason I ask is in case I ever decide to visit Australia. I want to be prepared with background information just in case I encounter a showdown in a pub one night 😕 😉

Phil "pommie" specifically refers to us english, if you are a scott, they omit the "pommie" bit…
😀
Peter

[Phill Fenton]

Yup makes sense – thanks for the explanation Peter 😕

[Harry Cleary]

We reserve the phrase for those that would call us British! 😀

[Phill Fenton]

Sorry – meant to say only some of the Irish are British, the rest prefer to be independent and rightly so 😉

[Harry Cleary]

I’ll let you off! despite the contradiction in terms 😀

[Shane Drew]

quote Phill:

Is “pommie b@stard” an English or British insult?

The reason I ask is because there are Scottish, Welsh, Irish and English that are all termed “British”.

So Is pommie b@stard a generic term for British people or just English people?

The reason I ask is in case I ever decide to visit Australia. I want to be prepared with background information just in case I encounter a showdown in a pub one night 😕 😉

Its pretty much generic Phill, given that most scotts I know here are staunch union stewards, (they have a whole different name reserved for them here in Oz……)

The average scott is pretty safe here though, given that most aussies can’t understand a word they say, so they are less likely to be insulted as a result 😉

[David Litster]

i can’t but feel insulted by the comment’s on display as i have family here in Scotland and Australia!!
Hoped we had all moved on from the old prejudice.

[Shane Drew]

quote David Litster:

i can’t but feel insulted by the comment’s on display as i have family here in Scotland and Australia!!
Hoped we had all moved on from the old prejudice.

Hey David, apologies if my comments were taken the wrong way. All in good humour. Aussies can laugh at ourselves very easily, just assumed others could too I guess :lol1: :lol1:

That said, we do have a racist reputation, partly due to the fact that we don’t take ourselves too seriously, so tend to be a bit flippant of other nationalities too.

Apologies again mate. No insults were intended….

Not sure about the old prejudices though, especially when it comes to anything of a sporting nature against the Poms …. er…. english :lol1: