Cash for Scrap metal banned

[Bowler1]

Yes & no on the Big Brother.

Commercial advantage is usually knowing something your competitor does not. Most businesses will not share their commercial transactions. And you will be glad to hear the Vat man does not have the man power to monitor all current Vat transactions - however you are right about Vat & cash.

For the big brother idea, you're not wrong but in general commercial information is not usually shared - I say usually very carefully.

[Ursa major]

One wonders how one is to give money to the apparently needy in the street.

And it's hard to believe that mechanisms wouldn't be put in place to allow the concealing of who is being paid for some services (not all of which are... er... strictly illegal). But how such mechanisms might be put into law - by apparent omission, I assume, rather than by commission - and thus need to be explained in Parliament by a government minister, I don't really know.

[Bowler1]

Charities, well let me dust off my soap box for a moment.

Organised charity is killing off free enterprise and business and the affects are clearly to be seen on our high streets. Less on business rates, tax and volunteer workers and even tax back on receipts. How does the local business man compare, badly which is why charity shops now own our high streets. Giving to the needy has turned into big business, is this right? Not for me its not. Giving is good but how much giving is good giving. The big charities, the really big ones give only a small porportion of what they collect to their cause. Where does the rest go, wages. Its a big bug bear of mine, its not right I say.

Deep breath......

I'm back in the room.

There are loads of means of concealment for cash, now if only I had some to hide then life would be wonderful.

[Vertigo]

I still think you are missing the point of cost of cash. Yes big stores hate cash but then the big stores negotiate incredibly good deals on credit card fees (believe me I know how much I have to pay compared to what someone like Tesco has to pay). The big companies would love to get rid of cash for this reason. It is the small shop owner/tradesman who will suffer. Handling cash costs them nothing; they just drop it off in the night safe on their way home. Processing credit cards and the like does cost them which is why many still won't take cards or place a minimum purchase limit for paying by card. My chimney sweep travels all over the highlands and many places (like mine) have no mobile reception so a mobile card machine won't work anyway never mind the extra cost; she relies on cash and cheques.

[Bowler1]

There are bank charges for cash handling even if it is dropped off at a night safe, nothing is free. The cashless charges for a small business man will be more when compared to the large Tescos of the world on that you're 100% right. Cash is still king I think and will be for some time, more so for the small business man.

Technology however is closing that gap all the time and making it easier for even the small business man.

It does worry me when I see kids (showing my age) in shops using cards to buy milk and papers. Your point being, the equipment needed to process these payments is still an unfair expense on the small business then the yes I agree.

I suspect you're self employeed, if so you should investigate your schedule of bank charges on your business account. Charges for cash handling will be in there somewhere, you maybe surprised at the costs charged.

[Vertigo]

You are right of course, though many small businesses do have free banking and the limits they are allowed before being charged are generally pretty resaonable.

I do not have free banking, the business I run has a turn over of around £300,000 however we do not handle cash at all; it is all post or internet order and to be honest, from my own personal selfish perspective I much prefer the internet card purchases. Yes they cost a little more but the customer is doing the data entry for me and that is worth something when it is so easy to mis enter someone's post order. Consequently my case is not a very representative example.

[Bowler1]

Once a business get passed a certain size then you have to bank cash just to pay wages and suppliers, then the banks have you. You're a very good example of a modern business and cashless handling.

These scrap guys are a hangover from the old days operating at the margins for the most part. Paying for knock off goods/scrap at knock off cash prices is a win win for them and a big loser for the London Tube as an example. Times change for us all.

[RJM Corbet]

Originally Posted by Bowler1

... In god we trust.

... all others pay cash

[Vertigo]

Originally Posted by Bowler1

Times change for us all.

They do indeed but the sad fact is that whilst those changes may improve certain aspects of life, such as the corrupt scrap dealer, they can also work against small businesses whilst benefiting big businesses.

Life isn't fair and it probably never will be.

[Bowler1]

Sadly yes Vertigo.

[RJM Corbet]

Would you take gold as payment? Provided you knew it was real gold, etc? Few traders would refuse. It's lasted thousands of years?

Sorry. Diverting thread, as usual ...

[Ursa major]

Are you asking if some people would bar gold...?

[Vertigo]

The problem there is that you would have to have scales and know the current exchange rate. Some years ago I was photographing a wedding for an American couple getting married here in Inverness. They had only just arrived and only had dollars, no sterling (actually he wound me up quite seriously by complaining that no one 'over here' would take his dollars in the shops). So I had two choices; walk away and not do the job or do it and take dollars. The hotel kindly checked up the current exchange rate and we did the deal. By the time I changed the money the rate had changed and of course I had to pay commission on the exchange - all told I lost about £50. Taking gold as payment would likely involve both those problems, although, of course, you might have better luck than me with the movement of the 'exchange rate' for the gold.

[RJM Corbet]

You know, if you work in a peanut butter factory, you probably don't take peanut butter sandwiches to work. I wonder how those bank tellers feel about banknotes, working with them all day? It's dirty stuff too, it could be banned on health and safety grounds alone.

But, as this is becoming a discussion about cash itself, the question is: what is cash? It's essentially just a promissory note, no longer even backed by gold, but by international credits, etc.

In 'The Fight Club' they blew up all the computers that record all the 'financial records' and I was cheering them on.

As usual, if cash goes, it's the lowest and the poorest who will suffer, as has already been said.

Same ole' same ole' ...

Sorry, edit: there must be some other way of reining in scrap metal buyers? Drug addicts steal the cables. They know what it is ... but it's a tricky problem, and not just in the UK.

[Bowler1]

Re the fight club. Nice for a movie but in real life I don't think it would do much good, more like cause another recession. The world has recently been introduced the value of money and how quickly that value goes up in a puff of smoke, and back to fight club.

The value of anything is based on demand which could also be called confidence. The world has recently lost a bit of its mojo but we'll soon forget and move on. Boom and bust or natural corrections of the system. Money, and yet it rules our lives.