How do I obtain VAT invoices please?

[#1]

This question has been asked before in July when it was so easyyyyyyyy to get an invoice.

Best still back them they were emailed to me.

Bills and payments > View bills doesn't work in Firefox, and I don't see any VAT invoices in Chrome, just 'bills/statements'.

It is a legal requirment for Plusnet to provide VAT invoices, and there ought not be hurdles put in the way to receive them.

Simple question , as per subject.

[#2]

Since the introduction of the new billing system PlusNet no longer supply VAT invoices to Residential customers. They don't consider it to be a legal requirement. If you want a VAT invoice you have to be a Business customer.

[#3]

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@RealAleMadrid wrote:

Since the introduction of the new billing system PlusNet no longer supply VAT invoices to Residential customers. They don't consider it to be a legal requirement. If you want a VAT invoice you have to be a Business customer.

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I'm not a residential customer.

I represent a VAT registered business at a business address.

I note there is a VAT number of the viewable bill, but there is no way I can print the page to an acceptable format.

In any case, the simple fact Plusnet allow for occasional business use of a residential line means they are, accrding to the acts of parliament, obliged to provide VAT invoices to intermediary agents.

[#4]

This business user's issue is being discussed / progressed here - https://community.plus.net/t5/Business/Business-account-phone-help-and-support/m-p/1575831#M3804

This is a duplicate topic.

[#5]

That is a post titled "Business account - phone help and support." and really ought to have nothing to do with VAT invoices.

It was started with:

At one time Plusnet was known for it's good support service. It was something it boasted.

I've attempted to make 2 phone calls, one said the queue was over an hour, the most recent said 50 minutes.

I'm now doing the rounds of the forums stating phone support is non-existent, and that Plusnet do not provide VAT invoices.

Unfortunately we're I'm tied into Plusnet for a long while and considering our options.

Where the reference to VAT invoices was a cursory example of the lack of support.

Moderator's note by Dick (Strat): Full quote of preceding post removed as per Forum rules.

[#6]

Plusnet may not consider the provision of VAT invoices to be a legal requirement, but HMRC do.

VAT Notice 700/21

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/record-keeping-for-vat-notice-70021#vat-invoices-detailed-rules

They can assume a VAT invoice is not required by a non-VAT registered customer unless they are asked for it.  If they are asked, they have two options, a simplified invoice for amounts up to £250, or a full invoice if over £250.  There is NO third option of refusing to supply.  The invoice has to identify the goods or SERVICES supplied, so supply of communications services is included.

[#7]

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@Romsey wrote:
They can assume a VAT invoice is not required by a non-VAT registered customer unless they are asked for it.  If they are asked, they have two options, a simplified invoice for amounts up to £250, or a full invoice if over £250.  There is NO third option of refusing to supply.

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I know that, you know that, but for some reason Plusnet are teaching many here that they do not have to provide a VAT invoice.

The CEO will should now have my letter.

[#8]

That link contains "There’s no requirement to issue a VAT invoice for retail supplies to unregistered businesses."

[#9]

@Romsey Your post appears to be have been lifted from the O2 forum so best of luck with that if it turns out to be right, seems like an awful faff to me.

[#10]

A little more digging finds this

There’s no legal obligation to provide an invoice unless both you and your customer are VAT registered.

Source

[#11]

That is not an authoratative source.

I would prefer referring to the Value Added Tax Act 1994 or the VAT guide already quoted.

Moderator's note by Dick (Strat): Full quote of preceding post removed as per Forum rules.

[#12]

Responding to a couple of the comments on my post above.

It was not lifted from any O2 forum, it was from my experience with VAT as the owner of a VAT registered company.

The part in the notice "There’s no requirement to issue a VAT invoice for retail supplies to unregistered businesses", is there because there IS a requirement to issue a VAT invoice for retail supplies to registered businesses.  For supplies to unregistered businesses there is no requirement, UNLESS the customer asks for it.  If the customer asks for it, the requirement is set out as the two options.  There is no third option to refuse it.

An unregistered customer may ask for it because when a business first registers for VAT, it can reclaim VAT paid in the past for a period prior to registration, four years for goods and six months for services.

https://www.gov.uk/vat-registration/purchases-made-before-registration. 

Clearly a proper VAT invoice makes that reclaim of VAT paid before a business was registered much easier.

There seems to be a conflict between what "stewartaccounting" say on their website and what HMRC say on their website.  Any reader of this can decide which interpretation they would trust more.

[#13]

@Romsey, I agree 100% with your points. And even that Stewart Accounting guide says:

Most electronic tills etc. can be set up to produce VAT invoices. It’s probably worth the effort to do this in order to preserve goodwill with customers...

Unfortunately Plusnet don't seem to do goodwill. I still don't understand why they deliberately chose to make the bills unsuitable as a VAT invoice - it would cost them nothing and would keep a lot of customers happy. I can only think of one other VAT registered buiness that I buy from that won't provide VAT invoices and they are very open about that and the reasons for it.

[#14]

From what I’ve seen elsewhere other ISPs have also adopted this practice, notably Sky and BT Retail.

Out of interest what was the reason given by that other company? I have yet to work out the purpose of this unpopular change.

[#15]

@Townman, the other company I use  that won't provide VAT invoices to residential customers is AAISP. They actually won't provide the residential service to anyone that IS VAT registered, or is based at a business address. The reason is that they have quite different services tailored for residential and business customers. They are quite open about that, and mention it on the first page describing each of their products.

That's unlike Plusnet who have almost indistinguishable services (Business has traffic management and 24/7 call centre, but identical broadband fault fix times etc.)

BTW I have just ordered a Plusnet business account to replace my residential one. It will take a minimum of 10 days due to Ofcom regulations! So apparently Plusnet treat their business and residential services as if they were different ISPs. It is £9 per month cheaper than the residential package I had, and of course I'll get a VAT receipt (which I don't actually need). It is with a 12 month contract, which is good as I'll probably do away with fixed line broadband altogether at the end of the contract. ADSL is so slow I now only mainly use it as a backup for 4G, which I've not needed in the past year but I'm not quite confident enough to risk getting rid of ADSL just yet.