How to Deal with Gardener's Illiteracy in Writing Official Receipts Needed for Insurance Rebate Purposes

[Deactivated] on 12/10/2019 - 23:56
Last edited 15/10/2019 - 17:15 by 2 other users

First off, my gardener does a great job, I respect him alot, and I like him personally and enjoy our conversations.

There is an issue though, I am not sure how to go about this best without hurting his feelings.
I require official type receipts for insurance rebate purposes.
And when he writes the receipt, his literacy is unfortunately so lacking that he even wrote "mowe" and "eoges" (edges) .
Now my concern is, these bodgy asf looking official receipts, may likely bring up red flags at insurance company, and then my refunds get held up while they investigate why my receipts appear to be written by a child.
I'm quite sure at he must have some idea that his spelling is bad, since he is about 50, and still having such issues unfortunately .
But anyway, he's just lost his job the poor guy, and I'm trying to help him out with some extra gardening work on top of the lawn mowing and edges , but I have to sort this receipt issue out.

I am allowed to write the receipt myself under the rules of the insurance thing, of course I don't sign it though, he signs off on it.

But any ideas how I could bring this up, and get to a stage where I am writing the recipt up, and he signs off.
, without hurting his feelings about something that is clearly an ongoing issue through his life.
I feel I can't give him more and more work, if this receipt issue continues.

If I was working in the fraud department and saw this, I would honestly suspect it to be a bodgy recipt .

Home & Garden

closed Comments

  • askme69 on 13/10/2019 - 00:04
    +6

    receipts for insurance?

    Anyway, does he have an ABN? if so, you do up a receipt with all the relevant details and get him to sign it.

    Unless he is a CASH business and is doing it on purpose.

    • Stewardo on 13/10/2019 - 00:37
      +22

      Due to freak rainstorm, grass grew excessively?
      Injury compensation?

        • Bargain80 on 16/10/2019 - 12:37
          +1

          it's not irrelevant.
          See, if what you're doing is illegal and we're giving you advise, that means we've become complicit.

          • [Deactivated] on 16/10/2019 - 13:34
            -4

            @Bargain80: Irrelevant
            Not very bright are bright are you sir/madam …

            Have a lovely day sir/Mam:)

            • spackbace on 16/10/2019 - 19:10

              @[Deactivated]:

              Not very bright are bright are you sir/madam …

              And you're complaining about his writing on receipts…?

      • stringbean402 on 14/10/2019 - 12:22
        +7

        OP is on compo

        • GoldenDragon888 on 14/10/2019 - 12:41
          +6

          Worse OP is on NDIS. Well most likely their kid is. However mowing lawns maybe considered a valid expense if your child is of a mowing age but can’t do it. If it is in their prescribed goals.

          Also OP mite be self managed so they are meant to spend money prescribed goals as stated in their package. They don’t need to go to registered providers.

          My SO who works for a charity that provides services for NDIS is saying there needs to be more auditing self managed packages. So much of the money simply disappears or is spent on expensive services that don’t meet prescribed goals.

          • iDroid on 14/10/2019 - 12:46
            +14

            @GoldenDragon888:

            Also OP mite

            Come clean now. Are you the gardener? Or OP?

          • stringbean402 on 16/10/2019 - 11:51

            @GoldenDragon888: NDIS is a gov't run enterprise. It was always going to be an absolute shitfight.

            I would definatley agree with more auditing though, too many people take advantage of systems like this leaving less money for those who really need it.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/10/2019 - 06:39
      -8

      Yes, has ABN and all is fine with everything, except the receipts.

      I want to write up the receipt and sign it, but how to I get to doing that without hurting his feelings.

      He is really insistent that he is on top of it all, and that he has done it correctly.

      I don't like lying, but just need some white lie I guess, or some nice way of saying it to him, that I need to write the receipts , or if he writes them, I need to help on the spelling and grammar .

    • ShatGPT on 15/10/2019 - 17:16
      +2

      If you're wondering what horsesh!t OP wrote before he deleted the thread, here you go:

      "First off, my gardener does a great job, I respect him alot, and I like him personally and enjoy our conversations.

      There is an issue though, I am not sure how to go about this best without hurting his feelings.
      I require official type receipts for insurance rebate purposes.
      And when he writes the receipt, his literacy is unfortunately so lacking that he even wrote "mowe" and "eoges" (edges) .
      Now my concern is, these bodgy asf looking official receipts, may likely bring up red flags at insurance company, and then my refunds get held up while they investigate why my receipts appear to be written by a child.
      I'm quite sure at he must have some idea that his spelling is bad, since he is about 50, and still having such issues unfortunately .
      But anyway, he's just lost his job the poor guy, and I'm trying to help him out with some extra gardening work on top of the lawn mowing and edges , but I have to sort this receipt issue out.

      I am allowed to write the receipt myself under the rules of the insurance thing, of course I don't sign it though, he signs off on it.

      But any ideas how I could bring this up, and get to a stage where I am writing the recipt up, and he signs off.
      , without hurting his feelings about something that is clearly an ongoing issue through his life.
      I feel I can't give him more and more work, if this receipt issue continues.

      If I was working in the fraud department and saw this, I would honestly suspect it to be a bodgy recipt ."

  • whooah1979 on 13/10/2019 - 00:18
    +24

    bodgy recipt

    What?

      • TheOneWhoKnocks on 13/10/2019 - 06:50
        +51

        The irony.

          • ChatCPT on 13/10/2019 - 18:43
            +13

            @[Deactivated]: Read again. Try improving your literacy.

            • CocaKoala on 13/10/2019 - 20:23
              +23

              @ChatCPT: Perhaps the OP has been spending far too much time with the gardener.

              • ChatCPT on 13/10/2019 - 22:02

                @CocaKoala: Loool

                • capslock janitor on 14/10/2019 - 10:39
                  +1

                  @ChatCPT: Give him a break, he wrote all that made a couple spelling mistakes.
                  As long as his point gets across here on a pub forum everyone knows what he meant.

        • jimdotpud on 14/10/2019 - 11:25

          oops, didn't read it properly.. hahaha

    • one man clan on 14/10/2019 - 13:16
      +5

      Bodgy is slang: https://outbackdictionary.com/bodgy/

      • cheesecactus on 14/10/2019 - 21:54
        +3

        I think he was talking about the misspelling of receipt within a post talking about literacy

        • one man clan on 15/10/2019 - 08:59
          +3

          You know what i didn't even pick that up

  • o53djz7qTPY4der on 13/10/2019 - 05:29
    +2

    Invite him in for a beer. Explain the situation to him just have you have done here.

    Be kind and polite. He'll be fine about it, as I'm sure he's more than aware of the problem.

      • o53djz7qTPY4der on 13/10/2019 - 07:34
        +7

        Just because you don't drink, it doesn't mean he wouldn't appreciate a nice cold beer.

        Everything is better with beer, trust me.

  • Bourb on 13/10/2019 - 05:44
    +21

    Why is your Insurance Company paying for your lawn maintenance? I am genuinely interested to know why.

    As far as your gardeners writing is concerned, maybe buy your own blank receipt book from a Newsagent. Tell him that you are required to use this new 'official' book, and you will go to all the trouble of filling in the details, and all he needs to do is sign it.

      • ChatCPT on 13/10/2019 - 18:46
        +125

        OP seems to a bit of a d**k.
        Sort your own silly problems out.
        I genuinely have no interest to help you

        • brad1-8tsi on 14/10/2019 - 09:04
          +10

          Sharing is caring.

          If the OP doesn't share then we don't care.

          It's the first time I've heard of anyone getting a "rebate" from the insurance company for getting their lawns mowed or garden maintained.

      • trapper on 15/10/2019 - 13:45
        +1

        Wow you ask for help and advice from this community, and then respond like that to a genuine reply. Not cool.

    • whooah1979 on 13/10/2019 - 07:28
      +23

      It sounds like some sort of scheme.

      • mba on 14/10/2019 - 05:30
        +10

        Second, sounds like a scheme for writing dodgy receipts

        https://planpartners.com.au/ndis-guide-gardeners-cleaners-an…

        Service Maximum hourly rate (incl GST
        House and/or Yard Maintenance $48.28
        House Cleaning and other Household Activities $49.16
      • jimdotpud on 14/10/2019 - 15:55

        Yes.. Ozark

    • vikvance on 13/10/2019 - 09:33
      +12

      Why is your Insurance Company paying for your lawn maintenance?

      I'm guessing OP is referring to NDIS when they say "Insurance".

  • WreckTangle on 13/10/2019 - 08:36
    +4

    I’d love my insurance company to pay for my garden. How does this work?

    • elgrande on 13/10/2019 - 08:50
      +6

      You first need to slip at your local supermarket (ensuring that whatever you slipped on has been on the ground for atleast 20 minutes).

    • bmerigan on 14/10/2019 - 21:19
      -2

      It's piss easy. Just break your back and lose your family in a car accident. Then you get your lawn mowing paid for. You should all give it a go.

      • cktftw on 15/10/2019 - 10:30

        Or just tell your doctor you're chronicly fatigued.
        Can't work. Only weed helps.

        • Munki on 16/10/2019 - 10:11

          "Smoke trees everyday!" - Nate Dogg

  • elgrande on 13/10/2019 - 08:50
    +1

    I would advise him that your insurance requires printed receipts, and offer to type it up for him.

  • coxjon on 13/10/2019 - 08:52
    +25

    What’s worse, ‘mowe’ instead of ‘mow’ or ‘alot’ instead of ‘a lot’?

      • This Guy on 14/10/2019 - 01:11
        +6

        You missed the point of phil101.

        You argue your opponents best argument, as anything less is not worth your time, is undignified and makes you (and me), the a person responding, look lazy.

        It is extremely uncharitable to expect more than you are willing to provide. You have made three claims in two sentences without a logical argument. If you expect us to make logical arguments, then it stands that you should be justifying your responses logically too.

        Calling out logical fallacies is something you do in class when learning them. It shows a lack of understanding of the purpose of logical arguments to reply to a comment with a perceived logical fallacy.

    • vikvance on 13/10/2019 - 09:36
      +4

      There's also a sentence which ends in a full stop, immediately followed by a comma.

    • Stewardo on 13/10/2019 - 09:43
      +7

      ‘Recipt’ or ‘receipt’

      • fozzie on 15/10/2019 - 00:24

        Lol

  • o53djz7qTPY4der on 13/10/2019 - 10:11
    -2

    There are also at least two sentences that begin with 'but' and one with 'and'. Even the children I know don't do this.

    • bmerigan on 14/10/2019 - 21:20

      It is perfectly ok to start a sentence with 'and'.

      • Eeples on 20/10/2019 - 22:04
        +1

        Two examples…..

        And that’s all folks.
        And that’s what she said.

        • bmerigan on 21/10/2019 - 08:58

          Can't believe I got down-voted! Troglodytes!

  • bdl on 13/10/2019 - 11:44
    +3

    Perhaps show him the example/s on this page and tell him your accountant/the tax office needs it this particular format? You could print out this page in case he feels intimidated by a computer?

    https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/GST/Tax-invoices/

    Spelling mistakes are fine, as long as it has the other stuff

  • ihbh on 13/10/2019 - 13:52

    Okay, you've told us he can't spell.

    Can he copy? That is, you write it down on a piece of paper and he copies it in his handwriting on the receipt.

  • Wystri Warrick on 13/10/2019 - 15:39
    +5

    Imo op posted here for advice on how to tackle his gardeners poor spelling without hurting his feelings, and op is getting a lot of commenters messing around with ops spelling.

    Imo Xiongmao and ihbh posted come good ideas.
    I think while he's taking his break bring two beers, one for him and one for you, compliment him on his work, after a little chatting mention your insurance has contacted you about his spelling on some of his receipts, and mention you could print out a list of words that he could use for reference in case he needs it when writing a receipt.

  • Mrgreenz on 13/10/2019 - 18:45
    +5

    this thread sucks

    Send that to your insurance company

  • ChatCPT on 13/10/2019 - 18:47
    +21

    OP seems to a bit of a d**k.
    Sort your own silly problems out.
    “I genuinely have no interest to help you”

  • bluesky on 13/10/2019 - 19:16
    +2

    Say to him over a chat, could you make his receipts look really official by you typing them up, just to ensure your claims go smoothly, with no questions or objections raised; and could he please sign them again? Doubt he will be offended with this, and he will probably be glad to help you out. (Give him a copy as well – he might want that for his reference).

    If he writes them first, you can transcribe them, and fix the spellings in the type-written copy. If he asks why the spellings look different from his original, let him know the spelling-checker automatically fixes them, so it should be OK :-)

    In time, maybe he will just trust you to type them out for him to sign, instead of even writing a copy.

  • Herbse on 13/10/2019 - 19:27
    +4

    If he can't write well, he definitely won't be typing at 50 years old.

    Print out the receipts yourself, tell him your insurance company has asked you to type up all receipts and ask him to simply sign off on them.

    No need to bring up his writing at all.

  • DarkOz on 13/10/2019 - 19:46
    +25

    If these receipts are legit so what if they bring up red flags? Just tell the auditor, "my gardener is illiterate!" and that's that.

    Are you worried you will get caught for claiming expenses that you shouldn't?

      • DarkOz on 13/10/2019 - 20:22
        +36

        I UM UR GADANR!!!

        • CocaKoala on 14/10/2019 - 10:55

          Faaarrk me dead. ROTFL. 🤣

        • GoldenDragon888 on 14/10/2019 - 12:25

          Please report him to NDIS.

        • herysoe on 14/10/2019 - 16:29

          This is gold!!

      • jimdotpud on 14/10/2019 - 16:06
        +2

        you come on here asking for advice, then tear this guy down for making a legitimate comment. An official receipt can be anything, even scrawl on a scrap of paper, much like a contract can be made on a napkin, and these things have been held up in court many times before. Your defensiveness in all this leads everyone to assume that your actions are what are "bodgy" here…

    • hexedhavoc on 13/10/2019 - 20:18
      +1

      tt64dgu64rfg

  • nomoneynoproblems on 13/10/2019 - 21:54
    +30

    OP is acting like a massive tool. Cut out the iamverysmart attitude and give people a bit more information if you want any useful advice. This is a general life lesson and a basic OzBargain one.

  • BartholemewH on 13/10/2019 - 23:20
    +25

    24-hours limit for voting negative on comments is currently capped at 5

    • wheretobuychocettes on 14/10/2019 - 13:34
      +6

      Surely the limit can be lifted for special circumstances? This thread sure feels like one of those circumstances.

      • Name on 15/10/2019 - 01:53
        +6

        Hah yup. I'm going to have to come back in 24 hours to finish off.

  • ahly92 on 14/10/2019 - 01:19
    +10

    "If these receipts are legit so what if they bring up red flags? Just tell the auditor, "my gardener is illiterate!" and that's that."

    That's what happens when you commit fraud to claim NDIS and thus worry about every 'mistake' that would make them go through your history…seen it play out many times (friend works in the fraud department)

  • canyoudoitcheaper on 14/10/2019 - 02:24
    +23

    I’m thinking there must be a link between OP’s highly passive aggressive responses and their eligibility for disability insurance?

  • Piranha2004 on 14/10/2019 - 06:01
    +4

    If he has done the work legit, then why be afraid if the receipt looks dodgy? You are more likely to get caught if you change receipt styles midway.
    Heaps of tradies make spelling mistakes on receipts and it doesnt make them illiterate.

  • gimme on 14/10/2019 - 09:02

    Holy crap, yet another overcomplicated thread. Let me just write this up the way my insurance wants it to help you out. Noone's feelings would be hurt. I'm pretty sure he knows he's shit

  • cashless on 14/10/2019 - 09:20
    +11

    recipt

    If you are going to criticise someone's poor spelling the least you could do is get it correct yourself.

  • ronafios on 14/10/2019 - 09:23
    +1

    I've solved a similar problem with a cleaner by suggesting they use Invoice2go.com.au - simple app that does all the invoicing automatically and allows them to take credit card payments. Reduces paperwork and gets an accurate invoice nice and quick they can sent me from their phone. There's a few similar apps out there. This is simpler than manually creating invoices each time.

  • CalmLemons on 14/10/2019 - 09:54

    Most gardeners are pretty illiterate, the insurance company knows that. They're amongst the most awkward bunch. Even if you submit it, it should be an issue.

    Otherwise just write it yourself and get him to sign it, I do it all the time, the other person appreciates that you have done the work for him. I used to get all my staff to do the same thing, no one wants to fill in a form, do it for them, it'll be much appreciated.

  • sparkles on 14/10/2019 - 11:43
    +37

    Not gonna lie, I kinda love it when an OP torpedoes their own thread by being both evasive AND a dick.

    BTW, giving someone extra work out of sympathy doesn't count for karma points when it's being paid for by taxpayers via the NDIS.

    • Ghosteye on 14/10/2019 - 20:39

      Next level tactics though, asking taxpayers for advice on how to get taxpayer money effectively. 200IQ play right here

  • gtech on 14/10/2019 - 12:49
    +1

    Besides the other comments and all other issues discussed here.

    The simplest solution is to set up a template for him so that he can tick the services provided, the amount owed and sign off the document. (throw in a logo and a few company details and he has a document that can be reused for all his clients)

  • No ONE on 14/10/2019 - 13:45
    +6

    How to deal with …

    Op:

    That's irrelevant!

  • Cave Fire on 14/10/2019 - 13:52
    +1

    wouldn't think you need descriptions, just gardening services and the date. the most important thing is the gardener can vouch for it if questioned. because of that you may want to keep your own record of what gardening was done. This is important with tradies if you ever get a lot of work done…

  • jimdotpud on 14/10/2019 - 16:15
    +2

    Googled "gardening insurance rebate" and came up with this thread

  • Tehcookiemonsta on 14/10/2019 - 16:46
    +1

    This sounds like a whole lot of bullshit honestly especially since OP is a dick.

    I'm surprised OP actually cares for his gardener in terms of providing him with income, want a simple solution find a new gardener or maybe learn to talk like a human and explain it to him, there's several replies on this forum which are quite helpful. Maybe the gardener is writing like crap because he knows your a tool?

  • imurgod on 14/10/2019 - 18:16
    +2

    I saw insurance and thought I'd assist, but I agree with the general consensus that the OP is deliberately withholding relevant information.

    There is a simple solution and the OP is going about it all wrong, but I won't say anymore.

  • p1 ama on 14/10/2019 - 20:25

    I am allowed to write the receipt myself under the rules of the insurance thing, of course I don't sign it though, he signs off on it.

    You've solved your own problem. Just tell him that you need your receipts in a certain format. It's fine.

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