Boots charging you to pay them

Sugarfree_Babe

Today I went into Boots and bought some make up. After I had paid with my debit card I saw a very small notice. It said that Boots charge customers 2.75% to pay by card. I asked if they would take a cheque instead but was told they do not take cheques.

Do you know of any other shops that do this?

hjb123

it doesnt cost you any extra, that fee is included in the total amount, and it what boots pay the merchant for you paying by card

DaisyFlower

Boots aren't charging you extra, add up your bill and it will come to the exact amount.

All they are showing is that 2.5% of the total goes to the card company for processing the payment - most shops just dont show this on the receipt.

uktim29

Sugarfree_Babe wrote: »

Do you know of any other shops that do this?

Every single one of them!

And no, if you actually read the notice it will tell you the total amount you pay is unchanged. You do not pay any extra!!!! If you read it properly it tells you that.

Colin2511

hi, its a [STRIKE]vat fiddle[/STRIKE] loophole that several large retailers use, as card processing fees are not liable for VAT(I might not have the correct term there), so they can effectively only pay vat on a smaller amount of every sale, Tesco & Asda were in court about this, against the vat man, who said "its a fiddle" they said "oh no, not us", I am not sure if the case has concluded / what the latest is

uktim29

Yeah but it means they are only paying VAT on the money they actually got anyway. Hardly a fiddle.

kr15snw

From what I remember when I used to work in retail...

Say a product is £10.

If you paid by card we would have to pay £0.27 to the card company (or whoever) as a processing fee.

If you paid by cash we would have to pay nothing!

But we didnt charge the customers as most big companies can afford to pay these charges. Were I work now is a much smaller company and we charge 1.6% if you pay by credit card as we cant afford to pay the fees.

Sugarfree_Babe

uktim29 wrote: »

Every single one of them!

And no, if you actually read the notice it will tell you the total amount you pay is unchanged. You do not pay any extra!!!! If you read it properly it tells you that.

I did read it properly. It tells me I pay 2.75% for using my card. The fact that this is included in the total is irrelevant.

Do I get a 2.75% discount for paying cash? If not, I will be paying for a service I do not receive.

stugib

Sugarfree_Babe wrote: »

I did read it properly. It tells me I pay 2.75% for using my card. The fact that this is included in the total is irrelevant.

Do I get a 2.75% discount for paying cash? If not, I will be paying for a service I do not receive.

Boots' business costs are nothing to do with you, it's between them and their card merchant. They wanted £x for the product, you were happy to pay them £x. Method of payment, and the costs each method incurs on them is irrelevant. They're not providing you with any less or more of a service when you pay by card.

Sugarfree_Babe

stugib wrote: »

Boots' business costs are nothing to do with you, it's between them and their card merchant. They wanted £x for the product, you were happy to pay them £x. Method of payment, and the costs each method incurs on them is irrelevant. They're not providing you with any less or more of a service when you pay by card.

I don't need a lecture from you, thank you. I did my MBA some years ago. If you can't understand what I am saying, I suggest you refrain from comment.

stugib

Sugarfree_Babe wrote: »

I don't need a lecture from you, thank you. I did my MBA some years ago. If you can't understand what I am saying, I suggest you refrain from comment.

Go on then educate us thickies oh wise one.

• If you pay by cash you pay £10, all to Boots. Boots pay the Treasury £1.49. You get your product for the price they offered it for.
• If you pay by card you pay £9.72 to Boots, 28p to a Boots subsidiary. Boots pay the Treasury £1.45. You get your product for the price they offered it for. You're paying Boots' card charges, which you can think of as paying for the service of being able to pay by card if you like.

So if you pay by cash, what service are you paying for that you're not receiving? The price is £10, not £9.72. They're being up front that if you want to buy a product by card they'll only charge you 97.25% for the product, but 2.75% to cover the card charge. If you don't want to pay their costs, then pay by cash or don't buy. The only loser I can see is the Treasury. The worst you can say is that they're not offering you a 'discount' because you pay by cash.

HMRC took Debenhams to Court over this in 2003 but Debenhams won an appeal a couple of years later.