Please let me know which companies have not passed on the new lower VAT

glitter123

glitter123 wrote: »

I'm a bit suspicious of some of the "sales" prices. I've seen signs in shops stating that full selling prices will have VAT deducted at the till but sales prices already have the reduced VAT already applied. Rather strange in shops where all their prices (after sale reduction applied) are round numbers e.g £35, £48,

I've been giving this some more thought.

I bought something today which at full price would have been £180 (with a small reduction at the till to take account of the VAT). It was offered for sale at 70% discount so I paid £54. However according to the sign it already has the VAT discount but clearly it does not.

I am sure we will start to see more and more examples of this which shops are re-stocked and they try to assure us that the VAT adjustment has already been made.

When the VAT returns to the old (and possibly higher rate?) next year then I suspect we will see prices rise beyond the amount we were paying prior to the reduction.

blue_monkey_2

kat81 wrote: »

I purchased 2 items in Debenhams today and it was clear the vat reduction was not given, i queried this and they told me that because their promotion was so good, it worked out better to offer this than the VAT reduction. I would have accepted this had i not been paying full price for the items so there was no promotion, they then told me to call their customer helpline, which i did and they said all their staff have been told they should be offering the VAT reduction and that i should speak to Trading Standards, which i will be doing tomorrow!

I hate to tell you this but you've been fobbed off. As long as the company are paying the correct amount to HMRC and as long as you have the correct 15% VAT amount quoted on your receipt there is nothing Trading Standards can do about this.

Retailers are not obliged to pass on the VAT cut. The prices on the dresses could of been new prices on S/S 09 lines.

This is going to cause a lot of confusion - especially we are now hitting Spring/Summer 09 season for fashion garmets and people are still going to assume the VAT cut needs to be given on newly priced lines. Why would a company produce new products with old prices on? It is like going into Tesco and the SEL's having been changed on new products but not on old ones.

And then in a years time when it goes up to 20% - and I reckon it'll be 22.5% to soak up as much money as possible from us - we are then back where we started with consumers having money added on at the till. By then we will probably see the nett price being quoted and the sales tax being added on at point of purchase - just as they do in the US.

kat81

blue_monkey wrote: »

I hate to tell you this but you've been fobbed off. As long as the company are paying the correct amount to HMRC and as long as you have the correct 15% VAT amount quoted on your receipt there is nothing Trading Standards can do about this.

It does not say anything about VAT on the receipt. I am certain they are not passing on the vat reduction because one of the otems i have had my eye on for some time now (before the reduction was announced) so i do think i have a case especially as a sales assistant told me that it hadnt been passed on.

To be honest i dont get what you were talking about in the rest of your post so i cant comment lol.

deanos

You dont have a case for anything at all

mallettron

grannybiker wrote: »

Car Parking in most towns and cities.

Apparantly on-street parking isnt affected but off-street or multi-storey should ahve the 2.1% reduction on

Roniie

Happy 2009:beer:

blue_monkey_2

kat81 wrote: »

It does not say anything about VAT on the receipt. I am certain they are not passing on the vat reduction because one of the otems i have had my eye on for some time now (before the reduction was announced) so i do think i have a case especially as a sales assistant told me that it hadnt been passed on.

To be honest i dont get what you were talking about in the rest of your post so i cant comment lol.

No, they might not be passing the VAT reduction on but they do not have to. When you buy something you do not have to be given a VAT receipt either, only if you ask for it and supply your VAT number to the retailer, however, some retailers will note on their receipts that VAT at xx% is included.

When the retailer sends their VAT return to HMRC they will tell them that they have sold xx wirth of goods and then the amount thay have to pay HMRC is 15% of this. As long as they are paying this there is no case to answer.

There is no legal obligation to pass the cut on, some companies are, some are not, I suspect that most would not during the sale as they would already be making a loss on those items and this is when most retailers will start removing the discount at the checkout so that the VAT cut is not deducted (as Next have done). So I would not expect further reductions at the till from 1st January.

As far as Trading Standards are concerned there is no 'case to answer', you have bought - and paid - the price on the ticket. This will be the norm from now on and most retailers will start charging ticket prices as they have had a month to bring new price tickets in.

I am at aloss as to how it is going to work when the rate goes up again because you are legally not allowed to charge more than on the ticket so retailers such as next are going to take a huge hit where the price is on the ticket already.

kat81

God people are always so negative on this forum. no wonder people are too scared to post! its a shame really as the info on here is fanastic.

blue_monkey_2

What is negative about telling someone they'll make themselves look silly by calling TS and complaining that a company is not passing on a VAT cut that they have no obligation to? Companies do not have to pass the rate on, it is not manatory, I am saving her the cost of a phone call. Still, if you think I am wrong just call them yourself and ask them but please post back and let us know what they say so then everyone will know where they stand.

kat81

blue_monkey wrote: »

What is negative about telling someone they'll make themselves look silly by calling TS and complaining that a company is not passing on a VAT cut that they have no obligation to? Companies do not have to pass the rate on, it is not manatory, I am saving her the cost of a phone call. Still, if you think I am wrong just call them yourself and ask them but please post back and let us know what they say so then everyone will know where they stand.

Why is it making me look silly to call up TS as i have been advised? What is the harm in making a phone call? Anyhow, i was not asking for advice when i first posted, just wanted to tell me my experience with debenhams as the OP requested.

deanos

Its making you look silly as they dont have to pass the saving to you, which a few people have tried to tell you.

Have a read, or maybe they are wrong too ?

http://www.realbusiness.co.uk/news/business-education/5481261/do-i-have-to-pass-on-the-vat-cut-to-my-customers.thtml