Aol not passing on VAT reduction

incesticde

Hi,

Does anyone know if AOL are passing on the VAt reduction (for call/broadband) or not?

And if they aren't, could this be used as an reason for cancelling the contract?

Many thanks

Incesticide

Happy holidays BTW!!!

jammin_2

I've heard from a reliable source that customers' bills will be amended accordingly, in light of the VAT reduction.

mrJ_5

AOL will have passed on the VAT reduction, but there is nothing from stopping them increasing their pre-VAT price to make up the difference, adding to their margins etc.

A VAT cut does not mean prices will go down what-so-ever, just that companies can lower the price if they want (if they don't they add to their margins). The only thing that does change is the amount of VAT you pay, nothing else.

diamonds

jammin wrote: »

I've heard from a reliable source that customers' bills will be amended accordingly, in light of the VAT reduction.

reliable & CPW in the same sentence :rotfl:

diamonds

mrJ wrote: »

AOL will have passed on the VAT reduction, but there is nothing from stopping them increasing their pre-VAT price to make up the difference, adding to their margins etc.

A VAT cut does not mean prices will go down what-so-ever, just that companies can lower the price if they want (if they don't they add to their margins). The only thing that does change is the amount of VAT you pay, nothing else.

VAT is LAW, govenrment tax - you can sue for 2.5% as any company has no right to charge other than UK government STATES

deanos

diamonds wrote: »

VAT is LAW, govenrment tax - you can sue for 2.5% as any company has no right to charge other than UK government STATES

AOL can charge what they like to the customer, they have to charge 15% vat but they can increase there price so its the same

Rough example

AOL charge £10 a month with 17.5% vat , AOL pay government £1.75 and make £8.25

AOL charge £10 a month with 15% vat, AOL pay government £1.50 and now make £8.50 profit

diamonds

& a price increase is to your detriment.........15p or £15 you signed for a service at a set amount, any VAT saving SHOULD be passed to you the customer - if it isnt challenge it !, its not our fault CPW is a pittance of a company since 2000 why should we the consumers pay for CPW failures or share price ? we want a product/service at good cost, thats our game

if CPW run AOL/TT Broadband effectively they would not be selling for almost £1 billion, LOL the sheer audacity of CPW is if even without the current financial redhole who would pay 1 billion for their broadband division, they offered Tiscali 600million for UK division and Tiscali knocked them back, now they are throwing their toys out of the pram because the Tiscali sale didn't make them the UK No1 broadband provider

if you have idiots like that at the top of a company then you are not left wondering why TalkTalk are cowboys

thankgod I left AOL before CPW got its mitts on it, AOL was a great broadband provider for me until Orange £5 Broadband Unlimited came along

billsavings

jammin wrote: »

I've heard from a reliable source that customers' bills will be amended accordingly, in light of the VAT reduction.

How reliable is your source ? Sister company Talk Talk are not reducing their rental charges..

“From December 1st TalkTalk will be reducing its call charges by the full VAT reduction of 2.5% announced in the Chancellor’s pre budget report. One-off and recurring charges will not be reduced and TalkTalk will be offering customers a range of special offers – many much greater in value than 2.5% - to reflect this"

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/news/rounded-down-prices-and-better-download-limits-likely-responses-to-december%e2%80%99s-vat-reduction-next-monday-is-shaping-up-to-start-off-one-of-the-most-interesting-weeks-the-broadband-market-460.html

mrJ_5

diamonds wrote: »

& a price increase is to your detriment.........15p or £15 you signed for a service at a set amount, any VAT saving SHOULD be passed to you the customer

but the price wouldn't increase - (using example mentioned before) £10 at 17.5% is the same price as £10 at 15%, its just the pre-VAT price that has gone up, and since you need to pay VAT there is no difference ... the only time you should (possibly) get it is if they quote you on a pre-VAT basis.

Nilrem

mrJ wrote: »

but the price wouldn't increase - (using example mentioned before) £10 at 17.5% is the same price as £10 at 15%, its just the pre-VAT price that has gone up, and since you need to pay VAT there is no difference ... the only time you should (possibly) get it is if they quote you on a pre-VAT basis.

Aye, that's how I understand it, and as most consumer level services tend to quote the total (including vat) it's not something that can really be actioned.

Of course the option is always open to leave as soon as the contract is up (I don't think you could claim a change in price or T&C as the T&C would have remained the same, and the price paid will as well).

However it is possible they will amend the bills next month, if they are passing the saving on (iirc Virgin are doing that, as the change came in too suddenly for them to manage to amend the bills prior to the print runs)

Jockscrap

I phoned AOL billing today to ask about this, and was told that as they are based in Luxembourg they do not add VAT to the bill.