Be Excellent To Each Other

How many companies are not passing on the 15% cut.

I noticed my gym had not reduced my membership, just rang them, apprently they put the prices up, at the time of the vat reduction. Amazingly the price increase was the same as the vat reduction..

Have you noticed anything sneaky like this.

As far as I'm aware, the VAT cut was mainly to help businesses, not consumers.

I thought it was to increase customer spending..

Doesn't a 2.5% reduction in VAT give you a saving of 2p in every pound? Hardly massive savings for consumers. It makes a lot of difference to businesses, though, who end up purchasing things for larger amounts.

It saved me a fair few quid on my Tomcat, although, complicatedly, the deposit was charged at 17.5% as I paid that before the reduction

It was definately for customers not businesses. Well that was stated on Watchdog

It makes pretty much fuck all difference for many many businesses who reclaim all their VAT back.

It wasn't a cut for anyone other than the government who could claim to have cut VAT for the first time ever (true) and because it was a little more politically acceptable (apparently) to knock a few pence off everything we buy, and cause struggling businesses shit loads of hassle dealing with accounting systems that had never considered this happening and increasing their compliance costs and risks of making mistakes on their VAT returns, rather than stick a cheque in the post to everyone like the IRS did in the US.

Pret, I believe, whacked all their prices up at the same time as the VAT cut but still made them all end with 3's and 7's so that it looked like a price cut.

I saw the other day, "We have sorted out the VAT for 15% and donated the extra money to a charity of the manager's choice." Errrr.

Plus, doesn't it go back up in June 2010 anyway?

The prices won't go back down.

Surely it's up to a business what they want to try and charge for their goods or services.

Yeah. If you're not happy with paying it, go elsewhere. These free marketeers might have the right idea.

December 31st, last I heard.

True, but the argument is they should have passed the cost on.

It goes back up on Dec 31st.

It had nothing to do with customers and everything to do with looking like the Government were doing something. It ended up causing businesses a whole bunch of pain and money at precisely the time they didn't need it.

Haven't seen the Watchdog clip - I avoid that show like the plague - but I'm not surprised, really. It simply isn't worth the while to reprice your £24.99 purchase to £24.45.

They had more about aggressive debt collectors and specifically those employed by British Gas as well, without mentioning the landmark "the employing company can be sued for harrassment" judgment against British Gas the other week.

I get really pissed off by their "we sorted it out for these people" and "give us a ring" attitude without ever mentioning stuff like the Sale of Goods Act or relevant court cases. Well, that and the presenters being smug, irritating cunts.

I am annoyed at the retailers not passing the VAT cut on - or doing things like altering some prices and saying that's better - but yeah, at the end of the day the Government can't compel them, and it's a free market. It was obviously going to happen but Brown and Darling did it anyway, the fucknuts.

There was one guy moaning about Orange, saying something like they shouldn't be allowed to get away with it.

Fucking move to a different provider like O2 who did follow through then, you fucking simpleton.

If everyone knew the ins and outs of all those things then Watchdog wouldn't even be on.

As it is, some people just roll over and accept things when they happen. I saw a show was on about rebuilding people's houses who'd had them left half renovated by dodgy builders:

"So how long has it been like this?"
"Oh, about two years now."

Orange Mobile have passed it on, it was Orange Broadband that had not.

Yes. People need education.

Now, if only someone like the national broadcaster had some sort of programme about championing consumer rights they could use to inform the citizenry of its rights instead of blowing its own smug trumpet every week, eh?

@Kovacs - Okay. Is Orange Broadband different to O2 Broadband, who also promptly passed on the VAT cut in full? I mean, is the Orange one mobile broadband instead of the latter's landline business? I don't know, and apples-to-apples, and that.

Although my argument stands - where there are multiple providers and yours pisses you off, instead of bleating to the media vote with your sponds.

Heh. Fully agree.

I would rather come and ask here.

Alot of places haven't, quite reasonably IMO. You run a restaurant and have had expensive menus printed only for the government to reduce the VAT for example.

The VAT only helps businesses that deal with the public. I'm B2B so it makes sod all difference to me.

@BikNorton I am not sure, I am an Orange Mobile customer, and they did pass on the cut. So I can only talk on personal experence.

Totally, moaning online in various forums is part of why it's taken over a year for me to get my act together and jump the HBOS ship.

Then again, not having an internet to moan on got me asked to leave a restaurant on Saturday. Shit service* followed by on-break staff shouting at me. Get fucked. Overall the internet/action balance works in my favour - I think there are only about 5 places I'm allowed/will go in Liverpool now, Christ knows what the rest of my life would be like without forums!

Aye, utter lack of thinking ahead. Then again, a couple of "VAT will be applied at payment" signs and the waitress telling you works (for me).

* 2 people served 15+ minutes before the other 5 got a whiff due to billing and communication ineptitude, then an unapologetic response to a complaint about it.

STFU F4GZ!

Its this that really annoys me about any self help programme.

Example - Supernanny. "My kid has been throwing bricks through peoples windows for 5 years now. But I waited until I got on Channel 4 before doing anything to sort it out"

COCK OFF YOU COCKING BIG HEADED SCOTTISH CUNT WHO SHAGGED HIS MISTRESS IN A BLOODY TRAVEL TAVERN AND MAKES WORK EXPERIENCE GIRLS CRY BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T IRON YOUR JUMPER CORRECTLY. EVERYONE WHO WORKS WITH YOU HATES YOU AND YOU'LL NEVER GET YOUR DREAM GIG ON THE TODAY PROGRAMME BECAUSE THEY HATE YOU AS WELL!

Ahem, sorry.

loL ch1nN3h STFU N00b i P\/\/n j00!

what on earth? What language is that?

Seriously? It's l33t. How have you not come across that before?

I have seen it, but always asumed they were worse at spelling than me.


or a complete knob

Probably both.

It is the language of people younger than yourself n00b!

Thanks for explaining Mr R.. you gimp

whatever, dick

I honestly don't care if places have passed on a 2% saving on VAT, because it's a total waste of their time and money to do so, to the extent that they'd probably have to raise their prices to recoup the loss involved in all the faffing about anyway. If you're spending so much on VAT-worthy stuff that 2% is that important, something's going pretty seriously wrong with your budgeting.