9th NOVEMBER 2009 PP 01-12 TO USE.e$S:Layout 1 4/11/09 12:57 Page 5
> > I N D U S T R Y N E W S
R E TA I L N E W S
CARD PAYMENTS:
DON’T LOSE OUT
THEFORUMOFPRIVATEBUSINESSISHELPINGSMALLBUSINESSES
CUTADRIFTBYTHEPROVIDERSOFCREDITCARDMERCHANT
SERVICESORSTRUGGLINGWITHTHECOSTOFPROCESSINGCARD
PAYMENTS.
Manybusinessownersarepaying simplydonotreviewhowmuch
steepratesbecausetheydonot theyspendontakingcard
havethetimeorresourcestoshop payments,”saidNickPalin,the
aroundforabetterdeal. Some FPB’sDirectorofFinance.
arenotawaretheycanusethe “Thesolutionistoshoparound,but
creditcardmerchantservices thisiseasiersaidthandoneforthe
providedbylendersotherthan majorityofsmallbusinesses–some
theirexistingbanks.Echoingthe arenotevenawarethatswitching
scenarioinotherareasofsmall toanotherproviderisanoption.”
businesslending,includingthe Tradersthatdonottakecard
provisionofoverdraftsandloans, paymentsloseoutonbusiness.
manyfirmsareseeingtheir Spendingonplasticincreasedto
merchantservicessuddenly £360billionin2008,withover
withdrawnsimplybecauseofthe 65%ofretailtransactions
industrysectorinwhichthey completedbycard. Theaverage
operate. personholdsfourcardsandmore
“Pricesformerchantservicesare than140millioncreditanddebit
increasing.Controllingcostsisso paymentcardsarecurrentlyin
importantyetmanybusinesses circulation.
U N FA I R P R I C I N G
CAMERA TAX SCAM
UPDATE!
Inresponsetotherecentstatement andtradersaredecimated.Thismeans
issuedbyPMAandPIC,abouttaxes reputablecompaniesarelessableto
notbeingpaidonphotographic invest.Theycannotaffordasmuchstaff
goodssoldonline,TheRoyalMail trainingandtheyfinditmore
haspointedoutthat“ItisHM expensivetomaintaintheirhighstreet
RevenueandCustomsroletocheck shops.Ultimatelytheconsumersuffers
theVATdue….Wehavestrict astheretailermayhavetoincrease
processesinplacethatensurethat priceswhenhismarketplaceis
postmenandwomencollecttheduty reduced.
thatisdue.” Itwasalsoreminded “Asaconsequencetheconsumerhas
that“RoyalMailisnottheonlypostal totravelfurthertosee,touchandhave
serviceoperatingwithintheUK.” thecamerasdemonstrated–The
ThePMAandthePICcontinueto productisboughtrelyingonlyon
appealforthispracticetobe internetinformation.
eliminated. Therearealsothequestionsofproduct
“Customstaxonthecostoflegitimate liability,warrantiesandguaranteesto
photogoodsenteringintotheUKhas consider.[Theconsumer]mightbuya
alreadybeenpaidbyUKsuppliers. multimediacameraoverthenetonlyto
TheythenhavetochargeVATwhen finditisnotsupportedhere.Andif
theproductissold.Whencheap thereisalocaldistributorhemay
importsonwhichnotaxhasbeen refusetohonourguarantees.
paidenterthecountry,thereis “Inconsequence,HMRevenue&
seriousdamagetocompaniesinthe CustomsandRoyalMailareaskedto
tradewhichresultinreducedservices takevigorous actiontoensure
fortheconsumer. paymentofrevenueandtoend
“Profitsforlegitimatemanufacturers consumerconfusion.”
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