association comment Financial incentives


AMDEA chief executive Douglas Herbison highlights continued efforts to encourage consumers and businesses to improve their energy efficiency


I


t is 10 years since AMDEA launched its Time to Change Campaign to encourage consumers to replace their


ageing white goods with modern, energy efficient appliances. From the beginning (and at intervals since)


we have approached politicians and civil servants to argue that financial incentives would be the way forward. We thought, and still believe, that a scrappage scheme for very old appliances would help the UK to achieve its targets for reducing energy use and carbon emissions. As well as helping consumers to save money. Though we tactfully refrain from suggesting that it might also provide a boost to retail sales. Many other countries around the world


have offered financial incentives and/or scrappage schemes to drive the take-up of energy efficient products, mostly appliances. The Dutch have just embarked on an incentive


scheme for electric bikes having previously offered incentives for electric cars. In the UK, we have seen scrappage schemes


for cars (for economic reasons, though there was a consequential environmental impact) and boilers. It has recently been suggested that a scrappage scheme for older diesel- powered vehicles would help the UK address its worryingly high levels of air pollution. In the meantime, the London Congestion


Charge is to be supplemented by another tax – the Emissions Surcharge, also known as the Toxicity or T-Charge. From October this year, weekday traffic in central London will pay £10 a day if their CO2 emissions are more than Euro 4/ IV for both petrol and diesel vehicles, and Euro 3 for motorised tricycles and quadricycles. This will eventually evolve into a daily tax when the area is designated an Ultra Low Emissions Zone. Most of Greater London is already designated a Low Emission Zone where older, more polluting lorries


must pay a daily tax, including at weekends. These charges are in addition to fuel taxation, which is very high in the UK, and vehicle excise duty, rates of which are linked to carbon dioxide emissions. While multiple charges may well force companies to upgrade their vehicles to avoid or reduce their tax burden, they are not so much incentives to improve as penalties for not spending money. For companies whose business is transporting goods either option increases their costs. So, when you next buy a new, more energy- efficient appliance, remember that you won’t just be saving energy – you have also contributed to improving the air that you breathe!


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AMDEA is the UK trade association for manufacturers of large and small domestic appliances. It has 35 member companies who between them manufacture over 100 brands


Helping the High Street Retra chief executive Howard Saycell reflects on the Budget and what more could be done to support retailers


N


ow the dust on the Budget has settled, it was largely good news for members but the Chancellor


could have done more. Not just in our own industry but with regards to the UK as a whole and, of course, the wider world. Just a few months ago nobody could have


predicted the world we live in today with Brexit looming, Donald Trump in the White House (well some of the time anyway) and closer to home a big U-turn in the Budget and Scotland pressing for another independence referendum. Much of this can have little if any influence on our business but we can only look at the potential ramifications. The Budget climb down does mean that members who are self-employed will now not suffer from the planned National Insurance increases, which is good news. On business rates, the Chancellor announced £435 million in business rates relief. This is aimed at those businesses facing significant increases after the 2017 revaluation. He also stated that he cannot abolish the tax given it’s used to fund local government, and made reference to the need to find a way to find a “better way of taxing the digital part of the economy”.


16 | www.innovativeelectricalretailing.co.uk I’m tempted to remind him that a past retra


president, John Hutchinson, suggested just such a scheme several years ago, citing the inherent unfairness to ‘bricks and mortar’ retailers. Had the then government listened, the High Street may not be in the situation we find it today! We wait with bated breath… On matters closer to the heart of our businesses, the official advice from the Primary Authority in Peterborough and Whirlpool is now ‘not’ to use the tumble dryers which need to be modified. This has led to several members being requested to make refunds to consumers. It is not helped by sections of the media and consumer websites telling consumers that they are entitled to a refund or replacement. To be clear, only a court can make you give a consumer a refund unless the purchase is a very recent one. In the case of the Whirlpool products this is extremely unlikely to be the case. If someone does take you to court and claim that the goods are “not fit for purpose” it is quite likely that the court would agree as they have now been told not to use them. Having said that, any award made by the


court would take into account the use that the consumer has enjoyed since purchasing the


April 2017


product and reduce the refund accordingly. You don’t want to go to court so the best course of action is to encourage the consumer to contact Whirlpool and arrange for their product to be modified. I met with Whirlpool recently and their


turnaround times for the modification have improved dramatically and, in many cases, are down to a few days. This affair is far from an ideal scenario for retailers and managing customer expectations around repair and replacement is likely to be a continuing challenge.


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