Is Jewson for retail?

[opps]

yep, Jewson is retail, i often purchase DIY stuff from them , but as already said - make sure the price is what you will pay, often see quoted prices do NOT include VAT - ...... and not trade or minimum quantity

screwfix for example send me a paper offer sheet(s) - where the price is ex-vat - originally that was not clear, very tiny print in the item detail with part number , now they seem to put that info in large print on each page, so i have been caught out , what i thought was a good deal - only to arrive at store when 20% added........ needless to say I did not purchase, normally i would check, but i just checked the paperwork in the car as I was going past anyway , it was a deal on Dewalt organiser and Stanley Organisers

That is illegal.

Any company that knowing has non business customers (ie. Joe public) is, by law, required to make the VAT price more obvious on the shelving end caps or their website/ marketing material than the non-VAT price.

If you can be bothered, you can report them to the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority). They take no prisoners- I have previously complained about both Apple and Uber, and the ASA threatened them, leading them to them acquiesce and comply with UK consumer law. With regards to the Apple case, they globally changed the false statement on their website.

The ASA will contact screwfix, and unless you registered as trade, they will give screwfix a warning. A shot across the bow. The potential fines are massive. Offenders comply pretty quickly.

 

[ETAF]

thanks , i wont bother , as they have fixed it .
As i said
where the price is ex-vat - originally that was not clear, very tiny print in the item detail with part number , now they seem to put that info in large print on each page,

interesting , they have to make it more obvious , i'm sure i have other examples , where i have got caught out. Certainly on the phone i have to ask...... what price they are quoting, and lots quote ex-vat

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Certainly on the phone i have to ask...... what price they are quoting, and lots quote ex-vat

From your previous comments it sounds as though you've been talking to trade places a lot, though. In my experience they will almost always quote ex-VAT, especially if you don't tell them you are non-registered at the start of the conversation

 

[opps]

thanks , i wont bother , as they have fixed it .
As i said
where the price is ex-vat - originally that was not clear, very tiny print in the item detail with part number , now they seem to put that info in large print on each page,

interesting , they have to make it more obvious , i'm sure i have other examples , where i have got caught out. Certainly on the phone i have to ask...... what price they are quoting, and lots quote ex-vat

That is still not legal- if you are saying that they display a notice that prices are subject to VAT. If they sell to the public, by law, the price that is most visible had to include VAT, they can use the same font size (or smaller) bellow to display the non-vat price below it.

 

[ETAF]

yes, i do often talk to companies that deal with both the trade and also the general public .........

thanks opps , learnt something ....... again, i'm sure i have seen prices with Ex-Vat and then underneath in smaller print vat price - in various shops - i will be keeping an eye out now that i know the law

 

[Deleted member 174758]

One of the worst offenders has to be ITS (power tools) who always quote ex-VAT as opposed to almost every other competitive power tool vendor who quotes including VAT. In their case a lot of people buying from them won't be VAT registered

 

[ETAF]

i like the websites where its clearly mentioned , and you have th eoption to display with or without VAT
coversmerchants.co.uk

and some ask you on entry into the site - cant remmebr who TLC.... or similar

 

[opps]

yes, i do often talk to companies that deal with both the trade and also the general public .........

thanks opps , learnt something ....... again, i'm sure i have seen prices with Ex-Vat and then underneath in smaller print vat price - in various shops - i will be keeping an eye out now that i know the law

Like I said, if the public are allowed to use the store, the VAT price has to be the most prominent. I am 99.9% certain that I am correct. I used to sell pet supplements to both trade and the public. I familiarised myself with VAT nuances. I know that I can (online) sell a potato and post it via Royal mail and there is no VAT on the whole transaction. If I were to sell a single potato and a single biscuit, and charge for delivery (via Royal mail), the potato is still sold VAT free, the biscuit is subject to VAT, and the delivery cost now becomes VAT rated.

And to muddy the waters, if I sent, via a third party carrier, FexEx etc, the vat for the delivery is automatically applicable. The Royal Mail have some odd exemption, they are not considered to be Value Added unless the item is VAT rated.

 

[opps]

yes, i do often talk to companies that deal with both the trade and also the general public .........

thanks opps , learnt something ....... again, i'm sure i have seen prices with Ex-Vat and then underneath in smaller print vat price - in various shops - i will be keeping an eye out now that i know the law

I used to use a decorators' merchant that had the price in small print under the VAT free price. I politely tried to explain the the notice out side the store said Trade and Public. They gave me a blank stare ( the lights are on but no one is home). I had cash trade account. If for example, I purchased a bottle of terebene pint driers, the receipt would say that they had given me a 33% discount but in reality, I paid the same price as a member of the public that walked in off the street.

 

[opps]

One of the worst offenders has to be ITS (power tools) who always quote ex-VAT as opposed to almost every other competitive power tool vendor who quotes including VAT. In their case a lot of people buying from them won't be VAT registered

good point, I only used them a few times but I am pretty sure that their (screwfix format sized catalogue) is EX vat

 

[opps]

thanks , i wont bother , as they have fixed it .
As i said
where the price is ex-vat - originally that was not clear, very tiny print in the item detail with part number , now they seem to put that info in large print on each page,

interesting , they have to make it more obvious , i'm sure i have other examples , where i have got caught out. Certainly on the phone i have to ask...... what price they are quoting, and lots quote ex-vat

If you are dealing with a company that is only knowingly doing business to businesses transactions- they are not subject to consumer protection laws. In the event that you as a customer, have a problem, you need to "sue" them.

No one using Howdens pays the list price. Everyone gets a discount (of varying degrees). A retail shop would not be allowed to that because they have to prove that they sold a given item at a given price within the last 3(?) months.

That said, I once registered a domain name through GoDaddy. Minutes later I discovered that, as per the NOMINET rules, I was unable to exercise my right to opt out of the WHOIS database. GoDaddy make customers pay for a service that should be free.

I rang them. Their response was tough luck, we only deal with trade (which isn't true) and because you used your company name, consumer law doesn't apply. Sometime later I discovered that as a self employed person, I am protected by consumer law (I am not a company).

 

[speccy]

Oh this is an interesting thread, indeed my local TP and Jewsons a constant battle. As noted Selco are on the whole better but as people have mentioned here it's a constant ball ache..

Every fcking thing i want to order i first have to check the retail price on say wickes for example. Then bump them down as they invariably quote their retail price which is always ex vat too, higher than Wickes retail which includes VAT.

I really dislike that, let alone dealing with builders and some of them equally dreaming up job prices to boot.

 

[opps]

Oh this is an interesting thread, indeed my local TP and Jewsons a constant battle. As noted Selco are on the whole better but as people have mentioned here it's a constant ball ache..

Every fcking thing i want to order i first have to check the retail price on say wickes for example. Then bump them down as they invariably quote their retail price which is always ex vat too, higher than Wickes retail which includes VAT.

I really dislike that, let alone dealing with builders and some of them equally dreaming up job prices to boot.

I find TP prohibitively expensive given that I don't have either a trade or cash account with them. In general, any company that is predominately trade based will offer discounts proportional to your annual spend. A friend of mine used to buy epoxy resin for £25 (inc VAT). I contacted the same company, as a first timer, they quoted me £40 inc VAT