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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/aug/11/airport-vat-treasury-prices-travellers-tax-boarding-cards
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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Airport shops face revolt of customers refusing to show boarding passes | Airport shops face revolt of customers refusing to show boarding passes |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Shops at airports are facing a consumer revolt over claims that retailers are asking customers to show boarding cards to avoid paying VAT without passing discounts on to customers. | Shops at airports are facing a consumer revolt over claims that retailers are asking customers to show boarding cards to avoid paying VAT without passing discounts on to customers. |
| Customers of prominent stores including WH Smith, Boots and Dixons on social media have pledged not to show their boarding passes at airports and urged their followers to do the same. | Customers of prominent stores including WH Smith, Boots and Dixons on social media have pledged not to show their boarding passes at airports and urged their followers to do the same. |
| They have also been demanding answers from the stores about whether they are passing on to customers the VAT savings they make at airports. | They have also been demanding answers from the stores about whether they are passing on to customers the VAT savings they make at airports. |
| There is growing concern that information on boarding cards is being used to claim VAT relief on sales to travellers leaving the EU. | There is growing concern that information on boarding cards is being used to claim VAT relief on sales to travellers leaving the EU. |
| Retailers do not have to pay 20% VAT on goods sold to customers travelling outside the EU. | Retailers do not have to pay 20% VAT on goods sold to customers travelling outside the EU. |
| Related: The Boarding Pass Revolt: why passengers are taking a stand | |
| The revolt comes after Treasury minister David Gauke said some retailers were not passing on savings to customers. | The revolt comes after Treasury minister David Gauke said some retailers were not passing on savings to customers. |
| Speaking to the Independent he said: “The VAT relief at airports is intended to reduce prices for travellers, not as a windfall gain for shops. | Speaking to the Independent he said: “The VAT relief at airports is intended to reduce prices for travellers, not as a windfall gain for shops. |
| “While many retailers do pass this saving on to customers, it is disappointing that some are choosing not to. We urge all airside retailers to use this relief for the benefit of their customers.” | “While many retailers do pass this saving on to customers, it is disappointing that some are choosing not to. We urge all airside retailers to use this relief for the benefit of their customers.” |
| Elizabeth Huddlestone, 63, from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, waiting in the arrivals hall at Heathrow terminal two, said she had often been asked for her boarding pass when shopping in airport duty free areas. “And I’ve always got it out because you don’t question them, you think it is an important thing,” she said. | |
| Huddlestone, a retiree, welcomed the government’s call to retailers to start passing on discounts to duty-free customers. “I’m glad that somebody has finally found out about it, but the important thing is something is done,” she said. | |
| Geoff Dyer, 65, from Bristol, said duty-free retailers had asked for his boarding pass every time he had shopped with them. “I just thought it was common practice,” said Dyer, who is also retired. | |
| “I think it’s quite a low trick,” he added. “Really now it’s every man for himself in this financial climate, but I think these shops, with the names they carry, have been very naughty.” | |
| A spokeswoman for Boots said customers were asked to show boarding cards at airports. She said: “It is not compulsory to ask for them [boarding cards] so if someone doesn’t want to show it we won’t force it.” | |
| In a statement the company said information on boarding cards was used to ensure accurate accounting. It said: “Our airport store teams are asked to request and scan boarding cards to ensure the accuracy of our accounting records, which includes the accurate reporting of VAT. We request our customers’ boarding cards so that our VAT accounting is in line with the HMRC’s requirements. | In a statement the company said information on boarding cards was used to ensure accurate accounting. It said: “Our airport store teams are asked to request and scan boarding cards to ensure the accuracy of our accounting records, which includes the accurate reporting of VAT. We request our customers’ boarding cards so that our VAT accounting is in line with the HMRC’s requirements. |
| It added: “The HMRC and airports accept that this is general practice for all retailers located within airport terminals. Our pricing in airport stores is consistent with our London prices and VAT is not taken into account when setting prices of products. Showing a boarding card is not a compulsory requirement and any of our customers that do not wish to share this information can shop with us without the boarding card being scanned.” | It added: “The HMRC and airports accept that this is general practice for all retailers located within airport terminals. Our pricing in airport stores is consistent with our London prices and VAT is not taken into account when setting prices of products. Showing a boarding card is not a compulsory requirement and any of our customers that do not wish to share this information can shop with us without the boarding card being scanned.” |
| WH Smith confirmed that staff in its airport stores “requested” customers to show boarding passes, but conceded “there is no obligation on the part of the customer” to do so. | |
| It added that dual pricing would be impossible to implement even though many duty free shops already display two prices, one if you are flying in the EU and a lower price if you are flying outside the EU. WH Smith said: “Whilst much of what we sell, eg newspapers, magazines and books, is fixed price and does not attract VAT, any VAT relief associated with the identification of customers travelling outside of the EU is reported in accordance with UK legislation, and any relief obtained is reflected in our single price and extensive promotional offers provided to all of our customers. Operational and financial system constraints make any form of ‘dual pricing’ for our extensive product file a practical impossibility. | |
| “The destination data, regardless of whether it is to the UK, EU or beyond allows WHSmith to analyse the purchasing trends by time of day and by product category for customers travelling to different locations, and assists us in product ranging and placement decisions at our airport stores. This information is limited to the IATA three-digit destination airport codes, which form the basis of IATA’s worldwide airport database and does not give access to any personal data of WH Smith customers.” | “The destination data, regardless of whether it is to the UK, EU or beyond allows WHSmith to analyse the purchasing trends by time of day and by product category for customers travelling to different locations, and assists us in product ranging and placement decisions at our airport stores. This information is limited to the IATA three-digit destination airport codes, which form the basis of IATA’s worldwide airport database and does not give access to any personal data of WH Smith customers.” |
| Customers have expressed frustration at WH Smith’s refusal to offer dual prices. | |
| @WHSmith so it's impossible to charge two different prices at an airport? With an electronic till? I'd suggest trying slightly harder | |
| @WHSmith Impossible for you to have dual pricing in airports? You do already if you pay VAT on EU flights & not elsewhere. One giant scam. | |
| Others were annoyed at being directed to WH Smith’s self-service checkouts where it is impossible to buy items, including newspapers which are VAT-free, without scanning your boarding pass. | |
| @skynews whsmith self service require a boarding pass to scan-otherwise you can't buy it-more expensively than the high Street. | |
| A statement from Dixons Travel confirmed that its customers were also asked to show boarding passes, but added that “this is only on request and has not caused any reported issues”. | |
| It added that its airport stores followed standard practice by offering a single price for products for passengers to both UK and EU destinations. | |
| Many Twitter users have vowed to refuse to show boarding passes at airport stores. | Many Twitter users have vowed to refuse to show boarding passes at airport stores. |
| They included the classical music broadcaster Petroc Trelawny. | |
| oh to fly somewhere again so I can enjoy the small pleasure of refusing to show my boarding pass when I buy essentials at Boots and Smiths | oh to fly somewhere again so I can enjoy the small pleasure of refusing to show my boarding pass when I buy essentials at Boots and Smiths |
| Here’s a sample of others: | Here’s a sample of others: |
| @whsmith @boots Last time I ever show you my boarding pass you slimebags. Unbelievable!!! http://t.co/EjKDgP2aRq | @whsmith @boots Last time I ever show you my boarding pass you slimebags. Unbelievable!!! http://t.co/EjKDgP2aRq |
| Quite looking forward to refusing to show my boarding pass at WH Smiths or boots when I go to the airport next week | Quite looking forward to refusing to show my boarding pass at WH Smiths or boots when I go to the airport next week |
| @WHSmith going through Heathrow this morning. Following VAT revelations in news this morning,in your stores do I HAVE to give boarding pass? | @WHSmith going through Heathrow this morning. Following VAT revelations in news this morning,in your stores do I HAVE to give boarding pass? |
| @Laconic_doc next time they ask in Heathrow WH Smith or Boots I will refuse and tell them they have no legal right to ask for boarding pass | @Laconic_doc next time they ask in Heathrow WH Smith or Boots I will refuse and tell them they have no legal right to ask for boarding pass |
| It is not a legal requirement for passengers to show their boarding cards when buying supposedly duty free goods. But customers reported problems when they refused to show their boarding passes. | It is not a legal requirement for passengers to show their boarding cards when buying supposedly duty free goods. But customers reported problems when they refused to show their boarding passes. |
| @BBCBreakfast I declined to show boarding pass at Dixons, LGW last month. Was told 'it is the law' - would not process sale without it. | @BBCBreakfast I declined to show boarding pass at Dixons, LGW last month. Was told 'it is the law' - would not process sale without it. |
| In a email to the Guardian, Fowler added: “I flew out of Gatwick last month and needed a pair of headphones. When asked by Dixons staff for my BP I said I would rather not show it, which I think flummoxed them. I was told that they couldn’t process the transaction without it. I said that I wasn’t required to show my boarding pass and that’s when I was told ‘it’s the law’. | In a email to the Guardian, Fowler added: “I flew out of Gatwick last month and needed a pair of headphones. When asked by Dixons staff for my BP I said I would rather not show it, which I think flummoxed them. I was told that they couldn’t process the transaction without it. I said that I wasn’t required to show my boarding pass and that’s when I was told ‘it’s the law’. |
| “After an ‘it’s not’, ‘it is’ exchange, I left the headphones on the desk and walked away wondering whether the staff actually believed that it was the law or whether that was the line they were asked to tow [sic] by management.” | “After an ‘it’s not’, ‘it is’ exchange, I left the headphones on the desk and walked away wondering whether the staff actually believed that it was the law or whether that was the line they were asked to tow [sic] by management.” |
| @Peston I bought a bottle of water at Gatwick airport and questioned why I had to show my boarding pass in Boots. They were not impressed. | @Peston I bought a bottle of water at Gatwick airport and questioned why I had to show my boarding pass in Boots. They were not impressed. |