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| 'These shops have been very naughty': passengers react to airport VAT row | 'These shops have been very naughty': passengers react to airport VAT row |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| There was outrage and a touch of weary resignation about reports of the airport retailers’ VAT “scam” at Heathrow Terminal 2 on Wednesday. Most ire was saved for the fact that some of the country’s biggest retailers are involved. | There was outrage and a touch of weary resignation about reports of the airport retailers’ VAT “scam” at Heathrow Terminal 2 on Wednesday. Most ire was saved for the fact that some of the country’s biggest retailers are involved. |
| Related: Airport VAT row: customers threatening to not show boarding passes | Related: Airport VAT row: customers threatening to not show boarding passes |
| Geoff Dyer, 65, from Bristol, who was waiting in arrivals, said he had been asked by retailers for his boarding pass every time he had shopped with them and felt cheated. “I just thought it was common practice,” Dyer, who is retired, said. | Geoff Dyer, 65, from Bristol, who was waiting in arrivals, said he had been asked by retailers for his boarding pass every time he had shopped with them and felt cheated. “I just thought it was common practice,” Dyer, who is retired, said. |
| “I think it’s quite a low trick,” Dyer 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.” | “I think it’s quite a low trick,” Dyer 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.” |
| John Cockram, 81, a retired restaurateur from Wales, took a sterner view, although he also said he avoided duty-free shopping because of what he saw as already inflated prices. | John Cockram, 81, a retired restaurateur from Wales, took a sterner view, although he also said he avoided duty-free shopping because of what he saw as already inflated prices. |
| “I think they have been dishonest,” Cockram said. “When I was in business I couldn’t have got away with that – it’s almost like Starbucks,” he said, referring to the backlash against the coffee chain when its complicated tax arrangements were revealed. | “I think they have been dishonest,” Cockram said. “When I was in business I couldn’t have got away with that – it’s almost like Starbucks,” he said, referring to the backlash against the coffee chain when its complicated tax arrangements were revealed. |
| Veronica Braddock, 59, from Somerset, said she first learned about the VAT scam that very morning when she heard a news report on the radio. She thought there were legitimate and important reasons for showing her boarding pass. | Veronica Braddock, 59, from Somerset, said she first learned about the VAT scam that very morning when she heard a news report on the radio. She thought there were legitimate and important reasons for showing her boarding pass. |
| “I just thought it was so they could check how much you were taking out of the country,” said Braddock, who was waiting for a flight to Bangkok. But she didn’t feel like causing a fuss if she was asked to show her boarding pass at a checkout. “I’d just give it because I can’t be bothered with any hassle,” she said. “It’s enough hassle coming to this airport and trying to find where you are supposed to be going.” | “I just thought it was so they could check how much you were taking out of the country,” said Braddock, who was waiting for a flight to Bangkok. But she didn’t feel like causing a fuss if she was asked to show her boarding pass at a checkout. “I’d just give it because I can’t be bothered with any hassle,” she said. “It’s enough hassle coming to this airport and trying to find where you are supposed to be going.” |
| Owen Evans, 32, blamed the government for not stopping retailers taking advantage of the loophole. “It should be made illegal,” he said. “If the shops are playing the system it’s the government’s fault for allowing them to do that. Anyone would do that if it’s legal. Obviously you want to do the best for your business. But obviously it’s not providing the best service for your customers.” | Owen Evans, 32, blamed the government for not stopping retailers taking advantage of the loophole. “It should be made illegal,” he said. “If the shops are playing the system it’s the government’s fault for allowing them to do that. Anyone would do that if it’s legal. Obviously you want to do the best for your business. But obviously it’s not providing the best service for your customers.” |
| Hayley Burrey, 47, was waiting for a flight to Greece with her partner, Chris Lambert, 46, and their two daughters. She said the news had explained a lot about her experiences with duty-free retailers in the past. | |
| “Last year we were trying to buy things and they were insisting on boarding passes,” Burrey, from Salisbury, said. “I thought ‘why do they need boarding passes even for small things?’” | “Last year we were trying to buy things and they were insisting on boarding passes,” Burrey, from Salisbury, said. “I thought ‘why do they need boarding passes even for small things?’” |
| Burrey said she and her daughter had been trying to buy an item from the fashion retailer Fat Face. But she had left her boarding passes with Lambert while he waited elsewhere for the call to board their flight. “I was really annoyed with this lady because I thought this doesn’t make sense,” she said, adding that other shops had let her off when she told them she didn’t have the documents with her. | Burrey said she and her daughter had been trying to buy an item from the fashion retailer Fat Face. But she had left her boarding passes with Lambert while he waited elsewhere for the call to board their flight. “I was really annoyed with this lady because I thought this doesn’t make sense,” she said, adding that other shops had let her off when she told them she didn’t have the documents with her. |
| That wasn’t the first time Burrey, who owns a distribution company, had been asked to give her boarding pass details before paying for duty-free items. But, she added, she noticed several years ago that the policy seemed to be inconsistent, with some shops insisting on the documents and others letting the requirement slide. At one point she asked what the purpose was. “I was just told it was legalities or protocol,” she said. “It’s outrageous.” | That wasn’t the first time Burrey, who owns a distribution company, had been asked to give her boarding pass details before paying for duty-free items. But, she added, she noticed several years ago that the policy seemed to be inconsistent, with some shops insisting on the documents and others letting the requirement slide. At one point she asked what the purpose was. “I was just told it was legalities or protocol,” she said. “It’s outrageous.” |
| Ian Hassey’s first response to the VAT revelation was that he found it quite funny. But, he quickly added: “It’s quite scandalous actually, isn’t it? But it doesn’t surprise me at all in this country at the moment.” | |
| Hassey, from Thetford, Norfolk, added: “People are getting away with so much nowadays that people turn a blind eye to that. It’s just like companies not paying their full tax by having their head offices overseas. But I don’t think I would get away with it.” | Hassey, from Thetford, Norfolk, added: “People are getting away with so much nowadays that people turn a blind eye to that. It’s just like companies not paying their full tax by having their head offices overseas. But I don’t think I would get away with it.” |
| Asked about ministers urging retailers to ensure discounts are passed on to customers, he said: “It’s just not good enough. Typical of them as well, isn’t it? You’re not shocked when you hear it certainly.” | Asked about ministers urging retailers to ensure discounts are passed on to customers, he said: “It’s just not good enough. Typical of them as well, isn’t it? You’re not shocked when you hear it certainly.” |
| Jonathan Stanton, head of digital retail at Nintendo and a regular traveller, said he wanted the VAT he had paid in airport shops to be refunded. He said he felt cheated. “It’s unfair if they pocket the money,” he said. “It’s basically the VAT that we pay and they are pocketing it. | Jonathan Stanton, head of digital retail at Nintendo and a regular traveller, said he wanted the VAT he had paid in airport shops to be refunded. He said he felt cheated. “It’s unfair if they pocket the money,” he said. “It’s basically the VAT that we pay and they are pocketing it. |
| “It doesn’t make any difference to me today, but I have just come back from LA and I’m going to New York in a few weeks. I would probably like them to give me the VAT back at the point of purchase.” | “It doesn’t make any difference to me today, but I have just come back from LA and I’m going to New York in a few weeks. I would probably like them to give me the VAT back at the point of purchase.” |
| Related: The Boarding Pass Revolt: why passengers are taking a stand | Related: The Boarding Pass Revolt: why passengers are taking a stand |
| “I thought it was just a security requirement,” Stanton added. “It was never explained to me at the time.” | “I thought it was just a security requirement,” Stanton added. “It was never explained to me at the time.” |
| Peter Cockburn, 69, from Sussex, said he’d often thought something must be going on with airport shops, which promised tax savings but he felt sometimes charged higher prices than the high street. “You know how it is,” said Cockburn, who was on his way to Singapore. “You go to WHSmith in town, you buy a bar of chocolate, it’s 70p. Here’s it’s 95p. It’s not too much of a scam.” | Peter Cockburn, 69, from Sussex, said he’d often thought something must be going on with airport shops, which promised tax savings but he felt sometimes charged higher prices than the high street. “You know how it is,” said Cockburn, who was on his way to Singapore. “You go to WHSmith in town, you buy a bar of chocolate, it’s 70p. Here’s it’s 95p. It’s not too much of a scam.” |
| Although he agreed the failure of shops to pass on their savings was unfair, he said he would still show his boarding pass at the checkout if asked. But, he added: “A lot of stuff is very expensive so I don’t usually bother. If you are a smoker maybe there’s something to it, but if you are buying books and papers there’s no point.” | Although he agreed the failure of shops to pass on their savings was unfair, he said he would still show his boarding pass at the checkout if asked. But, he added: “A lot of stuff is very expensive so I don’t usually bother. If you are a smoker maybe there’s something to it, but if you are buying books and papers there’s no point.” |
| His sentiment was echoed by the reggae singer Roy Ellis, who was waiting for a flight back to Switzerland, his adoptive homeland. “I never buy anything at duty free since I found out that things are usually cheaper in the country you’re going to. | His sentiment was echoed by the reggae singer Roy Ellis, who was waiting for a flight back to Switzerland, his adoptive homeland. “I never buy anything at duty free since I found out that things are usually cheaper in the country you’re going to. |
| “They say there’s no tax on it, but outside it’s cheaper with tax than in the airport. For me it’s a last-minute thing, but you get ripped off.” | “They say there’s no tax on it, but outside it’s cheaper with tax than in the airport. For me it’s a last-minute thing, but you get ripped off.” |
| But, Ellis added, the shops were serving a captive market who had already checked in their luggage and gone through security checks. “They take away your stuff then you go past these shops,” he said. “If you take a bottle of water, for example, they say you can’t take any liquid. The same thing they take away from you they then sell back to you in duty free.” |