UPDATE: Homebase accused of not passing on VAT cuts

DIYWEEK.NET

Unlike garden centre chain Dobbies, who never introduced the discount, Homebase announced to customers in December that it would reduce products at the till and then scrapped the pledge at the start of January without shoppers' knowledge.

Who would of guessed it, what a monumental insult to the taxpaying slaves of the UK to be insulted with a 2.5% VAT reduction which the retails then rape us of, why did Brown even bother with it, it was stated MSM that the likelyness of retailers passing on the cut would be a far cry and this is a prime example, line their pockets and stuff the public.

See the following search roughly 4th link down listing the homebase site with the the entry:

VAT CUT NOW AT HOMEBASE. In line with the recent Government announcement, Homebase has applied the VAT reduction to all products, for sales through all ...

Google search - homebase vat cut

And guess what, the page cant be found, ooh what a suprise

Homebase - cant find page

And if your not sure try the link from google search.


I think this is disgusting, the directors/store managers or who ever is behind it should be sacked, dragged through the streets of the UK to face the public and the rest.

I agree.... but why is this in the grey area?

2nd line.

reply to post by farther84


Wasn't sure where to put it, im always reading off the recent posts section as opposed to board section, where best should it go, conspiracy theories?

Can i even change it my self or can a mod do it for me, i was going to put it into the breaking news section but not sure it qualifies, if a mod wants to move this feel free?

[edit on 12/2/2009 by phushion]

Good post, Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I hate it how big companies screw the little guy.

Can't say much more really than they didn't pass on the saving to the customer when they said they were going to.

This statement was then removed from their website, as you pointed out. I have managed to grab what it said:

VAT update VAT CUT NOW AT HOMEBASE In line with the recent Government announcement, Homebase has applied the VAT reduction to all products, for sales through all channels – in store, online and phone. Shopping In Store When you go in to a Homebase store, all the prices you see displayed will include VAT at the old rate of 17.5%; however when you purchase you will have the reduction applied at the till. Shopping / Browsing Online For all our products that are available to buy online, the prices (for products and delivery charging) shown include the reduction to fall in line with the new VAT rate. In line with our approach in stores, all products that are available for browsing and that can be Stock checked, and where appropriate, Reserved for collection, will have the reduction applied at the till when you purchase. Why is the discount 2.13%, not 2.5%? To help you understand how the new VAT cut is calculated, please see the example below: The current product prices include VAT at 17.5%. So, for example, the VAT Exclusive price on a product that costs £100 would be £85.11. To calculate the price of the £100 item with VAT at only 15%, we add 15% to the VAT Exclusive price of £85.11, which means that the new price would be £97.87. This is the original price minus 2.13%.