UK Companies Ripping off Irish Consumers

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

I've been angry at this for a while but today really set me off. UK distributors / wholesale business with a 2-tier pricing policy.

Generally we deal with UK businesses in GBP due to their silly exchange rates but every now and then you get one crazy company that won't do business in GBP to Irish companies. Grand so and i take my business else where.

Today however after pulling one such company up on a 39.8% paddytax (1.6 Euro to the £). Their simple (shocking) response was - but Arnotts and Brown Thomas pay it so why won't you? My reply was (put more politely) we pay higher insurance / vat and quite frankly the buying department in those big stores is probably just lazy and don't know how bad your ripping them off.

I know you might be thinking such is life and move on but this company seem massively keen on doing business but are caught in a practice of ripping off the Irish customers and have dug so deep they can't get out.

I'm well tempted to call them on it on our company blog, probably a bad idea though. Anyway, just wanted to suggest that all entrepreneurs here call them on it EVERY time untill this practice is done away with.

Dabko

Totally agree with you on this one. They really must think we are an awful bunch of effin cabbage heads!:mad:

And heres the solution - i use a uk based geographcal phone number supplied from a voip provider. I have set up a .co.uk website set up with very minimal business information (using a friends UK address). I use this to get a quote first. When i then get the "paddy quote", i confront them with the GBP quote.

This usually make them pull their fat thieving fingers out!

Fluffybums

A question, if you are in retail and obtain an item at E30 but think you can sell it at E60 would you? If you thought you could get E100 would you mark it up at that price?



If you don't like the price offered don't buy it, tell the supplier that the price is too high and you are taking your business else where. Eventually the message will get through. It is not rocket science.

Mickk

The Sun had a campaign a while ago after sterling dived, it was naming and shaming the Uk suppliers still using an exchange rate of 1.5:1. They didn't mention the fact that the Uk Sun costs ~30p and ours is about a euro?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

I get what your saying Fluffybums but the point is they are so stuck ripping off the Irish businesses they can't actually stop it without admitting to in this case BT / Arnotts that they have been ripping them off too.

I guess i'm in a fortunate position because we have power behind us but for sure the small operator is getting a raw deal. The sooner this stops the quicker the economy as a whole can recover.

bistro

I think the small operator has to just grow a set and tell them to shag off;)

Dont pay it - here or abroad. And when they try to screw you on shipping, tell them you'll have your own courier collect it.

conolan

Dabko wrote: »

And heres the solution - i use a uk based geographcal phone number supplied from a voip provider. I have set up a .co.uk website set up with very minimal business information (using a friends UK address).

Now that's thinking. Nice one.

cardrooms

Business's in the UK probably do rip Irish people off with the euro rate but it also works vice versa. When we travel from N. Ireland to Dublin, it is pound of euro at the toll roads. Even when going to croke park, the GAA has charged us pound for euro and I can remember paying pound for punt at clones. The fact is that many companies do it and its a disgrace. I was in a a clothes shop recetly in Craigavon (Armagh) and it it said €1 = 85p and I was looking to make a purchase but I didn't cause it was cheaper to pay in Euro and I obviously wasn't carrying any with me. I thought this was very silly of them as it is no where near the border.

IIMII

Why not ring the purchasing dept in Brown Thomas and Arnotts and tell them that their business is being discussed publicly and being used to inflate prices to Irish customers?

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

cardrooms I agree with you but can understand that Croke park etc are probably less keen to accept GBP simply because its a hassle to lodge and gives them extra work. Best thing to do in clothes shops is pay with Credit Card.

@IIMII lol, i'm not on a crusade to help large multiples, ringing them to say there purchasing department hasn't done the very basic back ground work i did would be a thankless pursuit and win no friends for sure. Espically with BT who make every effort to ensure that they are the sole distributors of many brands to avoid competition here.

DubTony

Fancy Dresser wrote: »

@IIMII lol, i'm not on a crusade to help large multiples, ringing them to say there purchasing department hasn't done the very basic back ground work i did would be a thankless pursuit and win no friends for sure. Espically with BT who make every effort to ensure that they are the sole distributors of many brands to avoid competition here.

Oh I don't know. If you thought you were bring f*cked over and couldn't do a lot about it, it seems like a nice revenge tactic to me. Ring them up, tell them who you are, and name and shame the supplier. Let nature take its course F*cker f*cked.

BTW, Debenhams still have £10 / €15 on packs of mens socks. :rolleyes: