MAIL ORDER customers have been advised to boycott Littlewoods. From next month, the company, which owns Kays, Great Universal, and Shop Direct Ltd, will charge islanders VAT on goods

‘The Guernsey Consumer Group strongly recommends that Channel Islands customers shop around for better value,’ said chairman Roy Bisson.

‘I have no doubt that Littlewoods will be claiming back the VAT from HM Customs and will fail to pass on that saving to their customers.’

Mr Bisson said the move would not set a precedent for other companies trading with the Channel Islands.

‘I’m appalled that Littlewoods should take this unprecedented action. If other mail-order companies trading on the Internet have computer systems that automatically deduct the VAT on Channel Islands orders, I cannot see why a company the size of Littlewoods cannot do the same.’

Deputy Commerce and Employment minister Carla McNulty Bauer said: ‘They should not be applying this – it’s bad practice. VAT is not applicable on goods and services received in or from the Channel Islands. Fundamentally, this is a voluntary price increase.

‘I’m surprised that Littlewoods are doing this because it is an illogical step. VAT is a government tax and it goes straight through their books and goes straight to their government. Does this mean that they are keeping it in their revenue stream or passing it on to the government as an additional tax, which is unnecessary?’

Deputy McNulty Bauer agreed that islanders should shop around and said existing customers should write to the company to complain.

‘To those customers who are affected here, I would urge them to respond to Littlewoods and contact us at Commerce and Employment.’

Littlewoods, which is the biggest mail-order company in the UK, said it had instigated the charge to bring all its component companies into line on VAT policy following its recent merger with Shop Direct.

It has, as ‘a special offer for the Channel Islands’, offered a 10% discount until the charge kicks in.

A company spokesman said: ‘Once Littlewoods and Shop Direct merged, they wanted to align the policy and this is what they decided on doing. For this reason, we are offering the 10% discount as the lead-in.’

The Trading Standards Service said it was powerless to stop the move, but offered to help any customers who might have ordered prior to the move but subsequently received a VAT-inclusive charge.

Former customer Aldwyn Le Cocq, 60, said: ‘I’m not very happy about it. At the moment, Freemans and ‘La’ Redoute don’t charge, but Kays have. It is a rip-off, it really is.’

He believed Littlewoods would lose customers as result.

‘It’s cutting down on choice in Guernsey and I hope people will vote with their feet and order from catalogue companies who are not taking it off.’

*The Guernsey Press and sister newspaper the Jersey Evening Post are launching a Channel Island protest against Littlewoods’ decision to start charging VAT to local customers.

The company is not putting enough effort into helping

its customers in the islands get what is rightly theirs – VAT-free shopping.

It owns the following home shopping businesses: Abound, Additions Direct, Choice, Great Universal, Kays, Littlewoods, IXDirect.com, Marshall Ward and Sport E.

If you are one of the many customers who will be made to pay more for nothing please tell us so we can help to make your protest heard. Text the word Little to 0762 480 3210, email your comments to newsroom@guernsey-press.com or leave a message on our competitions hot-line 240241.