Reply With QuoteI have not managed that but I think it would depend on what you were going to purchase.
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Hi , I was wondering if anyone had negotiated a discount while availing themselves with the interest free offer at Watches of Switzerland .
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I have not managed that but I think it would depend on what you were going to purchase.
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As I understand it, any discount that is offered to a cash buyer must be available to a buyer using other means of finance.
Of course getting a shop to honour it may be a different story.
I understood that the retailer paid a commission to the finance house for the ability to offer 0% finance.
Can’t see why they’d give both discount and 0% finance.
Ive bought a couple of watches on interest free.......
Asked for a discount, was politely told no, its one or the other!
I was told this too at Beaverbrooks; discount or interest free - I couldn’t have both. That was on a Speedy Sapphire though so not a hard watch for them to sell. I opted for the discount and paid myself back virtually interest free given the appalling rates for
savers...
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Strictly speaking, they are not allowed to offer you 'Interest Free or a Discount'. That is then not interest free at all is it!?
An old TZ thread reaffirms this fact:
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...t-the-retailer
I went about this in a different way. I knew which Speedy I wanted and I was going on holiday and had booked my flights so knew which terminal I was leaving from at Heathrow. I contacted WoS there and paid a 10% deposit for them to get in the specific watch I wanted (Speedy Moonwatch Professional with the presentation box, nato strap and eye piece).
I also got a 18 month 0% purchase credit card specifically for this purchase and then got the watch VAT Free and paid off the balance interest free over the remaining 18 months...
It is a slightly round about way of doing it but no reason you couldn’t apply the same logic to a discount in the shop?
Sounds like an urban myth to me - Anyone able to point to any law or regulation to support this?Originally Posted by Dan1981
Agreed. People may be extrapolating the no credit card surcharge to this situation.
I don't have any regulation to show but the sofa shops always stated they can't offer cash discounts while advertising 0% finance deals. Don't know if that's financial regulation, advertising standards or just sales BS.
To the OP question, I got a hefty discount on a tag while taking the 0% also. This was from Goldsmiths and a couple of years ago though so things may have changed
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Other way around but car dealers get around this by calling it a deposit contribution rather than a discount as the discount must be available to all customers, I believe, as you can't discriminate against someone's method of payment. For example £3.5k discount for people taking interest bearing finance etc.
You're fine to charge a % if paying by credit vs debit as the retailer genuinely incurs costs there and the cost is different across different cards (Amex) so they leave it at a set fee - 3% iirc at most places.
We don't know what it costs the retailer to allow interest free credit so really a cash buyer might just be given a kind of deposit contribution.
You’re not fine to charge a % for credit cards https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ne...te-law-change/
I'm sure I have misunderstood that but just to be clear the shop cannot enforce a charge when using a credit card , not since 2013.
I always try and negotiate the discount before telling them how I will pay, when I discount is offered I then ask if the discount is the same whatever the means of payment.
In the case of cars I will get the best discount I can even if it requires taking out the finance and then settle the finance with cash as soon as the documentation comes in
In the good old days I could get 20% discount at WoS. I doubt they would offer that these days. (But I know certain retails that will.)
I think this confusion stems from the car industry. Typically retailers used to offer a discount on the list price of a car, but would only offer that discount if you paid using their preferred finance house, ie. VW Financial Services when you bought an Audi. This discount was on offer because you as the consumer would still pay more owing to interest charged on the finance. This same discount of list price wasn't made available to cash buyers.
It wasn't so much that the FCA considered this an unfair practice on cash buyers, but such that it was pushing people towards finance and it not being immediately clear what they were paying for a car.
Additionally, I think there is the usual confusion that a shop has to sell you something at a given price if they've advertised or made it available at a price to another buyer. I believe a retailer is under no obligation to honour a price and the contract of purchase is only binding when both parties agree. Advertising at a price is not contractually binding.
To the OP's question. Last time I bought a watch from an AD, it was very much one or the other. Discount or interest free, not both.
So was the discount the VAT %? Hope WoS paid the VAT.
A quick google suggests that cash discounts are fine and legally in the UK and that 'cash' in this context covers bank transfer...
The airport sales are equivalent to VAT free rather than VAT free, as I understand it, so a 16.67% discount. Can't see WoS trying to dodge tax!
Never understood why they do it and, not being a frequent flyer, I never get the chance to buy!
Not in shops, no, but I'm sure I always pay extra when booking flights or paying for car insurance?I'm with you on the deposit contribution. Always take it and settle after.
Not sure who paid the VAT but yes, it was about 17% off the list price...
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Yes, about 17% and the rest on 18 months interest free on the card...
What airline is that? EasyJet certainly don’t charge, don’t think anyone else should be doing so either.
https://www.easyjet.com/en/terms-and-conditions/fees
I haven't booked a flight since our honeymoon five years ago as my wife does it off the joint cashback card now, so might have changed. The honeymoon was with Virgin and I definitely paid extra then.
Yes, rules changed in 2018 https://www.abta.com/news/what-you-n...t-card-charges
When customers took interest free credit to buy our products the finance company used to transfer between 88- 94% of the amount depending on the length of agreement/terms the customer was offered. If the customer chose ‘buy now, pay later’ then we used to get 80-85% of the money. I would imagine the volume of sales the big retailers put the finance companies way they may well have lower commission than we did.
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