All articles by Jac Roper – Page 17
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Dear Jac
Go where the buck stops: the top
Kirit Ved, who runs Ved’s News in Stoke Newington, keeps an eye on his property because, as I reported some time ago, his local council had him in court and made him change his shopfront in keeping with its listed building status even though Kirit…
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Dear Jac
Bill and Ben...a point of law
My caller wishes to remain anonymous, purely from shyness I think. I’ll call him Ben since the story features the Old Bill. Ben is very polite. He says: “A gentleman called yesterday quite early. He told my dad, ‘You sold me a Tuesday copy of my…
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Dear Jac
Can you raffle off a store?
Khalid Khawaja is fed up with several aspects of retailing and wants out. He doesn’t think he’ll get much for the store so he wondered if he could raffle it off in the same way that some people have raffled their houses.
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Dear Jac
You must give as good as you get
I’m sure retailers stuck in leasing arrangements with finance companies over failed photocopy firm Lanwall will be pleased to know that I have heard from Pam Hoffman, who campaigned on behalf of retailers for years, winning many judgements against Lanwall.
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Dear Jac
A crippling court case
Can anybody out there help in this case? It is shocking and for obvious reasons my caller remains anonymous. A customer came into his store in Manchester a while ago and wanted to sign for purchases of less than a fiver. The retailer explained that…
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Dear Jac
The checks for online betting
John Smith has been pondering the role of the internet in the sale of lottery tickets to the under-aged. He writes from Rockland St Mary PO in Norfolk: “We had a visit from Camelot with one of their underage testers just before the lottery closed at 7.30pm.
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Dear Jac
You must shop around when it comes to insurance
Joyce Wade rang from her shop in Ipswich to enquire whether others had complained about huge hikes in their annual insurance premium.
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Dear Jac
Another load of rubbish
I’ve had another complaint about rubbish collection company PHS Wastetech, which appears to operate much like utilities companies in that it has a rolling contract which runs in 12-month cycles. It renews your contract from the anniversary date whether you agree to it or not
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Tune in and pay the piper
Vivek Bhakta writes from Sharoe Green to ask what the score is with music licences: "I am a Londis retailer in Preston, Lancashire. I wish to play music (only the radio) in my shop. Kindly suggest what licence I need to go for. I believe...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Just pick up the paperwork!
Robert Gordon, financial controller of JG Ross Bakers which runs four convenience stores and 21 bake shops in Aberdeenshire, got in touch to air his frustration with Payzone. The group are with Barclaycard, terminal-wise, but last October...
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Dear JacDear Jac: Those blooming debts
The debt collectors are now threatening Flowerfete retailers on behalf of the liquidators KSA Recovery. Fresh Bouquets Ltd, t/a Flowerfete, went into voluntary creditors’ liquidation on February 18, leaving a number of retailers in the lurch on…
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Milking it for more
Following my reports on Medina Dairies making sudden demands for payments from previous customers, I got a comprehensive fax from Cliff White, White’s News, East Sussex.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: When banking gets personal
Mark has emailed to say: “I enjoy reading your articles in C-Store. There’s one this issue (April 15) ‘Nod, tip, wink’ about avoiding bank charges. I know that the banks very much disapprove of this practice, that personal bank accounts are for personal use...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: What price should you put on loyalty?
As some of you will unfortunately know, I can’t always fix it. Sometimes I can tell you straightaway as in, no, the energy company/bank/insurance underwriter will not listen to me and won’t care what I write about them. Short-sighted of them, I know.
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: And another thing...
Further on the subject of red tape, I’d like to add my voice to the clamour in our various trade press over the promised bonfi re from the government. They’ve counted them all up.
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Dear Jac
Dera Jac: Scammer time is here again
You can call this once bitten, twice shy, says Jignesh Patel who runs Shreeji in London’s Kentish Town. A big, nicely dressed, softly spoken guy came into his store during a busy period and cashed in some scratchcards. While this process was taking place he walked around the store picking
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Scammertime is here again
You can call this once bitten, twice shy, says Jignesh Patel who runs Shreeji in London's Kentish Town. A big, nicely dressed, softly spoken guy came into his store during a busy period and cashed in some scratchcards. While this process...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Keep on taking their pictures
Given the number of rules and regs and their forever updating, changing face, it’s no wonder we can’t all keep up. Mahesh Patel rang from Yogi Smurti Newsagents in London’s Shepherd’s Bush to say ...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Doing the supermarket shop
I'm getting yet more feedback on buying from the supers (featured in the past two columns). Here are two interesting, rather more 'remote' responses. Mollie emailed: "We visit supermarkets as well as using the C&Cs. We are a very small...
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Dear Jac
Dear Jac: Computer says no to VAT upgrade
Our website had a 'name can be supplied on request' comment from a retailer who is an ex-systems programmer and who had a complaint regarding the cost of updating his Point 4 Epos system to handle the imminent VAT increase in January. He...