Sony UK fuels Christmas cheer with VAT back promo

That's why they do it...

...looks more generous than it really is. rank it along with the Up to* half price off (in reality 10% for 99.999999% of stock)

Letters and Digits are unable to take your subject right now - please hold

Wrong.

The recent VAT cut to 15% then back up to 17.5% in 2009 should be enough to show you what conniving gits retailers are.

An item costing £99.99 when VAT went down to 15% would have been changed to £97.86 saving all of a couple of quid. A few months later that same item (or more likely the revised model of a replacement) was back to £99.99. That VAT reduction pricing didn't last long.

When VAT went back up to 17.5% all those items now at £99.99 (including 15% VAT) were immediately revised up to £102.16 but when the replacement came out it went up to £109.99.

So yes you are right that the 2.5% increase in VAT to 20% is probably only a few quid here and there on items you don't buy often, but its how retailers will exploit it to sneak through some extra price rises to keep prices in that £xx9.99 style that is making me rush to get as much of my planned discretionary spending done before 31 Dec 2010! If Sony and others are going to help me with some discounts along the way then I, for one, welcome, and so forth....

PS - It was always clear that the only winners from the VAT cut in 2009 were the retailers due to tricks like this, and anyone buying anything that is normally priced EXCLUDING VAT, with the VAT added on at the end (e.g. phone bills).