Every week we will break down, debunk and demystify your rights as a shopper in Australia. This week we are looking at whether it’s legal for shops to offer a cheaper price if a customer offers to pay in cash?
We all know life is getting more expensive than ever before and how important it is to stretch every dollar you make.
That’s why each week we’ll answer a question surrounding what shoppers are – and aren’t – entitled to when dealing with retailers and manufacturers.
Thanks for the weekly column. Maybe I’m too young for this, but I have a question about shops that knock money off for customers who pay in cash.
I recently moved out of home for the first time and my dad was helping me buy a fridge. We managed to get $200 off the price simply by telling them we could pay cash on the day.
This really feels dodgy – is it legal for shops to do this?
Hi there, to answer your questions – it’s not illegal but it is a little antiquated.
Fundamentally it’s between a business and a customer to set the terms of the transaction.
If both parties are happy for a lower price with cash, so be it.
Once upon a time cash was cheaper to process for businesses than some other methods of credit.
But these days paying with a card – whether it’s credit or debit – is so ubiquitous that the real challenge is getting the sale, not how it’s paid.
Remember cash is not totally cost-free either. Businesses still need to pay the wages of staff to count it, and to have someone drop it off at the bank. But you could argue that those wage costs are already accounted for.
So why does it feel dodgy?
This may stem from increased knowledge around the “shadow economy”. That’s what the tax office describes as the cash-only economy where businesses don’t record those transactions as income, and therefore don’t pay any tax.
It’s perfectly acceptable for a business to accept “cash only” – but they must keep good records and report all income, regardless of how it comes in.
At the end of the day, as long as you get an invoice or a receipt for your fridge, you still have your consumer rights.
Getting $200 off because your dad had cash on him is just the icing on the cake.
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