houndog wrote:I placed my order with HMV here in the UK when it was first announced this title would be released, on the 6th August.
but this weekend i recieved the following email (or this is the text from it)
We're really sorry, but the suppliers have now informed us that this item has now been discontinued, and they are not planning to manufacture any further copies.
We are going to try to see if we can get the item from an alternate source for you for a further 30 days. If we aren't able to get any more stock, then we will send you another email to let you know that your order has been cancelled. If we are successful we will let you know when the item is on its way to you.
Please note that you won't be charged for the item until we dispatch it.
Anybody else got this or know if its true its already discontinued ??????[/quote
I have checked the HMV Website for PFAP but there is now no entry for it.
I ordered mine from Amazon(UK) a couple of months ago. The following may have something to do with it:
Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North, Labour)
Clause 198 aims to repeal the exemption from VAT that low-value goods imported from the Channel Islands have been entitled to. That exemption is part of the low-value consignment relief scheme—to save time, I shall refer to it as LVCR—under which goods costing less than £15 imported into the UK from non-EU countries are exempt from VAT. Although the Channel Islands are part of the UK, they are not part of the EU VAT area, so goods entering from the Channel Islands are VAT-exempt. Large companies such as HMV, which base their dispatch operations in the Channel Islands, have therefore been able to sell their low-value products more cheaply than companies dispatching from the mainland. Some companies, such as Holland and Barrett, have campaigned for the exemption to be ended on the basis that they cannot compete with companies that do not have to charge VAT. The clause would end LVCR for the Channel Islands, so that goods imported from there would be subject to VAT.
We support the removal of LVCR from the Channel Islands to protect the interests of businesses based elsewhere in the UK, and to increase the UK tax take. It is right that UK companies be able to trade in their home market without being undercut. However, we have some concerns about how thoroughly the Government have considered the alternatives to that approach, and they have a serious responsibility to do so given the impact that the move will have on the Channel Islands. The Post Office estimates that it will lose a massive chunk of its revenue, and the scale of job losses in the Channel Islands is estimated to be significant. Some estimate that unemployment in Jersey will increase by 50% as a direct result of major companies relocating away from the island.
That relocation could be to the UK mainland. HMV has said that it will transfer its mail order centre from Guernsey to Birmingham. However, in some instances, those jobs could go further afield, because LVCR will still apply to other non-EU countries such as Switzerland, Andorra, and Gibraltar. Companies will be free to move their dispatch operations to those countries and keep the same benefits. How effective is the clause if that option is left wide open? We know that big companies are mobile. There is nothing to stop them moving their packaging and dispatch operations to wherever the tax regime is best, and that is their right. However, it is the Government’s responsibility to look at how to create the best possible regulations in the light of that predictable behaviour.
One solution is to consider withdrawing LVCR from all non-EU countries. It would not be appropriate to commit to that without thoroughly reviewing all the appropriate data, but I ask the Minister to confirm today whether the Government have considered that option and what their conclusion was. Chasing companies from one country to another, and closing loopholes a country at a time, is certainly not sensible tax planning. If the Government plan to do that, they need to ensure that they create a level of certainty for businesses.
Some behaviours can be predicted, and some are less predictable, so one has to question what the actual yield will be from the measure. With regard to the yields that are predicted to result from the Channel Islands loophole being closed, what consideration has been given to the possibility of the loophole being further exploited? We will not oppose the withdrawal of the exemption from the Channel Islands, and we have not tabled any amendments on the subject, but I seek reassurance from the Minister that consideration has been given to the issues, in order to mitigate the concerns that the measure will not achieve its aim.
Brian