Nick Wiles, CEO of PayPoint, has written an open letter to the company's retailer partners after what he terms a "challenging year".
In light of complaints about PayPoint from retailers – especially over such matters as a unilaterally-imposed per week charge in May that in many cases outstripped the commission earned – Wiles wrote that, "After listening to our retailer partners extensively over the past year, it is also clear to me that PayPoint’s relationship with its retailer partners has not been good enough and, too often, we have fallen short of what you should expect of us."
There was also controversy over exclusivity clauses with stores and suppliers that breached competition law, according to utilities regulator Ofgem, and led to British Gas being fined £1.5m.
In a remarkably frank and open communication, Wiles wrote, "We have not always been on your side and there are a number of specific issues which we need to work with you on that have affected your businesses, including reduced commission, banking charges, escalating costs, customer support and how we have sometimes responded to you. We don’t pretend to have handled everything well and it’s clear that we must work harder to improve and rebuild relationships with all of you."
Wiles added that, "I can’t change the past, but we can change the future and how we work together to evolve our proposition and strengthen the service and products we offer to benefit your business."
He outlined a number of planned developments launching over the coming year, including:
New eMoney brands – for example Love2Shop, now live across the network, with richer commission, significant marketing support, giving a broader range of customers reasons to visit the store
Link Counter Service – innovative service rolling out in late 2021, enabling cash withdrawals over the counter with the opportunity to earn for every withdrawal and balance enquiry
Home Delivery – Snappy Shopper launches in Summer 2021, enabling an online ordering offer, click and collect and home delivery direct to customers’ homes
Parcels – Collect+ will continue to expand its range of partners, adding to Amazon, eBay, DHL, DPD, Fedex andHubbox. PayPoint's new Send service is now live and scaling over the course of the year, with significant marketing support to drive more customers into store
FMCG vouchers/rewards – new partnerships will be launching in Summer 2021, connecting retailers with big consumer brands, digital vouchering, digital advertising via PayPoint One and retailer rewards programmes
Wiles outlined key improvements and investments that Paypoint had instigated in the past year to enhance day-to-day service to you, including:
New Retailer Service Hub – significant investment made in systems and people to improve service, whether by phone, email or online. A new phone system launched in Feb 2021, improving calls answered to over 97 per cent and new targets in place to resolve queries on the same day
New Retailer Portal - replaced the legacy website with a single, modern online portal with improved usability, creating one digital hub for retailers to manage their relationship with PayPoint, including financial and settlement data, EPoS data and reporting, training and help, industry advice and best practice
Satisfaction surveys – PayPoint will continue its bi-annual surveys and smaller surveys tracking key moments such as installation experience, to maintain service standards and results
There will be a greater commitment from our field team to spend time with our retailer partners in understanding and responding to retailer needs
"We are fully committed to engaging with you all more regularly to update on progress and gather continuous feedback on areas for improvement," Wiles promised. He said this commitment will include:
Retail Trade Associations – Wiles will personally meet on a quarterly basis with the leadership teams of the NFRN,ACS and SGF to listen to any concerns and update them on opportunities for PayPoint to partner with retailers
Retailer Forums – the PayPoint Retailer Forum will continue to be held 2-3 times a year and will shortly be inviting new representatives to attend
Management of specific complaints – Wiles said he will personally monitor individual complaints about the business, to understand specific concerns raised and ensure they are addressed
He said in conclusion that "The convenience sector and our retailer partners are at the heart of our strategy and we are focused on investing to enhance our proposition and opening up new revenue opportunities for everyone we work with."
Two prolific shoplifters who stole almost £20,000 worth of goods have been sentenced after being caught with stolen items in their car.
Thomas McDonagh, 21, of Warren Crescent, Headington, Oxford, was jailed for 16 months after admitting to eight counts of theft across Essex in December 2024 and January 2025. His accomplice, Martin Stokes, 23, of Aylesbury Street, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, received a 16-week jail term, suspended for 18 months, and must complete 80 hours of unpaid work.
The duo were stopped by police on 19 January while driving on the A12. Officers had linked them to multiple thefts from Boots and Next in the Stane Park retail area in Stanway, Colchester.
Upon stopping their Ford Focus, police found the boot packed with stolen goods, swiftly connecting them to 11 separate shoplifting incidents across the county, including in Chelmer Village, Chelmsford.
One of the men had been using a jacket with a specially adapted lining to conceal stolen items while exiting stores.
As part of his sentencing at Chelmsford Crown Court on 27 February, he was also handed a five-year criminal behaviour order (CBO), banning him from any Next store in England and Wales and all Boots shops in Essex. The order also prohibits him from carrying any coat or overgarment designed to aid shoplifting or from possessing tools like de-tagging implements.
“The value of goods taken by these two men is significant and this investigation shows that we will always look to bring all offending together as we build the strongest possible cases to put people before the courts,” Sgt Dominic Potts, of Colchester local policing team, said.
“In McDonagh’s case, we’ve also secured a five-year criminal order, which means that when he is released from prison, if he continues to go to these shops, he’ll be breaching that order and could be sent back to prison.
“No business should have to put up with persistent offenders targeting them and we work determinedly across the county to identify the people causing the most harm to businesses, to catch them and ultimately put them before the courts.”
The sentencing comes amid increasing concerns from retailers over organised shoplifting operations, which have been on the rise in recent months.
The 2025 Crime Report of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), published on Monday revealed record level of theft committed against convenience store retailers, with an estimated 6.2 million incidents of shop theft over the past year, compared to 5.6 million in the previous year.
Independent retailers are furious with parcel carrier Evri after hearing that the weekly volume bonus that they receive is to be cut from April 6. The move is being revealed in a letter sent out to Evri’s network of retailers.
Mo Razzaq, the National President of the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed), said that he will lose several hundreds of pounds in bonus payments over a year, as a result.
“In a letter advising of the change, Evri celebrates the continual growth of shopping online in the UK, adding that more and more customers are choosing to use ParcelShops to send, collect and return parcels," he said.
“It goes on to add that parcel volumes have grown by tens of millions across its ParcelShop network, driving additional footfall and revenue benefits to retailers. And it expects this trend to continue.
“Evri then describes ParcelShops as 'the heart of its business' and 'important to our customers' and states that it wants to share that growth with us. Yet in the very next sentence, it advises of a 'small change to the weekly volume bonus, which will take effect from next month'.”
Mr Razzaq said on average he receives £23 a week in bonus payments but because of this change, this will fall to £17.
In its full year of accounts to February 29, 2024, Evri recorded a revenue of £1.7 billion and a record-breaking profit of £117million, which was more than double of the previous year.
Mr Razzaq added: “With Evri announcing record profits and acknowledging the key role that retailers play in this, cutting our bonus payments and denying us hundreds of pounds as a result is a sharp blow indeed.”
More UK families than ever are getting their festive finances in check early, according to Park Christmas Savings.
It comes as Park, the UK’s favourite festive budgeting club, has recorded a 22 per cent increase in new customer sign-ups compared to a year ago.
They join over 250,000 Park customers who benefit from the club’s easy sign-up process, discounts, savings hacks, friendship, offers and hugely popular regular giveaways and competitions with top retailers.
The spike in new customers comes as findings from Park's annual survey reveals UK families are feeling the pinch financially due to rising household costs, with over 9 in 10 stating they are actively trying to avoid the risk of bank credit card debt this Christmas by setting a festive budget in advance.
One in three expect to spend at least £750 this coming Christmas and one in five customers has already started their Christmas shopping for 2025 by purchasing items in the January sales.
Most of Park's savvy saving customer base is female (92%) with the key responsibility of the annual festive food and gift shop for their household.
“The cost-of-living crisis has hit millions of families in the UK and many are actively looking at ways to avoid getting into debt this Christmas,” Katherine Scott, director of marketing at Park Christmas Savings said.
"With Park, they can put an affordable amount away each week or month that they won’t dip into, and can then enjoy shopping worry-free once their gift cards arrive in November.
She added: “Over 3 million UK families have confidently spread the cost of Christmas with Park since 1967. It's wonderful to see our customer base grow and it's thanks to the trust we have built. All money saved is held in an independent trust and that is incredibly reassuring for new and old customers.”
Leading retail association Bira has warned that independent high street shops are facing a "perfect storm" of declining in-store sales and rising costs, despite modest overall growth in the retail sector.
The latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor figures for February 2025 show UK retail sales increased by 1.1 per cent year-on-year (0.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis). However, this headline figure masks significant challenges facing independent retailers.
While food sales grew by 2.3 per cent (2.1 per cent like-for-like), non-food sales remained flat at 0.0 per cent (-0.1 per cent like-for-like). Most concerning is the continued decline in non-food in-store sales, which fell by -1.0 per cent (-1.3 per cent like-for-like) compared to the same period last year.
"There is some positivity in the overall retail figures, but we are very concerned by the continued decline of non-food sales in store,” said Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira, which represents over 6,000 independent retail businesses across the UK. “Independent retailers predominantly operate in the non-food sectors and are worried about sales, especially with costs set to rise next week. The 140 per cent increase in business rates for smaller retailers announced in the budget will be a painful addition to the burgeoning cost base of running a shop."
The data shows online non-food sales increased by 1.9 per cent, with online penetration rising to 36.4 per cent compared to 35.8 per cent in February 2024. This shift continues to challenge high street retailers who are simultaneously coping with increased operational costs.
Bira, which includes Retra (the trade association for independent electrical retailers), notes that computing and electronics were among the stronger performing categories online, which could benefit some specialist independent electrical retailers. However, the overall picture for store-based independents remains challenging.
Purity Soft Drinks, makers of leading fruit juice and juice drink brands Juice Burst and firefly, appoints Jonathan Duffin as CEO. Duffin joins the business with immediate effect.
With extensive experience in consumer goods, gained at United Biscuits and Jordans Cereals in the early part of his career and then at Ocean Spray and Bahlsen Group more recently, Duffin is a strong, commercial leader with a proven ability to grow and develop brand-based businesses. His track record will help him to build on the strong foundations in place at Purity and drive the business forward through the next phase of its exciting journey.
Rooney Anand, Chair of Purity comments: “I am delighted that Jonathan is joining Purity. His leadership experience, together with proven ability to build brands and businesses, make him an excellent appointment for Purity and I look forward to working with him to steer the business forward.”
“I am excited to be joining Purity Soft Drinks and am looking forward to working with the team and developing its brands to take Purity forward to the next level,” said Jonathan Duffin.