Thousands refuse to show boarding passes to airport shops!

There have been thousands of passengers refusing to show their boarding passes at the checkout after it was revealed shops are using the information to claim BACK VAT!

According to reports it sounds as though there is a mini-revolution taking place at airports across the country right now.

Dozens of Independent readers have come forward to tell the news site that they will be refusing to show their boarding cards when paying for goods in airport shops now that they know they are being inconvenienced to boost profits.The Independent reports:

 ‘Airport retailers demand boarding cards to avoid paying 20 per cent VAT on everything they sell to passengers who are traveling outside the EU, as there is no purchase tax due on such goods. Research by the Independent suggests most don’t pass savings on. There is no suggestion any chain is breaking the law.‘

Lots of fliers feel as though they have been misled in the past as they weren’t aware of why their passes had been scanned and just assumed it was a necessary task to be able to complete the purchase.

Information on a boarding pass covers a passenger’s entire itinerary, making fears over data protection another legitimate reason to refuse to show it.

For the time being, stores such as WHSmith say they don’t hold onto data such as flight bookings when scanning passes.

CLICK HERE to read more research from The Telegraph.