Could this be the end to rip off school uniforms?
This is good news for anyone who struggles with school uniform prices.
School uniforms aren’t cheap and I know the struggle to kit out 3 children, 2 in primary school and one in high school. The price of uniforms is disgusting when you can only buy from the school directly, even if you have the option to go to specialist stores, it can still work out more expensive than if you were able to head to a supermarket or local store and pick up school uniform items.
All this may be about to change according to an article in The Sun today.
Schools may be hauled into court over exclusive deals with uniform shops which rip off hard-up parents.
They have been ordered to let families shop around after The Sun revealed some were being charged up to four times more.
Specialist suppliers could also be punished. The Competition and Markets Authority stepped in after a flurry of complaints at the start of the school year last month — with some parents paying up to £10 extra per item. That is a lot of money, especially if you have more than one child!
Director of enforcement Ann Pope said: It warned heads, governing bodies and suppliers they will be fined if found in breach of competition law. “We will consider action if necessary.”
In an investigation last August, we found specialist stores charged an average of £91 for a full uniform — compared to £21.50 at Asda – That is a huge difference!
School and parent bodies welcomed the move. But the School wear Association, representing specialist stores, warned uniform quality may suffer. Personally I find this hard to believe, you can get some top quality uniform at much cheaper prices from a number of different retailers.
