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Three of the “big four” boiler manufacturers for the UK cannot guarantee customers will be refunded the so-called “boiler tax” that companies added to new boilers earlier this year.

In January boiler-makers hiked costs by up to an extra £120 per boiler to cover anticipated penalties for a green scheme – which has now been delayed.

Ministers had told them to ensure 4% of their sales were heat pumps rather than gas boilers, or they would face a £3,000 fine per missed installation.

As heat pumps run on electricity rather than gas, the move was designed to boost energy security, and lower air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

The energy security secretary Claire Coutinho accused the manufacturers of “price gouging”, and told LBC heat pump sales were already so high that they anticipated few penalties.

Boiler makers said the unachievable targets would create multi-million-pound penalties they could not afford, so upped the price of gas boilers to cover the anticipated charges.

But in March, the government delayed the heat pump target – also known as the clean heat market mechanism (CHMM) and dubbed the “boiler tax” – to April 2025, following resistance from the boiler industry.

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Three of the “big four” boiler manufacturers, Bosch, Vaillant and BAXI, this week told Sky News they were refunding the “boiler tax” cash to the distributors and retailers to whom they had sold boilers.

But they said it was those companies’ responsibility to return the money to households, because manufacturers tend not to have a direct relationship with consumers themselves.

No one from Ideal Heating was available to comment or confirm its plans.

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‘Out of pocket’ households

It comes as energy thinktank ECIU estimates the four firms together would have collected £40m via the so-called boiler tax, based on the average amount levied and an average number of boilers sold per month in the UK.

Jess Ralston, ECIU’s head of energy, said: “The manufacturers introduced the boiler tax, not the retailers, so it feels like they are passing the blame to a middle party.

“They had been suggesting the fines should be removed, so they must have thought it was a possibility they’d have to refund the boiler tax – it doesn’t seem they put in place any mechanisms for that eventuality, leaving someone else on the hook.”

Gillian Cooper, director of energy at Citizens Advice, said: “Now that boiler retailers have rightly been promised refunds, it’s essential they pass those refunds on to consumers.

“Anyone who purchased a boiler between 1 January and the end of March this year may have been forced to pay more than they should have, leaving them out of pocket.

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“Not only have people been ripped off, but the government’s decision to delay the Clean Heat Market Mechanism in response to manufacturers’ pressure will leave consumers exposed to volatile gas prices for longer.”

After the government confirmed the CHMM delay, retailer Wolseley, which sells boilers made by Vaillant, confirmed it was taking responsibility for issuing refunds on boiler sales.

Clean home heating company Warmur urged boiler manufacturers to “proactively contact customers they know to have had a boiler fitted since 1st January and help them arrange a refund”.

What did boiler manufacturers say?

BAXI said its consumers will receive a refund because it is returning “any funds already collected to our merchant distributors, who then supply products to a 35,000-strong installer community, who then sell onto consumers”.

“We are part way through completing that process, although we stopped adding the surcharge from Monday 18 March.

“In the small number of cases where we sell direct to consumers through warranty relationships, we will be refunding the surcharge to them directly.”

A Vaillant spokesperson said: “Vaillant has communicated with its direct merchant customers that the boiler levy has been removed as of the 19th March 2024 and all levies charged since 1st January 2024 will be refunded in full.”

“Vaillant can only ensure our direct customers are refunded, and it is not visible to us to what extent installers and merchants have passed the levy on.”

A Bosch spokesperson said: “We have refunded in full to our merchant customers 100% of the levy charged on boilers we sold to them in the period 1 January 2024 – 15 March 2024.

They added: “Our trading relationship is with the merchant and we have returned the levy to them. We do not sell boilers to end consumers.”

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M&S tells agency workers to stay at home after cyberattack

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M&S tells agency workers to stay at home after cyberattack

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has ordered hundreds of agency workers at its main distribution centre to stay at home as it grapples with the unfolding impact of a cyberattack on Britain’s best-known retailer.

Sky News has learnt that roughly 200 people who had been due to undertake shift work at M&S’s vast Castle Donington clothing and homewares logistics centre in the East Midlands have been told not to come in amid the escalating crisis.

Agency staff make up about 20% of Castle Donington’s workforce, according to a source close to M&S.

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The retailer’s own employees who work at the site have been told to come in as usual, the source added.

“There is work for them to do,” they said.

M&S disclosed last week that it was suspending online orders as a result of the cyberattack, but has provided few other details about the nature and extent of the incident.

In its latest update to investors, the company said on Friday that its product range was “available to browse online, and our stores remain open and ready to welcome and serve customers”.

“We continue to manage the incident proactively and the M&S team – supported by leading experts – is working extremely hard to restore online operations and continue to serve customers well,” it added.

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It was unclear on Monday how long the disruption to M&S’s e-commerce operations would last, although retail executives said the cyberattack was “extensive” and that it could take the company some time to fully resolve its impact.

Shares in M&S slid a further 2.4% on Monday morning, following a sharp fall last week, as investors reacted to the absence of positive news about the incident.

M&S declined to comment further.

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Deliveroo shares surge 17% as £2.7bn takeover looms

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Deliveroo shares surge 17% as £2.7bn takeover looms

Shares in meal delivery platform Deliveroo have surged by 17% as investors react to news of a £2.7bn takeover proposal.

The company revealed after the market had closed on Friday that it had been in talks since 5 April with US rival DoorDash.

Deliveroo suggested then it was likely the 180p per share offer would be recommended, though full terms were yet to be agreed.

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At that price, the company’s founder and chief executive, Will Shu, would be in line for a windfall of more than £170m.

Deliveroo further announced, before trading on Monday, that it had suspended its £100m share buyback programme.

The opening share price reaction took the value to 171p per share – still shy of the 180p on the table – and well under the 390p per share flotation price seen in 2021.

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Deliveroo’s shares have weakened nearly 50% since their market debut.

The deal is not expected to face regulatory hurdles as it provides DoorDash access to 10 new markets where it currently has no presence.

But a takeover would likely represent a blow to the City of London given the anticipated loss of a tech-focused player.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “If the deal is done at that price, the company will fail to shake off the ‘Floperoo’ tag it was saddled with after its disastrous IPO debut in 2021.

“Even though Deliveroo has finally broken through into profitable territory, the prolonged bout of indigestion around its share price has continued.

“The surge in demand for home deliveries during the pandemic waned just as competition heated up. Deliveroo’s foray into grocery deliveries has helped it turn a profit but it’s still facing fierce rivals.”

She added: “The DoorDash Deliveroo deal will be unappetising for the government which has been trying to boost the number of tech companies listed in London.

“If Deliveroo is purchased it would join a stream of companies leaving the London Stock Exchange, with too few IPOs [initial public offerings] in the pipeline to make up the numbers.”

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US trade deal ‘possible’ but not ‘certain’, says senior minister

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US trade deal 'possible' but not 'certain', says senior minister

A trade deal with the US is “possible” but not “certain”, a senior minister has said as he struck a cautious tone about negotiations with the White House.

Pat McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips there was “a serious level of engagement going on at high levels” to secure a UK-US trade deal.

However, Mr McFadden, a key ally of Sir Keir Starmer, struck a more cautious tone than Chancellor Rachel Reeves on the prospect of a US trade deal, saying: “I think an agreement is possible – I don’t think it’s certain, and I don’t want to say it’s certain, but I think it’s possible.”

He went on to say the government wanted an “agreement in the UK’s interests” and not a “hasty deal”, amid fears from critics that Number 10 could acquiesce a deal that lowers food standards, for example, or changes certain taxes in a bid to persuade Donald Trump to lower some of the tariffs that have been placed on British goods.

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And asked about the timing of the deal – following recent reports an agreement was imminent – Mr McFadden said: “We’ll keep working with the United States and keep trying to get to an agreement in the coming weeks.”

As well as talks with the US, the UK has also ramped up its efforts with the EU, with suggestions it could include a new EU youth mobility scheme that would allow under-30s from the bloc to live, work and study in the UK and vice versa.

Mr McFadden said he believed the government could “improve upon” the Brexit deal struck by Boris Johnson, saying it had caused “an awful lot of bureaucracy and costs here in the UK”.

He said “first and foremost” on the government’s agenda was securing a food and agriculture and a veterinary agreement, saying it was “such an important area for the UK and an area where we’ve had so much extra cost and bureaucracy because of Brexit”.

He added: “But again, as with the United States, there’s no point in calling the game before it’s done. We’ve still got work to do, and we’re doing that work with our partners in the EU.”

The Cabinet Office minister also rejected suggestions the UK would have to choose between pursuing a trade deal with the US and one with the EU – the latter of which has banned chlorinated chicken in its markets – as has the UK – but which the US has historically wanted.

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On the issue of chlorinated chicken, Mr McFadden said the government had “made clear we will not water down animal welfare standards with either party”.

“But I don’t agree that it’s some fundamental choice beyond where we have to pick one trading partner rather than another. I think that’s to misunderstand the nature of the UK economy, and I don’t think would be in our interests to put all our eggs in one basket.”

Also speaking to Trevor Phillips was Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who said the government should be close to closing the deal with the US “because we got very close last time President Trump was in office”.

She also insisted food standards should not be watered down in order to get a deal, saying she did not reach an agreement with Canada when she was in government for that reason.

“What Labour needs to do now is show that they can get a deal that isn’t making concessions, so we can have what we had last month before the trade tariffs, and we need serious people doing this,” she said.

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