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Lumberyard ‘touts’ hamper business
A lumber dealer in the city, who prefers to remain unidentified, has claimed that touts in the area where his business is situated are affecting his ability to attract customers. The businessman is peeved that the touts are outside of his and other dealers’ premises, influencing customers to buy from them (the touts) instead.
While not admitting that the lumber yard owners may have contributed to the situation, the dealer explained how the touts operate.
“They would purchase wood from the dealer, and offer it at a lower rate to the customers. The only way someone could sell a product for less than he bought it, would be by cheating the customer in some way. The touts give the customers less than they bought.”
He added that carpenters who knew the touts would approach them to purchase on behalf of their clients, and collect a commission in return.
The dealer claimed that while the touts furnish their customers with receipts of purchase, these are often labelled with fictitious names. “The bill has no TIN (tax identification number) and no telephone number,” he declared, adding that this precludes the payment of taxes.
When asked if the dealers had contacted the police about the situation, the businessman admitted that he had not done so.
He posited that maybe the police can do something about the situation by clearing the area around lumberyards of loiterers. But this will not entirely address the situation, he affirmed, explaining that there are some dealers who encourage the touts by paying them to load and off-load lumber, and in some cases the touts do this for free. The dealers, he claimed, have no permanent staff apart from themselves.
The lumber dealer did however make an effort to get the issue addressed by contacting the Forestry Commission, the Standards Bureau and the Consumers Association. He said that he got no results.
He has claimed that there are only three genuine lumber dealers in the area he operates and one was recently robbed.
The dealer lamented the fact that they have to pay about $150,000 per year in taxes and other fees to operate their business and the touts are hampering their ability to make a profit.
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