An unethical practice
2 April 2012
Buyers can, on occasion, request payment from suppliers, but charging them simply to secure custom is wrong, argues Melinda Johnson
Several recent cases have come to light of buyers requesting payment from suppliers, rather than vice versa. Some of these cases have involved buyers asking suppliers for thousands of pounds and threatening to stop using them if they do not pay.
What is the motivation for such behaviour by buyers? In some cases it appears that the buyer believes he or she has to...