Caroline Marshall – Foster wrote this on my 118 118 post, which I found very interesting so much so I promoted it to a Post. if only it covered all of the uk.

As Editor of the UK trade magazine Florist & Wholesale Buyer we have been aware of this practice for many years and would advise that most shops do not realise that it has happened. Yell and Thompsons are happy for FD (amongst others) to do this and apparently there is nothing they can do … it’s down to the florist to get it changed. But then Yell were happy to take circa 14 completely bogus addresses as paid fors from another company so I’m not really surprised – money speaks.

As we understand it, unless florist has opted out (as detailed in the small print) Flowers Direct are within their rights. However all calls/links go through to Flowers Direct and the orders are then shipped out again … via a florist or in a box … minus a fairly heft cut so actually both florist and consumer lose out in our opinion.

Our advice to any consumer is always go to a real florist so that not only does your whole budget go on flowers and delivery (as against circa 67%) but you can talk to the person who is making the design and delivery. If you’re not sure they’re real (i.e. an order gatherer) ask some salient questions about the area (if you know them) like where are they in relation to the church, Tesco etc. If they sound hesitant chances are you’re talking to a call centre/order gathering agent who will be taking a slice for the priviledge of passing your order on.

We do have a list of our own on www.masterfloristdirect.com which is probably the most up-to-date list there is of real florists. Maybe worth a try next time you want to send flowers.

Caroline Marshall – Foster