Just who is kidding who here?

Sir,
So the Supermarkets Association is complaining about the findings that their customers are being overcharged and want an apology from the Consumers’ Association (Cyprus Mail, December 25). Who is kidding who? Do supermarkets think their customers are so slow or stupid that they cannot see the facts for themselves? Supermarket prices here in Cyprus are much more expensive than they are in the UK . Demand your apology by all means, but as Huckleberry Finn said, “Just you saying it’s so don’t make it so”.

I have just had an extra bill from my builder for £24,893.00. This is above the cost of the price for my villa, agreed under Contract of Sale. This is for money that he believes he is “entitled to”. Because, I presume, he did not fully undertake a proper check on his costs. When I pointed out that I have paid the full amount agreed under the contract he states that “How much you have paid for the villa is irrelevant”.

As word gets back to the UK about the true cost of living in Cyprus, (and not the price shown in the brochures given to the tourists), Cyprus will become less and less attractive to expats. Love them or hate them, who else will buy the villas and use the local shops thereby helping with employment and the economy?

The company which brought my container into Cyprus 12 months ago informs me that they are doing more business with expats leaving Cyprus than with those arriving. Maybe the tide has already turned and there will be plenty of empty villas left on the market. So forget apologies — look to the future and see where Cyprus is heading.

Peter G. Davis,
Paphos.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.