AUCKLAND'S CREDIT BAD.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 5 September 1929, Page 6

AUCKLAND'S CREDIT BAD.

“BEST PEOPLE,” WORST

PAYS

AUCKLAND, Last Night. In the Greater Auckland area today there are. at least 12,000. peoplo who arc listed in the office of tne New Zealand Retailers’ Protection Bureau at Auckland as owing money to tradesmen. This astonishing position was revealed this morning when a card index system compiled by the secretary of Iho bureau was shown a press representative. All told there were over 14,000 names listed but some had cleared their debts and were now starting off "scratch” again. As the name of the organisation implies, it was set up some 14 months ago to protect retailers trom being imposed upon, by persons who are recognised, as "bad pays” and the fact that already there are so many on the list shown that the tradespeople had good cause to grasp the seriousness of the position and do something to protect Ihemsclves. The secretary of the bureau (.Mr. A. •I. Crocker) said this morning that the credit of Auckland was "putrid.” Not rd' the people who ran accounts with retailers were dishonest, but (here was a section who cared nothing about paying their way and preferred to get the goods ami allow the tradesmen to do the worrying. "Naturally it, is the .grocer, the butcher, the baker and the milkman who suffer most,” said Mr. Crocker, "ami but for those shifty people who prefer to owe rather than pay the cost,.of living would he much, lower than it is

‘‘.Strangely enough the working man., or perhaps I slioultl say, his wife, 5* the more honest, and yon won hi he surprised if you saw how many of our ‘host’ people are liste.d here. The ace omits range from anything from £-1 to £OO, but the difficulty retailers have is in keeping in touch with those people.

“'You could not believe how bad the credit of Auckland is,” added Mr. Crocker, ‘‘but you can take it from me it was never worse and the retail ers know it. Those index cards speak for themselves, but they only deal with cerlain lines of business. For anvonc

to start, business to-day as a grocer,, baker or butcher without the assistanee of the ‘black list’ would bo suicidal. ’ ’