Small Businessman of the Week: Big companies overcharging SMEs by billions a year

Saurav Chopra is chief executive of Huddlebuy, the deals site that sells discounted business products and services to more than 35,000 SMEs

Small businesses are poorly treated in the UK: the Government is pinning all its hopes on SMEs and entrepreneurs to pull us away from a double-dip recession, but we are treating these people very poorly.

"Our research suggests, for example, that small businesses are being overcharged by £3.6bn a year for basic products and services, from mobile to utilities to business services, compared to what bigger businesses have to pay.

"We also see the price that is being paid for their trust and reliance on the big banks:two-thirds of SMEs tell us they expect to have to find alternative sources of credit this year. Against the backdrop, for example, of the bonus announced for the chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, that's a disgrace.

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