Some people are going to have a distinctly uncomfortable time at the beginning of next year - and as is usually the case when things go wrong, it is likely to be the ordinary man or woman in the street.

They look certain to become the victims of business's lack of preparation for the introduction of the euro. With day only four months away, a worrying number of surveys shows that too many in business believe it will simply be another case of crying wolf, along the lines of the much-hyped Y2K bug at the turn of last year.

It is likely to be too late when they discover otherwise. By then, there will not be time enough to change billing, tills and procedures to accommodate the new currency and the public will be the ones to suffer.

If payments in euros are not accepted for bills in pounds, people run the risk of finding themselves with an unwarranted black mark against their credit rating. On a more basic level, they may find themselves unable to secure service because retailers and others will not be geared up to the new currency.

Naming and shaming, as promised by the Director of Consumer Affairs will be little use. What the Government needs to do is talk in a language business understands and threaten fines for companies unwilling or unable to offer a proper service from January 1st.