Pricewatch

  • About me

    October 10, 2007 @ 7:13 pm | by Conor

    I’ve looked after Pricewatch, which appears every Monday in The Irish Times, for more than three years. On the page I review everything from the coolest, most cutting edge mobile phones and digital cameras to the cheapest, most horrible pasta sauces and mouthwashes. I also answers readers’ queries, intercede on their behalf with shops and service providers if I can and highlight just some of the rip-offs spotted by our readers. Very, very occasionally companies get commended for their exemplary customer service and fair pricing. I am also the consumer agony uncle on the Ray Darcy Show on Today FM (9.40 am every Tuesday) and am supposed to be writing the ultimate bargain hunter’s manual for savvy Irish consumers. I’m also looking forward (with some trepidation) to being on the telly in the Glenroe slot from November 11th…

    • 52 Comments »

    1.
    October 14, 2007
    9:15 pm

    Hi Conor,
    I very much enjoy your piece on the Ray Darcy show on Tuesdays.
    I have a question about my O2 bill - on my latest bill, I noticed that I was being charged for calls made to ‘Low Call’ (1890) and ‘Call Save’ (1850) numbers, whereas any calls made to national landlines are included in my free minutes.
    Are these 1890 & 1850 numbers a throwback to when it cost more to call another county? Nowadays, most, if not all, telecom providers charge one rate for all national calls.
    Do the charges for these calls go to the telecom providers, or to the bank or govt department that you are calling? Given that there is now usually a national rate for calls, shouldn’t these companies ditch the 1890 & 1850 numbers in favour of a standard landline number? Many thanks, Luke.

    Comment by Luke MacHugh
    2.
    October 23, 2007
    12:08 pm

    Hi Conor,
    listening to you today, 23rd Oct. on Today FM you were talking about download speeds for broadband. NTL have four different package offers for broadband; 1MB-6MB. While it does state when you go into each individual package that you can receive “up to” the relevant download speed how can they justify this. suppose a scenario where one pays a monthly fee for the 6MB package but one only is able to download on average of 1MB.at any given time!!! The point I’m trying to make is how can NTL justify charging extra per month for a product that may or may not work at a faster speed than another product they offer for a cheeper price. I should also point out that asking this question, if indeed there is a question to ask, through the NTL customer service is like talking to a stone. Nobody there nows anything and all efforts to talk to actual technicians about any problem is meet with the standard line of “we’ll get them to contact you” this could be at anytime of the day or even when your not near your computer laptop whatever.And if you miss their call good luck. I would appreciate clarification on this if at all possible.Many thanks,luke

    Comment by Luke Mullen
    3.
    October 23, 2007
    9:16 pm

    Hi Conor,
    Just wanted to bring your attention to some shockingly overpriced concert tickets that went on sale last Friday. M.I.A. is performing in the phoenix park on Dec 8th, Aiken are charging €45 for this while the very next night she is performing in London for just £8.50 and in fact no date on her UK tour costs more than £12. Have sent a mail to Aiken questioning the huge price difference and am awaiting response but just wanted to fill you in on it and get your opinion. Thanks

    Comment by Cian
    4.
    November 12, 2007
    1:50 pm

    Hi Conor,
    I was just windering do you happen to know if the price of bread will decrease, after all of the recent price increases.

    I realise that the price increase is due to the poor harvests this year. If the harvest improves next year what are the chances that the prive of vread will fall again?

    Thank you.

    Comment by Jennifer O'Leary
    5.
    November 12, 2007
    10:28 pm

    Jennifer

    I’d really doubt it. Globally, it is predicted that price increases for such staples will continue for at least a decade. And do prices ever really come down in this country???

    Comment by Conor
    6.
    November 15, 2007
    11:10 am

    Just wondering if anyone has noticed that the price of a pound of butter in Tesco and Dunnes has risen from around €1.42 to €1.76 in the last few weeks. A 24% increase?

    Comment by Eavan
    7.
    November 19, 2007
    11:07 am

    Hi Conor,
    I was just wondering could you help me with my query. Recently i purchased 2 concert tickets on ebay which were over face value but was more than happy to purchase at the inflated price. I have not received the tickets since from the seller & was informed by ebay that the seller no longer exists & that i need to get on to paypal to look for a refund. Anyway having contacted paypal i was informed that i was only entitled to 200 out of a 380 euro total after a claim was settled. So i was wondering is there any other avenue i can pursue to get back the balance of 180 euro?

    Comment by Will
    8.
    November 19, 2007
    12:26 pm

    During the interval I recently paid 2.60 for a cup of stale coffee from a flask in the National Concert Hall and thought that was a bit steep considering the quality until I was asked for 3.00 for a 250ml bottle of still water. This has to be the most expensive water at 12.00 a litre in the country. Protestation to the server yielded no more than this is a management issue and a promise it will be relayed to his manager. In the meantime I will be bringing my own water there in future.

    Comment by Francis Sheeran
    9.
    December 3, 2007
    11:59 am

    Hi Conor,

    Recently I’ve noticed that when buying a return flight from a certain Irish airline, they were charging more for the return flight than for the same 2 flights bought separately one-way. It was €25 & €25 for the return flight and €25 & €15 for the two separate one-way flights.
    Is this type of carry on allowed?

    Comment by Edwin
    10.
    December 20, 2007
    9:43 am

    Hello Conor, I have a consumer rights question for you, I purchased a pair of tommy cords for my brother last christmas, he ripped them recently and I brought them to the local dry cleaners to fix as they offer a repair service on clothes. Now the trousers were dirty when I brought them in, but I did not ask for them to be cleaned, just repaired. Now when I went back to collect them, the dry cleaners had cleaned them and whatever they used on the cords mixed with whatever was on the cords and absolutely destroyed them because now they look like they were covered in acid and have holes all over both legs so much so they could never be worn again. When I saw this I immediately complained but the owner refuses to accept responsibility, what do I do, do I have any redress in this situation? Can you please help, thank you.
    Mary

    Comment by Mary Roche
    11.
    December 28, 2007
    12:58 pm

    Hi Conor,

    I thought you might be interested in passing on this ticket saving tip to all your readers/listeners.

    Recently I purchased a train ticket from Cork to Dublin on irishrail.com, as I wanted to reserve my seat. It was €31.00 single with no extra charge for reserving a seat. I didn’t book for my return journey, as you need to specify which train you will be returning. When I got to Heuston Station in Dublin and went to purchase my ticket I was shocked when the ticket seller told me a single to Cork was €57.00 and not the €31.00 I had in my hand. He explained that the €31.00 fair was only available on the web, he asked had I a visa card and if so why didn’t I go to the internet kiosk in the train station and book my ticket online! Only for this ticket sellers good will I would have spent €57 on my ticket. Imagine I saved €26.00 by buying my ticket online in the train station.

    While I benefited from this, I do feel it is completely inappropriate for Irish Rail to penalise passengers if they don’t book their tickets on line. Also while it is free for someone paying the full price for a ticket to reserve his or her seat an OAP must pay €3.50. Surely this can’t be acceptable - is this not discriminating against OAP’s as they have free travel?

    Your comments would be appreciated.

    Comment by Siobhan
    12.
    January 6, 2008
    7:46 pm

    Hi Conor - Last week my car needed new tyres. I had been using Advance Pitstop for many years, but this time I decided to shop ’round. Advance quoted €248 per tyre - Fast Fit were €175 for exactly the same tyre - Continental 225/45 R17 94V. The same tyre is available in the UK for about £100. Why are Advance so expensive?

    Comment by Frank Keane
    13.
    January 12, 2008
    9:25 pm

    Hi Conor,

    I want to share with you the price differential for a brand of infant formula in two city centre shops. This afternoon I purchased a 400g tin of Nannycare Goat Milk in Down To Earth, on Georges Street, for €14.85. Imagine my surprise five minutes later when I discovered the same product(400g tin of Nannycare Goat Milk) on sale across the road in Dunnes for the price of €9.95!!

    Please share this with your readers.

    Sinead.

    Comment by Sinead
    14.
    January 18, 2008
    10:03 am

    Hi I went to the movies last night to Movies @ Swords. I bought a bottle of water advertised as €2.50 and some pick and mix for €1.85. The total was €3.60 and then tax added of 0.75. = 21% Total €4.35. Is this correct surely the water should be advertised as €3.02. I’ve never seen this before. Can you let me know if this is correct. Thanks.

    Comment by Deirdre Kelly
    15.
    January 18, 2008
    5:36 pm

    Conor, I got mobile broadband from O2 recently. I visited the UK last month and used it briefly while I was there (on O2 UK). The total amount on my bill was €217.37 for 34 Mb of data (about a half an hour online). Surely this can’t be the going rate for data roaming.

    Comment by Dermot
    16.
    January 18, 2008
    8:56 pm

    Thought you might be interested in the following website. www.pricegenie.ie

    Comment by PriceGenie
    17.
    January 25, 2008
    3:33 pm

    Hi Conor,

    I relaise that i might be coming to this whole ‘razor blade scam’ thing a bit late, but it requires further publicity. I live on barrack st in Cork City, today I needed a shave, alas no razors, so I set off to the chemist for some mach 3’s - a 4 pack 12.95 in brodericks at the top of the street, i refused to pay. I walked 300m to the other end of the street and got them in another chemist for 9.49. this is scandalous price gouging on behalf of Brodericks chemist. i asked them was 12.95 the correct price and she assured me it was…

    just thought i would vent!

    Thanks

    Reg

    Comment by reg connolly
    18.
    January 30, 2008
    5:04 pm

    Hi Conor

    Could you please advise me in relation to NTl. Basically we recieved a notice last August saying that broadband was now available in our area and as our contract with our other isp we decided to go for ntl as they offered a good package of 8mb broadband and digital tv for 25.99 a month. However the problems began from day one when they were not able to install the broadband. We were told initially that there was an upstream problem which would be rectified in a week or so. When nobody had contacted me I contacted them myself to find out what was going on and they arranged to have someone out at the house in two weeks, technician called and said the problem had still not been fixed. This has happened 5 times now over the last few months, with no resoloution in sight. All the technicians that have called are outsourced by ntl so were not able to help other than say that they were not able to help but would log another call. The most recent technician I was dealing with, when I asked him whether any other houses in the area had been set up with broadband he informed me that any of the houses he had called to were unable to get their broadband setup. Is there anything that can be done under false addvertising or have you any advice on a resolution to the problem??

    Rgds

    Colm

    Comment by Colm
    19.
    February 8, 2008
    3:36 pm

    Hi Conor. Hereunder questions I posed to ComReg re Mobile Broadband. Maybe of interest. I can send you the test results seperately by email if you need them. Here goes:
    My company needed to equip its salesforce with mobile broadband recently and, in order to assess systems I conducted a local trial. The tests were conducted in the town of Kells Co. Meath and within less than an (uncluttered) mile from Vodafone and O2 local masts and in each case with good signal strength. The tests were run at similar times in order to compare apples with apples. I attach the results for your information. (These results showed speeds and volatilities that made the O2 and Vodafone claims a farce) No doubt you are also aware that the national blogs are replete with even worse anecdotes than those enclosed.

    My question is - with ComReg’s role, how can these companies get away with:

    a) providing a service which is so far removed from that claimed. I know they use the out of “speeds up to…” but isn’t that the type of smart practice which you guys should stop? Shouldn’t they be obliged to claim only some national representative geographic average?
    b) selling broadband dongles which, when installed on a computer and activated, trigger a pop-up on the screen asserting, always, that the user is connected at 3.6 Mbps? This false data is encoded on the dongle firmware/software and has no relevancy to the actual speed delivered

    Finally - hereunder is a quote from your own website on the National Broadband Scheme:

    “Please note that the NBS will cover only areas without any broadband presence, this includes wireless and mobile broadband.”

    How can you stand over a statement like this without some caveat as to the actual quality / usability of the “broadband presence”? Legion areas, countrywide, have O2, or 3 or Vodafone Mobile ‘Broadband’ delivering little better than landline dial-up performance? The statement above would exclude these from the NBS.

    Comment by John Griffin
    20.
    February 18, 2008
    11:22 pm

    Last year we had a child and decided to use Aptamil ready to use milk after my wife finished breastfeeding

    The price we were charged was approximately 99c per 200ml.

    It was not until I visited the UK that I realized that the price charge for the same was 52p (78c) or if you bought the value pack of 15 (not made available to Irish consumers) the price was cheaper at 33p (50c) per 200ml.

    How do supermarkets justify, 1). Charging double the UK rate on this product? 2.) Not offering higher value packs of 15.

    And to cap it all the irish price has now increased by another 20% to €1.20. Using 5 of these a day has become very very expensive.

    It is expensive enough bring up children without supermarkets ripping off consumers.

    When I questioned Tesco they replied…..

    “I have been informed that the people behind the price increase on Aptamil is the supplier/manufacturer – Nutricia Ireland (01 289 0245). If you have not yet received a reply by email, I would ask you to direct your concerns to Nutricia as they will endeavour to explain why there has been increases and the reasons why. The same increases have been applied in the UK also.”

    “As for the variations on pack size available – again this is driven by Nutricia Ireland. They decide what pack sizes are suitable for the Irish market not Tesco.

    I do know that a lot of the increases are coming from Global shortages of Raw materials in particular their key ingredient – Whey.”

    Whey is a diary bi-product not a crop and no world shortage!

    Why do they blame the supplier when they sell the product in both UK and Ireland. All supermarkets in Ireland now charge €1.20 - way over double the UK price!

    How are shops allowed to get away with this?? There must me some law brought in to stop this. The free market does not work!

    Regards
    Eamonn Hever

    Comment by Eamonn Hever
    21.
    February 19, 2008
    6:28 pm

    http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?p=580820&posted=1#post580820

    Hi Conor

    The above thread on askaboutmoney has an interesting discussion on confectionery prices.

    Brendan

    Comment by Brendan Burgess
    22.
    February 21, 2008
    9:03 am

    Hi Conor,

    Where can I find a decent rasher? I haven’t seen a proper rasher in over twenty years. They used to be thick and meaty with a hard rind. Now they are the merest slivers, have no rind and are pumped so full of water that they shrivel to half their size when fried. They are also very expensive: half a dozen can cost three euro or more. The idea of having crispy rashers now seems foolhardy as they would almost disappear on the pan. Pound for pound, steak is now better value for money, which is odd when you consider that “rashers and sausos” were once the poor man’s meat, second only to pig’s trotters and tripe. I can’t understand why.

    So, are traditional rashers available anywhere any more? No point in adding “at a reasonable price” because I’m sure that would not be the case. My apologies if you have already covered this topic, but if not, I would welcome any advice you can provide.

    Yours sincerely,

    Coilin

    Comment by Coilin
    23.
    February 25, 2008
    5:29 pm

    Hi there. O2 seem to have increased the price of some calls by 200% to 250% for pre pay customers! Their new Experience price plans offer free texts etc. (min €20 top up per month) but calls made to other mobile networks cost 49 cent per min as opposed to around 20 cent per min (maybe slightly more) as the off peak rate for the night owl and early bird tariffs. These tariffs are no longer available and O2 are doing their best to convince people to upgrade to the new price plans. What a swiz!

    Comment by Terence White
    24.
    February 26, 2008
    10:25 am

    Ryanair new booking website in chaos. See text below from their new booking site. The joke is that i’m supposed to contact the airline. ordinary folk like me can never do that. No published number, just a fax for complaints.

    An Error Has Occurred

    An error condition exists which is preventing you from continuing. You may wish to start over and try again.
    If you continue to get this error message, please contact the airline.

    Comment by Conor O'Nolan
    25.
    February 27, 2008
    9:28 pm

    Hi Connor,

    Just wanted to let you know about a meal that my aunt and uncle had at the Beaumont House. My aunt ordered a steak she was charged €24.95 for this, she was charged €2.95 for Pepper sauce and €3.50 for sauté onions. Have you every heard of anyone being charged for the sauce to go with the steak???

    Comment by Laura Daly
    26.
    February 28, 2008
    10:23 pm

    Laura - charging people for their pepper sauce might just be the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard all day! I should give them a ring and ask them about it, I’d love to know how they rationalise such a charge.

    Comment by Conor
    27.
    March 3, 2008
    10:12 am

    Hi Conor,
    I have a HP photosmart D7360 printer. While the print quality is very good – it is very hard on ink – with 6 different colour cartigages.
    I have stopped using the refils, as I find the quality very poor.
    The printer uses : HP Ink Cartigages 363 series
    Recently I purchased a Black 363 Cartigage in a ink shop on Parnell Place for Euro32.
    Though it was expensive – but did not know price comparasions.
    Since then I have purchased them from an ink shop on Main Street in Midleton. The exact same ink cartigage for Euro 18.
    Is the shop in Cork City a complete rip-off?

    Comment by Donal
    28.
    March 10, 2008
    1:04 pm

    Re your Dundalk reader (published March 10th) outraged by the long-term parking charges at Belfast International Airport. His £44 (€57) was the charge for four days based on the fact that he was seven hours into a fourth 24-hour charging period when he picked up his car (standard airport long-term charging practice). The equivalent long-term charge at Dublin Airport would be €38. If the reader had pre-booked parking at Belfast, the charge for up to four days would have been £24 (€31). Quickpark at Dublin Airport, cheaper than the DAA long-term, is €7.50 a day, or €30 for the period in question, but you have to pre-book this too. I hate being ripped off, but I’m unimpressed by apparent rip-off victims who haven’t actually been ripped-off at all.

    Comment by George
    29.
    March 17, 2008
    7:50 am

    Can we have a Banks blog ?
    My bank, National Irish , was taken over by Danske Bank. Since the take over my Visa statment, which was 1 x A4 sheet before has blossomed into 3 x A4 sheets ( Danish conservation ? ), the amount I actually owe is ‘hidden’ while the ‘Minimun payment’ is highlighted. Previously, my Visa statement showed ‘Amount due’ !
    I will be sending a complaint to NIB, and if no luck there, then the Financial regulator.

    What gets me is
    1) the waste of paper and 2) trying to disguise what I owe in favour of getting me to only pay the minimum payment.

    Comment by Bren L
    30.
    March 28, 2008
    7:00 pm

    Conor,
    was wondering if you can help me any bit. Back in october i signed up for a membership in a well known Dublin Gym. Since then, i have moved away from the area. On the contract i have signed it says on the back that the contract “is non cancellable within the initial 12 month period”. Can this be right or can i hand in written notice, stating my intention to stop paying the direct debit and hence cancelling my membership? Is there any way I can get out of this contract without buying out the remainder? Thanking you in advance for your help.

    Comment by Colm Crowley
    31.
    April 17, 2008
    7:56 am

    I purchased tickets to Boston with Aer Lingus yesterday as a birthday present for my boyfriend. This morning I received an email to say our reservation was cancelled as they were priced incorrectly. I called Aer Lingus and was told there was an error in the price online and I could rebook for the same dates but have to pay an additional €1100. Can they do this? Help!

    Comment by Nicola Murphy
    32.
    April 25, 2008
    4:45 pm

    Hi Conor, I had to get new hubcaps for my Skoda Fabia yesterday so I went to the Skoda garage where the car was purchased new in 2002 (Phoenix Motors on Prussia Street, Dublin 7). The guy there said it would cost €42 including vat for *each* hubcap. On a Ford Focus two years ago, the Ford Garage charged me €25 for 4 hubcaps. Repelled at the Phoenix Motors price, I rang up the Skoda garage in Navan and the guy there said it was €28 for each hubcap. When I arrived in Navan they gave me all four hubcaps for €100. Clearly, first the Skoda main dealership in Ireland is ripping off the Skoda garages, and then those garages are ripping us off. It is also significantly less expensive beyond Dublin. At any rate, not willing to pay €100 for 4 hubcaps that would be robbed again, I went off to a Motor Factors in Navan and got 4 universal hubcaps for €25 total.

    Comment by Aodhán Tuite
    33.
    April 25, 2008
    8:46 pm

    Hi Conor,

    I was in Debenhams in the Square Shopping Centre in Tallaght today and I noticed that an item was priced at £20 or 31 Euro. The current exchange rate between pounds sterling and euros is around 0.786, which converts 20 pounds to about 25 euro.

    Many items in the shop had dual pricing, all with a massive markup in Euros.

    I’ve written to Debenhams to point out their “error” and I will boycott the shop until they resolve it.

    Comment by Kevin C
    34.
    May 1, 2008
    12:53 pm

    Conor;
    Can you tell me if this is ok.
    My fiance recently cleared her credit card and cancelled it. The week before her card was cancelled she paid the annual government duty. Then when she had cleared her card she got a bill for this years government duty and intrest charges. It seems very unfair to charge 1 years duty on a card when the same duty was paid only 1 week before. Also, how can there be intrest charges if the card was not in debit? I would appreciate any advice you can give before we call up BOI.

    Comment by Brian k
    35.
    May 2, 2008
    11:28 am

    Conor, How do we contact you regarding queries? Or do we just leave them here on the comments board?

    Comment by tri
    36.
    May 5, 2008
    9:15 pm

    Customer Service Irish Style …

    I recently had the misfortune to experience Customer Service Irish Style and have to say it left me singularly was under impressed. I purchased a transformer at Powercity and when plugged it in it did not work, so next day I took it back to Powercity to get a replacement. I brought my receipt and the item to the desk, along with a replacement, which I picked up. When I got to the checkout I was told I needed to see customer service.

    No problem there I asked where it was. The answer and I quote “look for the man in the navy jumper on the floor” I was stunned. Having expected to be directed to a desk, an area at the back of the store, heaven forbid a customer service desk, but alas no desk, no area, I was looking for a man in a navy jumper!

    Well I scoured the entire length and breath of Powercity but did not find the man in the jumper. I went back to the check out desk. The lady said, “maybe he is at lunch”. I said this is ridiculous! I wend back into the maze of big screen TVs, fridges, washing machines and more and eventually found a man not in a navy jumper but a red striped shirt. He also said the man in navy may be at lunch but he was a kindly man and listened to my problem and we decided that I would hand him the non working item and he would allow me to leave the store with a working version.

    It all went OK after that but I am still stunned by the total lack of customer care and the casual off-hand approach to retaining customers here in Ireland.

    Comment by Declan Sheehy
    37.
    May 7, 2008
    3:06 pm

    Conor, have you heard of a site called Tribber.com? Apparently the lowest bidder wins. Do you think it is legit?

    Comment by trix
    38.
    May 7, 2008
    5:18 pm

    Conor,
    Two things:
    Number 1: Have you reviewed hummous yet?
    I am obsessed with it so I ask for it wherever I go.
    For example, in Tescos in Westport there are two types: 1 large pot for €1.99 and 1 medium pot for €2.29 - this is only the beginning of the story. If you go into bigger tescos, you’ll see many different brands, including organic ones, for which you might pay up to €5 for one average size 200g pot. I advise you test these out - there seems to be a tendency to charge more for the ‘reduced fat’ ones - surely if you reduced the fat, it should be cheaper than the full fat ones? Intriguing stuff, I’m sure you’ll agree.

    Number 2: I would love if you investigated (or if you already done so, please direct me to the link) the interest that is charged on cash advances. As far as I can discern from Halifax VISA customer care, interest is assessed the day before the statement is due. If there is a balance on the account at that time, you’ll be charged cash interest on the COMPLETE amount - whether this amount is made up of purchases or cash. I find this very difficult to understand and would love if you explained it to me.

    Comment by Colette Harlowe
    39.
    May 18, 2008
    7:17 pm

    Hello Conor,

    Just wondering if you have had any success with Amazon providing a cogent explanation as to why they are refusing to ship so much stock to Ireland. Recently I tried to purchase a Brabantia Folding Washing Line - and was told that they won’t ship this to Ireland! No electronics, no batteries and, most importantly, no explanation. I had a similar experience last christmas trying to buy some children’s toys. The products I wanted had no battery requirements, but still Amazon refuses to ship them here and hasn’t answered a single request for information.

    In these days when we are incessantly told to shop around online for the best bargains (by yourself and others) it seems bizarre that Amazon, with near total dominance of the online selling market, is treating us in this high handed manner.

    Comment by Aiden Desmond
    40.
    May 19, 2008
    10:22 pm

    Hi Conor, I paid 3.99euro for a box of milupa baby rice in centra salthill today - I am shocked that a basic baby food could be marked up to such an outrageous price having paid between 2.19 and 2.99 in other shops for the same product - is there any cap on the allowable mark up on baby food? To my knowledge there is one on staple products such as bread, milk, butter etc. Am I correct in this?

    Comment by jane
    41.
    May 22, 2008
    10:25 pm

    Hi Conor,

    I was with the 3 mobile network on prepay a couple of months ago. I got fed up with it and decided to change back to my original network. On ringing up the company before changing over, I asked them to unlock my new phone I bought to join them. I told them I was goin over seas and I needed to get it unlocked. They told me they didn’t have my unlock code but if I wanted them to send away for it, it would cost me €27 euro and I’d have to wait 3 weeks. As I wanted to change networks asap, I didn’t want to wait so I left it. Cant they charge for this unlock code as I know that other networks dont.

    Comment by Martina O'Brien
    42.
    May 27, 2008
    12:39 pm

    Hi Conor,

    Aer Lingus is not showing the breakdown of its charges. I was booking a flight to London 30 minutes ago where only taxes and charges were paid; the fare was €0. However, taxes and charges were €68.41. I clicked on the ‘Taxes and Charges’ breakdown but got a long list of gobbledegook with no simple breakdown of the €68. What are they trying to hide, and is this illegal yet? I was booking the flight for this August on their website so you can check yourself.

    Comment by Aodhán
    43.
    May 28, 2008
    11:48 am

    I have just been charged 20euro for a renewal of a prescription, ie printing out an already written prescription by my GP’s receptionsist. Surely this is overcharging?

    Comment by adrienne quinn
    44.
    May 29, 2008
    10:50 am

    I have just come back from Lourdes, in which airport I saw Kelly Caleche eau de toilette selling at 2 for 55 euros. In Brown Thomas you have to pay 70 euros for 1 50ml bottle. Why are Hermes charging the Irish perfume lovers so much? Rip off.

    Comment by E. White
    45.
    May 29, 2008
    10:38 pm

    I regularly purchase Cow & Gate Growing Up Milk drink which usually costs €8.49 for a 900g container in the Drogheda branch of Boots.

    It varies from €8.99 in Dunnes to €12.49 in Supervalu. Today I was unimpressed to find that Boots are now charging €9.49 for the 900g container, an increase of almost 12%. To make matters worse they were also advertising a special offer of 2 x 900g containers for €18 which at €9 each is still 51 cent or 6% more expensive than the previous price!

    The price in Dunnes is still €8.99 which makes them now cheaper than the “special offer” in Boots.

    Surely Boots increasing their price to make a so-called “special offer” seem more attractive to consumers can’t be legal, can it?

    Comment by John Lernihan
    46.
    June 2, 2008
    1:27 pm

    Conor,
    I enjoy your page on Monday’s but wonder what a product must do to receive only one star as I would have thought the Dunnes’ Veggie burgers would merit one from your comments. In addition, am I the only person who cannot use the reseal tabs on various packages? From the pile of sultanas left after my Gem packet unresealed itself to the ludcrous Rey paper pack where the reseal isn’t given a chance to work as the wrapping disintegrates I find that the tabs are a waste of time and money; isn’t it time companies realised that they don’t work?

    Comment by Patrick Rowley-Brooke
    47.
    June 3, 2008
    11:06 pm

    Hi Conor,

    We started a new free coupon site www.couponmaster.ie recently, and it might interest some of readers. We gathered a lot of freebies there, and will provide free discount coupon to consumers in the future. The website is very simple to use, and consumer can print their coupon online and spend in shops.

    Just wonder if it is possible to get some comments or publicity help from you. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

    Thank you,

    Comment by Wang
    48.
    June 9, 2008
    3:28 pm

    Hello Conor,

    I’m starting out learning to drive and am shocked at the cost of doing so. My particular gripe is the vast difference is prices schools of motoring are willing to charge for single or block booked (pre-paid) lessons. I’ve only researched the lessons in my area (Terenure) and have come across a difference of €100 for a block booking of 10 lessons between the worst and best quotes (from €300 to €400). There is a similar difference in the prices for single 1 hour lessons too (ranging from €35 to €50). All this on top of (here goes);Official Driver Therory Question Bank Book €17.99, Driver Theory Test €36.50, Sight Test €15.00, Provisional Lecence Application Fee €15.00, Driving Test Fee €38.00, Full License Fee (10yr) €25.00. Then there’s the cost of insurance, L-plates, passport photos and any repeat tests that may need to be taken. I’m left wondering is this the govnermanents new strategy for reducing the number of people commuting by car. Make learning to drive pricy to put people off. I’m nearly 30 years old, in full time employemnt and it gauls me to fork out what will amount to at a minimum €500.00 I can only imagine how students or unemployed people who need to be able to drive to get a job may feel about the cost involved.

    Comment by Aoife Kane
    49.
    June 10, 2008
    2:10 pm

    Not quite sure if this is appropriate for pricewatch but anyways here goes! IPSO who look after electronic payments direct debits etc are now offering a facility on their site www.ipso.ie where anybody can validate a bank account!! Surely this is an invitation for fraudsters who may obtain such information to verify accounts etc before they proceed any further? If the facility is required by IPSO’s customers surely access could be controlled by password. Seems typical to me of the loose approch of IPSO to electronic payments. I believe that the dd system is in need of radical overhaul but thats for another day!

    Comment by Sean Finn
    50.
    June 13, 2008
    8:46 am

    The sterling differential raised it’s ugly head yet again last night. This time it was TK Maxx in Arklow where I picked up a Le Creuset ramekin set priced at €5.99 (or so I thought). When I went to pay, I was told it was a STG price tag which hadn’t been overlabelled and in fact I would have to pay €9.99. That’s a total scam, considering that the average rate of exchange brings £5.99 to about €7.60! So I left it where it was…

    Comment by Aoife R
    51.
    June 18, 2008
    9:50 am

    Hi Conor,
    On a recent trip to France I discovered that it’s not just the UK multiples that are ripping the Irish off; the French are at it too.
    I purchased an outfit for my four week old grand daughter in a store called Obaib1. The outfit had a tag quoting a price of €12.90 in France and €13.90 in Ireland. I felt I could live with that and went ahead with the purchase. However it was when I was handed my receipt that I was really taken aback as the French price included V.A.T. at 19.6%. There is no V.A.T. charged on childrens clothes in Ireland.
    This raises a second point. Is there V.A.T. on kids clothes in the UK? If there is what does that do to the mark-ups on British chainstores in Ireland?

    Comment by Jack Butler
    52.
    June 26, 2008
    1:03 pm

    Hi Conor,

    I attended my local dentist last week for a clean.I was claiming on my PRSI- he told me I needed 1 new filling & 4 replacement fillings,i paid €180 for the treatment.I mentioned cleaning my teeth & felt fobbed off by his response - he told me to make an appointment with the hygienist but as i had only saw 1 6 months previously i did not warrant another hygienist appointment.i stated that PRSI covers a basic clean & polish. so no cleaning was carried out- yet i filled in my PRSI form for him. I made enquires that i am entitled to a scale & polish under the PRSI scheme every 6 months. I rang him back & informed him of this- he got very defensive,arrogant & was very dismissive of my query. He told me that in his practice you have to pay for a clean. I said the previous hygienist had told me that your dentist should provide you with a cleaning every 6 months- he informed me that he was unaware of other practises but in his you pay! I felt very dismissed by his arrogant attitude & the tone he used. I am a professional working with the public & would never adopt such an attitude to clients! I am within my rights to get my scaling & polishing covered under PRSI where he wanted payment for this.

    I would be grateful if you could guide or give me some assistance on where i stand. His whole attitude on the phone upset me more than anything!

    Kind Regards,
    Maria

    Comment by Maria O Brien

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