Shoppers advised to get familiar with prices and coins

In the months leading up to E-Day, millions of information items have encouraged consumers to think euro. From January 1st, consumers will have no choice but to start.

Many will hope the changeover experience will be comparable to handling money when travelling abroad. The first few days will be spent painstakingly comparing prices, translating back into punts, and carefully examining the look, feel and shape of the foreign currency. But once the first few days are behind us, there will be an instinctive sense of whether a product or service represents good value and money will be spent more freely.

In the case of the euro, there will simply be no return journey, no leftover "foreign" coins as the "foreign" currency becomes the Irish currency.

There will be no need to retain pounds and pence for the airport or in-flight duty free, just for sentimental or collector purposes.

Sentiment aside, there is suspicion among consumers, especially those with memories of decimalisation, that the transition from pounds and pence to euros and cents will act as a catalyst for price increases.

But knowledge is power, according to consumer organisations.

"It's things like getting into your head that a 30p postage stamp will cost 38 cents, and knowing what the price of a pint or litre of milk will be or a loaf of bread, so we're not all then converting madly," says a spokeswoman for the European Consumer Centre (ECC) in Dublin.

"If there is an increase, consumers will be able to say 'hold on, I wasn't paying that much before'."

Many Christmas-shopping consumers will already be familiar with the euro equivalent of frequently used retail prices - for example, £1.99 becomes €2.53 or £4.99 translates to €6.34.

Retailers, using the fixed conversion rate of €1 equals £0.787564, should round down the third figure after the decimal point if it is four or lower and round up if it is five or higher.

Businesses that take advantage of euro confusion to inflate prices during the six-week changeover period may be "named and shamed" by the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs, although no legal sanctions are possible.

Finance Minister Mr McCreevy has urged consumers to carry and use the special euro converter calculators sent to 1.4 million households in November and December. Anyone who did not receive a euro calculator through the post can contact the Euro Changeover Board of Ireland (ECBI)'s LoCall number on 1890 20 10 50.

The ECBI is also recommending that consumers purchase euro starter kits from post offices and other financial institutions in advance of January 1st. The £5 (€6.35) packs - this year's novelty stocking filler - contain 19 coins including at least one of each of the euro coins.

For staff at the ECC, who have been providing advice and preparing for the introduction of the euro for three years, it was an "emotional moment" to finally see the starter packs of coins.

"It can only be a positive thing for people to see the coins before the changeover. Certainly for people with special needs it is important to become familiar with the feel of the coins," says a spokeswoman for the ECC.

The ECC's location on O'Connell Street, a short distance from the heart of Dublin's New Year retail activity, means that consumers are likely to use the advice shop as the first port of call for queries about euro pricing.

"That's what we're here for - to be close to the consumer," the spokeswoman adds.

"We will be open from 9.30 a.m. on January 2nd and we fully expect to get queues of people in our doors, so we can deal with problems on the ground."

Ms Tina Leonard, manager of the ECC, has said that this year consumers have become "hypersensitive" about prices and that the centre was receiving daily complaints about overcharging.

Consumers should complain to the business concerned first. If the problem cannot be resolved, they should then contact the ECC for help or make a complaint to the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs (ODCA).

The ODCA has stressed the benefits of the euro for the consumer, including price stability, transparency between Irish prices and prices in other participating countries, and the elimination of foreign exchange transaction costs for currencies in the euro zone.

The ODCA is advising consumers to shop where they see the euro logo indicating the business has signed up to its code of practice on the changeover.

The director of consumer affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, reserves the right to publicly withdraw use of the logo from any retailer who, after investigation, is found to have breached the code.

For more information, contact the European Consumer Centre, 13a Upper O'Connell Street, Dublin 1; tel: 01 809 0600; email: info@ecic.ie; website: www.ecic.ie.

Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs, 4-5 Harcourt Road, Dublin 2; tel: 01 402 5555; email: odca@entemp.ie; website: www.odca.ie.