We're not lovin' it when Irish fries cost more at McDonald's

We've Got Mail:A reader sent us an email suggesting an interesting price comparison. He said it might be worth looking at the price of fries in McDonalds in the Republic of Ireland and in the UK.

And then he goes and does the work for us. There are, he writes, three portion sizes available in both jurisdictions, small, medium and large. In the UK a small portion of fries costs 84p (€1.26), a medium portion will set you back 99p (€1.48) while a large portion costs £1.29 (€1.95). In the Republic, however, the small fries are €1.50, the medium cost €2 while the large fries are €2.30. "One wonders if the Irish potato is that much better/more expensive than its counterpart in the UK," he asks.

Our reader also extends his congratulations to the fast food chain for what he describes as a "sleight of its marketing hand" in an ad offering seven Chicken McNuggets for a price of €2. This promotional offer appeared towards the end of last year, he says. "What they somehow managed to forget is that prior to this great new bargain the same McNuggets were available 4 for €1."

We contacted McDonalds to ask if the Irish potato really was worth paying more for and to find out more about its new promotional deal on McNuggets. On the second point our reader appears to have been mistaken. McDonalds told us that at no time had it run a promotion offering seven McNuggets for €2.

In connection with the price of French fries, the company said it operates as a "separate business entity to McDonald's in the UK and therefore the pricing structures of both companies will be different. As with several consumer goods, prices across different markets vary due to differences in business costs, overheads and economies of scale. In all McDonald's markets McDonald's is committed to delivering value for money," the statement says.

Keypad kaput

Noel Reid had an odd encounter in a PC World outlet recently. He had gone in to the shop to buy a USB port extension for his computer. It was competitively priced at €29.99 but it was when he presented himself at the till and had his card swiped that the problem began. After his card was swiped the staff member gave him the keypad. "The pad said Laser but I had proffered a Mastercard and it had a price of €49.99. He asked me to put in my pin and when I drew his attention to what was on the screen he was totally dismissive. That, he told me, was the previous transaction. If I put in my pin it would be okay."

Reid, not unreasonably, declined to proceed with the transaction and reported what had happened to customer service. "They saw nothing wrong. It was a glitch and as they didn't make the keypads they just had to live with the problem," he says he was told. He left the store without buying the USB extension and is "still looking because for me it's not any USB port in a storm or even a store".

All that for one voucher

We recently carried an item about the charges An Post imposes on the gift vouchers it sells. Each One4All gift voucher purchased carries a surcharge of €2.50 which An Post says it is entitled to charge because, unlike the specific shops for which the vouchers are valid, it makes no money from the end purchase. A number of readers were prompted to get in touch highlighting the fact that not only does the consumer have to pay this charge for buying the vouchers, so too does the retailer when the vouchers are cashed in.

When the vouchers are redeemed retailers are charged a 10 per cent fee plus 21 per cent VAT, which means that a €50 voucher has charges of €12 associated with it.