Price Watch/Conor Pope: Marcus O'Sullivan from Dublin has been in touch to highlight problems he has had with the Apple iPod he received as a birthday present in the middle of September last year.
Everything was fine until May of this year when his MP3 player's reactions suddenly slowed before eventually dying. Using the Apple website, he sent it off either to be repaired or replaced.
He says he "encountered no problems as the website was easy to use and they came to my house to collect it". He also got "a whole new iPod in exchange for my broken one".
Everything was hunky-dory until early September when his new iPod started to act up. A couple of weeks later he turned it on to find that his entire 4,000-song collection had disappeared and the iPod would not connect to his computer.
He went on to the Apple repair site again "but I eventually found out that my iPod was out of warranty because it had a 12-month warranty from the day I bought it. The replacement iPod I received was under the original warranty, which I found very unfair. I have never dropped my iPod and caused damage to it and these problems seemed to occur naturally," he says.
When he contacted Apple's customer care hotline they confirmed the warranty had expired and that he would have to send it to a local repair company "because if I [ Marcus] sent it to Apple it would be virtually the same cost as buying a new iPod".
Instead he found a company called Imactive in Blanchardstown, Dublin, which could repair it for about €70.
"I am puzzled at how the replacement iPod cannot have its own warranty."
At the time of going to print we were awaiting a complete response from Apple.
However a spokeswoman indicated that the company would be "keen to try and establish exactly what the issue is in this case".
She added that Apple would contact O'Sullivan directly to "track exactly what has happened and resolve it".
WORTH ITS SALT? A Bray reader has written in to highlight the soaring cost of Epsom Salts. Rosaleen Kelly was accustomed to buying it in one kilo batches and used to pay approximately IR£1.99 per tub. Recently she went looking for it and was horrified when she realised that most chemists were selling it in 250-gram containers and charging €2.50 each, or €10 per kilo. She kept looking and eventually found a chemist selling 3kg tubs for €8.99. "How can anybody justify charging €2.50 for 250 grams? The container tubs are the flimsiest plastic. Rip-off Ireland is alive and well."
Value4Money: Raspberry Jam
G's Gourmet Raspberry Jam
€3.25 for 340 grams, €9.55 per kg
Highs: It is clear that the more you pay, the fruitier your jam gets. Made by Helen Gee in Abbeyleix, Co Laois, this jam has just two ingredients listed, raspberries and sugar in equal measure. It still has real pieces of raspberries visible, tastes home-made and is pretty excellent. In fact, you could eat it with a spoon and forget the bread altogether.
Lows: There is no hiding from the fact that it is very expensive. It's not so easy to track down either, although in Dublin it is available in Liston's Deli on Camden Street and in Habitat on College Green.
Verdict: Will gladden the greyest of mornings.
Star rating:*****
Bonne Maman Raspberry Conserve
€2.45 for 370 grams, €6.62 per kg
Highs: This is a conserve rather than a jam so clearly is much posher than its rivals. It tastes pretty good. It has a nice rich, dark colour, is filled with flavour and is not excessively sweet.
Lows: It has been fairly heavily puréed and all trace of solid raspberries is gone. The gingham-style lid and the homely, faux handwritten font on the label have clearly been designed to conjure up homely images of a French kitchen where pots of this are lovingly made for your toast. Unless Bonne Maman is immensely productive and can supply all of Europe from her kitchen, this is probably not the case.
Verdict: Just a little pretentious.
Star rating:***
Tesco Organic Raspberry Jam
€2.22 for 340 grams, €6.53 per kg
Highs: It's organic, which presumably makes it better for you and the environment, even if it doesn't taste any different. It has a nice fruity taste and has not been excessively processed, making it easy to identify the bits of raspberry in the mix. It is also vegetarian friendly.
Lows: It is hard to fault its taste but its texture is almost too heavy-set. It's also quite pricey for a supermarket chain's own-brand product. Incidentally, on the Tesco website serving the supermarket chain's British market, the jam sells for 87p or €1.29.
Verdict: Tastes good but at a cost.
Star rating:***
Chivers Raspberry Jam
€1.79 for 454 grams, €3.94 per kg
Highs: This is very much an old-school jam, lacking any of the pretensions of the other brands tried. It is reliable and recognisable and is Irish-made. It is the cheapest of the brands tested by a fairly substantial margin and comes in the largest jar. It has a strong raspberry flavour and will appeal to those with a sweet tooth.
Lows: With 66 grams of sugar to every 100 grams of jam, some people may find it a little too sweet however. It is also fairly gelatinous when compared with the gourmet option.
Verdict: Cheap and cheerful.
Star rating:***
