PriceWatch

You spot the prices, we ask the questions.

Tea'd off about economy packets: Following a visit to her local Dunnes Stores, Audrey Doyle, from Co Westmeath, has written to remind PriceWatch readers to check the prices of large packets against the price of smaller packets of the same product "in order to make sure that in buying so-called economy packets, they are in fact saving money". When shopping in a Dunnes outlet in Athlone, Doyle noticed that 80 Barry's Gold Label tea bags cost €2.69; "however, a packet of 160 Barry's Gold Label tea bags cost €5.50, 12 cent more than two smaller packets".

When PriceWatch contacted a Dunnes Stores outlet in Stillorgan to establish the price of the tea bags in question, the customer services department refused to give out the price of its Barry's tea on the basis that "we are not allowed at store level" to share such information with the public.

PriceWatch was directed to Dunnes head office, which declined to return our many calls, so the reason for this apparent anomaly in the store's tea pricing policy must remain a mystery.

What's more . . .

Pressure point: Another reader writes to complain about the high cost of prescription medicines in the Republic when compared with prices in southern Europe. The Dublin-based reader takes 50mg of Atelenol to control his blood pressure. "It is sold in Dublin under the brand name Atecor 50 and costs around €9.75 for 30 days' supply," he says. "I need a prescription to buy them and this costs €50 for a visit to the doctor. So six months' supply, including a visit to the doctor, costs me €108.50."

In Spain, on the other hand, he is able to buy 50mg of Atelenol over the counter at €3.75 for 60 days' supply. "So, for six months, it costs me €11.25 and I can get my blood pressure checked in the chemist's shop at no extra charge," he says. "Rip-off Ireland is alive and well."

Coffee offer: Two weeks ago a reader wrote to complain about a restaurant in the IFSC that charged him €6.30 for a cappuccino and a latte. In response, the owners of Le Phare Coffee House, on Lower Abbey Street, closer to the city centre, have written in to say they will "with pleasure" supply a cappuccino and a latte for just €3.70.

Battery shock: The high cost of changing a watch battery has enraged another reader. A Dublin branch of a well-known jeweller charged her €9.99 to perform this basic operation. "I needed the watch, so agreed to pay, but afterwards I wrote to the company to complain and they replied that the high cost was due to 'training' staff. How much training is required to fit a battery?," she asks.