Pricewatch

Your consumer queries answered. Have you a problem, a gripe or a tip-off? Contact us on 01-6758000 or mail pricewatch@irishtimes.com or via twitter @conor_pope

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Fifteen consumer charges we love to hate

Readers fume at paying €2 for a pint of blackcurrant while ticket service fees get on our wick

Pricewatch has been getting a large volume of complaints about Aer Lingus in recent weeks. Photograph: Aidan Crawley/Bloomberg

Yet another passenger left stranded by Aer Lingus ‘guest relations’

Pricewatch: A reader has been trying for almost a year to resolve a complaint, with no success. The airline finally responds

The best thing about home-swapping is that it opens participants up to new experiences by visiting places they may have never previously considered. Photograph: iStock

Home for the holidays: the benefits of house-swapping

A home-exchange not only opens up destinations you may never otherwise visit, there are considerable cost savings to be made as well

People in Ireland aged 18-34 are most frustrated that they cannot access hospitality services when they want, with 43 per cent saying they expected 24-hour services, a survey has found.

Pricewatch: Time for 24/7 Ireland, consumers say

Demand for out-of-hours services rising as more work outside nine to five, survey finds

Jabra Elite sport earphones

Pricewatch runs the rule over value for money earphones

From Jabra elite to Apple earphones and Dre Powerbeats – all you need to know

Passengers experience the sharp end of airline travel. File photograph: The Irish Times

Passengers far from happy with Aer Lingus customer service

Pricewatch: readers outline several complaints and the carrier responds to them

Counting the cost of going back to school.

Preparing for the back-to-school season

Pricewatch: counting the cost of education

Finding tuna that you don’t need to drown in mayonnaise

Pricewatch: From the ‘weirdly spongy’ to the ‘wonderfully firm and meaty’

Pricewatch: A problem with Eir – yes, yet another one

Getting to what’s at the bottom of a Lidl passata

“I join a team. They are all affable but I am clearly useless. An oven which should be built in minutes takes me a lot longer than that”

Pricewatch: ‘I’d hate to be the person who bought the cooker that Pricewatch built’

A visit to the Miele factory in Germany to build a cooker provided a glimpse into the world of the future consumer

Taylor Swift pulled her entire catalogue off Spotify in 2014, arguing it was unfair some fans could stream her music for less as opposed to buying a physical copy of her album. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

Emerging Irish artists using Spotify to find new audiences

Streaming service has its flaws but it also allows artists to reach new markets

Vodafone apologised for the disruption the woman faced after she upgraded her phone. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

Reader frustrated with Vodafone as mother left without functioning phone

Pricewatch: Woman says firm’s customer service was worst she’s ever experienced

There are five main streaming services. Photograph: Getty Images

Streaming services: From YouTube Music to Spotify, what's the best option?

Pricewatch compares five music streaming services

The Dublin Swift: passenger unable to travel due to lift not working.

Elderly man unable to travel on Swift ferry as lift not working

Pricewatch: Delay caused huge inconvenience for passengers and medical staff

Three Mobile: A reader has been having what sounds like a frustrating time after signing up to a mobile broadband package with Three Mobile earlier this year. Photograph: Aidan Crawley/ Bloomberg

Three’s customer care has ‘failed’ me, says frustrated customer

Pricewatch: No improvement in coverage despite 40-minute calls to customer care

Repeated calls to Sky failed to produce the desired response for the frustrated customer. Photograph: David Jones/PA

Sky’s the limit: Customer foiled as he tries to cancel broadband contract

Pricewatch: ‘Sky’s Hotel California policy’ taxes one man’s patience to the limit

Durrow Scarecrow Festival runs from July 29th to August 6th.

Eighteen ways to save money this summer

Pricewatch: Make the most of the season without spending a fortune

Pricewatch reader bought headphones on board a flight and was told to contact the company online for a receipt. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Reader annoyed at Ryanair’s receipt policy

The airline does not issue paper receipts for in-flight purchases, as part of its environmental policy

Pricewatch readers have had difficulties with Sky’s ‘free TV’ offer. Photograph: David Jones/PA Wire

Sky’s the limit when it comes to ‘free TV’ offer

Our reader was promised a television would be sent to her when she signed up, only to be told time had elapsed when she tried to claim it

Popcorn has been linked to ailments including cancer, heart disease and bronchiolitis.

‘Is popcorn good for you?’ and more of life’s big questions

Pricewatch: Random queries about consumer matters answered

‘If you must return the hire car outside working hours or are in a mad dash to make your flight, take pictures of the car when it has been parked in the designated area.’ Photograph: iStock

Hiring a car on holidays? Here’s how to avoid getting ripped off

The car hire game can be fraught – don’t get caught out by unscrupulous practices

Salad cream: Looking for the best value (not the healthiest)

A retro taste cames flooding back as we try the big brands and budget efforts

In a statement Irish Water said it was “continuing to issue cheques and engage with customers as part of the refund process”.

Why can’t I get my water charges refund?

Pricewatch: ‘After six months I have no idea what is happening to my €199.78’

Aer Lingus: “We cannot accept liability for any items left on board our aircraft nor in any of our lounges.” Photograph: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images

Aer Lingus now outsources lost property – and it costs

A reader who left a Kindle behind was charged €37 by a third party to return it

The woman said there were promises made which Bank of Ireland haven’t been able to fulfil. Photograph: Frantzesco Kangaris/Bloomberg

Would-be first-time buyer left frustrated by experience with BoI

Woman says she lost two properties and is gaining a reputation as an unreliable buyer

Photograph: Bryan O’Brien

Frustration and fury: reader paid for parking but still got clamped

Reader used Park by Text but clampers say she got the location wrong

Do monthly cinema subscriptions actually save you money?

Pricewatch undertakes year-long investigation into cost of annual cinema tickets

Big day, wedding budget – splashing the cash on marriage

Pricewatch: Irish couples spend an average of €25,000 on their royal occasion

Ditch the chocolate fountain: Kristen Wiig had the right idea in ‘Bridemaids’.

Top tips to get hitched on the cheap

Slash the invitation list, go on a booze cruise, pay less for the dress . . . but don’t skimp on the Tayto sandwiches at midnight

The Sky customers had 90 days to activate the “claim” emails. Photograph: David Jones/PA Wire

Two Sky customers ask: where's our free telly?

Readers were unaware of ‘claim’ emails that needed to be activated to get televisions

AA accepts that the customer’s no-claims bonus cert should have been accepted without question. Photograph: Cyril Byrne

Car insurance quote retracted for confusing reasons

‘I genuinely feel that the AA are being unnecessarily difficult,’ reader complains

“Since my daughter was born in 2005 with cleft lip and palate, we would have had a very active policy, with ongoing treatments and surgeries.” Photograph: iStock

Health insurance mix-up shows the importance of keeping records

One woman who cancelled her cover over the phone found that she was still being billed

Vicki ordered a dishwasher from Littlewoods but it was badly damaged when delivered. Photograph: iStock

Pricewatch: Reader left frustrated over damaged dishwasher from Littlewoods

Vicki asked for a replacement as soon as possible but was told this was not possible

A family had a frustrating experience with Ryanair earlier this month. Photograph: Eric Luke

Family forced to cancel holiday blame Ryanair for directing them to wrong queue

Pricewatch: Family say they were told to buy new tickets after making complaint

Things which help demonstrate a borrower’s desirability to a bank include savings and paying rent. Photograph: iStock

House rules: how to get your first mortgage

Buying a house has never been more difficult but there are ways to endear yourself to your bank and find your dream home

Jayna McCloskey (9) and Max Barrett (9) at the launch of Safefood’s report, which shows that families with children spent on average €1,037 last year on highly processed food such as crisps, chocolate and sweets.

Irish families turn junk food into staples of shopping basket

Pricewatch: Average Irish family spends a fifth of its food budget on ‘treats’

The Bank of Ireland: dozens and dozens of the bank’s customers are complaining of the lag between transactions happening and their balances updating. Photograph: Frantzesco Kangaris/Bloomberg

Bank of Ireland app fails to show balance in real time

Your consumer queries answered: ‘I discovered I was €455.87 overdrawn’

“All those who don’t bother packing their travel insurance are making a mistake. The mere sight of the medical bills that can be incurred as a result of an overseas illness would be enough to give you a heart attack.” File photograph: iStockPhoto

Travel insurance: You really, really don’t want to leave without it

Pricewatch: Mere sight of medical bills due to overseas illness might give you a heart attack

Watch out for the O and I in your passport number or you may be denied entry to the US. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien

One passport digit leads to an invalid US visa

Pricewatch reader shares his tale of woe as a public warning service

Mairéad Ní Chuaig: “The farms tend to be off the beaten track and you get to live with lovely people. It is a way for people with no money to travel the world.”

Want to travel the world on a budget? Wwoof it

TG4’s Mairéad Ní Chuaig has been to many far-flung, exotic places, all for the price of a flight

Is there any regulation on selling mobile phones to children and, more especially, mobile phones that cost the same as my first car? Photograph: Bryan O’Brien / The Irish Times

Ask for a receipt; no legal obligation on shop to give you one

Pricewatch reader appalled by shop selling €600 phone to 12-year-old daughter

“The shop assistant showed me a device she said showed the efficacy of polarising layers over nonpolarising ones”

Should have gone to physics class? Specsavers may be blinding you with bad science

A physics lecturer questions an in-store demonstration the company uses

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Are DIY skills becoming a thing of the past?

We lost our DIY skills in the boom when we we got notions and hired people to do things for us

Oaty goodness: granolas are put to the test

Crunch time: granolas put to the test

Pricewatch: we check out the best in berry granolas

Stena, we think you’re sound

‘Stena took my stressful situation, crumpled it up like a piece of paper and tossed it in the bin’

Empty shelves in a supermarket during Storm Emma. Photograph: Reuters / Clodagh Kilcoyne

Empty shelves point to fragility in our food supply

Pricewatch checks out supermarkets’ response to the Beast from the East

“Everything broke down 30 minutes after the technician left, and continued to do so at intervals,” one former Eir customer said.

Going spare at Eir: Pricewatch mailbag fills up with complaints

Former customers describe frustrating experiences with telecoms provider

“My phone rings, I answer it and a recorded female voice says: ‘Please dial the number you are calling.’ It is now wrecking my head and I dread the phone ringing.”

Just when you thought Eir customer service couldn’t get any worse . . .

Reader Ann Slaven thought cancelling her account would be easy – she was wrong

Breathe Right: translucent and almost possible not see in the dimness of a darkened bedroom

Pricewatch: Solutions to snoring

We check out four methods for quieter slumber and compare quality and price

When it comes to taking money off those who don’t really have it, the finger of blame can be pointed at companies big and small. Photograph: iStock

How companies ensure the poor get poorer

Pricewatch: It’s a strange paradox, but the richer you are, the less you have to pay for life’s essentials. Those who can least afford basic goods and services are penalised the most

Kenny’s Bookshop in Galway was online long before Jeff Bezos set up Amazon

Clicks and mortar: The Irish retailers who are doing the business online

Pricewatch: rather than watch their sales disappear into cyberspace, many Irish retailers are setting up shop on the web – and are competing with the online-only discounters

“A great favourite for starters”: Maura Bourke says she was always able to get avocados in the late 1970s

Maybe it wasn’t so far from avocados we were reared

Pricewatch: Some of you begged to differ with our 1980s nostalgia-fest

Frustrated: returning emigrants are being treated like 17-year-old boy racers.

Car insurance costs put returning emigrants off the road

Pricewatch: Insurance companies are making drivers pay for their time abroad

Pricewatch: How much is too much for a decent Jaffa Cake?

Getting the balance right between chocolate, orange goo, and sponge can be tricky

Consumer News

Number of vehicles on Irish roads reaches record levels

Overall number of people who walk to work nationally continues to fall

Ticketmaster to shut ticket-reselling website Seatwave

Company announces new ‘fan-to-fan’ ticket exchange in place of resale operations

Live rat found in fast food restaurant in south Dublin by inspectors

Food safety officers find rodent droppings in Dublin supermarket

Papal paraphernalia ‘selling like hotcakes’ as retailers cash in on Pope’s visit

T-shirts, rosary beads, mugs and umbrellas all emblazoned with image of Pope Francis

Southside redesign of Metro to cost up to €35m

Two options drawn up to avoid closure of road linking Ranelagh and Rathmines

Barbecue aficionados warned about kidney failure risk from minced burgers

Eating undercooked burgers risks contamination with lethal E. coli bug, FSAI says

Beef burgers recalled as use-by date wrong by one month

Batch of Tropicana Trop 50 Multivitamins Juice also recalled

Public consulted on retailers applying fees to gift vouchers

Move comes as Government backs minimum lifespan of five years for such vouchers

Parents pay €1,200 a year to put children though secondary school

Cost of return to school will result in third of parents getting into debt, survey suggests

‘Extreme reluctance’ to switch phone providers costing Irish consumers

ESRI finds up to almost 60% of users have never switched to another telcom firm

Flies, dripping grease and unidentifiable dirt found in food firms

Food Safety Authority issued eight closure orders to resturaunts and cafes in June

Urgent recall of frozen vegetables from Irish supermarkets

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland also recalls pestos over salmonella concerns

Ryanair strike Q&A: What should I do if my flight is cancelled?

Conor Pope: Ryanair passengers hit by strike must be offered refund or rerouting

Panda Power and Pinergy to increase gas, electricity prices

Companies blame rising cost of energy globally for the move

Shane Ross says older people should not fear redesign of bus services

New network will see more changes of bus for some trips

Redesign of Dublin Bus network will affect every bus route in the capital

Numbering system for Dublin buses to be scrapped for lettering system

Ryanair and Aer Lingus cancel flights this weekend

Irish tourists face disruption amid further strike action by French air traffic controllers

Aldi and Tesco sauces recalled over glass contamination fears

Warning issued after manufacturing error may have left glass fragments in products

Ticketmaster Ireland warns users of potential security breach

Ticketing site says customers’ details may have been accessed by unknown third-party

Photoshopped Rimmel ad by beauty blogger was ‘misleading’

Advertising watchdog makes first finding against a social influencer

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