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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A monthly rail ticket for a Dublin commuter covering trains and the Luas costs €180, so a person spared that financial burden for the last 12 months has saved themselves €2,160. Photograph: Crispin Rodwell

Pandemic savings: How some people have saved thousands by working from home

Pricewatch: Many saving on commuting, food and coffee costs, but utilities are up

The report suggests that as well as looking for foods which boost immunity, people have started to care more about where their food comes from and how it gets to their table. Photograph: Getty Images.

Irish people buying more immunity boosting foods than ever before

Pricewatch: Report finds people care more about where food comes from and how it gets to their table

Reader had ‘a very bizarre information request’ from the Revolut chat function

Revolut user in a spin after being asked if he was related to Eamon Ryan

Pricewatch: Reader told his account would be restricted if he did not answer question

New evidence has shown a huge desire among Irish consumers to shop local. File photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The Irish-focused platforms offering an alternative to Amazon

Pricewatch: Indigenous online sites aim to help Irish consumers to shop local

According to Oxfam, Ireland dumps 225,000 tonnes of textiles every year. Photograph: iStock

The ethical shopper: Buy local, read labels, think before you shop

From clothes to food, taking the time to inform yourself can make a difference

After a week digging around in the Royal Mail website Tim O’Brien found a number for a customer service and rang for help. Photograph: iStock

Missing white-knuckle stress? Try the postal service

Pricewatch: Getting a letter from England to Ireland can take a stressfully long time

Not only did Martin Luther gift the world Protestantism, he also gave it the Christmas tree

Why we celebrate Christmas on the 25th, eat mince pies and put up trees

Pricewatch’s 12 fun facts of Christmas explores the origins of our modern traditions

While the EPA continues to warn us on our wastefulness, Bord Bia is suggesting that since Covid, there is a greater awareness and conscientiousness among shoppers about food waste and its impact on the environment. File photograph: iStock

Shielding, comfort cooking, stocking up... How consumers cope with Covid

Top thing Irish people have missed is time spent with friends, research finds

Of those participating in this season’s sales events, 72 per cent are holding off purchases until the event. Photograph: Getty Images/iStock

Cyber Monday: Beware of bogus deals and preying scammers

Pricewatch: Consumers need their wits about them amid relentless coverage of ‘bargains’

Supermarkets are happy to spend a lot of money working out the best ways to get us to spend ours. Photograph: iStock

14:15 Twenty-two ways supermarkets trick you into spending more money

Supermarkets bombard customers with all manner of psychological devices and tricks

Currys’ fridge-freezer was bought in September 2018 and it broke down last spring while still under its two-year warranty. Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Pricewatch: Readers’ queries answered

Currys’ response to a fridge-freezer problem has provided cold comfort to this elderly couple

EY report found ‘no significant change in those planning to keep cutting or to stay frugal’. Photograph: iStock

Covid-19: Why Ireland is seeing the rise and rise of the cautious consumer

Pricewatch: Three reports into sentiment and spending track a gloomy outlook

Readers’ queries

This week features Visa Debit cards, package holidays and prices for parking

Discounts of more than 40 per cent are now available to those who switch energy provider. Photograph: iStock

13:32 Consumers pay high price for not pulling the plug on energy suppliers

Pricewatch: People who change energy providers can make annual savings of €400

Wear a mask while shopping indoors and while on public transport. Photograph: istock

How to be a better consumer: 20 commandments

Keep your wits about you as a shopper – that way you get the best value

Eir customers are generally placed on a queue of about 30 minutes and often after this time the call is disconnected. Photograph: Alan Betson

Back with our old friends at eir – and nothing seems to have changed

Pricewatch: Overcharging and disconnecting as the price of bacon goes through the roof

Consumers continue to be thrown under the bus or simply ignored. ‘The reality is consumers have been left in a no-man’s land and have seen their rights trampled over,’ says consumer advocate Dermott Jewell. Photograph: iStock.

‘This is simply disgusting’: Holidaymakers struggle amid mixed messages

Pricewatch: More complaints than ever as some travel operators let themselves down

Shoppers return to Dublin city centre. Photograph: Tom Honan

14:53 Twenty ways Covid-19 has changed our daily lives

Pricewatch: Will consumers return to normal or will some new habits endure?

The local multiplier effect means that every €100 spent in the local economy is actually worth €500. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Shopping locally: what difference does it make?

The lockdown has encouraged Irish consumers to buy locally-sourced goods

Do a bit of research and find the best chipper wherever you are going

12:39 Holidays at home: Embrace our weather, eat chipper chips and buy wetsuits

If you haven’t had a holiday at home in decades, here’s how to get the most out of it

People are confused about their rights and worried about losing money and angered at companies who – they say – are deliberately making their lives more difficult. Photograph: Getty Images

Travel refunds up in the air as readers run out of patience

Pricewatch: Deluge of complaints about travel companies as Covid-19 disrupts plans

Conor Pope in Dublin Airport, where passengers are down to under 300 a day. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd/The Irish Times.

How lockdown has helped us to save money - and find new ways to spend it

Pricewatch: Meal kits and takeaway pints have become the new camping holiday

Not as many people have been buying bread as you might expect.

Pricewatch: Left on the shelf - what we are no longer buying

Bread and male grooming products among things consumers decided they can do without

Grafton Street in Dublin’s city centre.Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

The changing face of retail during and after Covid-19

What can we expect? Limits on time spent in shops, staggered queues and plexiglass at tills

“The ATM made its whirring sound but no cash came out.” Photograph: iStock

Pricewatch: Problems with banks prove perennial amid pandemic

One reader ‘mugged’ by an ATM, another is told to visit branch for ‘golden years’ account

Reader Mary Conroy shared a simple but ingenious tip for separating eggs using a plate.

Pricewatch: Life hacks for the lockdown

Top tips from readers to help with household chores

‘More of our customers have been baking from scratch and yeast sales are through the roof,’ says Avoca MD Tara O’Neill of the company’s dramatic surge in sales of baking products. Photograph: Alan Betson

Avoca: it’s all about the food now

The multimillion euro retail chain has had to reinvent itself since the Covid-19 lockdown

‘We have seen people go back to what they grew up on, things like roast dinners,’ says Rory McDonnell of Bord Bia

How coronavirus is changing our relationship with food and cooking

Pricewatch: ‘Shielding’, ‘stocking-in’ and ‘comfort cooking’ are among the new trends

There are a number of companies delivering fresh fruit and veg to Irish homes. Photograph: iStock

Delivering the goods: Irish retailers that will come to you

We asked readers for small companies that now do home delivery. Here’s a selection

The Easter bunny is top dog in this part of the world but it’s s a fox in Germany and a cuckoo in Switzerland.

Why is there an Easter bunny and not an Easter chicken?

Pricewatch: We answer the pressing questions you always wanted to ask

Shoppers observe social distancing while queuing outside Dunne Stores in Clonakilty, Co Cork. Photograph: Andy Gibson

How Covid-19 has changed the face of Irish shopping

Pricewatch: Retail has undergone a swift and bleak transformation under crisis guidelines

Why is Aer Lingus continuing flights to the US when we are advised against non-essential travel and currently denied entry into the US anyway? Photograph: iStock

12:12 Are the travel industry and airlines playing fair in coronavirus crisis?

Pricewatch: Hundreds of people could lose thousands of euro as their travel plans lie in tatters

Work out how much money you are saving while self-isolating.

Coronavirus confinement: Thirteen tips to make self-isolating easier

Pricewatch: Help cope with confinement by adding to your interests and activities

If a litre of fuel costs €1.40, about 90 cent of it goes straight to the taxman. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA Wire

3:56 Crude oil prices have plummeted. Why not prices at the pump?

Pricewatch: There are several reasons for the apparent rip-off but the main one is tax

Ireland now ranks 10th among EU members for the number of digital transactions per capita. Photograph: iStock

11:10 Cashless world: Will we be richer or poorer for it?

Ireland is gradually becoming cashless. Is the convenience worth the loss of privacy?

A quick look at the pictures and it is clear our reader is making a valid point.

‘Misleading’ LOL dolls packaging leaves little girl ‘very upset’

Pricewatch: ‘It seems, you need a qualification in forensics to figure out what’s inside the packaging’

Irish libraries have shown themselves to be wonderfully deft at moving with changing times.

11:06 Libraries: Remarkable places we should cherish

Less than 20% of Irish people describe themselves as regular users

According to a recent survey, of the 52 per cent of Irish workers who said they contributed to a pension, 41 per cent said they were not confident it would be enough to live off in retirement.

What you need to know about pensions

Almost half of Ireland’s workers have no private pension, according to a recent study

Shop locally and cook dinner yourself

How to do Valentine’s Day on the cheap and sustainably

Pricewatch: Is Valentine’s Day a con job? Romance can come with a hefty price tag

All enforcement agencies must prioritise. Most consumer enforcement agencies, worldwide, aspire to use limited resources to maximise consumer benefit.

‘If a shop’s food is not tasty, that is not reason for taxpayers to finance enforcement’

Pricewatch: Professor responds to our idea for a new consumer body which would fight the corner of individuals wronged by businesses

Laya has said that the reader was told in error that she would be covered for the surgery. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Cover or no cover: ‘I know mistakes happen . . . but it really is a mess’

Pricewatch: Reader shares her experience of conflicting phone calls with Laya Healthcare

By taking meaningful steps towards making education genuinely free, a future education minister would almost guarantee that his or her name would be remembered for decades

Plenty of politicians’ promises, but what about these ideas to help consumers?

Pricewatch: Fancy a consumer watchdog with more bite, free off-peak public transport or safer cycling?

More than 2.2 million people in the Republic now have health insurance policies, according to the Health Insurance Authority.

Navigating the health insurance maze and finding the best deal

The health insurance market is packed with hundreds of plans from three key players

Clamped car. Photograph: iStock

My car was clamped in error. Should I get compensation?

Pricewatch: Posh frock horror in Wexford, BA’s no-show policy proves costly for reader

Selfie

Things we take for granted that hardly existed in 2010

Selfies, contactless payments, storm names and Netflix - what have the 2010s given us?

Niall Wynn, owner of Proper Order Coffee Cafe Haymarket, Smithfield, Dublin with one of his compostable coffee cups. In November Minister for Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton launches a public consultation on levies on single-use coffee cups. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times

Pricewatch: 2019 was eventful for hard-pressed consumers

Food scares, Brexit fears, rising costs, and how to cut a pineapple

We have said this before and we will say it again, something is only ever worth buying in the sales if you actually need it and will get real use out of it

Conor Pope's ultimate guide to the Christmas sales - tips, deals and your rights

Many shops have lost the ability to retail, and have replaced it with deep discounting

'Maybe look for reusable alternatives to wrapping papers this year. Whatever you do, avoid the stuff with glitter on it, it is hideous for the environment.'

From Advent to zeds: Your ultimate A-Z guide to Christmas

Is it Kris Kindle or Kris Kringle? And what exactly is egg nog?

Some websites we were familiar with, but many more were completely new to us.

Here are 30 Irish websites to get this year’s Christmas presents from

Why not enable more cash to circulate in the local economy . . . where delivery is free?

‘Quietly emerging trend: the dream of a green Christmas and the notion of making the season more sustainable.’ Photorgraph: iStock

Have a green Christmas – gift ideas for the sustainable shopper

Not everyone can make gifts but happily there are talented craftspeole who can

Readers have reported ticket machines registering wrong information when registration numbers are being inputted.

Clamping at Luas stations: more readers who’ve been taken for a ride

Pricewatch: Park-and-ride system proves costly but it is user error or faulty machines?

According to Repak, Ireland will generate almost 90,000 tonnes of packaging waste this Christmas.

Christmas shows our approach to climate change is crackers

Pricewatch: About 15m crackers will be pulled in Ireland over festive season

‘I’m happy that I put in an X and that the ticket shows that.’ Photograph: David Sleator

Pricewatch: Be careful of clampers if your car is from Wexford

One unhappily clamped driver complains that the NCPS cannot tell its Xs from its Zs

The Angry Birds themed Advent calendar from the people at Cadbury looks impressive and we can imagine that most children will receive it with delight

Advent calendars: the good, the bad and the cheesy

What’s the point of an advent calendar if you have to keep it in the fridge?

Consumer News

Regional price caps for shared equity scheme to be published soon, Minister says

O’Brien claims critics of initiative ‘not telling the truth’ about State’s capacity to build homes

Consumers warned over Flower/Leaf pyramid scheme

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission cautions over social media scheme

More than a third of population not staying within 10km of home

CSO data shows growing numbers becoming frustrated with national travel restrictions

Covid-19: Vaccination programme ‘chink of light’ for travel industry

Accelerated vaccine rollout will ‘give Government more options’ on overseas holidays

Passport Service suspends almost all operations due to Covid-19

Backlog of up to eight weeks expected when service resumes

Yoga centre’s liquorice Covid-cure falls foul of advertising watchdog

Vodafone, Kia Motors and Marks and Spencer also among firms to have misled customers

Irish website selling poisonous weight loss product shut down

Chemical has been responsible for one recorded death in Ireland and 32 in the UK

Amazon’s arrival in Ireland will change the way we shop

An Irish ‘fulfilment centre’ will make shopping easier, but it has downsides for consumers

New parking fines of €40 proposed for Dublin city centre

2:43 Illegal footpath parking ‘endemic’ in the city, council meeting hears

Legislation to regulate use of e-scooters and e-bikes to be introduced

Use of e-scooters will not require tax, insurance or driving licence, Minister says

Ryanair passengers say they are still awaiting Covid-19 refunds

Michael O’Leary says ‘every customer that has requested a refund for us has received it’

City council clamping revenues stall as illegal parking down 50%

4:34 Only eight vehicles immobilised in city during March at height of first Covid-19 lockdown

Motorists in Dublin city could face fines instead of clamping

3:59 Council proposes changes to tackle ‘constant challenge’ of illegal parking

Brexit issue causes fresh setback for Currys/PC world customers in Ireland

Cancellatin of orders blamed on Brexit-related issues

Brexit: Currys/PC World Irish customers asked to pay import taxes in error

Retailer apologises and says those mistakenly asked to pay duties will be refunded

Brexit: Irish consumers warned of new online shopping charges

Not all retailers will automatically add VAT or customs charges at the online checkout

Brexit: Duty-free makes a come-back for travellers returning from Britain

New rules from January 1st will not apply to people coming from Northern Ireland

All is calm in Christmas sales, as retailers say rules lack clarity

‘We don’t know what we’re allowed to do,’ says one Next manager in quiet city centre

Pandemic calls halt to St Stephen’s Day sales in eerily quiet Dublin

Shops make clear sales not going ahead with many staying closed amid restrictions

‘Exhausted’ hairdresser working until midnight ahead of lockdown

Joseph Byrne hands out vouchers to homeless as Cork salon faces ‘disastrous’ closure

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