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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Fashion tops the list of online purchases, at 59 per cent, followed by electrical goods on 39 per cent and books and stationery at 38 per cent. Photograph: Eva Katalin Kondoros/iStock

Are we facing into a retail apocalypse?

What will happen to our high streets if everyone goes online to shop?

Fiona’s son arrived at the gate and was not allowed in because Ticketmaster had cancelled his ticket

Longitude ticket cancelled with no refund from bank or Ticketmaster

Pricewatch: Mother unaware ticket had been cancelled until son was refused entry

Get smart: the smartphone apps that can save you money

From WhatsApp to Loylap, Revolut to RevApp, these free apps are worth downloading

Value for Money: Smoothies

There are many shop-bought smoothies out there, but which is the best?

While third-party sites offering Esta services are bad value, they are not strictly speaking “scams” as those who use them do actually get their Estas.

Pricewatch query: ‘Was I scammed for Esta payment?’

A reader fears use of site charging too much for US travel authorisation may be ID theft

City life: public transport costs in the London region can be high but very good value given the vast distance covered.

Life in UK vs life in Ireland: which is cheaper?

‘Irish Times’ readers familiar with London help us calculate the costs of living

Mind-boggling: entering C3 instead of CE at Stillorgan Luas stop earned William an €80 fine. Photograph: iStock

Reader’s Query: My 79-year-old husband bought a ticket. So why was he clamped?

PriceWatch: According to NCPS there’s a right and a wrong way to write a zero

Newspapers can go in the recycling bin (generally green). Photograph: Getty

Baffled by recycling rules? Here’s all you need to know

It can be hideously difficult to get your head around recycling but help is at hand

According to a report published this year by the National Parents’ Council, almost one-third of parents of primary school pupils said their children could not walk to school because of the weight of their schoolbags. Photograph: iStock

Conor Pope’s A to Z of back to school

The holidays are nearly over, so it’s time to fret about bags, bedtimes, books – and ‘voluntary’ contributions

Walking in the woods at the Electric Picnic. Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times

Electric Picnic plan: What to bring and at what cost

While you may not be flush financially, we’ve come up with some ideas for saving money

Irish Rail: One reader believes the price difference between online and at a station is “exorbitant”.

Pricewatch: Your consumer queries answered

Irish Rail is left unmoved by our readers’ stories of rail rage

Lanzarote holiday from hell: Mosquitoes coming up the toilet but reader threatened with police

Pricewatch reader query: Rude and obnoxious staff made Lanzarote even worse

Terrible service: Eir sent a debt recovery agency to collect €14.49 that Barbara didn’t owe. Photograph: David Gould/Photographer’s Choice/Getty

Eir hounds new mother over nonexistent debt

Pricewatch: Ireland’s biggest phone company apologises for failing to deliver in nearly every way

Sky says “such services may be provided by third parties and as such their availability is out of our control”. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA Wire

Mystery of Sky’s disappearing red button function resolved

Reader raging after option was unavailable for BBC’s Wimbledon coverage

Eason in Dublin. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Eason website failings leave reader without school books

Easonschoolbooks.com does not accept One4All vouchers or Eason evouchers

How hard is it to stop payments from a credit card account? Photograph: Bryan O’Brien

AIB credit card comes back from the grave to haunt reader

Stopping payments from a closed credit card account may be harder than you think

“It is not how we treat customers who come to us to let us know about a family bereavement.”

Virgin Media set debt collectors on dead woman

Company displayed ‘total indifference’ to death and seemed irritated dealing with it

Is it too late to book a last-minute holiday in the sun?

The summer is flying by, but there’s still time to find a deal in August and top up your tan

Passenger reported his missing bag and was given a reference number and told to track the bag online. Photograph: iStock

‘Atrocious service’ from Aer Lingus leaves reader fuming

Bags go walkabout for days and customer says she was given no concrete information

Ryanair insists there is no deliberate policy in place which separates those who don’t pay for allocated seats

Ryanair seating allocation continues to prompt reader rage

Pricewatch: ‘We should refuse to pay for dedicated seats and instead swap at no cost’

The Killers at the Barclaycard British Summer Time Festival in Hyde Park, London this week. Photograph: Eamonn M McCormack/Getty

Music fan cries foul over tickets selling out in one minute by 9.01am

Pricewatch reader query: Seatwave sales make life easy for those making money from music fans

Ed Sheeran has added extra concert dates for Dublin and Cork after the 300,000 tickets for his first seven Irish gigs sold out in less than 24 hours. Tickets for May 6th at Páirc Uí Chaoimh and May 19th at Phoenix Park will go on sale this Saturday at 9am. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/PA

Ed Sheeran: panic over unwanted concert tickets has started

Pricewatch reader query: Rules aimed at stopping touting have readers in a flap

British Airways Boeing 777: airline blamed a wedding party’s ticket confirmation problem on human error. Photograph: Tim Ockenden/PA

Irish wedding in Greece ‘ruined’ by British Airways’ error

Pricewatch: Party of 10 arrives in Dublin Airport to be told they have no tickets

In giving two replacements for a clock that started running slowly, Brown Thomas went well beyond its duty. Photograph: Eric Luke

A reader’s query about a faulty Brown Thomas clock

Pricewatch: What to do with a timepiece that slows down every two years like clockwork

Ballymaloe Irish Beetroot

‘I think the growth of own-brand food is terrifying’

Despite that, Irish food producers such as Ballymaloe relish the challenge

Orange juice: the squeeze is on

Pricewatch trials and tastes four juices to see which is the best, for value and taste

“My husband bought me diamond earrings. I exchanged them for a cheaper pair and the difference was €1,100. The shop informed me that I would only be allowed a credit note and not a refund.”

Consumer issues with diamond earrings and a €1,100 credit note

Pricewatch: what are your rights to refunds, repairs and replacements?

“If you’re hungry and you want to get something quick I think it’s great that there are other options there and you’re not only limited to crisps and things.”

Guilt-free or guilt-laden? Healthy snacks may not be so good

Is a protein bar any better than a chocolate bar? And are you actually even hungry?

Private rooms are never guaranteed – no matter which route a mother takes, that depends on availability. Photograph: iStock

Public or private: what’s the best way to have a baby?

Pricewatch: Should our pregnant reader give birth in the public or private system?

Häagen-Dazs: Our favourite. We loved its creaminess and we loved the vanilla flavours that cut through the subtle sugariness

It’s ice-cream season, so which brand offers the tastiest scoop?

Pricewatch devours four types of the summer treat to see which is best value for money

House of Cards: guess which streaming service we’re not on?

Netflix versus NowTV: Which is the better streaming service?

We pit Sky’s new service against the industry leader to find out which offers better value

Samsonite Cosmolite Spinner: €248.50

From Samsonite to Samson-lite: Cabin baggage put to the test

Pricewatch wheels out four cases to find out which is best value for money

Room at the inn: Teresa and Joseph “Gerry” Ryan arrived at their hotel not knowing if they would have to pay €400 extra

Woman asked to pay €400 to change name on hotel voucher

Pricewatch consumer queries: Pricing anomaly discovered at Tesco

Two wheels good: Cycling is healthier, cheaper, better for the environment, and can still get you to work on time. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Cars v bikes: 10 good reasons to switch to pedal power

In honour of National Bike Week, here are 10 good reasons to switch to pedal power

Guns N’ Roses at Slane Castle. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Welcome to the bungle? Sleepless night in a car after Guns N’ Roses

Pricewatch: A reader who booked a hotel to stay in after Slane was left out in the cold

Strike a pose...Madonna vogues

Mullets, Pokemon, leg warmers and 29 other fads we should be mortified by

Before mocking fidget spinners, cast your mind back to the crazes you got caught up in – embarrassing, isn’t it?

Your calls and texts may cost the same abroad as at home, but beware of your data usage. Photograph: Getty Images

No holiday for consumers when it comes to paying for data away

Free to roam from home but data remains a costly holiday extra

“I started looking into getting speculative quotations on a 1.4 litre petrol-engine Toyota Corolla, year 2010”

How a reader’s car insurance jumped from €373 to €3,673

Nick McGinley left Ireland for two years - when he came back he was treated as a first-time driver

Remarkably resilient: books seem to have turned the tide against ereaders. Photograph: Iain Masterton/Canopy/Getty

Rise and fall of the Kindle: How real books are fighting back

Ebook sales are down, physical-book sales are up. Has the tide turned?

Can a store charge for booking an appointment to try on a wedding dress? Photograph: Alan Betson

€20 to book wedding dress fitting: Can they do that?

Pricewatch reader queries: Bride-to-be asked to pay non-refundable deposit to make appointment.

Irish Film Archive still from Ronson advertisement. It is a hair dryer but one that comes with a shoulder strap. ‘Apart from a mink coat, what else could a girl want?’

Pricewatch: Great memories come reeling back

IFI archive saves the old adverts that shaped who we were and who we wanted to be

Photograph: Getty Images

Tesco delivery leaves sour taste for reader

Pricewatch reader queries: Grocery debacle was out of order

Coffee chains are where loyalty schemes are 10 a penny. But they are not all created equal. Photograph: Getty Images

Pricewatch: Best and worst when it comes to loyalty cards

Some of the recommendations we got on various schemes and those worth avoiding

“The bread I can eat now is better than it used to be, but it will never be the same as actual bread,” says one coeliac. Photograph: iStock

Is gluten-free healthier or just flavour of the month?

One of the starkest differences between GF food and non-GF is the price

An Post said it gets its delivery boxes from a supplier, and doesn’t check them before shipping. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien

Pricewatch reader queries: Delivery box sends reader up the wall

An Post delivery box didn’t close properly. Plus: more sneaky supermarket tricks

The Carphone Warehouse: “We apologise for the inconvenience . . . due to a misunderstanding by our customer service team.” Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Phone warranties and breakfast cereal prices

Pricewatch: know your customer rights and remember supermarkets make mistakes

Supermarkets keep the things you are most likely to put into your shopping trolley as far apart as possible so you have to traverse the shop to get them. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Sneaky supermarket tricks and thinking behind them

Pricewatch: ‘Once we are occupied in their shops, they don’t make it easy for us to leave’

‘We have made contact with the customer, this issues has now been resolved. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.’ Photograph: Reuters/Shailesh Andrade

Pricewatch: readers’ queries

Companies are very fast to set debt collectors onto customers – or former customers

Tesco: the chocolate was excellent and we ate a lot more of it than strictly speaking necessary.

Shelling out for Easter eggs

PriceWatch sinks its teeth into a range of chocolate in the pursuit of value

“If your holiday takes you to a big city in Europe, research the public transport options. They will almost certainly be better than anything you are used to in Ireland.” Photograph: Getty Images

Holiday for less: 21 ways to bag a cheaper time away

Strategies abound for bagging a cheaper time away – without an awful lot of effort

Brand loyalty under threat as consumers get busy switching

Report finds 64 per cent of Irish consumers switched a provider in past year

“We landed in Barcelona, and at passport control I discovered I was missing my niece’s passport, so we couldn’t get through.” Photograph: Alan Betson

Irish family gets stuck in airport limbo in Barcelona

Pricewatch: A reader’s holiday turns ‘horrendous’ after passport goes missing

Marks & Spencer: “M&S does many things well, but it does few things better than fruit . . . The per-kilo price of its fruit salad is comparatively cheap.”

Value for Money: Fruit salads

Size does matter for M&S, while Tesco’s pot was too tangy and way too expensive

Should you read all the terms and conditions or totally ignore them? Or simply check for key words and phrases that might trip you up? Photograph: iStockphoto

Take the Pricewatch quiz and you too could save money

Do you have the cop-on it takes to be among Ireland’s most savvy shoppers?

Consumer News

Nerf guns found to cause serious eye injuries and internal bleeding

Doctors recommend protective eyewear for children using toys that shoot foam darts

Q&A: All you need to know about Ryanair flight cancellations

Why is the airline cancelling flights and how can you claim compensation

Ryanair cancellations: what you can claim and how to do it

Passengers hit by Ryanair’s rolling flight cancellations have clear rights under law

Unclear why Ryanair flights issue was not better planned for

Level of passenger disruption left cancellations announcement looking like a crisis one

Eight Dublin flights among 82 cancelled by Ryanair on Sunday

Tourism ‘instability’: Flood of compensation claims expected from airline’s customers

Record number contact SVP for help covering school costs

Rising cost of transition year and voluntary contributions listed as source of anxiety

GAA warns against buying hurling final tickets at inflated prices

Organisation warns that tickets bought online for more than face value may not scan

Bank deletes tweet advising young couples to move back in with parents

Bank of Ireland ad about ‘Orla and her boyfriend’ provokes fierce online reaction

No, no, no: BT’s Christmas shop couldn’t be open already, could it?

Retailer ‘responding to customer demand’ for Christmas shop in August

Smell, rudeness and overcharging among complaints about taxis

National Transport Authority got 492 complaints from taxi users in six months to June

Long and winding road to Go-Ahead getting on board Dublin buses

Successive ministers sought to hand over routes despite union fears of privatisation

Go-Ahead to start operating some bus routes in Dublin next year

Private operator Go-Ahead to run 24 bus services in suburbs that avoid city centre

Renters and students warned over accommodation scams

Red flags include if person claims to be away and cannot show property - but seeks deposit

Would you travel in a pilotless plane, if the fare was cheap?

According to report, full-size cargo planes will be in use without pilots within eight years

Parkbytext customer info may have been breached

Parking operator says passwords and credit/debit card details protected

Parkbytext to reveal whether personal data affected by potential breach

Customers informed accounts may have been compromised by ‘malicious software’

Dublin housing scheme may have State funding withheld

South Dublin development risks losing €15m in funds in row over affordable homes

Stories of rabbits, seagulls and turkeys as Dublin Bus marks 30 years

Dublin Bus only on road since 1987, when it split from CIÉ

Cost of sending child into secondary school reaches €800

'Parents bear the brunt of an underfunded education system'

Grocery buyers motivated by quality not price, says Bord Bia

Food board study reveals greater consumer focus on perceived health rather than price

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