Reader's Queries

Watch out for wrong VAT level on O2 bills

We start off with a problem that for one O2 customer turned into a good news story – but it’s also a billing error that could go unnoticed by other readers. “In the midst of all this doom and gloom, I thought I’d write in with some news of good customer service,” says Oisín Clarke. “I am an O2 customer and I got my bill in January 2012 relating to calls made in December 2011,” he says.

“However, I noticed that VAT had been charged at the new rate of 23 per cent as opposed to 21 per cent. I rang customer service and explained my problem, in that the VAT was a tax on a service which had been provided when the old rate applied and the fact that they decided to send the bill when the new rate applied was their problem, not mine,” he continues.

He says the person he was speaking to said her department could not deal with his problem and that she would request a call-back from the finance department. “Lo and behold, a few days later, I did indeed get a call back. I explained my problem again and the lady at the other end apologised and agreed to take the entire VAT off my bill, not just the difference between the old and new rate.”

Well that is all well and good for Oisín but what about the hundreds of thousand of other bills issued by the company this month?

Were other customers of the company charged a VAT rate of 23 per cent for a service that was supplied when the VAT rate was 21 per cent? And if so should O2 not be contacting all of them to give them a refund too? We contacted the company to find out.

In a statement O2 said it was “correctly applying VAT rates to bills issued on or after January 1st. All invoices issued by O2 on or after January 1st include the new 23 per cent rate of VAT. This means that even if a call was made in December 2011, the new rate of 23 per cent will apply if the invoice is issued on or after Jan 1st 2012. This is in line with directions given by Revenue.” In our reader’s case, customer care staff “used their discretion to apply an amount of credit to his account as a goodwill gesture.”

Readers share their chicken stock secrets

Last week we reviewed chicken stock including a DIY option and it prompted some readers to get in touch. Ruth Ryan says she always makes her own stock and uses her microwave. “Break up chicken bones into a plastic bowl, add water and veg if you want. Put it into the microwave, covered with clingfilm, for about 10 minutes. That’s it. Try it, you’ll like it,” she writes.

She wasn’t alone. Madeleine Flanagan from Claregalway suggested a similar method. “Put the broken up carcass, bones, skin, bits of stuffing, etc into a casserole dish, cover with boiling water and cover with lid. Cook at high heat for five minutes to bring to the boil again,” she writes

“Then cook at very low heat for 30-35 minutes. Strain, allow to cool and remove any fat. This can be left overnight and the fat removed the next day if the stock is to be used for soup. I add only salt and about six peppercorns and fresh herbs when available. You can, of course, add vegetables, but if the stock is to be used in vegetable soup, why bother.”

And then there was Chris Glynn who gave out to us for suggesting we boiled the “bejaysus” out of our stock. “Homemade stock should be simmered slowly, uncovered and not bejaysused to death! The slow simmer cuts the smell but a couple of onions split in half afterwards and left around for a short while cures this.”

What happened to Lidl’s VAT promise?

Neil O’Byrne went shopping in a Lidl store in Tallaght early in the new year and noticed a promotion which claimed that the store would pay the 2 per cent VAT increase on grocery shopping. He did his shopping and two days later was casually looking at the receipt and noticed a VAT summary on the bottom. “It clearly shows a 23 per cent rate,” he writes. “It is also confusing as to what constitutes ‘grocery shopping’. Carrots, onions and sugar are categorised at 0 per cent, while orange juice and chocolate bars are 23 per cent. What are Lidl at?”

He sent us in the receipt and sure enough the VAT rate on certain foods is listed as 23 per cent. We contacted the store to find out what was going on. In a statement the company said it was “clear in its commitment not to pass on the two per cent VAT hike to the Irish consumer”. It said that the grocery shopping bill for its customer is the same today as it was on December 31st. “Receipts for goods purchased at the standard rate of VAT indicate the new VAT rate of 23 per cent. This is a legal requirement,” the company said. “The customer can be assured however that as promised, Lidl is paying the difference and that the two per cent hike has not been passed on.”