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Driven to distraction

Conor Geraghty applied and paid for his Driver Theory Test over the phone. When he asked if the receipt could be sent to him as he needed to claim the cost from his employer, he was told that the confirmation letter would act as the receipt.

"When I got the confirmation letter, it did not state how much the test had cost, so I rang up again to ask them if they could send me a receipt stating how much I had paid, as it was for work," Geraghty writes.

He was told, however, that the Driver Theory Test folk did not do receipts. "When I asked why, as I had paid money for a service, surely I was entitled to a receipt, the man I was speaking to said I could use my credit-card statement." Surely, Geraghty adds, "after paying €35.60 for the test and €17.99 for the theory test book, a receipt stating how much one has paid is not too much to ask for?". It certainly is not.

We contacted the Road Safety Authority (RSA), which administers the test, to find out what was going on. A spokesman accepted that our reader had made a fair, if unique, point. "The system has been running since 2000 and this is the first time that this has been raised," he said. "The first thing to say is that if this gentleman needs a receipt, thehe will get a receipt - that's absolutely no problem." He also said that, following our query, RSA practice would change. "In relation to some kind of a line which acknowledges payment, we can do it. We are only too happy to do that. In the future, any time anyone makes a booking for the Driver Theory Test, we will put in a line stating the amount and acknowledging payment." It would take a month or two to make the modifications necessary, he added.

Heavy lifting

Mary Kettle was browsing the furniture section of the UK-based Marks & Spencer website recently when she found a price discrepancy she thought should be highlighted.

"Currently they are having a furniture sale," she writes, "and I wanted to buy a sideboard which, on the UK website, is priced at £489, or €654 according to the exchange rate that day. I expected it to be a bit more expensive here because of the slightly higher Vat rate; however, I have just come back from M&S in Dundrum, where they informed me that the price here in the sale is €839!"

Kettle says she is not able to order from the UK website, as it doesn't deliver to the Republic of Ireland. She sent M&S an e-mail on January 6th, but has had no response "despite their promises to try to answer e-mails within one working day".

Now, to be fair to M&S, it is not usually the worst offender on dubious exchange rates. We contacted the store and asked why the sideboard was so much more expensive in Ireland. A spokeswoman said that there was a substantially higher shipping cost for heavy items such as furniture, and that this was behind the substantial price difference on this occasion.

Cut price

Richard in Naas got in touch with a money-saving tip which has shaved a fair amount off his annual grooming bill. He saved more than €9 on a pack of eight Gillette Mach 3 Turbo razor blades by buying them on eBay.

"Tesco, which appears to be the cheapest retailer for them, sells the razors for €19.49," he writes. "I got them off eBay for about €10, including postage."

Seasoned observer

"Is there such a thing as a peppermill that doesn't lose its grinding capacity within a few months? Haven't met one yet," asks Breeda Connaughton. Neither have we.

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