why are we still being ripped off

greatdane

I really thought that this down turn or Recession would help bring all prices down but als we are still being ripped off.

1) Car insurance, mine went up this year, im 33 and no claims, full license and insurance since 18. shopped around all the same.

had a look today at other cars, ok they have come down in price but go and try insure anything with a sport badge and you are quickly punished or if you try online you get a "cannot insure you at this time" WTF - if i want insure a 3litre car i should be able to do it... without remortgaging

2) Tradesmen, Out of work tradesman want to floor small room "12 sq yds" with laminate for 250 euro....

3) broadband - WTF - 25euro line rental + 20+ euro for only faster than dial up.

4) Food - takeaway - 1/4 duck over 14 euro - plus more for rice or extras ???

5) 5.25 for pint of stout .....15 euro for night club.

6) public transport - 3.20 each way for bus to my house, thats 6.40 for 5miles....and the bus is only 4 times a day at F***ed up times...can get car space in city for 7 euro for the day...whats the point in even trying to be green.

7) politicans - why can they not answer a simple question....honestly...and worse why cant a media person pin them down to answer the questions.

we need to go a whole lot way down before we can get better and get the economy to where we can all live a sustainable life.

sorry for the rant.

smelltheglove

I do agree, I have had many many people tell me I need to up my prices, that this photographer or that photographer is charging more , i.e i had a canvas framed locally and was told so and so would charge 700 for that, total for me was 260, i should be uping my price, my view is so what if so and so charges 700, I gave a good price where I could make a decent profit and not overcharge people but the mentality is there amongst many to make as much money as possible.

Unfortunately everyone doesnt have the same outlook, and yes it would be a lot easier for us to live if we werent faced with this constant increase in profits, greed is a terrible thing.

jimmmy

greatdane wrote: »

I really thought that this down turn or Recession would help bring all prices down but als we are still being ripped off.

1) Car insurance, mine went up this year, im 33 and no claims, full license and insurance since 18. shopped around all the same.

had a look today at other cars, ok they have come down in price but go and try insure anything with a sport badge and you are quickly punished or if you try online you get a "cannot insure you at this time" WTF - if i want insure a 3litre car i should be able to do it... without remortgaging

2) Tradesmen, Out of work tradesman want to floor small room "12 sq yds" with laminate for 250 euro....

3) broadband - WTF - 25euro line rental + 20+ euro for only faster than dial up.

4) Food - takeaway - 1/4 duck over 14 euro - plus more for rice or extras ???

5) 5.25 for pint of stout .....15 euro for night club.

6) public transport - 3.20 each way for bus to my house, thats 6.40 for 5miles....and the bus is only 4 times a day at F***ed up times...can get car space in city for 7 euro for the day...whats the point in even trying to be green.

7) politicans - why can they not answer a simple question....honestly...and worse why cant a media person pin them down to answer the questions.

we need to go a whole lot way down before we can get better and get the economy to where we can all live a sustainable life.

sorry for the rant.

If you think a service or product can profitably be supplied cheaper or more efficiently than is already being done, why not find some niche in the market and do it yourself ...ie why not put your money and time where your mouth is ? You could help the economy, make a fortune, pay tax and everyone is a winner.

greatdane

..because i cant control all of the economy..

And i would not be able to enter the car insurance market because of regulation, i would not be able to lay a floor because i cant..

But the service i do provide i do as cheaply as possible, but of course am limited by council rates(huge), rent is now cheaper) , electricity, phone charges, parking charges, water rates, insurance, paying accountants etc.

spank_inferno

You have hit on a point there and partialy answered your question yourself.

We hear a lot of the talking heads in the media & on here to an extent saying that social welfare & min wages should drop because we are in a deflationary economy.

Whereas the reality on the ground is far from the truth.

The last time I noticed the inflation rate was -0.7% for May.
However almost all of this was made up by reductions in the costs of existing mortgates. But what about the millions of people who dont pay mortgates?
The costs of general domestic purchases are creeping higher and higher week after week.

Forget the supposed "price wars" between the supermarkets.
Dropping prices on some lines and rising prices on most isnt really a sale.

Why are certain goods & services costing more?
We all know we spend less during a recession.
However the costs to businesses here remain very high whether the business is busy or not.

So to make ends meet, business owners have to charge more to those who actualy can spend money.
All because our moron government thought it would be a good idea to tax its citizens into a worse recession than otherwise might have been. While at the same time making no real attempt to reduce the costs of doing business.

.........Of course some business owners could just be taking the p**s of course!

Small Change

greatdane wrote: »

4) Food - takeaway - 1/4 duck over 14 euro - plus more for rice or extras ???

5) 5.25 for pint of stout .....15 euro for night club.

.

People will (understandably) charge as much as they can get away with.

there is most defenitely far better value out there than the two examples above you just need to look for it.

Stop drinking in Cafe en Seine would be a good start, check out this thread; http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055500568

jimmmy

greatdane wrote: »

4) Food - takeaway - 1/4 duck over 14 euro - plus more for rice or extras ???

Do not buy your 1/4 duck if the price means that much to you. Get a McDonalds hamburger for one euro....hows that for value ?

greatdane wrote: »

5) 5.25 for pint of stout .....15 euro for night club.

Answer...do not frequent places that charge that much....better "value" is out there....or set up your own pub / disco....or buy shares in an existing one.

sneakyST

smelltheglove wrote: »

greed is a terrible thing.

aye it is STG......unfortunatley some companies just cant compete at the moment - a potential customer of mine told me last year they could get the same offering in the UK for around 7k cheaper than what I quoted.......and i had the minimal margin.....

jimmmy

sneakyST wrote: »

aye it is STG......unfortunatley some companies just cant compete at the moment - a potential customer of mine told me last year they could get the same offering in the UK for around 7k cheaper than what I quoted.......and i had the minimal margin.....

I come across that as well....the cost of doing business in Ireland is just too high....costs are too high here.

KINGVictor

jimmmy wrote: »

I come across that as well....the cost of doing business in Ireland is just too high....costs are too high here.

But so are the profits ....most companies/organisations did not complain prior to the recession.

hobsonschoice

Look at petrol sneaking up a cent every day. I get angry every time i pass a Topaz garage. they think we are stupid and by raising a cent perday we won't notice it. hate it that they have us over a barrel drum like this.

Anyone else notice that the lowest it went (Galway) was 99.9, ha. Just so they can say it was below a euro.
Ok rant over

madser

I'm sooooooo sick of hearing about plumeting prices, where are these, I don't have a big morgage so interest rates don't affect me, my shopping is still the same price as a year ago, petrol is going up every day, road tax and insurance gone up and gas and electricy a complete rip off. The price of clothes has come down a little but prices are still way way higher then the prices in the same shops in England. I went to Wexford for the weekend a few months ago, it cost me 601 euro, I'm goin to the Costa Del Sol next week for a few days and its costing me 458 euro, and my weekend in Wexford was a special offer :eek:

Vorsprung

greatdane wrote: »

6) public transport - 3.20 each way for bus to my house, thats 6.40 for 5miles....and the bus is only 4 times a day at F***ed up times...can get car space in city for 7 euro for the day...whats the point in even trying to be green.

10 x 90 minute tickets available here for €18. Saves about 40% for you.

The Insider

greatdane wrote: »

3) broadband - WTF - 25euro line rental + 20+ euro for only faster than dial up.

There are a whole load of providers providing better deals then that:

http://www.digiweb.ie/home/metro/

http://www.upc.ie/internet

http://www.btireland.ie/AtHome_bb_totaltalk.shtml

SkepticOne

madser wrote: »

I'm sooooooo sick of hearing about plumeting prices, where are these, I don't have a big morgage so interest rates don't affect me, my shopping is still the same price as a year ago, petrol is going up every day, road tax and insurance gone up and gas and electricy a complete rip off. The price of clothes has come down a little but prices are still way way higher then the prices in the same shops in England. I went to Wexford for the weekend a few months ago, it cost me 601 euro, I'm goin to the Costa Del Sol next week for a few days and its costing me 458 euro, and my weekend in Wexford was a special offer :eek:

Article in today's Irish Times backing this up about how inflation is in large part due to lower mortgage costs and is not endemic.

By far the greater part of the drop in the CPI (a proportion estimated by the CSO at 94 per cent on either a three-month or a 12-month horizon) is directly attributable to mortgage costs and energy prices. It is not (yet) true therefore that deflation has become endemic, much less that it has become a universal phenomenon. Yes, goods prices generally are dropping (prime examples being food, clothing and footwear, and household durables), but most categories of services, and especially publicly provided services, continue to see prices increases, albeit at a slower pace than hitherto.

URL="http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2009/0612/1224248688422.html"]source[/URL

spank_inferno

Perhaps there should be 2 figures given for inflation then

1 figure for the total cost of living including housing
& another for the cost of living minus the cost of accomodation.

Despite the headline figure those in power cannot forget that the hundreds of thousands who dont have mortgages.
The reality for them is one of rising prices.

case in point being Petrol prices
Back when oil was at $140 per barrel the price at the pump was €1.35 approx
Oil is around $70 dollars per barrel at the moment.
My local topaz have their price today at €1.18 cent per litre

Now I know there are factors like currency etc, but taxes have remained almost static.... and the dollar/euro rate hasnt changed that much.

onemorechance

Yes we are! I bought a cool Little Britain t-shirt in UK for 20p and it came with a free plastic bag!

P. Breathnach

spank_inferno wrote: »

Perhaps there should be 2 figures given for inflation then

1 figure for the total cost of living including housing
& another for the cost of living minus the cost of accomodation...

That won't cover all situations. Everybody has a different spending pattern, and inflation affects us all differently.

The Insider

spank_inferno wrote: »

case in point being Petrol prices
Back when oil was at $140 per barrel the price at the pump was €1.35 approx
Oil is around $70 dollars per barrel at the moment.
My local topaz have their price today at €1.18 cent per litre

Now I know there are factors like currency etc, but taxes have remained almost static.... and the dollar/euro rate hasnt changed that much.

There was an 8 cent tax increase on petrol in the October Budget.

The Insider

spank_inferno wrote: »

Perhaps there should be 2 figures given for inflation then

1 figure for the total cost of living including housing
& another for the cost of living minus the cost of accomodation.

http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/latest-news/big-plunge-in-prices-softens-tax-hikes-blow-1770926.html

Some good info in the above article, good news:

Overall prices dived by 4.7pc in the year to May, which means we are now enjoying the biggest price drops in Europe.

Rents are down 16pc, furniture down 6pc, food down 2.5pc and clothes down 12pc

Bad news:

Electricity prices fell 10pc last month and gas was down 11pc, but they are both still dearer than a year ago.

Bucking the trend of sharp price falls was a huge hike in insurance costs.

Home insurers hiked premiums by a whopping 25pc at a time when the cost of rebuilding damaged houses plummeted by 5pc.

Car insurance premiums rose by 12.5pc over the past 12 months, despite a record reduction in the number of deaths on our roads. Health insurance soared by 21pc, partly due to a new Government levy

Have to say I have noticed the decrease in prices in shops buying food and clothes, even when buying my lunch every day I am getting cheaper sandwiches or dinners.

djpbarry

greatdane wrote: »

1) Car insurance, mine went up this year, im 33 and no claims, full license and insurance since 18. shopped around all the same.
...
...if i want insure a 3litre car i should be able to do it... without remortgaging
...
4) Food - takeaway - 1/4 duck over 14 euro - plus more for rice or extras ???

5) 5.25 for pint of stout .....15 euro for night club.

madser wrote: »

I went to Wexford for the weekend a few months ago, it cost me 601 euro, I'm goin to the Costa Del Sol next week for a few days and its costing me 458 euro, and my weekend in Wexford was a special offer

You see the debates on the TV and read the statistics in the newspapers, but it’s only when you hear the personal stories that you realise how difficult life has gotten for the poor sports-car-driving, takeaway-eating, stout-drinking, sun-holiday-making people of this recession-stricken little nation of ours. Brings a tear to my eye.

spank_inferno

The Insider wrote: »

There was an 8 cent tax increase on petrol in the October Budget.

I thought that 8c rise was on Diesel?, petrol duty has remained static.

But anyway, I'm still feeling the difference, there is only so much hyper-miling a man can do

madser

djpbarry wrote: »

You see the debates on the TV and read the statistics in the newspapers, but it’s only when you hear the personal stories that you realise how difficult life has gotten for the poor sports-car-driving, takeaway-eating, stout-drinking, sun-holiday-making people of this recession-stricken little nation of ours. Brings a tear to my eye.

Why don't you address the issues instead of a pathetic attempt to insult people:rolleyes:

and this from a moderator

P. Breathnach

madser wrote: »

Why don't you address the issues instead of a pathetic attempt to insult people:rolleyes:

Do you want better-quality insulting?

madser

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Do you want better-quality insulting?

it would be nice yeah lol

halkar

Just got my house insurance, went up by 30% with no reason given :eek: Never claimed since I bought the house 10 years ago. Feckers, i will cancel Monday and shop around.

Gumbo

in my local Tesco, Diesel has jumped 3c overnight from 100.9 to 103.9 from yesterday to today!
petrol is 116.9 but i dont know what that was yesterday as i drive a diesel and never pay much attention to petrol prices.

SLUSK

Prices will not come down, inflation is soon going to hit the western world with a massive hammerblow. I envision riots over rising costs for petrol, food and utilities.

cfcj

ohh its truely a shocker how much things cost here. I returned to Ireland from the UK and apart from how sad it is to see all the Irish companies gone, being bought by UK companies e.g. Roches Stores, Brown Thomas & even TV3 is owned by Granada, but also how much they are charging. Everyone told me how great Dundrum SC was and as far as I was concerned they might as well called it British Retailers under one roof, its the same as every shopping centre in Britain but with extra zeros on the price. I know that the company I worked for in the UK added an extra 10% for the Irish market and I'm sure other companies were at the same thing. I dont blame the Irish companies for putting their prices up cause to survive they need to but its a double edged sword. Seems like our greed and want for 'stuff' thats not made here has made the country too dependent on imports, imports that just keep going up in price. I live near the border and of course the traffic flowing into Northern Ireland and money with it is phenomenal. I would like to open my own business some day but how am I going to if I'm up against a huge UK company who has the buying power to a) flood the market and b) lower their prices for long enough to put me out of business.. which is totally what they have done to a lot of small Irish businesses. So its totally true with our massive dependancy on importing, buying that expensive house, making the house look like it should be on the pages of Home & Garden so that when the UK & the US sneezed and we got the flu, gastroenteritis and George Lee in the Dail. I find myself I can't watch any Irish news anymore incase Joan Burton comes on.

jimmmy

cfcj wrote: »

I would like to open my own business some day

Why do'nt you ....seeing as some people believe money is so easy to make and prices are so high in Ireland, you will have it made in no time. Put your investment, time + money where your mouth is and help our economy by opening a business and cutting prices !

djpbarry

madser wrote: »

Why don't you address the issues instead of a pathetic attempt to insult people

What issues? If a 3-litre car is too expensive too run, then get a smaller car. If the cost of a takeaway is getting too high, then stop eating takeaways (or at least shop around a little). If the price of a pint has gotten too high, then stop going to the pub so often (or again, shop around a little).

madser

djpbarry wrote: »

What issues? If a 3-litre car is too expensive too run, then get a smaller car. If the cost of a takeaway is getting too high, then stop eating takeaways (or at least shop around a little). If the price of a pint has gotten too high, then stop going to the pub so often (or again, shop around a little).

The issue of why it costs 600 euro to go down to Wexford for the weekend and it costs 450 to go to Spain for a week? I don't have a 3 litre car and if I had I would expect to run it and buy it for the same price as other people do in other countries, if I want to eat takeaway I expect to pay a reasonable price for it and I don't drink but if I did I don't expect to be ripped off because I live in the city and not in the arse hole of nowhere, I don't think its acceptable to come on to a discussion board and tell people to shop around when everywhere you go there is little difference in price, I cite petrol prices as an example. Im not a beer swilling junk food jeep driving yummy mummy as you seem to be implying.

jimmmy

madser wrote: »

The issue of why it costs 600 euro to go down to Wexford for the weekend and it costs 450 to go to Spain for a week?

I see plenty of offers in the papers where some Irish hotels are doing 3 nights + 1 evening meal for 99 euro.....amazing value considering our minimum wage is probably double what the Spanish one is, our vat rate, our electricity which is the second most expensive in Europe, the cost of sustaining our govt + their employees , our rates + other taxes etc etc etc. Forget your 600 euro holiday.

djpbarry

madser wrote: »

I don't have a 3 litre car and if I had I would expect to run it and buy it for the same price as other people do in other countries...

Which is totally unrealistic.

madser wrote: »

...I don't think its acceptable to come on to a discussion board and tell people to shop around when everywhere you go there is little difference in price...

Well that’s just not true. Take the example of the pint of stout cited by the OP; there are plenty of places in Dublin were a pint can be purchased for considerably less than €5.25. I can also think of any number of takeaways that sell mains for considerably less than €14. Hell, I can think of restaurants that sell mains for less than that! And we’re not exactly talking about “the essentials” here, are we? If I were making a case for a high cost of living, I don’t think I’d be using pints and takeaways as the basis for my argument!

madser

djpbarry wrote: »

Which is totally unrealistic.
Well that’s just not true. Take the example of the pint of stout cited by the OP; there are plenty of places in Dublin were a pint can be purchased for considerably less than €5.25. I can also think of any number of takeaways that sell mains for considerably less than €14. Hell, I can think of restaurants that sell mains for less than that! And we’re not exactly talking about “the essentials” here, are we? If I were making a case for a high cost of living, I don’t think I’d be using pints and takeaways as the basis for my argument!

Why is it unrealistic to buy and run a car for the same price as people do in other countries, why do we have to be ripped off because we live in Ireland, why do we have registration tax when no other european country has it and as for your second point the thread is about being ripped off, its nothing to do with essentials, the fact that you can get a takeaway cheaper in one place or another doesn't take away from the fact that your being ripped off. I don't think its up to you to dictate what people chose to use to make their argument anyway.

gurramok

SLUSK wrote: »

Prices will not come down, inflation is soon going to hit the western world with a massive hammerblow. I envision riots over rising costs for petrol, food and utilities.

A bit extreme but what you say is true.

Now I know there are factors like currency etc, but taxes have remained almost static.... and the dollar/euro rate hasnt changed that much.

Have you seen your May pay cheque yet? Everyone got hammered as a result of the budget.

Just to expand on Slusk's point, wait until record low interest rates start going up and then Ireland Inc will really be struggling inclusively including the mortgage holders.

cfcj

I'm going back to college Jimmy, so 4yrs time maybe I will venture into my own business when I get my degree and a bit more meat into my skillset. I think given the percentage of business that ordinarily fail in their initial years this is the best thing I can do. But I take your point that its time everyone rolls up their sleeves. I don't think it is easy to make money in Ireland, I think that you need to have a massive dependance on international trade to make any sort of money and the 'buy local' pride seems to be non existent or very scarce. I buy Irish where I can and regularly check barcodes to see if they have been made in Ireland (539xxxxxxx) though lots of Irish companies use UK barcode numbers for some reason.

I am so fed up of 'bandwaggon' comments about the economy, blaming everyone and anyone without realising the situation the country or the world is actually in.

My belief is that core needs like housing and transport should not be profitable entities and without going down the road of a nanny statehood they should be regulated accordingly, but what politician is going to do that?... no politician is going to cap or stop speculation on house prices. Can you imagine the the reaction in places like south Dublin if they did that to their precious multi-million priced houses?

If you think tax is outragous here then you need to compare it to other countries, we have a 36% tax to GDP, UK is 39%, Germany is 40% and France is at a whopping 46% so we don't have it too bad. I would be in favour of taxing the rich and reducing the tax on us mere mortal below or at the average national wage, however the reality is the 'Bono factor' where they just uproot and move where they pay less tax, and lets be honest if that was us we would probably do the same.

Like everyone it kills me that they had to bail out the banks, but I know they had to... look at Iceland that has collapsed because they didn't get in there in time. Its difficult to know what they are going to do with the banks, no country has come up with a definitive answer of how to manage the situation and balance a of regulation and enough movement for the markets to trade but I know we can't lead with this... Ireland is a follower and this is where we must stay if we want to keep our standard of living we have gotten used to.

I think every political party has got it wrong Fianna Fail haven't been strong and haven't made a good effort with communicating what exactly they are doing or have missed opportunities. And checking in on Fine Gael's policies I was a little scared at how stupid they were (check on their website). I'm not an economist but they plan to cut tax and create jobs by reducing the public sector staff.... hmm! Maybe someone can have a look at them and explain it to me.

Sorry for the big essay... just spilling my thoughts and opinions

halkar

cfcj wrote: »

.....
If you think tax is outragous here then you need to compare it to other countries, we have a 36% tax to GDP, UK is 39%, Germany is 40% and France is at a whopping 46% so we don't have it too bad. I would be in favour of taxing the rich and reducing the tax on us mere mortal below or at the average national wage, however the reality is the 'Bono factor' where they just uproot and move where they pay less tax, and lets be honest if that was us we would probably do the same.
......

This would not be a good comparision. Does this include the recent levies 2,4,6 % + hidden taxes such as health levy? Also the VAT rates are few percent higher here than comparing to Germany, France (tax after being taxed already !!) . I would not mind paying 50% tax if I am getting same level of health care to countries you are comparing without paying private healtcare, proper education for my kids, proper transport, infrasutructure etc etc. Why should we pay more tax so that government can pay the highest salaries to each other ? What does Cowen do to deserve more than Sarkozy or Merkel? Look at size of Germany and France and see how much they have us bended over in front of them.

Comparing Ireland to Germany-France is like comparing apples to oranges

djpbarry

madser wrote: »

Why is it unrealistic to buy and run a car for the same price as people do in other countries...

What “other countries” are you referring to? Prices vary from country to country for a variety of reasons; tax, demand, production costs, etc. Expecting a car to cost the same in Ireland as it would in say, Spain, is daft.

madser wrote: »

... the fact that you can get a takeaway cheaper in one place or another doesn't take away from the fact that your being ripped off.

Well that depends on what you consider to be a “rip-off”, doesn’t it? Let’s say you owned a takeaway (or some other business); what would you consider to be a reasonable price to charge for a meal and what are you basing that estimate on?

thebman

So isn't insurance going up for a reason though?

Like aren't they doing something with the money they get like investing it in other businesses or expanding which they aren't doing at the moment effecting their bottom line so they increase premiums.

cfcj

Of course you can compare Ireland to other countries in the EU. The figures I gave were a percentage of GDP.

I don't think you can compare our infrastructure or services to far more wealthy and established countries. I don't disagree there is lots of things that need to happen to the health services in Ireland. I think its admirable that you are willing to pay 50% of your pay to getting them up to the same grade as the likes of France or Germany but however I doubt there are many like you and unfortunately a lot of people want something for nothing. I think its a poor argument about Brian Cowan's pay given that it is recommended by an independent body based on the competitive rates in the private sector. And he along with a lot in the public sector have taken a 10% reduction.

Sand

You get ripped off because you pay ripoff prices.

Lets face it, if you were a fast food shop owner and you know that a reasonable price for your food is 10 Euro, but theres plenty of muppets out there who will pay 14 euro....what are you going to charge?

Yeah, 14 euro every time.

Stop payng ripoff prices and suppliers will get the message eventually.

greatdane

just to clear up..i dont drive a 3 litre car...i drive a 1.4 and my insurance went up. So for kicks i just tried to shop around and all the same. I was looking at an older 3litre diesel car as they are cheap in the Uk. I got quotes from ridiculous to non at all...

I didnt buy the takeaway, i went to dunnes and bought it uncooked and cooked it myself...

I drank the pint begrudgingly and moved on to a different bar, was not too much of a diff in the price to be honest.

I picked a few things that were in my head on prices...

some more

jeans - 149 euro tommy jeans,
Burger in Cork City - 10 euro..
taxi - 12 kms - 43 euro - saturday night
muffin in costa coffee - eat in 2.75 , eat out 2.40. (asked for it in a bag and had it inside anyways)

djpbarry

greatdane wrote: »

I picked a few things that were in my head on prices...

some more

jeans - 149 euro tommy jeans,
Burger in Cork City - 10 euro..
taxi - 12 kms - 43 euro - saturday night
muffin in costa coffee - eat in 2.75 , eat out 2.40. (asked for it in a bag and had it inside anyways)

To be honest, I'm not really sure what your point is? Your complaining about the prices of items which you could easily do without (or find a cheaper alternative to). If you don't want to spend €150 on a pair of jeans, then don't - what's the problem?

jmayo

The Insider wrote: »

There was an 8 cent tax increase on petrol in the October Budget.

Any budget duty increase on fuel is affective immediately i.e. from 12 midnight on night of budget.

The prices have creeped up from 106 to 120 for petrol at two Topaz stations I know in Wicklow since the budget.
You pass in the morning, it might be 110 and by evening it is 111 :rolleyes:

thebman

My car is a luxury really and I use it for social reasons only so I just didn't bother renewing my insurance since they are trying to charge me a crap load for insurance when I now have a years no claims.

All of them are doing it. Talking over a 100 euro difference with most companies over last year if I had any no claims last year as I put it into some of the systems just for a laugh last year.

That is a lot of money if you consider they are trying to do it to all their customers.

madser

djpbarry wrote: »

To be honest, I'm not really sure what your point is? Your complaining about the prices of items which you could easily do without (or find a cheaper alternative to). If you don't want to spend €150 on a pair of jeans, then don't - what's the problem?

Why do you keep tellin us we can do without things and shop around, we gettin ripped off, of course you can get a pair of jeans in pennys for a lot less that tommy hillfiger, but you can buy the same tommy hillfiger in UK or the US for a fraction of the price even taken into consideration VAT and other costs. I priced a leather jacket in Ted Baker in Dublin, it was 425 euro and when I peeled back the sticker the UK price was 295 pounds, and before you tell me not to be buyin an expensive jacket, its not the shop around thread or the only but essentials thread its the being ripped off thread. Again can you address peoples points instead of lecturing them

thebman

Yes but the point is if everyone stopped paying 425 euro they wouldn't charge that much.

You asked why are we still being ripped off, well its because people are still willing to pay 425 euro for a Ted Baker jacket in Dublin that only costs £295 in the UK.

So the solution is to shop around and buy the Penny's jeans and encourage other people you know to do the same until enough customers turn away from their store and its rip off prices that they start to get the message.

Can't expect the problem to magically disappear on its own.

madser

thebman wrote: »

Yes but the point is if everyone stopped paying 425 euro they wouldn't charge that much.

You asked why are we still being ripped off, well its because people are still willing to pay 425 euro for a Ted Baker jacket in Dublin that only costs £295 in the UK.

So the solution is to shop around and buy the Penny's jeans and encourage other people you know to do the same until enough customers turn away from their store and its rip off prices that they start to get the message.

Can't expect the problem to magically disappear on its own.

No the answer is to buy online, I wouldn't buy a jacket with that difference in price but the question and thread is about being ripped off, Ireland is a rip and shopping around just doesn't cut it anymore, why do we pay extra money to the goverment for the privilge of having a credit card or I have to pay VRT if I want to buy a new car, I can't shop around for those things, I should be able to buy Tommy Hilfiger jeans here without being ripped off.

P. Breathnach

madser wrote: »

... I should be able to buy Tommy Hilfiger jeans here without being ripped off.

That's a bit of a contradiction in terms. Designer labels are simply another form of rip-off, albeit one to which many people voluntarily submit themselves.

madser

P. Breathnach wrote: »

That's a bit of a contradiction in terms. Designer labels are simply another form of rip-off, albeit one to which many people voluntarily submit themselves.

But why can't I buy designer labels at the same price as the UK for example, why does it have to be a huge difference in this country.