Shoppers searching for a bargain online ahead of the Christmas rush have been warned to keep on top of taxes and other charges — and to not try and dodge the rules.

A READER struggling to decipher labels at supermarkets writes to me: “How on earth do I find food I can trust nowadays?”

People in Ireland can pay more than €5.50 for a call to directory enquiry services that lasts just one second.

A one-second phone call to directory enquiries can cost almost €6, a study shows.

WE were promised a great cull of quangos, three years ago.

The Consumers Association of Ireland wants Bord Gais to defer a price hike in light of a €55m payout to workers.

Farmers yesterday said they plan to demonstrate outside Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton’s office to protest over the supermarket price war that has slashed the prices of vegetables to just a few cents.

The Consumers Association of Ireland is urging people to use only credit cards or Paypal when shopping for goods online.

Ulster Bank has said arrangements are being put in place to help customers who owe them money after they were undercharged on their mortgage repayments.

Supermarkets must cut costs if they want to prevent risking a customer boycott over soaring recession-era price hikes.

The companies who provided beef burgers that contained horse meat to Irish supermarkets have withdrawn the products from the market.

Thousands of homes have been fitted with illegal and potentially dangerous gas boilers, it has emerged.

Hard-pressed families face soaring health insurance premiums and higher energy costs from the middle of this month — with worse to come.

Ulster Bank have announced measures to ‘make amends’ to customers after a technical incident which left thousands unable to withdraw cash or access their accounts earlier in the summer.

Ulster Bank CEO Jim Brown has said he is aware that the current situation at the bank is "unacceptable".

Women who paid for defective breast implants by credit card may have a chance of getting their money back, it has emerged.

A leading supermarket chain has responded to cash-conscious shoppers with the launch of its new own-brand range it claims can slash €45.26 off the bill for a basket of groceries normally costing €110.35.

A TOP Irish supermarket chain has slashed prices on basic household products in a bid to lure cash-conscious shoppers away from the booming low-cost German multiples.

The Consumers Association of Ireland has said there is no justification for increases to the cost of gas and electricity.

TDs and senators face an external audit of their expense claims after the Oireachtas hired an outside firm to trawl through travel and other costs submitted by members.

The Consumers Association of Ireland has criticised proposals to introduce new car and house insurance levies.

HARD-pressed consumers are set to be hit in the pocket yet again after insurers announced plans to raise house premiums by 15%, significantly reduce coverage and force customers to pay up to €1,000 of their claim costs.

The Consumers Association of Ireland has criticised Bank of Ireland for introducing new fees and charges.

CONSUMERS who suffer food poisoning from contaminated products that breach EU safety standards or people overcharged for services by price-setting cartels should be able to take class-actions to recover their losses, according to the European Commission.

A FURTHER shake-up in the gas market has come, with Flogas offering a 20% discount on Bord Gáis prices to new customers.

EDUCATION Minister Mary Coughlan has said she has no plans to issue guidelines or direct schools to make uniforms less expensive despite the pressures on some families to meet the costs.

CONSUMER representatives have called for the establishment of a retail ombudsman and national grocery website in the wake of a report showing a slowdown in competition among supermarkets.

The Government is being accused of having a deliberate policy of driving up energy costs.

AN Apple a day is good for phone sales as well as your health as stores around the country reported a heavy demand for the company’s iPhone 4 which went on sale yesterday.

IRISH supermarket price wars will take to cyberspace next year with two of the country’s largest stores preparing to launch online sales.

IRELAND is showing no sign of shedding its Rip-Off Republic tag as figures reveal the cost of filling a shopping basket is almost 30% higher than the EU average.

A CONSUMER watchdog has warned Eircom it may lose customers and see others ditch their land lines for mobiles after the telecommunications giant announced it was hiking prices by an average of 3%.

Consumers living in the Republic are still paying more for their natural gas than their counterparts in the North.

SHOPPING. It was once such a simple and pleasant pastime — peruse, choose, pay.

The Consumers Association of Ireland has criticised eircom for its latest price hike.

Bank of Ireland is being urged to compensate ten thousand of its customers whose personal information was contained on four laptops which were stolen last year.

I WAS interested to note that mortgage protection insurance is one of the types of policy that consumer watchdogs recommend avoiding.

CHILDREN as young as four are being targeted by a mobile phone company that has created a special child’s phone with simple child-friendly features.

THE Government should put its money where its mouth is and tell consumers when their electricity bills will fall and by how much, a consumer champion said yesterday.

IRISH consumers being ripped off by companies selling anything from insurance to holidays should be able to take US-style class actions to win compensation, the European Commission says.

PAYE taxpayers are owed hundreds of millions of euro by the Revenue Commissioners in unclaimed medical expenses, bin charges, VAT rebates, and rent allowances, an Oireachtas Committee heard yesterday.

THE boss of a new travel company yesterday pledged to start a holiday price war and send 65,000 passengers a year on cheap breaks to the sun.

AN increase in pedestrian-only streets is definitely helping stores take in almost €15 million in a winter sales bonanza.

THE consumer watchdog yesterday branded mobile phone giant Vodafone’s decision to raise directory inquiry charges 20% to 89c per minute as “opportunistic money-making.”