PriceWatch: You spot the prices, we ask the questions.

Eoin O'Kelly writes to highlight what he believes to be a classic example "of how rip-off Ireland operates". He went in search of travel insurance on the AIB website and found the company offered a package underwritten by Ace Travel Insurance. He checked the cost of AIB's travel insurance before checking the cost of the same packages with Ace Travel Insurance directly - www.acetravelinsurance.ie. He found AIB offering insurance for a couple on a 30-day European holiday for a premium of €46. Ace Travel Insurance meanwhile, was offering it for €35, making AIB €11, or nearly 35 per cent, more expensive.

O'Kelly then went in search of a number of other quotes and found that on each occasion the cost of travel insurance was considerably more expensive if he went via AIB's website rather than to the travel insurance company directly, despite the fact that the benefits are exactly the same.

"I think the best bargain can be found by ignoring AIB and going direct," he says adding that "if you decide to buy the ACE insurance, then even better value can be found by going to www.pigsback.com and clicking on the banner for Ace. You get the same rates as going to Ace direct but you also get "300 piggypoints free" which you can then use towards vouchers or CDs.

PriceWatch contacted AIB to find out why there was such a discrepancy between the prices. A spokesman said that while AIB Travel Insurance is underwritten by ACE, "AIB offers additional customer service facilities by telephone and text and through its branch network. These facilities include a dedicated customer service team which handles purchases, queries, advice, claims and policy amendments, as well as a text service for policy details and emergency numbers direct to the customer's mobile phone. The cost of these additional services is reflected in the price differential."

What's more...

At the carvery lunch in Bewley's Hotel in Leopardstown, PriceWatch reader Carina Markett asked for lunch minus meat. Her meal consisted of potatoes - mashed and boiled - carrots and purple cabbage. "Fine food," she says, "but hardly worth €6.50." She says she has ordered similar plates of vegetables from numerous carveries and can't recall being charged more than a fiver. "I asked the cashier if it was right, and she said it was. Afterward I was brought to the restaurant manager who, after confirming the price, said it was the standard Bewley's price throughout Ireland. Markett says that considering the full carvery price is €9.95, €6.50 is steep for vegetables. "If I had ordered the meat, would I have been charged €3.50?" she asks. When contacted, the restaurant confirmed the price but said portions were ample and pointed out that there are also a number of vegetarian options for non-meat eaters.