We've Got Mail:Adriaan Bartels got in touch to alert us to an anomaly in Irish Rail's online pricing apparatus, which he noticed recently while booking travel from Co Tipperary to Dublin to attend an exhibition.
"As I live in Clonmel, I decided to try the train and do the trip in one day. There is only one train out of Clonmel in the morning that takes you to Limerick Junction to connect to Dublin and one that leaves Dublin to allow for a connection back to Clonmel, but all the timings suited me fine," he writes.
Figuring that it would be better to be organised, he decided to book his tickets online the day before he was due to travel. After arranging his seat, he was asked to pay, and also asked where he'd like to collect his tickets.
"When I was given the choice of stations to choose from, Clonmel did not feature, so I could not proceed. The cost for an adult fare day return was €52. I decided not to buy the ticket online and wait until I got to the station."
And he was glad he did. "The station was closed at that hour but I was able to buy the ticket from the very friendly and chatty conductor on the way to Limerick Junction. He assured me that even though our train was late that there was no way we would miss our connection to Dublin." Bartels had his €52 ready for him but when the conductor gave him the ticket he said it would be €20.50. "I asked him was this each way and he said no, that was a special price for the adult fare day return. I couldn't stop smiling all the way to Dublin," he writes, adding that he has now been convinced not to use the internet for his tickets as the only way to get the special prices would appear to be to buy the ticket on the train.
We contacted Irish Rail to find out more about this anomaly. A spokesman said the fare which was available to our reader on the train was "a local promotional fare" and as a result was not included on the centralised website. "Situations like this are very rare," the spokesman said.
Tesco has it all in the bag
A reader from Dublin 14 has contacted us to complain about Tesco's policy of not providing any wrapping other than plastic bags to its shoppers. In the Stillorgan branch, quite a range of products are for sale including greeting cards, DVDs and gardening equipment. "You name it, they stock it," she writes. "I have queried staff about their policy of having no wrapping for purchases - either wrapping paper or paper bags."
She says that staff have told her that when they have raised the matter with head office they were told that it was policy not to provide any wrapping other than plastic bags emblazoned with their advertising. She is annoyed about this policy not only because of its eco-unfriendliness, but also because of the obligation it places on shoppers to pay the government plastic bag levy.
"I recall reading that the Irish operation of Tesco is highly profitable in comparison to other countries, but it appears that the store is willing to make and take a profit from Ireland but not willing to abide by the spirit of the ecological-friendly legislation in this country. I have taken the option available to me - I do not shop there anymore," she writes.
We contacted Tesco to find out more about its love affair with the plastic bag. A spokesman said it was not love for the bag but love for the environment that motivated the company. He said the store's policy was geared towards the provision of reusable bags which, in the long run, are better for the environment than either plastic or paper bags. "Paper bags do use a great deal of energy in the production process as well," the spokesman said.
He said that Tesco had four different types of reusable bags which were available for purchase. When we pointed out that Tesco probably made a few bob from selling the reusable bags he insisted that it was "absolutely not the case" that Tesco had taken a policy decision not to provide its customers with paper bags in order to save money. "The key for us is the environmental issue," he said.
E-mail: pricewatch@irish-times.ie Text: 085-1645267
