Coast - the  one of the UK and Ireland’s  most successful occasionwear brands for women have a special Discount Code.

You can get 20% all full priced items until Midnight 1st September 2010 with the promo code ” treatme”

Visit the Coast Website Here

There is a 20% Discount on many items at  House of Fraser online. It is a special promotion for the UK bank holiday weekend – and the offer ends August  3oth

House of Fraser charge just £3 for delivery to Ireland  – some large items like furniture and appliances cannot be delivered here.

They stock top clothing labels such as:

Oasis, Warehouse, Bench, Diesel, Lipsy, Desigual, Lee, Wrangler, Pepe, Firetrap, Yumi, Coast, Untold, Therapy, Kenneth Cole, Diesel, Hudson Jeans, LNA, Met in Jeans, Tag, True Religion, Frock& Frill, John Zack, Lipsy, Motel, Rare, Vero Moda, Isotoner, Linea, Ted Baker (nightwear), Elle Macpherson Intimates, Cyberjammies, Just Sheepskin, Lepel, Therapy, Linea Silver, Angie Gooderham,, Cath Kidston, DKNY, D&G, Diesel, Kenneth Cole, Kenneth Cole Reaction, Nine West, Fiorelli, Kipling and Mischa Barton.

The death toll from flooding  in northwest Pakistan has reached almost 1600 with over 20 million people struggling to survive after the worst flooding in living memory.

Trócaire is getting aid to survivors and they  have launched an appeal to the Irish public for help.

They say  …. “Funding from the Irish government through Irish Aid helped us to respond fast but more help is needed. We are calling on our supporters to give what they can to help some of the fifteen million people affected by the flood. The numbers affected are even greater than the Haiti earthquake and Asian tsunami combined……”

Donate to Trocaire

Students who are starting college in the UK this year can avail of a special offer from Stena Line.  They are offering free travel for students on their 5 routes to the UK.

Book a ticket for  a car and driver (from €79 Single) and add  as many students as you can fit in for FREE!   Check Availability Here
With no baggage fees  or weight limits – you can pack in all the bedding , clothes, books and computer equipment that you need .

This offer is available for midweek travel from 1 September 2010 and generally must be booked 28 days in advance. Bookings must be made by 18 October for travel up to 16 December 2010.
Proof of student identification or letter of acceptance from the university will be required at time of booking and will be verified at the port at check-in.

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) BOSI is to shut down.

The bank, which earlier this year shut all it’s  Halifax branches in Ireland, is a division of UK finance giant Lloyds .

In a statement, the Lloyds Banking Group said there was little opportunity for Bank of Scotland (Ireland) (BoSI) to enjoy scalable growth in the future – and business would be transferred to Bank of Scotland
It is understood 830 staff are still employed by BoSI  in its St Stephen’s Green head office in Dublin and in regional offices in Belfast, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

The bank plans to retain the majority of existing staff by transferring employees to an independent company to oversee administration of its remaining Irish business.

BOSI’s  other business operations in the Irish Republic, an insurance operation in Shannon, and the Halifax branch network and customer service centre in Northern Ireland are unaffected.

Get €100 for opening a bank account:
Ulster Bank will give students €100 – , all you need to do is open a Student Account before 29 October 2010, make three transactions each month and register and log-in to Anytime Internet Banking
Ulster Bank will lodge €100 into new student accounts in two separate instalments. The first instalment of €50 will be paid not later than January 31 2011 and the second instalment will be paid not later than 28 Feb  2011 provided the customer has continued to operate the account in accordance with these terms and conditions until that date.

Student acount holders with Ulster Bank also get an  Interest free overdraft (0% variable),  up to €650

Many people may have been hit by large mobile phone bills after being abroad during the summer. Mobile phone roaming charges have become cheaper in recent years – but just how much extra does it actually cost to use your mobile phone when overseas?

On Pay as You Go and Bill Pay plans – there are maximum charges fthat can be applied or making and receiving calls and texts when you are in the EU .

Roaming Charges within EU Countries:

Meteor don’t charge extra for using your mobile phone in the EU

Meteor Pay As You Go customers  can pay 12c for a text and 29c for a phone call back home while Bill Pay customers are charged 10c for  texts and 25c for calls home. Receiving  calls is totally free on Meteor. (You have to opt in)

EU Roaming Charges for  O2, Vodafone, Three, Tesco Prepay and Bill  Pay are all the  same rates -

Cost of making a call to Ireland  or other EU country – 42c per minute
Cost of receiving a call (from anywhere) – 13c per minute
Cost of sending text message – 13c (Free to receive)

Three offer  “3 Like Home“  in some countries – meaning you can make and recieve calls at the same rates as if you were still in Ireland. Available on prepay in the UK, Italy, Austria, Denmark and Sweden. On Bill Pay it is available in extra countries – Australia and Hong Kong.

Roaming Charges for Other European Countries are not regulated and differ slightly between network providers and country.
( Countries include – Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia , Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia,  Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine)

Sample Roaming Charges for   CROATIA

Cost of making a call to Ireland
- €1.09 per minute with O2
- €1.69  per minute with Meteor and Tesco
- €1.75 per minute with Three
- €1.99 per minute with Vodafone

Cost of receiving a call  from Ireland
- €1.09 O2
- €1.59 per minute  Meteor and Tesco
- €1.75 with Three
- €1.99  Vodafone

Cost of sending a text message
29c Vodafone
35c Three
39c  Tesco + Meteor
39c  O2

Be aware that in countries outside Europe – in Africa and South America  there are  roaming charges as high as €2.75 per minute when making calls back to Ireland.

Figures Correct as at 7th July 2011

The National Consumer Agency carries out two price comparison surveys in Ireland every year – which are fairly detailed but are probably out of date as soon as they are done. The most recent NCA Grocery price comparison was carried out in July 2010 – we had a look at some of the results……….

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