Shops should be forced to offer a receipt with every sale, Fine Gael TD Mr Phil Hogan has said.
Currently, according to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, there is no legal obligation for shops or service providers to provide customers with a receipt.
"This must be changed in order to give customers more information, and to help avoid the type of rip-off stories that Fine Gael is receiving regarding price errors and discrepancies - especially in convenience stores," said Mr Hogan.
Fine Gael's website, www.ripoff.ie, has received "volumes of emails" from people annoyed by cases where prices were different at the till compared to the shelf price, particularly in convenience stores. "One instance pointed out that a packet of bacon listed on the shelf at €2.19 ended up being charged at a price of €3.15 - a whopping 42 per cent price hike.
"These stories tell us is that there are abuses going on in the pricing strategies of some retailers."
Mr Hogan, a deputy for Carlow/Kilkenny, is responsible for FG's enterprise and employment portfolio.
