2011 saw the introduction of a new type of petrol in Germany: E10.
What sounds like a London post code is actually a mixture of normal petrol and bio-ethanol. 10% bio-ethanol to be precise, hence the name.
The reason for this is an EU directive (2009/30/EG) which intends to
A similar step was taken a few years ago, when E5 was introduced – with 5% bio-ethanol. [Read more…]
I’ve flown with Spanair now enough times to know that I’m not thrilled by their customer service. But at the end of the day they are still one of the most convenient ways to fly from Germany to Lanzarote, via Madrid, without entering the world of budget or charter flights, which either leave from airports much further away or quite simply cost more.
So when booking flights recently, I still took them into consideration on the grounds that I at least know what I’m getting.
Except that they have now gone to new lengths to persuade me not to do it again, by moving my flight by one whole day!
“Please contact us to help you find an alternative flight, we will be pleased to help you” said the e-mail. So I did. [Read more…]
Q: When is a price not a price?
A: When it’s a “Displaypreis”
What sounds like a bad joke actually happened to me at a local supermarket last week – the very simple case of when the price on the shelf does not match the price in the computer.
Of course, this being Germany there is a law to govern such things and it is called the Preisangabenverordnung and acts in a similar way to the Sale of Goods act in the UK. As I understand it, you cannot display a price on the shelf and then ask for a higher one at the till.
And yet it happens and I am usually more than willing to point this out and insist on paying the price that was on display.
Over the years I have experienced various answers. Most supermarkets will just check that I am right and charge me the lower price, although I remember taking one employee to a shelf to show that the price in the computer was off by several Deutschmarks, only for them to remove the sign in question and say “so, now it’s not anymore” and insist on the higher price.
I have also been in supermarkets when the prices have been raised during the course of the day, so that the price on the shelf changed after I took something off it!
But the absolute winner in excuses was the one last week. The Displaypreis. [Read more…]
Please click on ACCEPT to give us permission to set cookies [more information]
This website uses cookies to give you the best browsing experience possible. Cookies are small text files that are stored by the web browser on your computer. Most of the cookies that we use are so-called “Session cookies”. These are automatically deleted after your visit. The cookies do not damage your computer system or contain viruses. Please read our privacy information page for more details or to revoke permission.