Costly death
Forget the high cost of living: Jonathan Lawson, an Anglican priest in Sunderland, is dismayed by the high cost of dying in his city. "A single grave is £493.50; in neighbouring Gateshead it's £175," he says. "A double grave is £641.20 in Sunderland; in Gateshead it's £175. And if you live outside Sunderland, burial costs are £987 for a single grave and £1,282 for a double, whereas in Gateshead both cost £350. My parish is in an area of significant social deprivation and this sum is a huge burden."
• Sunderland claims that its fees are lower than the national average and cites league tables compiled by the chartered institute of public finance and accountancy as proof. However, its fees have more than doubled since the institute's last report, whereas Gateshead's have remained much the same.
'Luxury' wheelchair
Most of us understand that if you fly with low-cost airlines you dispense with the "luxuries" of mainstream rivals. But when does a luxury become a necessity? Patience Owen of London suffers from multiple sclerosis and, although she does not use a wheelchair, she finds it difficult to walk.
So when she flew with Ryanair she asked to be conveyed to and from the plane in an airport wheelchair. To her horror she discovered that she would be charged £48 for the privilege. "No other airline charges for this," she says. "Ryanair told me it's because it's a no-frills operation. Since when has a wheelchair been a frill?"
• A spokeswoman from Ryanair explained that the company wouldn't dream of charging for wheelchair users but that "if a passenger is not a wheelchair user and is therefore capable of walking to the airplane, we would expect that passenger to walk". Wheelchairs are hired from an airport contractor and the fee goes to them, not Ryanair.
Other low-cost airlines say they absorb the charges themselves, however, and the air transport users council says that Ryanair is the only company it has had complaints about on this issue.
Corked off
When Sally James of London hired a party venue at the Barbican she was astonished to be told she would be charged corkage plus VAT if she brought her own alcohol. "How can they charge us that for something they haven't paid VAT on themselves?" she asks.
• All too easily, says customs and excise. "If the caterers are employing somebody to take the corks out that is a service, and services are subject to VAT," says a spokeswoman.
TV lifespans
As technology becomes more sophisticated, the life expectancy of household gadgets seems to diminish. Louise Story of London was told by a Comet salesman that new TVs are no longer built to last more than five years, and she'd be wise to buy a five-year warranty. A salesman in Currys, however, said that new TVs should last 20 years and quality was better than ever.
• Salesmen will try anything to get you to buy an expensive insurance policy because retailers can earn more from them than the electrical goods. But do new TVs really have such a miserable life-span? Of the three manufacturers Consumer contacted, only Panasonic replied to say there's no specific lifespan for a TV. "It depends on how often it is switched on and off, how often the channels are changed, the temperature of the room and whether it's coal or gas heating," said a spokeswoman.
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