Shop Window magazine

Shop Window is RNIB's monthly consumer magazine, packed with news and features. If you're interested in the latest consumer news - travel bargains and holiday hotspots, consumer cons, ethical shopping, food fads and best buys - then don't miss out on Shop Window.

It's also a place to pass on your own consumer wisdom or ask fellow readers for help. Email editorial@rnib.org.uk or write to us in braille or print to:

RNIB Editorial Department
PO Box 173
Peterborough
PE2 6WS

Available monthly on subscription in braille, electronically and in digital audio (DAISY) format, price: 43p per issue. To order Shop Window, contact RNIB on 0303 123 9999 or email shop@rnib.org.uk

In this issue - April 2013

  • Shhhhh! This sounds like a nice place to visit
  • Shackling the sharks
  • Food packets shrinking (but the price isn't)
  • Top websites to save you money: Part 2
  • The 10 best British cheeses
  • Test lab: Toasters

Need to know news

Shoppers turn to Aldi

Supermarket Aldi has ousted Waitrose from the top of the shopper loyalty league, while rival Lidl soars to third place, in the annual survey carried out by the magazine The Grocer.

The trade publication said financial worries had driven customers away from the big players. Waitrose scored highest for product quality but it slipped to second place overall this year as low prices rocketed to the top of the factors determining shopper loyalty.

Bute found in Asda corned beef

Asda is recalling tins of Smart Price corned beef after traces of the veterinary drug phenylbutazone were found in some batches.

The Food Standards Agency said "very low levels" of the painkilling medicine, known as bute, were detected in the budget range. The corned beef is the only meat product in which bute has been found, according to the FSA, and the health risks are "very low".

Customers who bought the 340g tins, before they were withdrawn from sale on 8 March, have been urged not to eat the corned beef but to return it instead. Asda is also recalling Chosen By You corned beef - although it has not tested positive for bute - as a precaution.

One in four households has had an incorrect energy bill

A quarter of consumers have received incorrect bills from their energy company in the past two years, according to research for price comparison website uSwitch.

More than 9.6 million households found themselves unexpectedly owing money to their supplier last year because of a discrepancy between an estimated meter reading and the actual amount of gas or electricity that they had used.

On average, they owed the firms £154, although one in 16 ended up having to pay more than £500. Getting billing mistakes corrected took over a month on average, although one in six was resolved in a day, the research found.

BBC Proms 2013

Booking for the world's greatest classical music festival opens on Saturday, 11 May (at 9am), and our BBC Proms guides are now available listing all the concerts from the First Night (13 July) to the last (8 September).

Whether you want to attend in person or plan your listening from the comfort of your own sofa, our Proms Guides have everything a music lover needs to get the best from the 119th Proms.

Choose braille or audio CD and fill your diary with the dates you don't want to miss. The guides come in two volumes: Concert list and booking info (braille (TC20413), audio CD (TC21087CD)) and Articles and index (braille (TC20414), audio CD (TC21088CD)). Volumes are £3.25 each and can be ordered from the Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or through our online shop.

A large print guide is available from the BBC by contacting Lydia Casey, BBC Proms publications officer, on 020 7765 3246 or email Lydia.Casey@bbc.co.uk

Last updated: 17 April 2013

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