Tag of war

STORE chains are charging hugely different prices for the SAME items at their shops across the country, the News of the World can reveal.

For example at Boots a set of Babyliss hair straighteners is £97.99 in London's Oxford Street - and £44.99 in another Boots just ONE MILE away in Bond Street.

Other culprits guilty of the postcode price lottery include Currys Digital, Debenhams, John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and WHSmith. Our researchers looked at the prices of popular Christmas gifts at 33 shopping centres and high streets across Britain last week, and on shops' websites.

And we found big differences.

In Debenhams the Philips Proceramic hair straightener was £30 in Glasgow and Bath but a THIRD cheaper, at £20, in Swansea, Leicester, Derby and on the company's website.

At WHSmith, the Slumdog Millionaire DVD was £14.92 in Barnstaple and £8 in Dundee. In Marks & Spencer the Sony DPF-D70 digital photo frame was £99 at Manchester's Trafford Centre and £69 in Cardiff and Stockton.

Currys Digital was selling an Olympus e600 digital camera for £499.99 at most branches and just £399.99 on the website.

Lola Bello, of the watchdog Consumer Focus, said: "Customers at stores with branches across the country expect to pay the same regardless of the branch they use."

RED HOT - Prices for hair straighteners can differ by over £50

Last night the stores defended their pricing policies.

Boots said some differences were due to higher running costs in Central London stores. John Lewis explained branches matched or bettered their local competitors.

Currys Digital insisted it did not have a "differential pricing policy", but sometimes cheaper prices went on the web faster than stores could implement them.

Debenhams said: "We operates a nationwide pricing policy Any fluctuations may be due to store-specific offers."

Marks & Spencer promised an investigation, saying: "These products should have the same price across all our stores. We're surprised by the News of the World's findings and are looking into it now."

WHSmith said: "There are locations where we trial promotions and prices to understand which work best for our customers.

"Plus we have to be flexible to local market conditions."

daniel.jones@notw.co.uk

WHERE TO BAG THE BARGAINS

BOOTS

ITEM: Kodak D830 8in digital photo frame. HIGHEST PRICE: £84.99. WHERE: Milton Keynes & London's Bond St. LOWEST PRICE: £69.99. WHERE Bluewater, Bedford & Altrincham.

ITEM: BaByliss Pro 230 Radiance Hair Straightener. HIGHEST PRICE: £97.99. WHERE: London's Oxford St. LOWEST PRICE: £48.99. WHERE: Milton Keynes & Bond St.

CURRYS DIGITAL

ITEM: Kodak EasyShare MD41 compact digital camera. HIGHEST PRICE: £89.99. WHERE: Carlisle. LOWEST PRICE: £79.99. WHERE: Aberdeen, Sunderland & Derby.

ITEM: Olympus e600 12million-pixel digital SLR. HIGHEST PRICE: £499.99 WHERE: Most branches. LOWEST PRICE: £399.99. WHERE: Website.

DEBENHAMS

ITEM: Philips black Proceramic Straightener. HIGHEST PRICE: £30. WHERE: Glasgow and Bath. LOWEST PRICE: £20. WHERE: Swansea, Leicester, Derby & website.

ITEM: Estée Lauder Lifting Firming Essentials. HIGHEST PRICE: £55. WHERE: Most branches. LOWEST PRICE: £49.50. WHERE: Salisbury.

JOHN LEWIS

ITEM: Philips SPF7008/12 LCD black 8in digital photo frame. HIGHEST PRICE: £119. WHERE: Most branches. LOWEST PRICE: £99.95. WHERE: Trafford Centre, Manchester.

ITEM: Canon IXUS 200IS silver digital camera. HIGHEST PRICE: £279. WHERE: Most branches and website. LOWEST PRICE: £269.95. WHERE: Poole and Cardiff.

MARKS & SPENCER

ITEM: Sony DPF-D70 digital photo frame. HIGHEST PRICE: £99. WHERE: Trafford Centre. LOWEST PRICE: £69. WHERE Cardiff and Stockton.

ITEM: Philips FlexCare rechargeable sonic toothbrush. HIGHEST PRICE: £199. WHERE: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester & Derby. LOWEST PRICE: £99.50. WHERE: Cardiff, Trafford Centre & Stockton.

WHSMITH

ITEM: Alesha Dixon: Her Story, a book by Anna Tripp. HIGHEST PRICE: £18.99. WHERE: Milton Keynes. LOWEST PRICE: £5.69. WHERE: Barnstaple, Altrincham and web.

ITEM: Slumdog Millionaire DVD. HIGHEST PRICE: £14.92. WHERE: Barnstaple. LOWEST PRICE: £8. WHERE: Dundee.

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