The pandemic has engendered extraordinary acts of kindness and charity, but among these good deeds it has become clear some firms and institutions are failing to act fairly.
Dermott Jewell of the Consumers' Association said ordinary people have been treated badly by some providers who are profiteering from the pandemic.
"It is shocking the way we have been badly treated by some," he said.
Here we outline some of the rip-offs that have emerged during the coronavirus outbreak.
INSURANCE
Much maligned before the pandemic for sharp premium rises, perceived high profitability and practices such as dual-pricing, the reputation of insurers was already poor before the pandemic.
Notified: Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe urged insurers to offer refunds. Photo: Steve Humphreys
Now with the outbreak of Covid-19, insurers have seen their reputations damaged further.
FBD has been heavily criticised for denying publicans and restaurateurs pay-outs on business interruption cover.
And motorists have been left unimpressed after some insurers said they would give them between €30 and €35 in refunds to reflect the fact traffic volumes are down and accident claims have collapsed.
Aviva and AIG have decided not to give any refunds, despite the urgings of Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe.
ENERGY
Energy providers are showing no enthusiasm for playing fair with householders.
The costs of wholesale gas and electricity have collapsed in the past year.
There have been some cuts of between 2.5pc and 4.5pc in electricity prices for consumers.
But this is against a background of cumulative price hikes of between 20pc and 28pc in the past three years.
And six energy providers operating in the residential market have not reduced their prices at all in the past six months.
This is at a time when energy use in homes has spiked due to the lockdown.
All this has prompted calls for energy providers to give households a proper break.
PANDEMIC ESSENTIALS
The Government in the past few days has advised people to wear face coverings in confined public spaces and on public transport.
Some pharmacies are selling disposable masks for €2 each. These can be bought wholesale for a fraction of that.
Vat of 23pc has been added to the price of masks despite the fact they are not a luxury good, and even though PPE equipment for hospitals is not charged Vat at the moment.
Pharmacies have a number of costs to cover, but many question why the retail mark-up is so high on an item people have been recommended to use.
Rise TD Paul Murphy has called on the Government to introduce consumer protection laws to impose price controls on hand sanitiser and face masks.
CARBON TAX
They say timing is everything. Well, many thought the start of this month was the wrong time to increase the carbon tax on home-heating oil, gas, coal and briquettes.
The hike means the cost of an average household's annual gas bill will go up by €14 from this month, while other fuels will be dearer.
Never mind that agriculture and transport are the biggest polluters, the Government has decided that households should pay the price for our carbon emissions.
PAYMENT BREAKS
The banks, non-bank lenders and credit service firms that handle loans owned by vultures, are offering customers breaks on their mortgage payments.
But stretched borrowers who are forced to take a mortgage payment break have been warned that thousands of euro will be racked up in interest payments.
A family with a €200,000 mortgage will accrue a €2,600 interest bill on their mortgage during a six-month payment break period. This is based an interest rate of 3.2pc for the entire remainder of their 25-year term.
Banks argue they have to keep charging interest and they are now losing money generally due to the pandemic.
But others maintain that the very least they could do is reduce the interest being charged to something like a tracker rate for those availing of a payment break.
MORTGAGE RATES
Home buyers in this country are being forced to pay €220 a month more in mortgage repayments than the average in the eurozone.
Home-loan lending rates fell here in March, but are still more than double what is being charged on average for new mortgages in the currency bloc. Rates here are even higher for many existing mortgage holders.
Banks say that huge difficulties around repossessing properties when homeowners stop paying justify the rates premium.
But Deputy Central Bank Governor Ed Sibley recently accused banks here of hitting many mortgage holders with double the interest rate they need to be profitable.
This is a problem that pre-dates the pandemic, but now would be a good time for banks to show solidarity for being bailed out by the citizens and reduce their rates.
INACTIVE BALANCE CHARGE ON GIFT CARDS
The Consumers' Association has questioned why gift card issuers continue to impose inactive balance charges at a time when large numbers of clothes shops, hardware stores, beauty salons, restaurants and garden centres have been closed.
One4all applies a monthly charge of €1.45 after 12 months to funds that have not been used. Cards issued by shopping centres are worse, imposing dormancy or management fees of €3 a month after 12 months.
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One4all insists it treats all its customers fairly: "If the application of an inactive balance charge has caused any of our customers financial stress during this time, we encourage them to contact our customer service team for assistance."
The charges should be dropped during the pandemic as a goodwill gesture.
MATERNITY LEAVE
Women returning from maternity leave are being denied access to the wage subsidy scheme.
The National Women's Council and trade unions have written to Mr Donohoe to highlight the anomaly in relation to the Covid-19 Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme.
The Revenue-operated scheme allows employees to receive State supports through their employers' payroll where the employer is affected by the pandemic.
It had been thought blatant discrimination against women in the workforce was a thing of the past.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
A number of insurers in this country have stopped providing cover on travel insurance policies for losses related to coronavirus pandemic.
Vhi is just the latest to say it was treating Covid-19 as a known event and claims related to the virus would not be covered on new policies and on policies that are renewing.
Other insurers have already stopped providing cover on travel insurance policies for Covid-19 losses, in a move that is likely to make people reluctant to take holidays or flights even when travel restrictions are lifted. Just when we need insurance, we are let down.
AIRLINES REFUSING REFUNDS
The European Commission has had to clarify that passengers are entitled to refunds, and if they do not want vouchers, they must get cash.
Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus have been trying to fob off consumers with vouchers, despite both being cash rich.
And our Government put its signature to a letter asking the commission to allow vouchers to replace refunds.
All this has infuriated consumers.
CONTACTLESS CARD CHARGES
Both Bank of Ireland and AIB were bounced into waiving fees for using contactless cards during the pandemic.
This is has come at a time when people have stopped using cash for fear of spreading the infection.
But Ulster Bank has been unmoved by these arguments and continues to levy a charge for the use of its contactless cards.
