Lidl's 'accurate' clock is always an hour out

Even a stopped watch is right once a day - but Lidl's wall clock, billed as being one of the most accurate in the world, is permanently an hour fast.

The Auriol wall clock was sold in-store for £8.99 over the Christmas period. It was claimed to be highly accurate, thanks to the fact that it was synchronised with the radio time pulse transmitted from Frankfurt in Germany, which has been broadcast since 1973.

"The DCF signal (time signal transmitter) consists of time pulses emitted by one of the most accurate clocks in the world close to Frankfurt / Main, Germany - this varies by 1 second in a million years," the product leaflet read.

"Your radio-controlled clock receives these signals under ideal conditions up to a distance of approx. 1,500 km around Frankfurt / Main."

Unfortunately, however, nobody at the store noticed that Germany's time is an hour ahead of the UK. As a result, even when customers manually reset their clocks to the right time, they simply revert to German time later that day when the updated time pulse is received.

As one customer commented on Twitter, "European integration going too far imo [in my opinion]."

Another says he has an even bigger problem, having sent one of the clocks to a relative in New Zealand: he's considering hanging it upside down.

One or two customers have found ways round the problem. One managed it by taking the clock to pieces and manually pushing the hour hand back by an hour. This means the clock can continue to receive updates from Germany, while displaying the correct UK time.

Lidl responded to initial complaints by referring customers to the German supplier. However, it has now stopped selling the clock, and says it is issuing a product recall.

"I can confirm that the relevant personnel is fully aware of this matter and any necessary action will be taken to minimise the risk of future occurrences," it told one dissatisfied customer in an email.

"Regretfully, our Service Agent are [sic] unable to offer any technical advice regarding this error. Therefore, on your next visit to your local store, please return the item along with your receipt where the Store Manager will be happy to process a full refund."