Inhaltsverzeichnis für March 2024 in CHOICE

CHOICE has made a joint submission to the government’s consultation on scams reform in collaboration with the Consumer Action Law Centre and other consumer advocates. The consultation proposes an overarching framework that would outline general rules on consumer protection that certain businesses would have to comply with in addition to industry-specific codes. Currently, the government has proposed sector-specific codes for banks, telcos and digital platforms, with scope to expand these to other industries later. One of the key recommendations in our submission is for the government to require banks to reimburse scam victims. Right now, consumers alone are bearing the cost of scams while well-resourced businesses like banks, telcos and digital platforms are allowing scammers to exploit their services to scam people. Now is the time for the government to…

Energy retailers are required to work with customers facing financial hardship on a payment plan, and to keep track of which customers depend on electricity for medical life support. Origin Energy has fallen short in both of these areas in recent years according to the Essential Services Commission (ESC), which started legal proceedings against the retailer in the Supreme Court of Victoria late last year. Origin’s alleged financial hardship breaches affected more than 30,000 customers between 2019 and 2023, and included cutting off payment assistance to some customers and not providing clear information about the availability of such assistance. The alleged life support breaches affected 11 customers who either used life support equipment or lived with someone who did. Origin also allegedly failed to adequately record, update or maintain information…

In recent years, the surging popularity of vintage fashion has seen the prices of op shop clothing skyrocketing in some areas. But clothing aside, op shops are still full of bargains – as long as you know what to look for. I’m lucky enough to live in a tiny town with not one, not two, but six op shops, and I’ve made a habit of op shopping at least once a week. Along the way, I’ve picked up some insights into which products represent the best quality bargains, as well as some common op shop pitfalls to avoid. The best products to thrift CHILDREN’S PRODUCTS If you have kids (or nephews, nieces, grandchildren etc.), I highly recommend hitting the op shop for everything from toys and books, to hats, shoes…

Even when we we’re not in the midst of an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, making simple changes that will help you save money is always a good idea. In fact, we’ve found that even small tweaks to your daily habits can add up to big savings across the year. Our CHOICE experts have crunched the numbers on everything from energy use and grocery shopping to health insurance costs and getting your caffeine fix. It turns out there are thousands of dollars in savings you could potentially be making in the next 12 months. “Saving money doesn’t always have to be a grind. Sometimes it doesn’t even require huge amounts of sacrifice!” says CHOICE editorial director Mark Serrels. “Something as simple as switching your health insurance or being more selective about your…

It’s a simple product with a simple purpose, yet there are so many options to consider when you’re shopping for toilet paper. Ultimately, we want a product that’s soft yet strong, tears off the roll easily, and disintegrates quickly once we’ve flushed it down the toilet. So these are the aspects we put to the test to determine which are the best toilet paper products. Buying a sustainable toilet paper Regular, non-recycled toilet paper uses ‘virgin’ fibres. Wood fibre is harvested by cutting down trees from plantations or native forests. These trees not only absorb carbon dioxide, but also serve as habitats to wildlife and function as water catchments, so minimising their use is important for the environment. Paper can only be recycled four to six times before the fibres…

Portable air conditioners are useful if you don’t have air conditioning installed in your home and you need fast relief from a heatwave. While they may not do the job as well as built-in air conditioning systems, they’re comparatively cheap, easy to install and simple to use. This makes portable air conditioners a popular alternative for people on a budget or in rented accommodation, or anyone who just wants to cool a small area. Our experts have reviewed almost 100 portable air conditioners and can give you the lowdown on how size affects the cooling performance of these units, as well as some other things to note before you buy a portable air conditioner on size alone. How portable are they? If you’ve started researching which portable air conditioner to…

If you’re keen to keep a closer eye on your health and fitness, you might be looking at buying a fitness tracker. While these were once relatively simple devices that focused on things like step count and heart rate monitoring, high-tech smartwatches are increasingly becoming the norm. A smartwatch not only provides information on your fitness activities, it can also link to your smartphone to respond to texts and take calls. Some also include an eSIM which allows the device to access a mobile network without being connected to a smartphone. The Google Pixel Watch, Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch6 all offer a version with mobile network access built into the device. They cost around $100 more than the standard models, plus the ongoing cost of the mobile plan.…

Short-stay accommodation booking giant Airbnb has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay $15 million in penalties and another $15 million in compensation to customers after it misled them about the currency of their bookings. Between January 2018 and August 2021, the company made false or misleading representations to Australian users that prices for accommodation were in Australian dollars, when in fact for around 70,000 consumers the price was in US dollars. “Consumers were misled about the price of accommodation, reasonably assuming the price referred to Australian dollars, given they were on Airbnb’s Australian website, searching for accommodation in Australia and seeing a dollar sign,” says ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb. “By paying in US dollars, these consumers were charged more than they expected to pay and were deprived of…

If you’ve had a bad experience, been ripped off or scammed, tell us and help other CHOICE members avoid the same traps. If you’ve had a great response to a complaint you’ve taken to a manufacturer or retailer, our members want to know about that too! Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Pillow talk I have been a CHOICE reader for over 30 years. I am usually very careful about what I buy online, especially anything advertised on social media. However, I made a serious mistake in ordering a memory foam pillow from Derila. I suffer from lower back pain and usually wake up stiff and sore. Before going to the expense of buying a new mattress, I thought I would try replacing my old pillow with a…

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following story contains the names of people who are deceased. Stella Watson is a soft-spoken elderly Bardi Jawi and Nyikina woman who lives in the town of Broome, Western Australia. For the past three years, she’s been in an ongoing battle with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to gain access to the money in her late husband William’s superannuation account. “He was a working man,” Stella says. “Never quit his job until I got sick myself. Then he quit his last job to take care of me and he was my carer until the day he died,” she says. After years of battling with the ATO with the help of a financial counsellor, Stella discovered William’s account balance was…

Your dishwasher saves you so much time in the clean-up after cooking and mealtime, but you may be surprised to know it can also help you save on your utility bills. Although it’s easy to think that washing dishes by hand is the more water-efficient method, a German study found that dishwashers use less water than washing by hand, and can reduce your kitchen water consumption by hundreds of litres a month. And because most of the energy used when washing dishes goes to heating the wash water, using a dishwasher is far more energy-efficient too. Let’s take a look at what makes an efficient dishwasher, and how to maximise your energy and water savings while using one. What makes a dishwasher efficient? An efficient dishwasher is one that uses…

If you’re in the market for a new TV, it’s easy to be convinced you need to hand over a small fortune to get a good model, but a lot of that is just clever marketing. Here are some tips on how to save. Buy last year’s model The months of March and April are a chaotic time for TV shopping as it’s in the middle of the changeover from one year’s release of models to another. Many retailers will be announcing the latest and greatest models for 2024, although it may still be a month or two before you can get your hands on one of them. You can grab some great bargains on 2023 models that should deliver all you want If you stay calm and shop carefully,…

When it comes to trimming garden edges and around trees, knocking down tall grass, removing weeds from paved areas, and even mowing small areas of lawn, there’s no better tool than a line trimmer. Here’s what you need to know to choose the right one for your garden. Petrol line trimmers Petrol models are the best choice for large areas or for professionals. They’re generally more powerful and therefore the most effective at cutting through swathes of long tough grass, and they’re quick to refuel. Two-stroke engines are still the most common type of small petrol engine. They run on a mix of petrol and two-stroke oil; the oil can be bought at hardware and auto stores, mower shops and petrol stations. Check the recommended ratio of oil to petrol…

Our long-serving rogues’ gallery of dodgy ads, toe-curling typos and misadventures in marketing, as sent in by you – our tickled, angered and bewildered readers. And thanks to the timeless shonkiness of so much advertising, you’re always spoilt for choice – so keep ’em coming. Email high-quality unedited photos to hardword@choice.com.au. This month, thanks go to Niamh Elliot (Sno discount), Helen Fowler (Gift off), William Holdsworth (To a curtain degree) and Karin Hosking (Proof in the pudding). PROOF IN THE PUDDING Now with added “traditional-ness”. GIFT OFF For when you want to give some tough love. TO A CURTAIN DEGREE If you have any tree trunks lying around? SNO DISCOUNT The only thing reduced is your excitement for this “bargain”.…

Telco Medion Australia has been fined over $250,000 after an investigation by the communications regulator found it failed to verify the identities of customers appearing to make “high-risk” changes to their accounts. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) says the failures led to nine cases of SIM-swap scams, five of which involved losses totalling over $160,000. SIM-swap scams occur when a scammer takes control of someone’s mobile number by using their personal details to request a new SIM. “SIM-swap fraud can cause significant harm, as scammers may then be able to gain access to your online banking accounts and other personal information,” explains ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin. Under industry rules, telcos are required to conduct multi-factor identity authentication checks before processing “high-risk” customer requests such as SIM-swaps. The ACMA…

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) appears to have become a dumping ground for many complaints that should have been resolved internally by the financial institution on the receiving end of the grievance. For the first time since its founding in November 2018, complaints to the independent external dispute resolution service exceeded 100,000 in a calendar year. The tally for 2023 was 102,790 from both consumers and small businesses, a jump of 23% from the previous year. The record figure suggests banks, insurance companies, superannuation funds and other financial services providers are increasingly failing to resolve issues with their customers. “We believe many financial firms could be doing a better job of handling complaints within their own internal complaints processes, so only the most complex cases reach AFCA – which…

The emergence of newer and more powerful artificial intelligence (AI) systems is proving to be a headache for governments across the world, and Australia is no exception. Consumers have been subject to numerous issues ranging from disinformation in AI-driven chatbots to troubling deep fakes (videos in which somebody’s appearance is digitally altered to look like someone else). In light of these new challenges, the federal government has announced intentions to regulate AI. Its response to a consultation on responsible AI has recognised the inadequacy of our current laws to address concerns about high-risk AI systems, and has committed to establishing mandatory guardrails on the development and deployment of these systems. However, low-risk AI technologies will continue to be unregulated under these proposals. CHOICE contributed to this consultation and expressed support…

It’s the new shopping platform that’s shot to the top of the charts over the past year. Launched in late 2022 by a Chinese e-commerce company, Temu has become known for its cheap products, incessant marketing and a gamified shopping experience. The retail app and website sells a broad range of goods, from arts and craft supplies to power tools and electronics. But it’s perhaps best known for its small everyday household products and novelty items. So why is it so popular, and is it worth buying from? Temu’s popularity explained Experts say an aggressive marketing strategy has played a significant role in Temu’s rapid ascent, and this is borne out when speaking to users. Initially only available in the United States, it arrived in Australia in March last year…

In 1982 the average cost of seeing a film was $5. In 2022 the average cost had blown out to $16.26. And today, some ticket prices are truly eye-watering. For instance, seeing a movie on a VMAX screen at Event Cinemas in Sydney’s Bondi Junction can cost an adult as much as $31. For tickets alone, it could cost a family of four $115 for a night at the cinema. That’s before you add in the price of popcorn, soft drinks and an ice cream. But with a bit of planning and a willingness to do without the add-ons, there are ways to reduce the cost. 1. Good timing If you have a flexible schedule, going to the cinema during off-peak mornings or weekdays will almost certainly be cheaper. Most…

Is your health insurance policy really giving you the best value for money? With many Australians about to be informed by their health fund about a large increase to their health insurance premium, now is the time to review your cover. CHOICE health insurance experts have found that you can save up to $1870 by switching to a different insurer. Here are some ideas that could save you money. 1 Check if having cover will reduce your tax bill If you earn more than $93,000 as a single person or $186,000 as a couple, you’ll be charged the Medicare Levy Surcharge. If you do fall into this category, you could get a cheap Basic policy to avoid the Medicare Levy Surcharge, which will save you money overall. Note that we…

The running cost for most appliances is usually limited to its electricity use. And power isn’t a big expense for air purifiers; most models we’ve tested cost less than $10 to run for three months on low speed, 24 hours a day. But there’s an additional running cost you should factor in when choosing an air purifier: regular replacement of filters. HEPA filters in particular will fill up with dust and other particles eventually, so replacement is an unfortunate necessity. The cost of filters depends not only on how expensive they are, but also how often they need replacing. In our review, we calculate the typical annual filter replacement cost for each model, based on the typical retail price of the filters and the manufacturer’s recommended replacement period. We base…