CHOICENovember 2022的目錄

Laws designed to stop ticket scalping at excessive prices were openly flouted by a ticket-reselling website that targeted the AFL preliminary finals game in Sydney. In September, CHOICE found ads on The Ticket Merchant’s website selling tickets to the preliminary finals game between Sydney Swans and Collingwood at the SCG on 17 September for $399 each. The law in NSW, as in most other states, limits ticket reselling to 110% of the ticket’s original purchase price. According to the AFL website, tickets to week three of the finals series at the SCG ranged from $65 to $193, meaning the $399 price tag was well above the legal mark-up for any ticket to the game. The Office of Fair Trading NSW states on its website that the “maximum penalties for breaching…

Telco giant Optus says that up to 9.8 million people – almost 40% of the Australian population – may have had their private data stolen in the breach of their systems. The stolen data may include passport numbers, home and email addresses, dates of birth and driver’s licence numbers. Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil says that Medicare numbers may have also been breached. Experts say customers need to take important steps to protect themselves from fraud and scams in the wake of the breach. Here are five things you should do. 1. Find out what’s been breached Associate professor in cyber security Toby Murray at the University of Melbourne says the first step for current or former Optus customers is to try to work out what information may have been…

The federal government has proposed new regulations it claims will boost access to justice for plaintiffs in class action cases. In a statement announcing the draft regulations, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones say the regulations will reverse a Federal Court ruling that funded class actions were “managed investment schemes”, after changes made in 2020 under the previous government. According to the statement, “The proposed new regulations are instead drafted to facilitate access to justice rather than the previous Treasurer’s cynical efforts to hamper Australians’ access to funding for class actions, which he ushered through under the cover of COVID-19. “The draft regulations would reinstate the longstanding exemptions from the Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL), managed investment scheme (MIS) and other corporate regulatory regimes for litigation funders that…

If there were ever a company that appeared to deliberately be going out of its way to win a Shonky award, it’s Qantas. The so-called Spirit of Australia, which has been a part of the national fabric for over 100 years, has been a disappointment to customers since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. “Qantas has always sold itself as the premium Australian domestic airline, and Australians have been very proud of Qantas as a premium airline. But what we’ve seen recently is Qantas taken down to the level of a budget airline,” says CHOICE money and travel expert Jodi Bird. “They had the worst rates for flight delays, and their baggage handling has really been poor in the last year. People are still paying premium prices, but not getting…

Imagine you’re out shopping, but before you can even enter the store, you’re asked to share your personal information. Once inside, you’re offered free samples, but you have to give your credit card details before you can try them. For every item you browse, you’re told there’s only a few left in stock, or how many people may have looked at or bought the same thing that day. Randomly, every few seconds, a loudspeaker announces what another customer has recently purchased. For the offers you don’t take up, staff make you feel guilty about saying no, some even commenting that you must just prefer paying more. Once you finally arrive at the checkout, you notice that other items have been added to your basket – items you never looked at…

Have you ever had to worry about the plug for your new washing machine not fitting the power point in your laundry? Or the washer not running on the same voltage as your home? Or that the machine won’t fit in the same space as your old one? Me neither, because your washer, like pretty much everything in modern Australia, has been designed and built to comply with Australian standards. Standards govern all aspects of a washing machine’s design and construction, and they include the rules for calculating the energy and water star ratings. Standards also mandate minimum performance thresholds that the appliance must meet, and the conditions under which performance is measured. Standards govern all aspects of a washing machine’s design and construction Our own testing of washers in…

If you have solar panels on your roof, you may be considering adding a solar battery to get the most out of them. A battery captures any unused solar power that’s generated during the day, to use at night and on low-sunlight days. Our solar battery buying guide at choice.com.au/solarbattery explains what to consider and whether a battery is likely to be costeffective. But does a Tesla Powerwall beat a Sony Fortelion battery? Should you go with lithium or non-lithium types? And do they all really meet their performance claims? Sounds like we need a comparative test under controlled laboratory conditions! Unfortunately, while CHOICE’s labs excel at product testing, a test of these batteries is far too expensive for us to undertake. Fortunately, someone else has done the work. ITP…

CHOICE’s latest nationally representative consumer survey has found that buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers are selling people into serious debt. And as cost of living pressures worsen, even more people are likely to fall victim to these predatory loans. We found that one in seven people took out more than 20 BNPL loans in the past year. We also found that discounts are being used to lure people into BNPL, with one in five choosing a BNPL loan for their last purchase because of an advertised discount if they did so. Perhaps even more worryingly, the survey found that these loans are commonly being sold for essential products and services – one in six survey respondents say they’ve used a BNPL loan to pay for a supermarket bill and…

AMP has been fined $14.5 million for charging more than 1400 superannuation customers fees for services they weren’t given. Five companies that are or were part of the AMP group have been ordered to pay the penalty, after the Federal Court found they had deducted more than $350,000 from customers between 2015 and 2018. The members were being charged for financial advice under an agreement between AMP and their employer, even though they had left that employer and therefore no longer had access to the advice. ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court says that the fine is an example of the “significant penalties” that superannuation trustees can expect if they bill customers irresponsibly. “AMP was aware it was charging fees for no service, but did not take the proper steps to…

If your kids love chicken nuggets and you’re always battling to get them to eat more vegetables, you may think this product from Steggles presents the perfect solution. “Boosted with veggies”, the packaging proclaims, with “hidden cauliflower and potato” that equates to “¼ cup of vegetables per 10 nuggets”. It’s a win-win, right? But before you add these to your trolley and notch it up as a clever parenting hack, you should know that the “boosted with veggies” label is not as impressive as it sounds. These nuggets contain just 14g of vegetables per 100g serve, which is less than a fifth of one serving of vegetables. This means the kids would need to eat the entire 400g pack of nuggets plus a portion of a second pack to get…

The Shonky Awards were created in 2006 for two important reasons. First, we wanted to raise awareness of shonky products and services among Australians. Second, we wanted to put pressure on businesses and the government to ensure that what we buy is safe and works. Since then, we’ve handed out the ‘award nobody wants’ to 128 deserving businesses and products. And although we’re sadly never short of contenders each year, we’re encouraged by what the Shonkys have been able to achieve for consumers. Here are just a few of the more recent examples of consumer wins. Harvey Norman The appliance, electronic and furniture retailer was on our hit list for pushing Latitude credit cards at point of sale without properly checking if the credit product was suitable for the customer,…

Australian retirees continue to face hurdles getting access to credit cards, and say banks don’t understand their circumstances or are preferring to lend to more profitable customers. CHOICE has heard from several retirees and semi-retirees who have been denied credit, despite having income and assets they deem high enough to cover repayments. They believe age discrimination could be at play. But the complaints sit against a background of increasing regulation that’s forced financial institutions to be more careful about who they give credit cards to, and to do away with unsolicited credit limit increases designed to encourage people to spend more. Blocked from credit cards, despite assets and income Chris, a 71-year-old semi-retiree, says he “couldn’t believe it” when the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) told him he didn’t qualify…

Enjoy cooking, but don’t want the hassle of shopping for ingredients or planning meals? Are you bored with the same menu on rotation and looking for some new meal inspiration? A food box (or meal kit) delivery service might be just what you need to avoid hassle, broaden your culinary horizons or even learn how to cook. Ingredients are usually locally sourced and portioned, and they come with an easy-to-follow recipe card (either in the box or online). Since the precise amount of ingredients are provided, there’s minimal food waste, and you can have dinner on the table in around half an hour. Meals are changed weekly for variety. Since the precise amount of ingredients are provided, there’s minimal food waste You’ll need to have a selection of pantry staples…

When the temperature starts to rise, many of us turn on the ceiling fan for some cooling relief. Although the technology around speed selection and use of DC motors has undoubtedly improved ceiling fans in the modern era, they’re still basically the same device they were in the 19th century – a collection of angled blades that rotate to create a breeze. What to consider before buying a fan BLADE LENGTH The first thing to consider is the length of the blade for the room size. Choose a fan that’s too big for the space, and you might find that even on its lowest setting the air movement is too intense for a good night’s sleep, for example. Choose a fan too small for a bigger space and it may…

Consumer advocates are calling on the federal government to regulate telcos in the style of an essential utility after an ombudsman’s report found a record number of complaints about mobile phone services. The Consumer Action Law Centre wants the communications minister to make sure telcos are subject to safeguards similar to those for electricity and water services, saying self-regulation by the industry isn’t working. “Australian telcos can and must do better, and we clearly need government reform of the system to drive this,” says Consumer Action senior policy officer Brigette Rose. “This will drive down complaints at the ombudsman.” In its recent yearly report, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman revealed that although the total number of complaints about telcos has gone down, issues with mobile services and poor coverage have risen…

When someone makes a claim on the disability insurance in their superannuation, they’re already in an incredibly vulnerable position. That person has lost not just income, but may be struggling with loss of identity at the same time. So it’s vital that insurers process these claims efficiently and respectfully, letting people get on with their lives. Sadly, many insurers drag their heels, imposing further stress on claimants. We recently told the story of ‘Carol’, a victim-survivor of domestic violence who faced an unreasonable delay that dragged on for months when she claimed on disability insurance after suffering horrific psychological injuries. Super Consumer Australia policy manager Franco Morelli says lawmakers must impose mandatory, enforceable claims-handling standards on the industry, rather than letting insurers follow their own guidance with small penalties for…

The Quality of Advice Review has proposed replacing the obligation for financial advisers to act in the best interests of clients with a weaker duty, that of merely providing “good advice”. Consumer groups, including CHOICE, strongly oppose this proposed wind-back of consumer protections. The best interests duty was brought in by the federal government in 2012, “after a decade of financial-advice scandals that saw Australians lose hundreds of millions of dollars of their retirement savings”, in the words of CHOICE CEO Alan Kirkland. Kirkland says, “If the government removes the best interests duty as proposed in this report, we’ll go back to the bad old days that allowed scandals like those involving Commonwealth Financial Planning and Storm Financial to occur. This would be an incredible disappointment to the victims of…

Each year, when it’s time to decide which products and services will be awarded a Shonky, we face a challenge. And it’s not because it’s hard to find potential winners – quite the opposite, with nominations flowing thick and fast from staff and the public, all eager to point to the companies who’ve done consumers wrong in the past 12 months. We can only give so many Shonkys, but some of the also-rans are bad enough that they deserve a mention here. Bad enough, in fact, that each time I think about them I’m struck by the blatant disregard for consumers. So here, in no particular order, are some of the also-rans, the practices we see time and again that made us shake our heads and vow to keep fighting…

Appliances such as robot vacuums and self-cleaning ovens take care of the domestic drudgery, letting you get on with more rewarding things. So a product that claims to cook dinner for you sounds very appealing indeed. Marketed as “Smart App-enabled walkaway cookware that does the cooking for you”, the Zega Digital cooking pot promises hands-off, energy-saving cooking. Its secret purportedly lies in its double-wall construction that traps heat to cook your food after you take it off the stove. Simply put your ingredients in the pot, heat it up, then turn the stove off and let it do its “self-cooking” thing. A few hours later, your dinner is good to go. Brilliant, right? There’s just one problem: it doesn’t deliver. We cooked coq au vin according to the Zega app…

Cedric Friday says that every time he looks at his broken-down Holden Captiva, it makes him angry. The second-hand car that he and his brother-in-law spent $19,000 on sits immovable in his driveway. “It didn’t last long, just four or five months, got buggered up,” he says. “I feel ripped off, I don’t know what to do with this car here now.” Cedric, along with about 400 Aboriginal people, lives in the remote town of Wujal Wujal in Far North Queensland’s Cape York region, some four and half hours north of Cairns. When his brother-in-law got a large payment for historic stolen wages from the Queensland government, he travelled to Cairns to buy a car from a used car dealer. “When you buy a good car, it should last you…

The devastating east coast floods in February and March 2022 resulted in about 233,000 insurance claims, with about half of those still to be processed. Many victims braved the winter in temporary accommodation, and rebuilding may take years. So the official declaration of a rare third consecutive La Niña came as bad news, especially for communities that are still struggling to recover from the floods earlier this year. To be prepared for what lies ahead, make sure you have the right type and amount of cover for your situation. You should also document your possessions. Type of cover All home and contents insurance policies come with cover for the same dozen or so commonly insured events, such as fire, flood, earthquake, tsunami, theft, burst pipes and impact damage (for example,…

If you’re not familiar with air fryers or haven’t joined the huge following that this appliance has attracted, we’ll start from the beginning. Unlike frying in the traditional sense, air fryers achieve the same crisp results without the loads of oil. They’re basically a condensed benchtop oven in fan-forced mode. The compact cooking area allows heat to be rapidly distributed, to give fast heat-up and cooking times. This also means they’re cheaper to run than your oven. We’ve been testing air fryers in our kitchen lab since they first hit the market and we’ve seen the rapid changes manufacturers are making to this popular appliance. They were first introduced as being ideal for fried and frozen foods, but now manufacturers are making them more versatile by including a range of…