CHOICE held its 7th annual Shonky Awards, this morning. The event, hosted by Julian Morrow, was attended by more than 50 media representatives.
The Shonky awards highlight the dodgy, dubious, deceitful and sometimes even dangerous goods and services that come to CHOICE's attention. While not all winners are in breach of regulations, the people's watchdog believes they shouldn't be allowed to fly under the radar.
"The Shonky awards serve as a reminder that businesses cannot provide misleading, less than truthful or dangerous products to consumers. The dishonour of potentially receiving an infamous Shonky encourages businesses to provide the fairest and best quality products and services into the market," said CHOICE spokesperson, Ingrid Just.
The 2012 Shonky award winners:
Shonky for Taxiing down the runaway charges goes to
Cabcharge
So you book a taxi, take the scenic route down to Shonkytown and hand over your credit card - whereupon you're hit with an additional 10% credit card surcharge. But according to Cabcharge, it "applies fees on financial services rather than as a surcharge on the underlying transaction."
Shonky for More like a squabble than a killing goes to
Exit Mould and Coles Ultra Mould Remover
These alleged mould killers don't actually kill mould as they can't penetrate porous surfaces, like grout, which is where mould tends to party. While it may look nice and white post-spray, courtesy of the bleach, the root structure remains ready to sprout again and party another day.
Shonky for Sending consumer rights packing goes to
The Jetset Travelworld Group
Chargeback is a service that allows you to apply to your credit card company to get your money back if goods or services you've paid for aren't provided. CHOICE believes chargeback rights are vital when it comes to travel, so when Jetset and other members of the Jetset Travelworld group requires you to waive your chargeback rights in its booking terms and conditions, alarms bells rang.
Shonky for Don't try this at home, folks goes to
Liquipel
Liquipel is a nanotechnology coating for phones and other mobile devices that claims it "can now make your phone water safe, supporting a long and receptive life". After sending four iPhones to a watery grave, it was apparent that the Liquipel claims don't hold water, making the $99 service a false reassurance.
Shonky for Woo water goes to
Nature's Way Kids Smart Natural Medicines
Being homeopathic, the harm doesn't come from the stuff itself - it's effectively water with blackcurrant flavour. The harm comes from it doing nothing for your children in the expensive and mistaken belief you're doing something.
Shonky for Wash not, waste not goes to
Samsung SW70SP
Having tested 170 washing machines over the last six years, the 7kg Samsung SW70SP top-loading machine takes top prize for water consumption. Using 224L of water on its auto-sensing mode to wash a 3.5kg load of clothes earned the machine a score of 0% for water efficiency.
Shonky for Ticket to taking us for a ride goes to
Ticketek and Ticketmaster
We pay a lot to see big international acts in Australia, and by the time you add the various credit card surcharges, handling fees and service/delivery fees, it's extortion. And what about the rort where you still have to pay the service/delivery fee if you print them out yourself?
Shonky for Serving it up goes to
Toblerone
Picture a gathering of 16 people, ready to tuck into their 400g bar of Toblerone, which conveniently contains 16 serves - according to the packet. But as servee number 15 takes the last mountain piece, a problem becomes apparent: 16 serves but only 15 pieces. And it's not just the 400g Swiss mountain range that suffers a number of serves versus number of mountains disjunction. The 200g range has 15 pieces and 8 serves and the 50g has 11 pieces and 2 serves.
Now that you've reviewed our winners, cast your vote for the shonkiest Shonky. The winner will be crowned the 'People's Choice Shonky' for 2012.
Kind regards,
The CHOICE Membership Team
Australian Consumers' Association
57 Carrington Rd Marrickville, NSW, 2204, Australia