Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2022 i CHOICE

Communications regulators in Australia and New Zealand will boost joint efforts to combat spam and scam calls and messages to consumers. The ACMA and New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs signed the Memorandum of Understanding to enhance information sharing and engagement. The ACMA chair Nerida O’Loughlin says the two countries share many of the same challenges when it comes to reducing spam and SMS scams. “Just about everyone with a mobile phone or email address will understand the frustration that comes from unwanted spam and scams. Research we conducted in 2021 shows 98% of Australian adults receive unsolicited communications on their phone,” she says. “The recent ‘FluBot’ malware scam affected both Australians and New Zealanders, and information sharing with our New Zealand counterparts has aided the ACMA’s spam and scam…

With Victoria’s November election fast approaching, consumer groups are urging the state government to make a campaign pledge to commit to a lemon car ombudsman. Consumer Action Law Centre and WEstJustice Western Community Legal Centre want an ombudsman in place by 2023. “It’s a shocking fact that every year thousands of Victorian families and livelihoods are shattered because we don’t have a fast, accessible and affordable way to resolve lemon car disputes,” says Tania Clarke, director of policy and campaigns at Consumer Action. “We rely on our cars for daily life: to get to work, school, health appointments and the shops. Cars can be a crucial part of a safety plan – a way to flee family violence or to evacuate during bushfires and extreme weather events. In Victoria’s regional, rural and…

The ACCC says it’s on the lookout for any retailers not passing on the cut in fuel taxes to consumers, as it continues its quarterly monitoring of the fuel market. In its latest report, the regulator found petrol and diesel prices fell by at least 33 cents per litre (cpl) across major cities after the federal government’s cut to the fuel excise. Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb says although it was international factors that led to fluctuating prices, the excise cut is being seen at the bowser, and the ACCC will be making sure this relief continues to be felt by all consumers. “We can see from our petrol market monitoring that the cut to the fuel excise has been passed on to Australian motorists in the vast majority of locations … Petrol…

The MacBook Pro 14-inch lifts the bar for compact notebooks in several areas, starting with performance. This is the first MacBook to include Apple’s homegrown M1 Pro chip (the follow-up to the highly successful M1 processor). We bought and tested the base MacBook Pro 14-inch model and were surprised to find it the fastest notebook we’ve had our hands on. Other standout features include an excellent 14.2-inch high-resolution (3024 x 1964 pixels) screen that’s bright and vivid, using the same Liquid Retina XDR technology as Apple’s flagship iPad Pro. There’s also super-fast built-in storage,  three high-speed Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI and SD Card port, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and the welcome return, after several years, of Apple’s MagSafe charging port, plus long battery life and fast charging. MACBOOK PRO 14-INCH PRICE $2999…

In the past few years, pledges of reaching net zero or becoming carbon neutral have come from businesses across a wide range of sectors. At the same time, people have become more conscious of their own carbon footprint. New data from CHOICE shows that consumers are increasingly aware of companies’ carbon actions and many are factoring this information into their buying decisions. We carried out a nationally representative survey of more than 1000 people between March and April 2022 to gauge their awareness and look at spending patterns when it comes to the environment and sustainability. Many people are factoring companies’ carbon actions into their buying decisions Overall there’s a high level of uncertainty about trusting businesses’ claims, and a lack of knowledge about what carbon neutral means. WHAT IS…

With laundry a certainty of life, along with death and taxes, you may as well make it as gentle as possible for the planet and the future generations who will inhabit it. We can’t promise these eight top tips will make laundry day any more exciting (for that all we can prescribe is a good podcast), but they’re sure to make it greener. Some could help you cut your household expenses too – an important bonus at a time when the cost of living is rising. With laundry a certainty of life, you may as well make it as gentle as possible for the planet 1. Buy efficient appliances Water-guzzling washers and energy-depleting dryers can chew up your budget and a serious amount of the planet’s valuable resources. So how do…

You can expect a modern, high-end toaster to last you up to six years, so long as you take care of it by keeping it as clean and as dry as possible. While plenty of models fare well in our performance tests, most aren’t designed to be repaired. Many brands like Sunbeam and Breville typically only offer replacements under warranty. One notable exception is the British brand Dualit, which advertises “fully replaceable parts” for its classic range of manual eject toasters – but at around $350–400 for a 2-slice toaster it’s a big investment, especially when there are better performers to choose from. Even when CHOICE tested electric pop-up toasters in 1968, repair ability was a chore: one toaster’s element fix cost more than half its purchase price, while another was…

Microwaves are an essential appliance in many households, used for reheating leftovers, defrosting meat, and cooking vegetables and rice. A microwave can speed up your cooking time and save you money on your energy bill. They’re generally more energy efficient than cooktops and ovens, and their running costs can range from $8 to $17 a year for the models we’ve tested. But you can make your microwave even more efficient by taking some simple steps. One is to switch it off at the power point when you’re not using it. Yearly standby costs aren’t high, but it’s a simple way to reduce energy consumption. And although microwaves are a great way to defrost frozen food, you can save more energy by defrosting food in the fridge (as long as you can…

The ACCC is taking Airbnb to the Federal Court, accusing the tech giant of misleading thousands of users into thinking the platform’s prices were in Australian dollars, when they were actually in US currency. The Commission alleges the platform made false and misleading representations to Australian customers between January 2018 and August 2021 by listing prices for Australian accommodation using only a dollar sign ($), without making it clear that those prices were in US dollars. The ACCC is seeking compensation for the people affected, who the Commission says ended up paying much more than they’d planned to for a place to stay. “In addition to paying higher prices than expected, some consumers who were charged in US dollars also found themselves further out of pocket through currency conversion fees charged by…

Private health insurance costs, emergency department wait times and access to mental healthcare were the biggest concerns of participants in a survey published in the Australian Healthcare Index. Other key findings of the survey, which was produced by Healthengine and the Australian Patients Association, include: ● 59% of respondents seeking mental healthcare across Australia have been waiting for three months or longer● only a quarter of the respondents say prescription medicines are affordable● about half of the respondents would change GPs if their GP stopped bulk billing● just over half of respondents who needed category 1 urgent surgery have been waiting for their surgery for longer than the recommended wait time of 30 days. Opinions about private health insurance were also sought: ● Positive points were good hospital and extras…

New car owners have for a long time grappled with the problem of dealers aiming to lock them into servicing, making it difficult to shop around for a cheaper option from independent repairers. One tactic manufacturers employed to keep car owners coming back has been to refuse to share the information needed by other repairers to perform necessary work. But thanks to a new regulation, that’s about to end. The Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Information Sharing Scheme came into force on 1 July, requiring manufacturers to make motor vehicle service and repair information available to purchase by all Australian repairers and registered training organisations at a fair market price. The scheme will be monitored and enforced by the ACCC, which will have the power to take enforcement action for systemic…

Australia has a bit of work to do to get its plastic waste problem under control, but there are signs of progress. In 2017–18, we went through 3.4 million tonnes of plastic materials, just 9.4% of which (320,000 tonnes) was recycled, according to the World Wildlife Fund. A lot of that plastic came from packaging, including bathroom items. Just over half of plastic materials that weren’t recycled and didn’t go to the tip in Australia were shipped overseas, which didn’t always work out so well for the planet either. Indonesia rejects Australia’s rubbish In July 2019, Indonesia reportedly refused to accept a 13-tonne container of plastic waste from Australia, saying it contained toxic materials amid the empty containers of everyday brands like Omo, Western Star butter, Streets Blue Ribbon ice cream…

Aside from switching to solar, signing up to a carbon-neutral power plan or experimenting with a pre-20th century lifestyle, you can run a ‘greener’ home by choosing the right appliances and using them in a more efficient manner. It’s helpful to know which parts of your home use the most power so you can see where you may be able to make the most savings. Everyone’s usage is different of course, but generally, Australian household energy use can be broken down like this: ● heating and cooling (40%)● water heating (23%)● other appliances e.g. laundry, entertainment and computers (14%)● fridges and freezers (8%)● lighting (7%)● cooking (5%)● standby power (3%). Heating and cooling (40%) This is probably where you use the bulk of your energy, so it stands to reason…

In our blind taste tests, we don’t reveal whether the coffee has come from a pod machine or a manual one, but our expert judges can usually tell. Comments such as “watery”, “under extracted” and “too hot” are often reserved for capsule offerings, while decent manual results tend to be “golden” and “smooth”. There are, however, several capsule machines to recommend – even ones that score better on taste than some manual machines. They’re convenient too, but this may come at a cost to the environment. Aluminium is the main component of the market-dominant Nespresso pods, but it’s a material that requires a lot of energy to produce: around nine times as much as steel, according to the CSIRO. It’s also up to the consumer to recycle the pods at their…

Is your fridge running? We assume so, and it’s probably doing so with little to no fuss. But if it’s starting to smell like your dirty sneakers after an actual run, then it’s time for a good clean. A dirty fridge is not only unsightly and smelly, it’s a hotbed of nasty bacteria. A regular weekly clean and then a more thorough clean at least once a year will help keep harmful bacteria at bay, and your fridge – the most conspicuous appliance in your kitchen – looking its best. How to deep clean your fridge Because you’ll need to take your food out of the fridge, winter is a great time to give your fridge a thorough clean – the cooler weather will minimise the risk of frozen food…

The world is in a bit of a state right now, and the cost of fuel has shot up as a result. Recent local and global factors mean you could easily sink your savings into the service station if you need to keep a car on the road. That’s where a fuel price app could come in handy, showing you where to find the cheapest fuel anywhere in Australia. But they’re not all created equal. Some deliver real time, accurate pricing as required by state or territory law. Others depend on an active user base regularly updating information while they’re out and about. There are a lot of options in either case, so we looked at the most popular apps across the country to help you cut fuel costs. Fuel apps…

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is taking payday lender Sunshine Loans to court for charging borrowers a fee to reschedule repayments, a tactic that’s not allowed under the National Credit Code. The $35 fee for making the change is the same amount the company charges for missing a scheduled payment. “These fees were charged to people who had engaged with Sunshine Loans due to their inability to pay, and it stinks that they are being punished for this with a $35 fee,” says Tom Abourizk from the Consumer Action Law Centre. “[It’s] just another eye-watering example of payday lenders trying to squeeze every last cent out of customers.” The business models of payday lenders are often designed to circumvent existing consumer-protection legislation. Consumer Action is calling on the…

Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) issued a public warning notice about online retailer Kingdom Warehouse in mid-June, saying the agency had received 300 consumer contacts about the company over the past two years, including more than 140 complaints. Kingdom Warehouse customers have complained that the retailer of household goods, clothing, electronics, groceries and other items has either failed to deliver goods within a reasonable timeframe or failed to deliver them at all. The warning was issued on the basis that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that Kingdom Warehouse may be violating the Australian Consumer Law. In the public warning, CAV director Nicole Rich wrote: “I urge consumers to be cautious about purchasing goods from Kingdom Warehouse. I also urge that any current customers of Kingdom Warehouse be wary of making…

The waterproof mobile phone appears to be the recurring pipe dream of the telecom industry. But so far it’s been a bridge too far. Exhibit A: Samsung recently paid $14 million in penalties in a case brought by the ACCC for misleading consumers about being able to submerge various Samsung Galaxy phones in pool or sea water. The Samsung marketing campaign in question ran between March 2016 and October 2018, but during court proceedings the company admitted that the charging port would quite possibly become corroded and stop working if the phone was charged while still wet. That seems to not have been the only thing that might go wrong. “Samsung Australia’s water resistance claims promoted an important selling point for these Galaxy phones,” says ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb. “We reviewed…

Disability insurance is an unusual product – you pay for it, hoping you never have to use it. If you suffer an illness or injury that prevents you from returning to work and you make an insurance claim, you’ve already endured a traumatic and often financially disastrous event. It’s essential, then, that insurers handle these claims efficiently, allowing people who have become disabled the chance to move on with their lives as smoothly as possible. However, there are no firm processing timeframes for the companies that provide disability insurance through super. Super Consumers Australia is advocating for timeframes on how long the claims process should take. “We’ve heard of insurers unreasonably delaying claims, causing further distress and financial struggle for vulnerable clients,” says Super Consumers Australia director Xavier O’Halloran. A report…

If you’ve noticed the cost of living going up and your weekly shop costing more, you’re not alone. You may be wondering how to scale back your spending and still make ‘ethical’ choices at the checkout, when those types of products are often more expensive. The lower your budget, the harder these ethical choices can be. Do you put your money where your morals are, or do you buy the cheapest item? The catch is that the cheaper the item, the larger the environmental or ethical trade-off tends to be. And trying to work out what the best choices are can be overwhelming. We look at some of the challenges shoppers face when trying to buy ‘ethically’ and tap into the wisdom of CHOICE staff to find cost-effective ways to help.…

What does your morning bathroom routine look like? Shower, moisturise, brush your teeth, do your hair, and maybe makeup? Whether you’re in and out in five minutes, or you have a beauty routine more complicated than open-heart surgery, you’ll probably have a number of preferred products you turn to each day. But how many of them are made from or packaged in plastic? Old habits die hard Many of us have changed our household habits to minimise our environmental impact: BYO takeaway coffee cups, recycling soft plastics, reducing food waste and the like. But some habits are harder to change than others – and personal hygiene habits can be deeply ingrained. The mere thought of a change of grooming routine would throw many of us off-kilter, so switching to a low…

Ben* and his family had just been at a pet shop buying toys for a toy poodle they’d ordered online when he received a suspicious message. It was his first clue that they had just lost $2500 to a puppy scam. “We were all in the car when it happened. My eight-year-old son was distraught and cried. The website did look very professional … but the minute I saw that email from a Gmail address, it was kind of obvious to me.” The email was a plea for an extra $1950 to cover shipping costs It was the sort of email that has become a hallmark of the burgeoning pet scam industry: a request for more money to cover ‘unforeseen’ costs that comes after aspiring owners have already paid all…

Having a food processor is like having your own personal assistant in the kitchen. They can shave a heap of time off your food preparation with their ability to quickly slice, dice, chop, shred, grate, zest, mash, puree, mix, knead, grind and emulsify. And if this doesn’t make them versatile enough, manufacturers are turning them into multipurpose appliances by adding attachments like juicers and blenders to make them the ultimate food preparation accessory. However, the more attachments included, the bulkier, harder to store and pricier they become, so it’s important to consider how you’re going to use one before you buy. It’s also worth having a permanent spot for them on your benchtop to ensure you’ll get the most use out of them. Food processors do well across our performance tests,…

The latest e-readers have higher resolution screens and faster processors that let you turn pages faster than on previous models. Yet, overall, the experience of reading an ebook on a Kindle or Kobo today is much the same as it was on a device bought 10 years ago. The good news is that some useful features previously only found on the most expensive models are now standard on almost all new e-readers. These include waterproofing, a ‘stylus’ for commenting on documents, and the ability to adjust the display light. What is an e-reader? Electronic readers (e-readers) look like a tablet device, but use an e-ink display to simulate the appearance of paper. Unlike other electronic viewing devices, such as laptops and tablets, e-readers don’t require a backlight, although all but one…