An embattled airline, a loan product preying on distressed pet owners and a flower delivery service that doesn’t deliver are among the list of worst products and services of the year.
Consumer advocacy association CHOICE revealed the five winners, or in many ways losers, in their annual Shonky Awards for 2022.
The not-for-profit’s CEO Alan Kirkland said the unwanted gongs that name and shame aims to hold big brands accountable from products and services which offer little value for consumers.
‘Whether it’s an airline that makes redeeming flight credits a nightmare, a finance product targeting distressed pet owners, cookware that doesn’t cook properly, processed food dressing itself up as healthy, or a florist delivering dud bouquets, we’ll continue to call out companies that do the wrong thing by Australians,’ he said.
‘2022 has been a difficult year, with Australians living through a pandemic, a slew of natural disasters, and a cost of living crisis.
‘The last thing people need is businesses that rip them off but unfortunately that’s exactly what we’ve seen in this year’s Shonky Awards.’
Australian consumer watchdog CHOICE revealed the five winners, or in many ways losers, in their annual Shonky Awards for 2022 – with Qantas receiving a gong for being the ‘Spirit of Disappointment’
Qantas
The national carrier has endured a tumultuous 2022 and CHOICE awarded Qantas a Shonky ‘for disappointing customers on almost every front’.
‘If there was ever a company that appeared to deliberately be going out of its way to win a Shonky Award, it’s Qantas,’ CHOICE travel expert Jodi Bird said.
‘People are still paying premium prices to fly Qantas, but it’s clear from the complaints we’ve heard, they’re not getting a premium service.’
‘Qantas has made it difficult and confusing for their customers to use flight credits for cancelled travel. This includes forcing many people to spend extra money, putting limits on available flights, being unable to make bookings using credits online – the list goes on.’
Australian consumer watchdog CHOICE revealed the five winners, or in many ways losers, in their annual Shonky Awards for 2022. They awarded Qantas a shonky for being the ‘Spirit of Disappointment’. Pictured: CHOICE Travel Expert Jodi Bird
A CHOICE mystery shop tested the airline in September, which uncovered staggering wait times for phone enquiries.
‘Our research revealed on average, you’ll be on the phone for 21 minutes before your call is answered, and up to 50 minutes,’ Mr Bird said.
‘By comparison, Virgin came in under a quarter of that average time with five minutes wait, and a maximum of 13 minutes.’
VetPay
VetPay was awarded a Shonky for its extensive fees, charges and high interest rates.
The company offers quick access loan products targeting pet owners who find themselves struggling to pay their vet bill.
In most cases this is in the circumstances of a medical emergency for their furry friend.
The company markets its loans as ‘affordable’, yet charges interest rates of more than 18 per cent.
Quick access loan product VetPay was awarded a Shonky for its extensive fees, charges and high interest rates
On top of that, CHOICE’s analysis found just signing up to the service costs $49 a year.
As well as the annual fee, the service charges $2.50 for every repayment and has an annual interest rate of 18.4 per cent.
‘CHOICE is awarding VetPay a Shonky for profiting from people’s concerns when their pet is sick,’ CHOICE’s Head of Policy Patrick Veyret said.
‘A beloved pet’s illness can be one of the most stressful times in a person’s life.
‘Lenders such as VetPay should not be profiting from people’s anxieties about their pets.
‘We’ve heard from financial counsellors who have seen cases where customers have gone into unaffordable debt just from using VetPay.
‘Lenders like VetPay have no right to market their loans as ‘affordable’ when the reality is they have exorbitant interest rates and expensive fees.’
The service costs $49 a year and charges $2.50 for every repayment. It also has an annual interest rate of 18.4 per cent. Pictured: CHOICE Head of Policy Patrick Veyret
Queensland pet owner Kellie Wood felt burnt by the company after she took out a $2000 VetPay loan when her dog, Bear, broke his leg.
Wood said her VetPay loan turned out to be far more expensive than expected.
‘It’s not on. A company should not be allowed to do that with people, not at a stressful time when they are going through the emotions with their animal,’ Ms Wood said.
‘It’s not worth it, I would never recommend them to anybody ever. It’s not the right time to take advantage of someone.’
Steggles Chicken Nuggets Boosted with Veggies
Steggles Chicken Nuggets have found themselves with a Shonky for bragging about ‘boosted with veggies’ products that in fact have very little vegetables.
‘Although the packaging proclaims that these nuggets are ‘boosted with veggies’, the vegetable content in these Steggles nuggets is negligible,’ CHOICE editor Pru Engel said.
‘Steggles Chicken Nuggets Boosted with Veggies are just another example of a processed food marketed towards parents hoping to sneak more vegetables into their children’s diets.’
Steggles Chicken Nuggets have found themselves with a Shonky for bragging about ‘boosted with veggies’ products that in fact had very little vegetables. Pictured: CHOICE Editor Pru Engel with baby Archie
CHOICE’s research found the nuggets contained a measly eleven grams of potatoes and just three grams of cauliflower per 100g serve.
This equates to less than a fifth of what is accepted as one standard serving of vegetables.
‘As all parents know, dinnertime can definitely be a battleground when it comes to getting your kids to eat their veggies but these nuggets really aren’t the answer,’ Ms Engel said.
‘To get just one serving of vegetables from them you would have to eat the entire 400 grams pack of Steggles Chicken Nuggets Boosted with Veggies, plus part of a second pack.
‘If you could actually stomach the 26 nuggets needed to get a single serve of vegetables, you would also be getting double the sodium and more than half the kilojoules that the average adult needs to consume in a day.’
CHOICE’s research found the nuggets contained a measly eleven grams of potatoes and just three grams of cauliflower per 100g serve. This equates to less than a fifth of what is accepted as one standard serving of vegetables
Bloomex
Canadian-owned Bloomex offers same day delivery on flower purchases across Australia.
The company, however, has received many angry reviews online about failing to deliver on this promise.
CHOICE’s research found flowers were often wilting, crushed or even undelivered.
Canadian-owned Bloomex offers same day delivery on flower purchases across Australia but has received a Shonky for failing to deliver on this promise and on the quality expected
Their mystery shop found that of 21 Bloomex bouquets ordered to regional Australian addresses eight couldn’t be delivered.
Eight of the 13 orders that were able to be completed arrived late and eight also contained flowers which were wilting or decomposing.
In CHOICE’s mystery shop, if an order was unable to be fulfilled, Bloomex did not offer a refund.
‘That’s pretty poor service, especially for a company whose motto is ‘Fresh, Fast and Fair’,’ CHOICE Editorial Director Marg Rafferty said.
‘These results confirm what we heard from unhappy Bloomex customers. Time and again we heard from disappointed people whose orders for flowers to mark a special occasion were delivered in terrible condition, arrived late or didn’t arrive at all.
‘Bloomex deserves the withering reviews they have received from their customers, and they also deserve their place in the 2022 Shonky Awards.’
CHOICE’s research found flowers were often receieved wilting, crushed or even undelivered
Zega Digital cookware
The Zega Digital cooking pot claims hands-free, energy-saving cooking all able to be accessed from your phone.
The problem is according to CHOICE expert Chantelle Dart, the technology ‘doesn’t deliver’.
‘The Zega Digital pot really disappointed us. When our experts cooked chicken according to the Zega app recipe, the chicken was partially raw, the sauce was watery and the vegetables were undercooked,’ Ms Dart said.
The meat was also found to only be 66 degrees Celsius in the centre, well below the 75 degrees celcius needed to kill illness-causing microbes.
The Zega Digital cooking pot claims hands-free, energy-saving cooking all able to be accessed from your phone. The problem is according to CHOICE expert Chantelle Dart (pictured), the technology ‘doesn’t deliver’
‘To make the dish edible we had to cook it for a further 90 minutes than the Zega app recipe dictated, costing more time and money and defeating the entire purpose of this self-cooking pot,’ Ms Dart said.
The brand also states the Bluetooth technology allows the consumer to walk away and be notified when the food is ready on their phone, but Ms Dart says this technology doesn’t work well.
‘Unfortunately, this Bluetooth technology is not as smart as Zega claims. If you leave the house or even just move to another room that puts you out of Bluetooth range, you won’t get the alert on your phone to let you know the meal is done,’ she said.
The Zega Digital cooking pot costs $299 retail.
‘The Zega Digital pot (pictured) really disappointed us. When our experts cooked chicken according to the Zega app recipe, the chicken was partially raw, the sauce was watery and the vegetables were undercooked,’ Ms Dart said