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Shonky Awards: Australia’s worst products named and shamed

DEBORAH KNIGHT
Article image for Shonky Awards: Australia’s worst products named and shamed

The annual Shonky Awards have identified the “worst-of-the-worst” products and services on offer in Australia.

Consumer watchdog CHOICE’s annual awards name and shame companies who ripped off or misled customers with dodgy products.

Among the ‘winners’ this year are a ‘healthy’ cereal full of sugar, a fridge that doesn’t keep food cold, and insurance that doesn’t offer anything.

Freedom Foods’ XO Crunch cereal, which is advertised as “fun and nutritious” but actually contains 22 per cent sugar, took out the gong for the dodgiest food product.

IKEA’s Nedkyld fridge took out a Shonky for failing energy tests and scoring a mere 35 per cent for food freshness.

Pet insurance as a whole was also criticised for being “emotionally manipulative” and one of Australia’s worst value insurance products.

And the Shonky for dodgy customer service went to online retailer Kogan, who topped the NSW complaint register with over 300 complaints from January to July.

CHOICE Managing Editor Marg Rafferty explains the awards to Deborah Knight, telling her it’s “a sad state of affairs” they have to keep giving out the awards after 14 years.

“Unfortunately companies still need a reminder that they have an obligation to Australians to do the right thing.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

The full list of Shonky ‘winners’:

  • AMP Superannuation – for putting profit before customer returns
  • Kogan  –  for creating the returns system from hell
  • Freedom Foods’ XO Crunch – for gaming the Health Stars system to sell a kids’ cereal
  • Ikea Nedkyld fridge – for spoiling your food, expensively
  • Medibank – for selling ‘cover’ that leaves you exposed
  • Pet insurance – for catch-22 pet insurance whose conditions make it worthless

 

DEBORAH KNIGHT
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