Shonky Awards 2016: Choice names and shames Samsung, Milo, American Express

HELL hath no fury like a customer scorned — and these popular products just copped the full force of that fury.

HELL hath no fury like a consumer scorned. From exploding phones to canned air and dodgy cleaning products, consumers have named and shamed our worst products.

Tech giant Samsung was among the companies to win a gong in today’s annual Shonky Awards given out by consumer advocacy group Choice.

Now in its 11th year, the award ‘winners’ highlight what Choice say are some of the examples of the dodgy products and services available on the market.

Choice said while the products and companies might not be breaking laws or breaching regulations, it believed consumers deserved better.

Tech giant Samsung has been named and shamed for the second year running after releasing 51,060 potentially dangerous smartphones last August only to recall them weeks later.

Choice head of media Tom Godfrey said it would be a joke if the issue wasn’t so serious.

“No company should be releasing a product which bursts into flames and poses a major safety risk to consumers,” he said of the Galaxy Note7 smartphone.

Mr Godfrey said Samsung had been awarded the gong again after receiving the same award in 2015 for its “dangerous” top-loading machines.

An investigation found batteries in some smartphones were at fault after users reported the battery was exploding when being charged.

Samsung Australia announced last month it was voluntarily recalling more than 50,000 of the devices following the discovery.

A consumer shows what is left of a blown-up Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphone. The company faced an embarrassing recall of its flagship gadget.

“Given their win last year, you would have to say Samsung is the least improved company over the past year,” Mr Godfrey said.

“It’s pretty disgraceful that we’re back in the same place within 12 months with another Samsung product that poses a major incendiary hazard.”

Choice said it was clear Samsung failed “basic product stewardship” and nothing short of a full refund was in order for affected consumers.

“When a product such as the Galaxy Note7 smartphone has a problem that makes it dangerous, this is likely to be considered a major failure of the consumer guarantees found in the Australian Consumer Law,” Mr Godfrey said.

Hosted by radio and TV presenter and journalist Marc Fennell, along with Choice’s Kate Browne, the awards aim to highlight consumer anger and “dodgy” products or claims.

Mr Godfrey said these were the awards Choice really didn’t want to give out but it was vital that some companies cleaned up their act.

“We have looked back at key investigations over the past 12 months and found a number of problems,” he told news.com.au

“Choice has found a number of issues with products from food fraud to cleaning products that work just as well as water.”

Mr Godfrey said Choice had received hundreds of entries over the past year with furious consumers voting for their worst products.

But it wasn’t just Samsung which received a lemon-inspired gong, eight other products also earned the dubious honour of receiving a Shonky including;

Cleaning products also came under the spotlight with Choice claiming it is as effective as water. Picture: Choice

VANISH PREEN POWERPOWDER

Choice said the only thing this Reckitt Benckiser cleaning product made disappear was people’s hard-earned cash.

Calling the money removal strategy “nothing short of genius” Choice said its test showed it failed to outperform water.

The carpet cleaner, which retails at around $14.70 a bottle, promises “fast drying action” but was nothing more than a waste of money, according to testers.

It is the second time Reckitt Benckiser has received a Shonky.

In 2010 it earned the award for the misleading targeted pain relief claims on its Nurofen products.

Choice looked at 22 different stain remover products and said Vanish came in last despite claims it had five times more ground in dirt removal.

However, the makers of Vanish countered:

“Vanish Preen Powerpowder is designed to remove ground-in dirt from carpet surfaces.

“As indicated on the product label, it is recommended that other types of bleachable or oil-based stains - for example red wine, coffee, or sauce – be pre-treated with an appropriate product for those stains.

“In conducting their performance test, Choice used Vanish Preen Powerpowder on stains other than ground-in dirt (what the product is designed for).

“It is always recommended that stains are treated according to label instructions.

“All product claims are backed by testing to ensure consumers receive accurate product information.”

Choice has taken aim at American Express which they said makes everyone else pay for its generous rewards program. Picture: Screengrab/Choice

AMEX

The credit card giant earned a Shonky for spruiking a surcharge free campaign while maintaining one of the highest cost cards in the market.

But according to Choice, while Amex cardholders benefited form this, everyone else ended up losing out.

Choice found Amex cards were expensive for merchants to process which helped fund its generous rewards schemes.

But this meant “everybody else paid more at the checkout” as businesses ultimately passed the charge on.

NESTLE’S MILO

The product, which has a four-and-a-half star rating on the tin, was called out after its health claim was calculated by mixing Milo with skim milk.

Choice found the “chocolate dirt is actually 46 per cent sugar” when tested on its own and was not a core dairy product.

Choice said the claim was a clear example of “health washing” as just 13 per cent of consumers surveyed said they would actually mix it with skim milk.

Choice found 55 per cent of consumers quizzed would have it with full cream milk giving it a two and a half star rating.

“Nestle is attempting to divert attention away from the poor nutrition value of its malt chocolate dirt that is 46 per cent sugar by basing the health star rating on ‘as prepared basis’,” Mr Godfrey said.

“Nestle inflated its health star rating by basing it on mixing just three teaspoons of Milo with skim milk.”

CASH CONVERTERS

The company earned a Shonky for spruiking payday loans under the guise of handy cost-cutting tips, Choice said.

It found its unbranded Common Cents website was deceiving as it looked like a collection of ways to save money but actually directs consumers to Cash Converters.

From here, Choice said consumers can sign up for a “crippling payday loan”.

MEDICAL WEIGHTLOSS INSTITUTE

Choice awarded MWI a gong for targeting vulnerable people with dodgy diet advice.

Choice said its drug program promises people won’t have to work out to lose weight, or even eat less.

It said with one consumer being slugged $4400, the only thing losing weight were people’s wallets.

The consumer watchdog said it was also concerned over one of the drugs — diethylpropion — which was being promoted and was later withdrawn from sale in Australia by the TGA after it was found to cause headaches, nausea and seizures.

GREEN AND CLEAN’S BOTTLED AIR

The product which sells air from Bondi to the Blue Mountains came under the spotlight for its expense and health claims.

Choice said the product was marketed to cashed-up Chinese tourists as a potential antidote to the country’s pollution but it came with a hefty price.

With a cost of $246.26, and offering “upward of 255 breaths”, Choice awarded this a Shonky as it was literally just the sale of air.

KELLOGG’S PRINGLES

This product was voted a Shonky winner due to its reduced pack size and higher saturated fat content.

While recognising the price of a pack dropped from $4.10 to $4.00, consumers didn’t actually get more for their money.

Choice found Kellogg’s actually increased the unit price of Pringles by reducing the tub and chip size.

“The tubes decreased by 8.9 per cent, the average Pringle length dropped a staggering 9.7 per cent and the weight fell 10.7 per cent from 150g to 134g, testers found.

“With the price 100g jumping from $2.73 to $2.99, that’s an increase of 9.3 per cent.”

Choice also said the saturated fat was increased by 60 per cent.

VICTORIAN CAMEL MILK ASSOCIATION

Billed as an alternative dairy product, Choice said the only thing being milked was consumers.

With claims Camel Milk is “known to help improve the immune system by fighting off bacteria and infections and aid those who have autism, diabetes, tuberculosis, cancer, stomach ulcers and more” Choice said it has referred the product to Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

Originally published as Shonky Awards 2016: Choice names and shames Samsung, Milo, American Express