Consumer advocacy group CHOICE has publicly criticised Coles and Woolworths, two major supermarket chains, for taking advantage of the current cost-of-living crisis. This rebuke was made as part of CHOICE’s 18th annual Shonky Awards, which aim to highlight the most subpar products and services identified by the organisation over the past year.
The recipients of the 2023 Shonky Awards also encompass rental application platforms that engaged in excessive data collection practices when assisting people in search of housing, personal emergency alarms that proved to be unreliable, a free shipping offer from an online retailer that did not live up to its promises, and a refrigerator that failed in its primary function of cooling items.
Alan Kirkland, the CEO of CHOICE, emphasised that the organisation has continued to unearth instances of businesses acting inappropriately towards their customers. He expressed his concern, especially considering the ongoing challenges faced by many Australians throughout 2023 due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Kirkland stated, “In a year marked by financial hardships for many Australians, people expect their hard-earned money to be spent wisely. Regrettably, our Shonky awardees have fallen short of these expectations during this trying period.”
Efforts have been made to seek comments from Coles, Woolworths, Kogan, and Microsoft regarding these awards.
It is worth noting that the 2022 Shonky Awards were granted to Qantas, an online florist, provider of fast loans for veterinary bills, a self-cooking pot, and a particular brand of chicken nuggets. These entities allegedly failed to provide Australian consumers with equitable deals.
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