CHOICE Archives - Page 2 of 12 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

29 May , 2024

Passing the Buck: Scam Victims Carrying Unfair Burden

A survey of 280 scam victims by consumer group CHOICE has found they are left carrying the burden of scams after big businesses like telcos, tech platforms and banks fail to step up and protect them. 61% of respondents said they had lost confidence in doing financial transactions online. The survey results, detailed in CHOICE’s…

17 May , 2024

Productivity Commission National Competition Policy Reforms Submission

Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) and CHOICE has made a submission to the Productivity Commission about future National Competition Policy reforms. The submission stresses the need to analyse potential policy reforms with a focus on their effects on consumers and households, urging the Commission to prioritise understanding how different groups might be affected. The submission’s…

8 May , 2024

Supermarket Loyalty Programs: The Price Isn’t Right

New research from CHOICE has revealed 4 in 5 CHOICE supporters think it’s unfair for supermarkets to charge higher prices for customers who don’t sign up for loyalty programs. The survey of over 8,000 CHOICE supporters also found nearly half of respondents were worried about the data being collected about them through loyalty programs. The…

6 May , 2024

Compensation for Cancelled Flights Should be the Norm

CHOICE response to announcement Qantas has agreed to pay $120 million to settle ACCCenforcement action. Quotes attributable to Rosie Thomas, Director of Campaigns and Communications at CHOICE: “Qantas agreeing to pay $120 million dollars and admitting it misled consumers after ACCC court action is a significant result. The proposed settlement sends a very clear message…

23 April , 2024

Big Supermarkets and Confusing Promotional Labels

1 in 4 people didn’t know whether price labels represented a discount on the usual price New nationally representative data from consumer group CHOICE has revealed on average 1 in 4 people find it difficult to identify if certain supermarket labels represent a true discount or not. CHOICE asked over 1,000 consumers if they could…

25 March , 2024

“Irresponsible” Car Loans on a “broader scale”: Consumers and advocates speak out against Money3 as ASIC sues over alleged breaches

Need to know Financial counsellors are sounding the alarm about an “irresponsible” car loan provider targeting people on low incomes. These consumer advocates say Money3 Loans is failing to properly assess whether its customers can pay off the loans, and is charging exorbitant interest rates on top of that. Last year the Australian Securities and…

15 March , 2024

Australians Want Regulation But Consumer Voice Missing in AI Debates

In light of World Consumer Rights Day and the 2024 theme, CHOICE and the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) have both released articles on artificial intelligence (AI) and the importance, and absence, of consumer voices when discussing use and regulation. Based on CHOICE’s recent research, almost 4 in 5 Australian’s think that business’s should be…

13 March , 2024

Digital Platforms Need to Take Responsibility, CHOICE Urges Government Action

Original media release by and from CHOICE (13/03/2024). Big tech responsible for big losses: 249% increase in social media scam losses since 2020 CHOICE calls for strong rules to force digital platforms to rein in scams Consumer group CHOICE is demanding urgent government action to force digital platforms to prevent scam losses, after the National…

19 February , 2024

Health Insurers are Increasing their Top-Level Policy Prices by over 30%

“Over the past three years, average health insurance premiums across all levels went up by 8.6%, according to government data. However, our analysis found that the cost of top-level Gold hospital policies has increased by over 30% on average,” says CHOICE health insurance expert, Jodi Bird.

5 February , 2024

Industry Liability the Clear Path to Scam Reform

A coalition of advocacy groups, including Consumer Action Law Centre, CHOICE and the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, have come out forcefully stating that customer reimbursement, paid for by industry through a customer’s own bank, must be at the centre of the Federal Government’s proposed new scam laws. The advocates say the new laws must be urgently implemented by the end of this year to stop the billions of dollars that are being lost by Australians every year to scammers.

31 January , 2024

Consumer Advocates Call on Insurers to Act Now at Flood Insurance Inquiry

Consumer advocates call on insurers to act now at flood insurance inquiry

Urgent changes needed to improve claims handling process

A number of consumer advocacy groups – including CHOICE, Financial Rights Legal Centre, Consumer Action Law Centre, and Financial Counselling Australia – will be the first to appear today and tomorrow at a public hearing for the parliamentary inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims.

25 January , 2024

CFA Supports Reforms to Merger Approvals

The Consumers Federation of Australia (CFA) and CHOICE have provided a submission to the newly newly established Competition Taskforce on merger approvals. Australia has many markets that are highly concentrated; supermarkets, airlines, banking, telecommunications, energy and insurance are all markets where a few dominant companies provide most Australians with essential products and services. Increasingly, we…