The “You Had One Job” Award
For sticky plasters that don’t really stick.
A Consumer member tipped us off that Pams plastic plasters “do not stick properly” and our in-house trial confirmed it. Unable to manage the one job they’re named for – these plasters just couldn’t stick it out. If you’ve got one job, you should probably do it.
Read moreThe “On Bad Terms” Award
For potentially misleading consumers about their consumer rights.
If those briefs don’t meet the brief, yes you can return your undies. We did a sweep of 30 online stores return policies and we were unimpressed with Barkers for making the highest number of dubious claims about your rights – earning a dishonorable mention in this years’ disappointment stakes.
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The “Unsubscribe Impossible” Award
For a subscription that’s a mission to escape.
Signing up to HelloFresh is easy – but unsubscribing is a mission. After months of research into deceptive online design practices, this food delivery service stood out for designing a particularly exasperating cancellation process, also known as a subscription trap. No-one should need to Tom Cruise their way out of their meal box service.
Read moreThe “No, Harvey Norman, No” Award
For promoting specials that are more usual than special.
Following a review of pricing at some of New Zealand’s big box retailers, we were bewildered by the number of specials that Harvey Norman labelled as a “super deal”, “great price” or “huge deal.” When something says it’s on sale – you need to trust it really is. Harvey Norman makes that a surprisingly difficult task.
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You nominated the winners
Every year, we hand the mic to you – the people on the receiving end of dodgy deals, broken promises and baffling business behaviour. You told us what left you annoyed, out of pocket, or shaking your head in disbelief. Thanks for sharing the stories that helped expose this year’s Yeah, Nah winners.
The winning criteria
To be a contender for a Yeah, Nah Award, a product, business or service must meet one or more of the following criteria:
- failing a legal standard
- stinging customers with hidden charges
- using false claims or broken promises
- selling products or services that are an absolute rip off
- using unclear messaging or design that causes consumer confusion, frustration or just plain outrage.
Less Isn’t More Award
The Less Isn’t More Award goes to Pams Value cream style corn, for having only 40% corn in the can. That leaves a lot of room for filler. Which begs the question, what else is in there? Water, thickener, sugar and salt. Yum!
Read morePolished Turd Award
Masterpet gets the Polished Turd in our Yeah, Nah Awards for dishing out a healthy dose of greenwashing. If a single-use plastic bag is almost certainly headed for landfill, it shouldn’t be selling itself on its environmental benefits.
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Grave Disappointment Award
Of the 178 businesses we looked at, Westpac came out the worst for customer satisfaction! It gets the Yeah, Nah Award for Grave Disappointment, after scoring 33% for customer dissatisfaction with its life insurance. That's one in three of its life insurance customers reporting a terrible time.
Read moreAvoid At All Costs Award
This award goes to Bosch for its heat-pump dryer WQG24200AU. Why? Because it will take you nearly 4 hours to dry a load of washing and sets you back $2,000 to purchase. Our test team slapped the WQG24200AU with a “do not buy” for the same reasons.
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Taken For A Ride Award
We looked at 648 flights on Qantas and Air New Zealand over 18 weeks to understand how competitive their airfares were during the school holidays. The biggest price increase in Air New Zealand fares between term time and school holidays was 167% – in just 3 weeks. By comparison, Qantas fares increased just 7% over the same period.
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