Consumer NZ
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44
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25
EPISODES
16
PODCASTS
Search complete. 44 mentions across 25 episodes found for "Consumer NZ".
Oct 13, 2026
Kathryn RyanHOST
I appreciate your, uh, time.
Kathryn RyanHOST
That is Paul Fuge, who is head of Consumer New Zealand's platform, Powerswitch.
Kathryn RyanHOST
Uh, I read from the statement that we have had from the Electricity Authority, also from the statement we've had from MBIE.
Kathryn RyanHOST
And this is from Tracey Keay, Chief Executive of the Electricity Networks Aotearoa.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
Last year, Black Friday was the busiest shopping day of 2025 for non-food retailers on Worldline's payments network, with fifty-five point six million dollars spent.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
Consumer NZ has tracked prices in the weeks before Black Friday for several years.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
In 2023, it found seventy-seven percent of the products it tracked could have been bought for the same price or less in the weeks before the sale.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
In 2025, half of the products it followed had the same or a bigger discount at some point in the previous three months.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
Next to each gift on your list, write down what it costs today and where.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
When Black Friday arrives, compare the sale price with the one you wrote down and buy only when it's lower.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
If you missed noting a price, Consumer NZ suggests checking the item's price history on PriceSpy or PriceMe before you buy.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
If you'd rather not check prices by hand, put the list in a spreadsheet, who it's for, what you're buying, today's price, and a link to the product page.
speaker_1NARRATOR
Credit check your customers and get payment certainty
Heather du Plessis-AllanHOST
Uh, listen, Consumer New Zealand does not like Labor's policy that they've released today on trying to make airfares a little bit more fair for you, so we're gonna have a chat to them after half past five.
Heather du Plessis-AllanHOST
Right now it is 14 away from 5.
Heather du Plessis-AllanHOST
Barry Soper's with us.
27 MINS LATER
Heather du Plessis-AllanHOST
They want customers automatically reimbursed if their flight gets canceled.
Heather du Plessis-AllanHOST
They also want to see more honesty about how much your flight is gonna cost, instead of tacking fees on at the end.
Heather du Plessis-AllanHOST
John Duffy is the CEO of Consumer New Zealand, who's with us.
Heather du Plessis-AllanHOST
Hello, John.
Andrew DickensHOST
So was there a problem here that needed fixing?
John WeekesGUEST
Well, Consumer NZ certainly thought so because they've been campaigning on some quite similar issues for several months.
John WeekesGUEST
They have effectively argued that people just don't always get told as transparently as they should if their flight is canceled or delayed.
John WeekesGUEST
They say it's important for, for people to know what their rights are, and there is a bit of a sort of hodgepodge of different Possibly applicable rules.
Andrew DickensHOST
Mm.
John WeekesGUEST
You know, the Consumer Guarantees Act covers some of these issues.
John WeekesGUEST
Um, in some cases if, if an airline rejects your claim, uh, or you're not satisfied with its response, Consumer NZ says you can, you can lodge a claim at the Disputes Tribunal.
John WeekesGUEST
And then if you think you've been misled, you can complain to the Commerce Commission.
Andrew DickensHOST
So was there a problem here that needed fixing?
John WeekesGUEST
Well, Consumer NZ certainly thought so because they've been campaigning on some quite similar issues for several months.
John WeekesGUEST
They have effectively argued that people just don't always get told as transparently as they should if their flight is canceled or delayed.
John WeekesGUEST
They say it's important for, for people to know what their rights are, and there is a bit of a sort of hodgepodge of different possibly applicable-
John WeekesGUEST
... rules.
John WeekesGUEST
You know, the Consumer Guarantees Act covers some of these issues.
John WeekesGUEST
Um, in some cases if, if an airline rejects your claim, uh, or you're not satisfied with its response, Consumer NZ says you can, you can lodge a claim at the Disputes Tribunal.
John WeekesGUEST
And then if you think you've been misled, you can complain to the Commerce Commission.
Wallace ChapmanHOST
"When an airline screws up," she says, "passengers should not have to fight to get their money back.
Wallace ChapmanHOST
If your flight is canceled or changed, you'll get an automatic refund." How realistic is that? Jessica Walker is communications and campaigns manager at Consumer NZ.
Wallace ChapmanHOST
Jessica, kia ora.
Jessica WalkerGUEST
Kia ora.
Jessica WalkerGUEST
And so I think the, the idea that, that it's making it cleaner and clearer is awesome, but in the press conference this morning, Labor did actually hammer this point home that it, that it, it's illogical that we've got these rights and we don't know about them.
Wallace ChapmanHOST
Very good.
Wallace ChapmanHOST
Jessica Walker, Communications and Campaigns Manager at Consumer NZ.
Wallace ChapmanHOST
Glad we had you on.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
The same loan from a bank costs about twenty-five hundred dollars at ten percent a year, or about twenty-seven thousand nine hundred dollars at fourteen percent, which is nearer what the main banks advertise for.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
Consumer NZ found one buyer charged nearly thirty thousand over four years for a car with a market value of about seven thousand dollars once insurance and add-ons had been rolled into the loan.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
Get a quote from your bank before you go to the car yard and read every add-on and lock-in clause in the finance contract before you sign it.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
Credit cards.
9 MINS LATER
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
Confirm with IRD and your accountant.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
Student loan interest and fees, Inland Revenue, ird.govt.nz. Student loans are interest-free for NZ-based borrowers.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
Customer charged nearly thirty K's for a seven K car, Consumer NZ, nine May, twenty twenty-three, consumer.org.nz. A two thousand and seven Toyota Blade listed at thirteen thousand dollars against a Trade Me valuation of about seven thousand dollars.
Hugo JohnstonNARRATOR
Interest at twenty-nine point nine six percent, four thousand one hundred and seventy-three dollars of add-ons and fees, nearly thirty thousand dollars repaid over four years.
Susan EdmundsCORRESPONDENT
But so far, we don't seem to have seen much of an impact from that cap, which is meant to be saving hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
Susan EdmundsCORRESPONDENT
Consumer New Zealand says it's still getting complaints about over-the-top surcharges.
Susan EdmundsCORRESPONDENT
Retail NZ says businesses aren't seeing much improvement either.
Susan EdmundsCORRESPONDENT
That might be because they're paying more for payments overall, and they say the bank statements can be a bit hard to understand.
Susan EdmundsCORRESPONDENT
Nobody seems to know how to tackle that situation.
speaker_0HOST
So what's the consumer experience been there? What are they saying?
Susan EdmundsCORRESPONDENT
Well, Consumer New Zealand says it's still getting a really steady stream of complaints about surcharges that are 3% or more.
Susan EdmundsCORRESPONDENT
It still wants a ban.
speaker_0HOST
These could include banning junk add-ons like paint protection insurance, stopping the hard sale of extended warranties, and making subscriptions and gym memberships easier to cancel.
speaker_0HOST
But how can they actually regulate those fees? Consumer NZ Chief Executive John Duffy joins me now.
speaker_0HOST
Thank you for joining me from Wellington there this morning, John.
speaker_0HOST
Good
John DuffyGUEST
What Labour's proposing here is it be as easy to unsubscribe from a service like that as it is to subscribe, and we think that's pretty fair.
speaker_0HOST
What about for things like, I know a big one has been ticketing.
speaker_0HOST
I think you get a lot of complaints at Consumer NZ about it.
speaker_0HOST
You know, you think your ticket's costing, I don't know how much are they these days, $150, and then you get the add-ons of $8, $5.50 here, and it adds up to quite a lot of money.
Simon MercepHOST
It's been a key concern for New Zealanders and one which political parties are taking seriously in this election campaign.
Simon MercepHOST
Consumer New Zealand polling shows the cost of food has gone from the eighth biggest financial concern five years ago to the number one financial concern now.
Simon MercepHOST
Most parties want to do something to break up the duopoly of the major supermarket players with the aim of allowing more competition, which they say will bring prices down.
Simon MercepHOST
This week, one of the big players, Foodstuffs, came out with research of its own to argue the benefits of splitting up the duopoly were too good to be true and instead would likely lead to losses across the industry for years to come.
Chris QuinnGUEST
80? And something like 3.6 different places they go on average every week.
Chris QuinnGUEST
So in terms of choices and competition and what's out there, it is quite a different market than what's been described.
Simon MercepHOST
You know, as far as we can tell, polls talk about deep concern, don't they? I mean, I mentioned the Consumer New Zealand poll.
Simon MercepHOST
The same poll found that really not a huge amount of trust in your pricing.
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