A company marketing a pen that it claims relieves pain using quartz crystals and “the science of electro-analgesia” has been named in an annual award ceremony for brands found to be “exploiting” consumers.
The consumer advocacy group Choice held its annual Shonky awards for misleading advertising and dangerous or ineffectual products in Sydney on Thursday.
The awards target companies marketing products that Choice says are “poor value, [contain] hidden charges and [make] questionable claims”, and this year’s awards went to companies that include Coles, Samsung and the ticket reseller Viagogo.
Brand Developers, an Australian and New Zealand-based “direct marketing” firm, sells the Pain Erazor, a pen claimed to provide “drug-free pain relief [with] just a press of a button”. Costing $159, the pen, its website says, works by exerting pressure on a quartz crystal, which produces a tiny electric charge.
It supposedly uses the “science of electro-analgesia”, which “utilises your body’s own natural pain response system to relieve the effects of all types of pain”.
It is not the first time the pen has come to the attention of consumer advocates. Consumer NZ has previously said there is no evidence the pen has been shown to work.
Brand Developers has been approached for comment.
Viagogo was also named a winner for what Choice called drip-pricing tactics and “failing to respond to consumer complaints”.
The Switzerland-based company, which calls itself “a fan-to-fan-based platform that enables customers to exchange tickets online”, is being taken to federal court by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission after consumers lodged more than 400 complaints against it in one year alone.
The competition watchdog is alleging that Viagogo breached Australian consumer law by making false and misleading representations, and by engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct.
Drip-pricing refers to substantial fees being added to ticket prices later in the purchase process.
“We allege that Viagogo failed to disclose significant and unavoidable fees upfront in the ticket price, including a 27.6% booking fee for most events and a handling fee,” the ACCC’s deputy chair, Delia Rickard, has said.
Both the New South Wales and Queensland governments have issued warnings about the company.
Coles won its dubious honour for its Complete Cuisine cat food, which Choice says lacks nutritional value and could lead to “expensive vet bills, sickness, or worse”.
Choice has previously tested 35 types of wet cat foods that claim to be “nutritionally complete”.
While the Coles brand met Association of American Feed Control guidelines, Choice’s testing found some wet cat food products fell outside the ideal calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, which is not covered by the guidelines.
After the awards were announced Choice said it had referred both Coles and Nature’s Way to the ACCC for alleged breaches of consumer law.
Choice spokesman Tom Godfrey accused Nature’s Way of “potentially misleading consumers” about the health benefits of its Vita Gummies for children because it failed to indicate the amount of sugar in each serving, and “not providing warnings about the risk of overconsumption”.
“Featured on TV and attracting a celebrity endorsement, Nature’s Way uses colourful cartoon characters to shout the health benefits of sugar-filled Vita Gummies to children,” Godfrey said.
Choice said the the products were “sold as healthy treats for children despite the sugar-coated gummies essentially being little more than lollies that could cause tooth decay”.
Samsung received an award for a washer/dryer that Choice claims took six-and-a-half hours to complete a cycle and used 149 litres of water. It is the third time Samsung has received one of the awards and the second for one of its washing machines.
Coles and Samsung have been contacted for comment. Nature’s Way could not be reached for comment.
