Choice Names Worst Products And Services In 2026 Shonky Awards

The 21st annual Shonky awards by consumer advocacy group Choice have identified several of Australia’s worst products and services for the year. Among the most prominent recipients is Virgin Australia, which received a Shonky for its handling of flight credits issued during the 2020 to 2022 period. According to Choice, the airline imposed strict deadlines for customers to use these credits, requiring bookings by June 30 of this year and travel before May 27, 2027. This resulted in approximately $75 million of unused funds returning to the company’s bottom line. In response, a spokesperson for Virgin Australia stated that over 93% of the credits were redeemed and that the fly-by date was extended to May 2027 to provide guests more time to travel.

Unfair Pricing And Digital Licensing

Ticket sellers Ticketmaster and Ticketek were also singled out for using dynamic pricing and designating certain seats as “in demand” to inflate costs. Choice described these tactics as sneaky, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis. For instance, NRL supporters noted that “in demand” seats were priced $50 higher than nearby regular seats, even when they were only one row and one bay apart. Ticketmaster defended its practices, claiming that event organizers set the prices to reflect market value rather than using automatic algorithms based on real-time queue demand. While the government had previously promised to restrict dynamic pricing in 2024, current laws scheduled for 2027 do not include such prohibitions.

Another significant award went to Sony, the owner of PlayStation. Choice criticized the company for its licensing model, which reveals that customers do not own the digital movies and games they purchase but merely hold a license to access them. This arrangement allows the company to revoke access without providing refunds. This issue became evident in June when a licensing agreement with Studio Canal ended in the UK and Europe, leading to the removal of 500 movies from customer libraries without any kind of compensation.

Misleading Claims And High Mark-Ups

In the electronics sector, Hisense was awarded a Shonky for its “super energy efficient” washer/dryer model, specifically the 2025 Series 8i heat pump combo. Choice found that the advertised energy rating is only achievable if one uses a 13.5-hour “eco” dry cycle and a 728-minute wash cycle, totaling more than 25 hours for a single wash and dry. Choice CEO Monique Perry described this as gaming a broken system where manufacturers nominate the most efficient program for testing rather than the ones households actually use. Hisense responded by stating their ratings comply with the Australian government’s regulated Energy Rating Scheme and prescribed testing standards.

Other recipients included Petcover for its “economy” insurance policy, which Choice claims excludes previous conditions by selling customers an entirely new policy every 12 months. This effectively classifies all prior pet health issues as pre-existing, thereby excluding them from cover. Additionally, Quest protein chips were highlighted for extreme mark-ups. At more than $20 per 100g, the nacho cheese protein chips were found to be 886% more expensive than standard nacho cheese Doritos, which cost $2.06 per 100g. While the protein chips contain 56g of protein per 100g compared to 7.5g for Doritos, Perry noted that there are far more affordable and simpler ways to increase protein intake.

Monique Perry emphasized that the Shonky awards serve as a call to action for some issues and a “buyer beware” warning for others. She noted that public call-outs can lead to real results, citing a previous instance where Commonwealth Bank pledged to refund $68 million in fees after receiving a Shonky in 2025 for charging $270 million in excessive fees to low-income customers. For the current winners, Perry expressed a desire for expanded price-gouging laws to better protect consumers from unfair corporate practices, specifically suggesting that consumers should get the $75 million back from the airline or be given unlimited time to use those credits.