Aussie watchdog cracking down on drip pricing but kiwi regulators quite happy

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surfisup1000

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#140839 21-Feb-2014 20:41

Our consumer watchdog say they are happy with drip pricing (adding additional fees to a headline price during the online booking process of tickets) as long as it is disclosed by the time you pay.

But, the aussies differ and I agree with them...

http://www.smh.com.au/business/watchdog-crackdown-on-ticket-booking-fee-drip-pricing-20140221-335x2.html

I reckon they should advertise the most expensive price if the consumer accepted all drip charges then work it in reverse -- allowing consumers to change items during the booking such that the price can only reduce.

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#991988 21-Feb-2014 20:43

Our Commerce Commission is inept. 'nuff said

They don't seem interested in doing anything about large supermarket fuel discounts, something that's not banned in AU because it's anti competitive.

vexxxboy

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#991992 21-Feb-2014 20:50

Naked Bus are really bad at this, a $1 fare can end up being $9 by the time you finish booking it online.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

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#992006 21-Feb-2014 21:10

sbiddle:

They don't seem interested in doing anything about large supermarket fuel discounts, something that's not banned in AU because it's anti competitive.

I've read that about 8 times and still don't understand... We've just had a massive crackdown on that and 4c a litre is the max allowed (at least in South Aussie).

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#992072 21-Feb-2014 22:33

sbiddle: Our Commerce Commission is inept. 'nuff said

They don't seem interested in doing anything about large supermarket fuel discounts, something that's not banned in AU because it's anti competitive.

Add on our building sector which lacks competition, and means people pay far to much for houses, and don't have the money to spend in the economy on other things. It is almost as though the government need to setup competing companies due to competition problems in NZ, like they did with banking. I see there ire several high profile calls for a government run supermarket now. I am not sure if it is die to a lack of resources by the cc or not, but it shouldn't be.

NonprayingMantis

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#992076 21-Feb-2014 22:37

somewhat related, but one of the things that bugs me the most about airlines is that they almost always advertise one-way flights on their special offers

e.g. "Fly to Raro for $299 (one way)"
Great, but almost nobody flys one-way. Almost everybody flys return, and the return leg could be $500 for all we know.

To me, this is like advertising shoes by saying "get a Shoe for $15! (left shoe only)" and then finding out the right shoe costs $200.

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#992085 21-Feb-2014 22:47

sbiddle:Our Commerce Commission is inept. 'nuff said They don't seem interested in doing anything about large supermarket fuel discounts

Has anyone actually tried to take it to the NZCC? It could be the structure of the NZ market is different and therefore the current activity is unlikely to have a major negative effect on competitiveness. Also, I suspect that compared to NZCC Australian regulatory institutions are far more subject to the political pressures of the day.

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#992091 21-Feb-2014 23:05

surfisup1000: Our consumer watchdog say they are happy with drip pricing (adding additional fees to a headline price during the online booking process of tickets) as long as it is disclosed by the time you pay.

In fairness 'drip pricing' covers a lot of different practices, and NZ CC have made similar statements about looking at those practices.

surfisup1000: But, the aussies differ and I agree with them... http://www.smh.com.au/business/watchdog-crackdown-on-ticket-booking-fee-drip-pricing-20140221-335x2.html

I'd have to note there's nothing specific in that article at all.

jpoc

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#992296 22-Feb-2014 13:05

NonprayingMantis: somewhat related, but one of the things that bugs me the most about airlines is that they almost always advertise one-way flights on their special offers

e.g. "Fly to Raro for $299 (one way)"
Great, but almost nobody flys one-way. Almost everybody flys return, and the return leg could be $500 for all we know.

To me, this is like advertising shoes by saying "get a Shoe for $15! (left shoe only)" and then finding out the right shoe costs $200.

That would be awesome.

I never wear matching shoes.

jpoc

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#992297 22-Feb-2014 13:06

sbiddle: Our Commerce Commission is inept. 'nuff said

They don't seem interested in doing anything about large supermarket fuel discounts, something that's not banned in AU because it's anti competitive.

What is the problem with those mighty fuel discounts?

I love 'em.

JimmyH

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#992299 22-Feb-2014 13:10

I also can't quite see why you regard the furl discounts as anti-competitive?

It seems just like offering any other product as a marketing strategy - spend over $200 and get a free purple eggbeater or whatever?

sbiddle

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#992301 22-Feb-2014 13:15

blakamin:
sbiddle:

They don't seem interested in doing anything about large supermarket fuel discounts, something that's not banned in AU because it's anti competitive.

I've read that about 8 times and still don't understand... We've just had a massive crackdown on that and 4c a litre is the max allowed (at least in South Aussie).

Oops.. I meant to say it's not allowed.. Probably meant to type allowed rather than banned..:-)

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jpoc

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#992304 22-Feb-2014 13:20

sbiddle:
blakamin:
sbiddle:

They don't seem interested in doing anything about large supermarket fuel discounts, something that's not banned in AU because it's anti competitive.

I've read that about 8 times and still don't understand... We've just had a massive crackdown on that and 4c a litre is the max allowed (at least in South Aussie).

Oops.. I meant to say it's not allowed.. Probably meant to type allowed rather than banned..:-)

Thanks for the clarification but I think that most of us had sorted that part out with mental auto-correct. The question remains, what is anti-competitive with the fuel discounts?

sbiddle

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#992307 22-Feb-2014 13:24

JimmyH: I also can't quite see why you regard the furl discounts as anti-competitive?

It seems just like offering any other product as a marketing strategy - spend over $200 and get a free purple eggbeater or whatever?

They are anti competitive because they skew the market and by effectively cross subsidising a product when other retailers are unable to do so.

It needs to be made clear here what the role of a competition regulator is - it is not to give customers the best deal, it's to ensure that healthy competition can exist in a marketplace.

In Aussie things are slightly different to NZ because both Woolworths and Coles own petrol stations. The discounts they were offering which were subsidised by a different business unit (the supermarket) create an uneven marketplace and lessen competition.

40c discounts here are ridiculous - out of that probably 38c of it is paid for by supermarkets out of marketing spend. That's a massive customer acquisition cost.

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#992314 22-Feb-2014 13:42

sbiddle:
JimmyH: I also can't quite see why you regard the furl discounts as anti-competitive?

It seems just like offering any other product as a marketing strategy - spend over $200 and get a free purple eggbeater or whatever?

They are anti competitive because they skew the market and by effectively cross subsidising a product when other retailers are unable to do so.

It needs to be made clear here what the role of a competition regulator is - it is not to give customers the best deal, it's to ensure that healthy competition can exist in a marketplace.

In Aussie things are slightly different to NZ because both Woolworths and Coles own petrol stations. The discounts they were offering which were subsidised by a different business unit (the supermarket) create an uneven marketplace and lessen competition.

40c discounts here are ridiculous - out of that probably 38c of it is paid for by supermarkets out of marketing spend. That's a massive customer acquisition cost.

Its a different situation in NZ though. Supermarkets for the most part don't own Petrol Stations (excluding a few Pak n Save's which have a BP supplied outlet on site). Other retailers can compete with discounted fuel offerings through the AA Smart Fuel system (which is free for consumers to join and includes discounts at select petrol stations with no purchase required other than the fuel). Sounds pretty fair to me.

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#992316 22-Feb-2014 13:54

sbiddle:
JimmyH: I also can't quite see why you regard the furl discounts as anti-competitive?

It seems just like offering any other product as a marketing strategy - spend over $200 and get a free purple eggbeater or whatever?

They are anti competitive because they skew the market and by effectively cross subsidising a product when other retailers are unable to do so.

It needs to be made clear here what the role of a competition regulator is - it is not to give customers the best deal, it's to ensure that healthy competition can exist in a marketplace.

In Aussie things are slightly different to NZ because both Woolworths and Coles own petrol stations. The discounts they were offering which were subsidised by a different business unit (the supermarket) create an uneven marketplace and lessen competition.

40c discounts here are ridiculous - out of that probably 38c of it is paid for by supermarkets out of marketing spend. That's a massive customer acquisition cost.

In that case no retailer should be allowed to discount as it skews the market. I see no harm in the fuel discounts.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

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