Words by: Dan Moskovitz (he/him)
65 years young, and with a unique voyage to being the advocacy group it is today, Consumer New Zealand is a useful organization to be aware of.
Founded in 1959 initially as the Consumers Institute, Consumer NZ was originally a state-run entity to promote (you guessed it) consumer interests. But, in circumstances which could never, ever repeat, 1986 saw government funding cuts yet Consumer NZ somehow carried on. Now they're non-profit, but still with their original modus operandi—they’re here to advocate for the consumer.
Because, as Consumer NZ spokesperson Abby Danem tells me; “These days, being a consumer is being a human.”
One of their most prominent features is Powerswitch. It’s a free aggregator of power providers in Aotearoa. You give it your address and some details on your own power usage, and it will give you some options.
“You can easily switch providers right then and there,” says Danem. “A lot of people think it’s quite a lot of work and life admin to change power providers but the providers will take care of that for you.”
A recent Consumer NZ study noted the average savings for those who switched providers was $524 a year, while also showing a loyalty tax for those who stayed with the same provider.
Consumer NZ’s reach extends beyond this, however: one of their key areas is ensuring you get value for money for the products you purchase. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, you’re usually entitled to a reasonable lifespan at reasonable quality for whatever you buy.
“Quite often big box retailers will try to upsell you on an extended warranty, but often these don’t offer more protection than what you already have under the Act,” says Danem.
“So a fridge should last eleven years. If it starts cracking after four, you might think it’s time to buy a fridge. But, based on our research, you’ve got grounds to say that this lifespan is not reasonable.”
“Government research shows the younger people of New Zealand don’t know about the Consumer Guarantees Act. They don’t know that there’s this secret power which can help you assert your rights when something goes wrong. The older generations do. So there’s this huge knowledge gap.”
It’s not just fridges—Consumer NZ has graphics and research into how long most major appliances should last.
They are also in the campaign business—currently, they have active campaigns tackling greenwashing, domestic flight prices, supermarket specials, and more. Quite often this will result in a complaint to the Commerce Commission
The Commerce Commission is the government organization in charge of regulating the markets and protecting consumers. But a singular, individual complaint is unlikely to get action out of them. So when Consumer NZ targeted the supermarket duopoly’s questionable specials, by collating a number of complaints and experiences from kiwis across the motu, they were able to provide the Commission with a jam-packed submission.
“There’s just so much power in numbers,” said Danem. “But we can gather everything into something really meaty and filled with high-quality evidence, to investigate.”
Everything mentioned up until now is free, but there is a partial paywall at Consumer NZ. Still, Consumer NZ itself will recommend canning subscriptions when times get tough, so they do try to have a lot in front of the paywall.
Behind the paywall is the ability to get advice from lawyers if you feel like you’ve been mistreated as a consumer, alongside expert product tests of most costly appliances and services. This includes lawnmowers, wifi routers, phones, laptops, air fryers and more.