After waiting in a queue for around 45 minutes, her husband texted her to tell her there was industrial action by Uber drivers and they weren’t taking pick-ups from the airport.Ìý

“I needed to be in the city for a meeting urgently so I asked the Uber employee (who monitors the queue) where the taxi rank was and he said there was no taxi rank, which is a lie,” she says.Ìý

She eventually found the taxi rank hundreds of metres away. It had a short queue and she was in a taxi on the way to the city in minutes.Ìý

“When you’ve just gotten off a plane you just care about convenience and getting out of there as easy as possible, usually that’s Uber, but it’s not always the case,” Kate says.Ìý

Uber’s priority location at Melbourne Airport is exclusive to the company and other rideshare competitors like Didi have to use another pick-up zone further away. The taxi zone is also less conveniently located than the Uber zone.Ìý

Neither Uber nor Melbourne Airport would tell us how much the rideshare company pays for its prime real estate arrangement, but Melbourne Airport says they average around 5000–6000 Uber pick-ups a day, or 1.8 million a year.ÌýÌý

“Melbourne Airport caters for around 100,000 passengers a day, but with limited space on our arrivals curb we need to make decisions on space allocation that reflect customer preference and demand,” a Melbourne Airport spokesperson says.Ìý

‘Uber it’Ìý

Like Google or Band-aid, the word ‘Uber’ has basically become a verb in Australia, synonymous with the act of booking a rideshare from point A to B.Ìý

And Australia is the most Uber-dense market in the world, with almost 20% of the overall population having taken a ride in a single quarter in 2023 – a greater proportion than any other country, according to the company.Ìý

As competitors like Ola and GoCatch have folded in Australia, one analyst estimates that Uber now controls around 80% of the rideshare market, not including the taxi industry, which remains a major force.

Not always a smooth ride for Uber

Uber has also been mired in legal troubles for years.

In 2022, Uber was forced to pay $21 million in fines for misleading and deceptive conduct in a case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC); and in 2024 a class-action by taxi drivers over Uber operating illegally when they first launched resulted in a $272 million settlement – one of the biggest class action wins in Australian history.Ìý

Currently, Uber is facing lawsuits over alleged unlawful corporate espionage and anti-competitive behaviour against GoCatch, and a separate suit about allegations of disability discrimination against a blind customer with a guide dog.Ìý

The company denies any wrongdoing in the GoCatch case and says individual drivers must comply with disability discrimination legislation relating to guide dogs or face being banned from the app.Ìý

When rideshare players like Uber entered Australia in the early 2010s, ÌÇÐÄVlog hailed them as a win for competition and consumers looking for a ride. But has the pendulum swung too far? Is the technology giant’s market-dominant position in the best interest of customers, or is the monopoly position they hold stifling competition and increasing fares?Ìý

Capturing the market

Uber first launched in Sydney in 2012 and since then has grown aggressively to be by far the biggest player in the rideshare gig economy industry.Ìý

Uber Australia’s ridesharing revenue grew in 2023, reportedly to $646 million – well above its nearest rideshare rivals, Didi, at $14.3 million. The company’s global profits – the combined figure of revenue minus expenditure – have previously been much more modest, and most years it has run at a loss.

Taxis still hold a significant market share too, with A2B, Australia’s biggest taxi company and owner of 13Cabs and Silver Service, bringing in $147 million in revenue in 2023.Ìý

Allan Fels, former ACCC chair, says Uber has substantial market power in Australia, even if competition from Didi, and taxis, prevents it from being labelled a pure monopoly.

Rod Barton is a former taxi driver and a former MP in the Parliament of Victoria. He says Uber’s market-dominant position puts consumers in the crosshairs when prices surge – a reference to when the app’s algorithm inflates the price of a ride in times of peak demand.Ìý

“You’ve got this problem when it starts to rain, or when Collingwood is playing Essendon [in the AFL] and suddenly the price gets out of control,” he says, adding that it becomes a problem where taxis ask for a set price instead of turning on their meters (a practice that is illegal unless the trip is pre-booked) or refuse shorter trips.

“The government has really lost control of this space,” he says.Ìý

Surging ahead

Asked whether he thought Uber used its market position to the detriment of consumers, Fels, who served on – but later abandoned – Uber’s Global Advisory Board, said that there is no law in Australia that prohibits high prices.

Dr Rohan Miller from the University of Sydney Business School says more competition in the rideshare market could benefit consumers at times when the Uber price is surging.Ìý

“As a consumer, you should see them as interchangeable. Not enough people are playing this trade-off game between the prices of taxis versus the prices of Ubers, working out which benefits you,” Miller says.Ìý

The benefits of having one big player

Independent transport and infrastructure expert Marion Terrill says there are network benefits for consumers of having one player, such as Uber, dominating so much of the market.Ìý

“When I’m a rider, what I really value is my ride turning up quickly. So the more people choose Uber rather than some other service or taxis, then the more likely it is that I’ll get matched with a driver more quickly. It’s the nature of the service that density of users and providers is good for consumers,” she says.Ìý

Terrill adds that even price surges, which can be annoying and financially detrimental for customers, serve to encourage more drivers to get on the road and work for the app, as they can earn more money at a quicker speed.Ìý

“You don’t want a situation where every driver is working a set shift. The idea is that you can have a more responsive supply of drivers, I think that’s a good thing,” she says.

A driver’s experienceÌý

Jay Young has been driving Uber in Newcastle, NSW for over two years and says he appreciates the flexible hours and his ability to fit trips around his chauffeuring clients.Ìý

He says the surge pricing map shown to Uber drivers does influence where he goes and the hours he works.Ìý

“I’m able to kind of make a decision, I’m gonna head over there and then I’m gonna try and get a trip with a reasonable amount of surge on it just to boost your earnings. Because without the surge, the earnings aren’t fantastic,” he says.Ìý

“Obviously, you’re gonna do what you can in order to boost those earnings, and if that means working those unsociable hours to 3am or 4am in the morning and dealing with the drunks, that’s what I’m gonna do,” Young says.

Young, a member of the Transport Workers Union, which represents rideshare drivers, says Uber should be committing to minimum pay and conditions for drivers and also paying things like superannuation. But he says he keeps driving with the company regardless, because the earnings are better than with Didi or elsewhere.ÌýÌý

“If it’s a particularly slow period, then it can be really a struggle and you have to push yourself to work more and more hours to make ends meet,” Young says.Ìý

Uber respondsÌý

A spokesperson for Uber says the company operates in a competitive environment, but declined to provide figures on their share of the market compared to taxis, citing commercial sensitivity.Ìý

“The advent of ridesharing has offered greater choice and improved experiences for consumers across the point-to-point transport industry, as well as new earnings opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Australian workers,” Uber says.Ìý

“Aussies have many choices when it comes to how they get around town, and the local environment remains competitive for point-to-point transport players. Australians regularly use Uber as a safe and reliable choice to get from A to B, and governments across the country have recognised ridesharing as an important part of the transport mix,” the spokesperson adds.

Neil Sipe, professor of planning at the University of Queensland says Uber has succeeded in completely disrupting the rideshare economy in Australia as well as in many other countries in the world. Now it faces the challenge of turning its market position into a regular and consistent profit.Ìý

“Amazon went over a decade without turning a profit based on venture capital investment. There was lots of revenue, but not much profit. Uber is operating off a similar model, but eventually the capital runs out and you have to be a company that turns a profit as well,” he says.Ìý

The post Uber is dominating, is this good for Aussie consumers? appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

On this page:

• What are fuel price apps?
• Which apps show accurate fuel prices?
• Which fuel apps are the easiest to use?
• Special fuel types
• Fuel app features

Some apps are run by state/territory governments while others rely on motorists submitting data during the day. They all advertise accurate, up-to-date prices, but some don’t quite live up to that claim.Ìý

So, we grabbed our car and visited various cities and towns along the east coast of Australia to help you find the best app for cheap fuel.

Travelling through New South Wales, the ACT, Queensland and Victoria (Wodonga), we tested dozens of apps including PetrolSpy Australia, Fuel Map Australia, MotorMouth, Simples: Compare & Save, and state-based apps like FuelCheck (NSW) and Fair Fuel (RACQ).Ìý

We looked atÌýprice accuracy, ease of use, special features and more.

What are fuel price apps?

Fuel price apps claim to provide up-to-date petrol prices across states, territories and in some cases, the entire country. But the process of logging and publishing that information varies depending on where you live.

Each state and territory, aside from Victoria and the ACT, requires service stations to submit their fuel prices each day. When we last looked at these apps in 2019, Queensland was trialling this system and South Australia had no such scheme. Since then, Queensland has fully implemented mandatory reporting and South Australia has begun its own trial.

Not only do database apps tend to be more accurate, they can also display data across the entire state, including areas with smaller populations, as they don’t rely on user-submitted data. But while you can download and install them wherever you are, they’ll only display government data in their respective states or territories.

These prices are logged in relevant government databases which are made available to the public. There are two types of apps that make use of each state and territory database and a third option that relies on community support.

Government database apps

The NSW and Tasmanian governments develop and maintain their own apps and websites. Western Australia () and the Northern Territory () have government-run websites but lack dedicated apps. You can still access the websites via the web browser on your phone or tablet but it’s a little clunky.

Third-party apps

Queensland and South Australia don’t have government-run apps but do allow third-party software developers to access their databases. You can find a list of approved apps on each government’s website. Some third-party developers are also allowed to access the databases in NSW, WA, Tasmania and the Northern Territory (e.g. PetrolSpy in NSW and WA).

Crowdsourced apps

These rely on users manually entering prices that they see while out and about. They’re the only option in Victoria and the ACT where mandatory reporting doesn’t exist but you’ll find crowdsourced apps operating in every state and territory.

The main problem with this system is that there’s no way to verify the information. You just have to hope that users are entering prices correctly and on time. For example, you may find cheap petrol only to realise the app is three days out of date and prices have since gone through the roof. Meanwhile you’re already at the servo with a car that’s running on empty.

And while you’ll get good feedback for common fuel types like E10 and U91, information for specialty fuels such as LPG or biofuel may not be as readily available. There’s also no impetus for the developers to include these in their apps, unlike states that have mandatory reporting.

Which apps show accurate fuel prices?

In order to find the apps that live up to their price accuracy claims, we run field tests in Sydney, Brisbane, the ACT and Wodonga (Victoria). We opt for Wodonga rather than Melbourne as it’s an opportunity to test these apps outside a capital city, in a state that doesn’t have mandatory reporting.

We also assess how easy each app is to use (though this takes place in the ÌÇÐÄVlog labs).

We couldn’t test accuracy in the other states/territories due to the costs involved. Note that accuracy scores are contextual. For example, if an app is available in NSW and Victoria, then it will have different results depending on how it performed in each state.

Apps with lower accuracy scores either provided inaccurate prices, or didn’t display any data when we arrived at specific petrol stations.

Australian Capital Territory

Because the ACT doesn’t have mandatory reporting or a fuel price database, motorists are forced to rely on crowdsourced apps for information. Fortunately, it seems that PetrolSpy has a robust community of active users in the capital as 90% of the locations we checked matched its prices. MotorMouth and Simples shared second place with 95% accuracy.

However, we found PetrolSpy easier to use than Simples and MotorMouth, with the latter having a couple of strange shortcomings. Firstly, you need to tap each location on the map in order to see fuel prices, which feels like an unnecessary step, and even then information is limited.

It also caps you at 30 reveals, which seems like a lot, but there doesn’t seem to be any reason for this restriction to exist. Overall functionality is also pretty limited unless you register an email address, though registration is free. Meanwhile, Simples doesn’t have list or trend views.

New South Wales (Sydney)

Not only does New South Wales have a mandatory petrol price database, the state government has also released a fuel-tracking app called . Interestingly its performance in our price accuracy test has dropped a little since our last assessment.

In 2019 prices were accurate 100% of the time. But this time it scored 90%, which is still excellent, but anything less than 100% is a bit odd given the source of information. MotorMouth and PetrolSpy, which also source data from mandatory reporting, achieved 90% as well.

Where FuelCheck takes the lead is in the ease of use test. It’s much easier to use than the alternatives, it doesn’t require an account and it doesn’t have any ads.

Queensland (Brisbane)

Although Queensland has mandatory reporting, there are no government-run fuel apps available. Instead, third-party developers are allowed to access the real-time price database. PetrolSpy was accurate 100% of the time, followed by Simples and Vroom Fuel Price Compare at 95%.

But while Simples and Vroom are both easy enough to navigate, they lack some features found in PetrolSpy that hurt their ease of use scores. Neither app has a list view option or price trends, which can help you work out which days have the cheapest fuel.

PetrolSpy and Fuel Map Australia are the best fuel price apps in Queensland. Each one provided very accurate prices in and around Brisbane, though they were occasionally off by a few cents.

Victoria (Wodonga)

We tested apps in Wodonga for two reasons.

1. Victoria doesn’t have a mandatory fuel price database.
2. It gave us an opportunity to test apps outside of a capital city.

This is an interesting part of our test as the results highlight how these apps can perform in regional areas that don’t have mandatory reporting. Accuracy results are generally lower, most likely due to a smaller user base, and some apps don’t even provide information outside of major cities.

With an accuracy score of 75%, PetrolSpy was the clear winner here and, quite frankly, your only option. Simples was next at 58%, followed by Fuel Map Australia with 42%, and finally MotorMouth, which was only accurate 8% of the time.

Which fuel apps are the easiest to use?

Even though we weren’t able to test price accuracy in every state and territory across the country, we did conduct an ease of use assessment for apps that operate nationwide and others that are only in specific locations. Since MyFuel NT and FuelWatch aren’t available as an app, we tested the mobile-optimised browser versions instead.

Due to this test not factoring in price accuracy for locations outside the east coast, we can’t give the ÌÇÐÄVlog tick of approval based on ease of use alone. However, we do think they’re worth trying if you live in a state where we couldn’t test price accuracy just so you can avoid apps that are a nightmare to navigate.

Our ease of use test assesses navigation within the app, data presentation, general performance, whether advertising is present and if registration is required.

Special fuel types

Every app in our test can help you find common types of fuel. But what if you’re looking for something a little more specialised like biodiesel, AdBlue, or a charger for your electric vehicle? You many need to grab a specific app depending on your vehicle.

Fuel app features

These app features can make it even easier to find cheap fuel.

• Show fuel near your location:ÌýAvailable in every app in our test, except WA Fuel Prices.
• View fuel prices on a map:ÌýAvailable in every app in our test, except Pumped Fuel.
• View nearby fuel prices in a list:ÌýAvailable in every app in our test, except Simples and Vroom Fuel Price Compare.
• Filter by retailer/brand
• Route view:ÌýThis displays fuel prices along a preset route.
• Cycle/trends view:ÌýProvides data on fuel price trends to help you identify the cheapest time or day to fill up.
• Favourites:ÌýSave service stations you regularly visit.
• Notifications:ÌýYour phone will alert you when fuel prices hit a certain point or you’re close to cheap petrol (requires GPS).

The post The best apps for finding cheap fuel appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

The ACCC says it’s heard of widespread guarantee failures, misrepresentations by suppliers and unexpected delays in delivery and repair after surveying consumers for a .

The body has used the report to air significant concerns it has with the industry, and to issue new advice to consumers and suppliers on their rights and obligations under Australian Consumer Law.

It comes after ÌÇÐÄVlog has heard from many aggrieved caravaners in recent years who’ve had their dreams of road trips bogged down by continuing issues with their caravans and little luck in getting those problems fixed.

Perhaps it’s no surprise when, as we’ve previously reported, there is substantial evidence that a certain segment of the industry is rife with shoddy manufacturing practices, leaving many caravan owners stuck with poorly built and often unsafe vehicles.

Hard truths exposed in industry survey

The ACCC launched its investigation in November 2021, after witnessing five years of rising caravan-related complaints.

Surveying and consulting with businesses and consumers, investigators found four in five (80%) of the 2270 caravan owners canvassed had experienced problems with a new caravan, and that for half (50%) of those people, the failure had been a major one.

Worse, many of these unhappy travellers reported being unable to get an appropriate remedy for their vehicle – even though, depending on whether a fault is minor or major, they’re entitled to a repair, replacement or refund.

Many survey respondents also spoke of delays in the delivery and repair of caravans, and alleged suppliers had made misrepresentations about caravan performance and tow weight.

Warranty woes

The ACCC says it’s particularly concerned by the number of consumers who were misled by suppliers about their right to access a repair, replacement or refund after their warranty had expired.Ìý

The ACCC argues a big purchase such as a caravan should be expected to last for longer.

“It is reasonable to expect a new caravan won’t develop a major fault within the first several years of use,” says ACCC chair Delia Rickard.Ìý

“If your caravan has a major or minor consumer guarantee failure, you may be entitled to a remedy even if the warranty provided by the business has expired.”

Supplier strife

On the business side, suppliers of caravans told the ACCC they had struggled to be fully reimbursed by manufacturers when they had provided customers with one of these remedies.Ìý

In fact, two in five (40%) of suppliers claimed that their requests had been refused outright.

The Commission says these refusals by makers to cover the costs of parts and labour are making suppliers reluctant to follow their obligations under the Australian Consumer Law to provide repairs, replacements and refunds.

As well as calling on suppliers and manufacturers to pick up their act, the ACCC has also issuedÌýÌýto update everyone on their rights and responsibilities.

Survey speaks to a long history of grievances

The ACCC’s probe of the world of caravans has uncovered grievances similar to those many consumers have shared with us directly over the years.

“I purchased a new motorhome a couple of years ago for over $150,000 from a long-established Australian motorhome and caravan manufacturer and it was an absolute disaster even before the delivery date,” one owner recently told us.

“A full rendition of this epic saga would equal War and Peace, and some level of peace was only achieved by selling the motorhome at less than four years old. The total cost per day of actual use was horrendous in both financial and emotional terms.”Ìý

Another consumer paid $75,000 for a caravan before it was built and, after numerous delays in delivery, had problems from the start.

“It was the beginning of a long-running saga with the dealer about faults and many problems. The van went back to the dealer on numerous occasions to have the faults rectified, but they didn’t want to know.”

Another prospective caravan owner we heard from who was aware of the problems in the industry declined to make a purchase after reading through a number of sales contracts.Ìý

“Demand is so high that businesses can dictate the terms, and people appear to be proceeding irrespective of the risks. The purchasing environment is totally skewed towards the seller and manufacturers at the moment. We hope that the heat of the industry dissipates over the next couple of years and we can execute a caravan purchase on more equitable terms.”

‘A lot of shonks in the industry’

Colin Young, an engineer by training and the founder and principal of the Caravan Council of Australia (CCA), has been advocating for a tighter grip on the caravan industry for more than a decade.Ìý

He’s seen “literally thousands of unsafe caravans” in his work conducting quality and compliance audits for manufacturers and importers and checking caravans for prospective buyers and owners.Ìý

“There are a lot of shonks in the industry,” says Young.

While smaller manufacturers of caravans and trailers are meant to comply with the legal requirements of the government’s Vehicle Standards Bulletin VSB1 (for trailers 4.5 tonnes and under), industry sources as well as caravan owners report that many don’t.

“Self-certification of caravans is completely unsatisfactory,” says Young. “There has been a pathetic lack of regulatory audits of manufacturers and importers, as well as the lack of inspections of caravans being offered for sale.”

New road rules don’t go far enoughÌýÌý

In 2018, the Motor Vehicle Standards Act (MVSA) was replaced by the Road Vehicle Standards Act (RVSA), and manufacturers and importers of caravans or trailers 4.5 tonnes or lighter – known as low ATM (aggregate trailer mass) vehicles – now have to abide by national road standards (as defined by Australian Design Rules) and also list the caravans on a new Register of Approved Vehicles. (The new RVSA came into effect in July 2021 with a transitional period until July 2022.)Ìý

But it’s still basically an honour system for these smaller manufacturers since, unlike larger manufacturers, they won’t have to include information on the register to demonstrate that they meet the VSB1 standards.Ìý

Instead, they are required to “make a declaration of compliance and retain information that supports their declaration”, a Department of Infrastructure spokesperson told ÌÇÐÄVlog.ÌýÌý

Young points out that this exemption lets smaller manufacturers, “who are highly disproportionately represented in the number of problems reported”, off the hook.Ìý

Under the new RVSA, manufacturers or importers who supply four trailers or less per year – which generally means low ATM vehicles – are also not required to take the additional step of getting a vehicle type approval that covers the make and category of the caravan.Ìý

The Department of Infrastructure spokesperson says manufacturers must have “a conformity of production system and retain information that shows compliance with applicable national road vehicle standards to secure a type approval”.

Young says this is rarely the case with small manufacturers.Ìý

“This dispensation will be a real drawback to the government’s intent to significantly reduce the number of accidents, deaths and injuries involving caravans on our roads,” says Young.Ìý

“No doubt there will be groups of manufacturers, each of whom make just four caravans a year, banding together for marketing purposes and offering a large number of near-identical caravans.”Ìý

Young also says low-volume manufacturers and importers are the source of most of the problems in the industry, and are often under-resourced and lack engineering and quality assurance expertise. In addition, Phoenix trading is not unusual in the caravan industry.Ìý

“Over recent years, there have been a number of manufacturers going out of business, typically by going bankrupt, and then starting up again under a different name,” says Young. “Often there are large debts owed by the previous business, and its customers are left stranded.”

CEO of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA) Stuart Lamont takes a different view of the new requirements that the RVSA imposes on low-volume manufacturers, saying that having to declare their products are compliant and retain evidence to support the claim is a significant regulatory requirement.Ìý

“We would argue that smaller manufacturers and importers still have an extensive and appropriate compliance and administrative burden to meet to supply products to market,” Lamont says.

Non-disclosure agreementsÌý

Many caravan owners we’ve heard from say dealers and manufacturers push back hard against any requests to have problems fixed. Most owners can’t afford the cost of taking their case to a state tribunal, a fact that some caravan manufacturers seem willing to exploit.

Another critic of shoddy practices in the caravan industry, Tracy Leigh says caravan sellers often compel owners to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs, or gag orders) as a condition for fixing a major fault, which is a likely violation of consumer law.Ìý

“The pressure of the gag is something that no one understands until they are subjected to it,” Leigh says.Ìý

“Imagine being gagged, losing a ton of money, the caravan can never be used, and you are entirely innocent but can’t stand the pressure anymore and the financial losses. But if you say one thing to one person and the company finds out and decides to punish you, you have to pay everything back. It is a very effective weapon and it is used with far too much frequency.”Ìý

Leigh says all the cases she’s seen of caravan owners ending up signing NDAs started when they tried to get a refund due to major faults.

Leigh also makes the point that design and quality problems in the industry are hardly restricted to smaller caravan manufacturers.Ìý

“All the thousands of complaints I have dealt with have been the larger manufacturers, and the caravans are often RVMAP [Recreational Vehicle Manufacturing Accreditation Program] accredited,” Leigh says.ÌýÌý

According to CIAA, the RVMAP badge on a vehicle means some vehicles from that manufacturer have been inspected as part of the continual auditing process and have adhered to Australian Design Rules and Federal Compliance Regulations. But Leighs says the accreditation is not always reliable.Ìý

“This is one of the most serious issues in the industry, as the CIAA advertises 100% compliance, consumers believe it in droves, then experience serious faults with their caravans and the CIAA will do nothing.”

But Lamont rejects this, saying “we have never claimed this. Our results heavily support the view that a product supplied under a RVMAP licence is, on average, significantly more compliant than those products supplied outside of the program.”

The post Caravan industry put on notice following consumer backlash appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

With the caravanning season upon us, concerns about ongoing caravan quality and safety issues are once again in the spotlight – especially for those getting ready to pack up the rig and hit the road.Ìý

ÌÇÐÄVlog has heard from more than a few caravan owners in recent years whose vehicles have experienced major design and quality faults, and who’ve been given the run-around by caravan dealers when trying to get the problems fixed.Ìý

In late November this year we published an article that included a fresh round of faulty caravan stories.Ìý

Meanwhile, the industry portrays itself as one of the few manufacturing success stories Australia has to offer these days.ÌýÌýÌý

In October 2021, the CEO of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA), Stuart Lamont, told a federal Joint Select Committee on Road Safety that “building caravans is one of the things Australia does incredibly well – and we need to be, as Australians are much tougher on their RV product than anywhere else in the world”.Ìý

Lamont told the committee that caravanning and camping contribute about $23 billion to the economy every year, and that Australia is the third-largest builder of caravans in the world, after the US and Europe.

“We’re now seeing export opportunities in the United Arab Emirates and Africa due to the robustness of our RV products,” Lamont said.Ìý

According to the CIAA, a caravan is manufactured every five minutes during working hours in Australia.ÌýÌý

But judging from the reports of many caravan owners, the overall quality of these products remains in question.Ìý

In late November, the ACCC launched a survey saying it had received 1300 complaints from caravan owners over the previous five years and is “looking for further information from consumers and industry about the issues they have had with their caravans and their experience trying to get their concerns fixed”.Ìý

‘Nothing is improving’Ìý

The CIAA’s upbeat assessment stands in stark contrast to that of industry critics like Colin Young, who founded the Caravan Council of AustraliaÌý(CCA)Ìýin 2012 and has long called for tighter manufacturing standards.Ìý

(Aside from Young’s advocacy efforts, the CCA conducts compliance inspections of caravans for manufacturers, importers and individual owners for a fee.)Ìý

In August 2021, Young told ÌÇÐÄVlog “nothing is improving – it is most disappointing to continually hear of the same type of design and quality problems still being detected by caravan owners.”

Young, an engineer by training, says he bases his views on the thousands of caravans he’s inspected over the years.Ìý

Young says most of the problems show up in caravans made by smaller manufacturers, but another longtime industry critic, Tracy Leigh, told ÌÇÐÄVlog in late November: “All the thousands of complaints I have dealt with have been the larger manufacturers, and the caravans are often RVMAP accredited”.ÌýÌý

(The RVMAP certification program is run by the CIAA.)Ìý

Leigh’s Facebook-based caravan owner support group,Ìý, has over 64,000 members. Leigh says the posts include “thousands of stories, many of them heartbreaking.”

‘Not of acceptable quality’Ìý

The most significant legal action against a caravan maker in Australia in recent years was the ACCC’s case against major manufacturer Jayco for allegedly telling customers they were only entitled to a repair of major faults in their caravans, not also a replacement or refund as is mandated under consumer law.Ìý

In November 2020, the federal court found that Jayco had made false or misleading statements about legal rights to only one of the four caravan owners in the ACCC’s case, but the court also concluded that all four caravans in question were “not of acceptable quality”. Three had major defects, including leaks and multiple roof collapses.Ìý

‘Please, would you just fix my van?’Ìý

We recently heard from a Jayco Silverline owner, Margaret Smart, who’s had to take her caravan back to the dealer repeatedly since purchasing it in December 2017 due to defects ranging from interior fittings that fell off to cracks appearing in walls. Her Silverline bears the RVMAP certification badge.Ìý

In September 2021, Margaret’s caravan was heading back to the dealer yet again due to various water leaks and a recurring problem with the suspension.

“This is the latest in a long line of trouble and heartache I have had since I took delivery of it,” she says. “A lot of the repairs have been carried out within the two-year warranty period due to faulty parts or workmanship. However, it is also the disruption and extra costs incurred whilst trying to have issues sorted and repairs carried out when away from home.”Ìý

In a letter to the dealer, Margaret wrote: “Please, would you just fix my van. Once Covid restrictions are relaxed, like a lot of other people, we are looking forward to travel.”

Can RVMAP certification be trusted?Ìý

The CIAA’s trademarked RVMAP badge on a caravan is meant to certify that the manufacturer takes part in an annual inspection process and can deliver products that adhere to Australian design rules and federal compliance regulations.Ìý

But the badge doesn’t mean that every caravan that has the badge has been inspected.

In a 2015 survey conducted by the CIAA, 81% of caravan owners said having an RVMAP badge on a caravan is an important credential.ÌýCurrently, 64 caravan manufactures have RVMAP accreditation.Ìý

The CIAA acknowledges that the program has limitations and says caravans without the RVMAP badge aren’t necessarily less compliant with design and manufacturing rules. Conversely, some caravans that have the badge may be non-compliant. Ìý

The CIAA charges caravan manufacturers up to $10,000 as an initial fee and up to $2000 annually to take part in the RVMAP program, with discounts available to manufacturers who contribute to the CIAA’s marketing and advocacy fund.Ìý

In addition, manufacturers pay $50 per sticker, to badge each individual caravan or motorhome, and $30 for each individual camper.

The CIAA says manufacturers usually pay significantly less than the full up-front cost, and that annual fees average $1200. The funds are used to pay for the inspection teams’ expenses, the CIAA says.ÌýÌý

CIAA respondsÌý

CIAA CEO Stuart Lamont stands by his positive assessment of the industry in Australia, telling ÌÇÐÄVlog that the ACCC complaints “are likely to be the result of targeted consumer incentives encouraging the reporting to the ACCC rather than a growing trend. Our queries of state fair trading offices indicate a declining number of complaints being received through these channels.”

“Australian consumers use their caravanning products in ways and on terrain which is not commonly used anywhere else in the world,” Lamont says, adding that caravan construction standards in the US and Europe are “far inferior” to those made in Australia.

“We are considered best in class when it comes to providing a very durable RV product,” Lamont says.Ìý

According to Lamont, the CIAA’s RVMAP team has conducted 3186 caravan inspections across 257 local and overseas manufacturers in the four financial years to 2020. He says most of the failures to adhere to the 250 federal compliance requirements the RVMAP inspectors look for have been found with smaller or overseas manufacturers.Ìý

“Over the past four years we have seen a 40% reduction in compliance issues identified amongst RVMAP manufacturers in full RVMAP audits,” saysÌýLamont.

“While RVMAP does not inspect every product rolling off the production line, and we cannot offer a guarantee, consumers should have far greater confidence in dealing with an RVMAP badged product than one which is not.”Ìý

Lamont says the program was initiated by the caravan industry “in the absence of government inspections”.

Most common caravan faults and failures*Ìý

• Tare Mass (vehicle weight) heavier than stated – based on empty caravans at the manufacturer instead of fitted caravans at the supplier. Caravans can be too heavy for the cars towing them.Ìý
• Ball loading too low or high – weight and pressure on the rear of the tow vehicle inaccurately stated.
• Electrical and gas system installation – poor workmanship, inadequate protection and securing.
• Tyre selection and pressures – tyre size and recommended inflation pressures unsuitable for the vehicle; incomplete information on wheel and tyre placards.
• Lamps not wired correctly – poor connections and exposed wires; left- and right-turn signal lamps sometimes reversed.
• General poor workmanship – uneven gaps around panels and appliances; fasteners too long, not properly tightened, not neatly aligned; latches and hinges not accurately positioned; squeaks and noticeable floor flexing when walking inside the caravan; water leaks from hose fittings.
• Major water leaks – structural damage from leaking roof and wall joints and roof-mounted equipment.
• Dust leaks – Ineffective seals around doors and windows letting dust in.
• Wheels and tyres – improper wheel alignment; wheels and tyres out of balance.Ìý

*Source: Caravan Council of AustraliaÌý

The post Caravan industry says Aussie caravans are ‘best in class’, despite complaints appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

Motorists have a right to feel ripped off when it seems they’re paying too much at the petrol pump – especially when they probably are.Ìý

That’s truer than ever in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, when instances of what looks a lot like price-gouging are not hard to come by.

And with oil cheaper on the international market than it’s been in a long time, motorists understandably expect a corresponding drop in petrol prices.

For the most part, that’s happened in recent weeks. But prices haven’t dropped as fast – or as consistently – as they should have.

The international price of oil has fallen by about $50 a barrel since the beginning of the year. The cost of petrol in Australia’s five largest cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth) fell by about 45 cents a litre over the same time period.

With price drops of this magnitude, who’s complaining? If you look closer, it turns out we all should.

Petrol should be even cheaper

A report released by the ACCC on 22 April makes the case that Australians were still being overcharged at the bowser long after the fall in oil prices filtered through the local petrol industry – especially if they lived in Hobart, Canberra, Darwin or many regional areas around the country.

In many cases, the overcharging may have been subtle. Five cents a litre more, for instance, may not seem like a lot until you analyse the $333 million in net profits Australian retailers made on petrol products in 2017–18 (the most recent period covered by the ACCC report).

It was a record high, but it works out to an average profit margin of just three cents a litre (although that’s almost double the average from 2008–09 to 2013–14 of 1.6 cents a litre)

So five cents a litre is a lot when you have the economies of scale that Woolworths, Coles, BP, Caltex, and 7-Eleven can bring to bear.

“In the larger Australian capital cities, petrol retailers took too long to pass on the savings from the rapid drop in international oil prices, and this did not reflect well on them,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said when the report was released.

“Especially at this difficult time, retailers must not take advantage of the situation to increase their profits, but should pass on savings to motorists.”Ìý

A number of motorists who have contacted ÌÇÐÄVlog in recent weeks feel the same way. “Amazing, in Brisbane petrol has gone from $1.12 to $1.58 overnight, despite the cost of fuel going down,” one recently told us.

“Petrol prices are all over the place,” said another. “I was looking at a fuel app. Lots of places advertised around $1.50 or as low as 80c. Not sure if it’s price gouging or just normal.”

ACCC’s expanded role in the petrol sector

The federal Treasury added a special project to the ACCC’s portfolio in December 2019: Keep an eye on retail petrol prices and report on the sector’s profitability.

(It was really an update to the ACCC’s ongoing role in monitoring the petrol sector. The agency has previously released a number of major reports that cover the sector going back to 2008.)Ìý

The 22 April report was the agency’s first under this revised direction. Along with making the case that petrol retailers have been overcharging customers during the COVID-19 crisis, the report shows that Australia’s petrol retailers are making more money than ever.

In the retail sector, net profits across fuel, convenience store and non-fuel services were $616 million in 2017–18 (again, the most recent period analysed). Total industry net profits (including wholesalers, refiners and other players) for petrol products were $1.44 billion in 2017–18, or 4.2 cents a litre – the highest recorded by the ACCC. That’s about double the profits for petrol products in 2013–14 ($723 million, or two cents a litre).

Charging too much for petrol is not newÌý

This is hardly the first time the ACCC has taken petrol retailers to task for charging too much.

A number of previous reports make the same accusation, especially with respect to regional Australia, where there is far less competition among petrol retailers.

“We have previously found that the lack of vigorous and effective competition in some regional locations was a major reason for higher prices in those locations,” an ACCC spokesperson told ÌÇÐÄVlog. “Where there is competition, you tend to see lower prices.”

But it’s important to understand that the ACCC doesn’t set petrol or any other prices. Retailers are free to charge as much as they want.

“The ACCC can’t control the petrol prices companies set, but we can call out problematic price setting, which can influence company behaviour,” the spokesperson said.

It’s only when businesses act together to deliberately restrain competition – through price fixing or other cartel-like behaviour, for example – that it becomes illegal. (Price fixing just means retailers agree not to compete, so they can all charge a higher price.)

ACCC encourages motorists to use apps

Sims has said the ACCC would welcome any evidence of anti-competitive behaviour in the petrol sector. Over the years, it has launched a number of legal actions for petrol price gouging. The findings of its latest report, then, are more an ethical than a legal criticism.

It regularly calls out sectors of the economy that it determines are not giving consumers a fair deal. The onus is then on consumers – us – to take matters into our own hands.

In a September 2017 speech to the Asia Pacific Fuel Industry Forum, Sims said: “the current focus of the ACCC is to highlight to consumers the ability of technology to help them find where the cheapest petrol prices are, to encourage them to buy where petrol is cheapest, and to reward retailers which have the lowest prices”.

Sims reiterated this point with the release of the April report: “Giving your business to outlets that are pricing competitively sends a strong message to those that have high prices that they will lose your business,” he said.Ìý

“We recommend motorists compare prices on fuel price apps and websites, such as MotorMouth and the government schemes in NSW, WA and the NT, which also provide information on retail prices in regional locations. Especially at this difficult time, retailers must not take advantage of the situation to increase their profits, but should pass on savings to motorists.”

AAA: ‘committed to affordable motoring’

The General Manager of the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), Michael Bradley, says his organisation seconds the ACCC’s view that consumers should be in the driver’s seat, shaping market forces.Ìý

“Along with our state clubs, the AAA is committed to affordable motoring, which is why we support apps and websites that inform motorists of what the price fuel is at different locations,” Bradley tells ÌÇÐÄVlog.Ìý

“This isn’t only key to basic consumer protection, but it’s also key to consumer empowerment. As a general rule, having access to more information doesn’t only lead to more competition and often cheaper prices, but it also flushes out and exposes rogue operators.”Ìý

Fuel pricing cycles and structures differ from state to state, Bradley says, which is why pricing tools are best developed and deployed at a state and territory level “to take into consideration the needs of motorists and nuances of fuel markets in each jurisdiction”.Ìý

Petrol apps are critical, but Bradley says the AAA would also like to see petrol pricing transparency taken a step further by having fuel dockets display the amount of excise tax the federal government collects for each litre of petrol and diesel sold, which is currently 42.3 cents a litre. This approach would follow the same transparency principal as grocery dockets displaying the amount the federal government takes in GST.Ìý

Meanwhile, the AAA welcomes the ACCC’s new role in petrol pricing.Ìý

“This has been an important step towards ensuring transparency in fuel prices at a time when people are more concerned than ever before about their household budgets,” Bradley says.Ìý

“As a result, we now have a detailed fact-based analysis that can be used by state or federal jurisdictions going forward to look at the effectiveness of competition and fair trading policies across Australia when it comes to fuel prices.”Ìý

ÌýWhich are the best fuel price apps?

We agree that motorists should take matters into their own hands to stop petrol retailers overcharging, which is why we’veÌýreviewed petrol apps.

Fuel FactsÌý

• Premium fuels accounted for 60% of the industry’s profits in the most recent analysis, but only a third of sales.
• Premium fuel prices have risen significantly more year on year than regular fuel prices.
• Profits for 95 and 98 grade premium fuels were 5.8 and 5.9 cents a litre, respectively,Ìý compared with 1.5 cents a litre for regular unleaded.
• 37% of petrol retailer profits came from convenience store and other non-fuel sales in 2017–18.
• The average Australian household spends 13.8% of its income on transport costs. Car loan repayments and fuel are the biggest expenses.Ìý

The post Still paying too much at the petrol pump? appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

The ACCC has warned that there are still over 10,000 vehicles with defective Takata airbags classified as ‘critical’, and they should not be driven.

“Classification as ‘critical’ means manufacturers have assessed these airbags as being particularly unsafe. A Takata airbag misdeployment can result in death or serious injury, even in a minor collision,” says ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard.Ìý

Major car makers including BMW, Holden, Honda, Lexus, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota have cars on the critical list. The ACCC says drivers are entitled to have their vehicles towed to the dealership by the manufacturer and have the airbag replaced for free. They may also be entitled to a loan vehicle while the airbag is replaced.

“We encourage all drivers to check if their vehicle is affected, even if they have checked before, and to act immediately to have their airbag replaced,” says Rickard.

Rolling recall

Just because you have checked the recall list once, doesn’t mean your vehicle wont appear on it in future.ÌýThe number of cars on the critical list may increase as manufacturers continue to review the safety risks.Ìý

“More vehicles can be added to the critical category at any time, and we’re urging consumers not to ignore recall messages from manufacturers to get their airbag replaced,” says Rickard.

Our advice is toÌýÌýregularly to see if your vehicle’s airbag is in need of replacement or has been identified as critical.

What are NADI 5-AT airbags?

Recently the ACCC issued a new warning about a critical safety risk concerning vehicles fitted with a different type of faulty Takata airbag that uses NADI 5-AT propellant.

Like the previously recalled ALPHA airbags, these airbags may misdeploy, propelling metal fragments into the vehicle and causing injury or death to the occupants. There is also a risk these airbags may under-inflate.Ìý

But NADI-5 AT airbags are only subject to a voluntary recall at this point in time, not captured under the current compulsory Takata recall.ÌýThis means that services such asÌýismyairbagsafe.com.auÌýmay not display these vehicles.Ìý

About 78,000 vehicles manufactured by Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota between 1996 and 2000 are affected.Ìý

Some car manufacturers are offering buybacks of vehicles fitted with these airbags as replacement parts may not be available.Ìý

The ACCC advises people to stop driving these vehicles until the faulty airbags are replaced.Ìý

Background to the Takata airbag recall

How many cars are affected?

The Takata airbag recall is the largest vehicle-related recall in Australian history, affecting four million carsÌýincluding the Mercedes-Benz C Class, Toyota Rav 4 and Yaris and the Holden Barina and Cruze, among many more.Ìý

There are still around 250,000 airbags scheduled to be replaced by December 2020.Ìý

Of greatest concern are the alpha airbags installed in certain Honda, Nissan, BMW, Toyota, Mazda and Lexus cars with models sold between 2001 and 2004.Ìý

Manufacturers of these vehicles must offer to send a technician to you or arrange for these cars to be towed to the place of airbag replacement, or for a similar arrangement so that you do not have to drive these cars.Ìý

In 2019, ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard warned , “Make no mistake, these airbags can kill … If your car contains an alpha airbag, it should not be driven.”

“The airbags degrade over time and can become lethal by misdeploying and firing metal shards at the car’s occupants,” says Rickard.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries also has anÌýonline toolÌýthat allows you to enter your car’s number plate and find out if your airbag needs to be replaced. But it should be noted that vehicles affected by the latest recall might not be included in this tool.

Can my car have a Takata airbag and not be recalled?

The recall has been made compulsory by the federal government, but prioritises the oldest and most vulnerable airbags, so cars younger than six years old may not be repaired until December 2020, which is when the recall is scheduled to be completed.

Takata, a Japanese safety-parts manufacturer, has had its defective airbags installed in more than a hundred million cars worldwide. These airbags use ammonium nitrate to inflate, but the chemical compound degrades when it’s exposed to moisture.

In a defective Takata airbag deployment, the ammonium nitrate burns aggressively, shattering its metal canister and shooting shards of metal at the people seated in the car

Have these airbags led to injuries or fatalities?

There have been 29 reported deaths and over 320 reported injuries globally linked to Takata airbags. The serious injuries so far include the loss of eyesight, facial injuries, lacerations to the face, neck and body, severed vocal cords, spinal damage and head injuries that include brain damage.

In Australia, a 21-year-old woman was hospitalised in a serious condition for months in April of 2017, and in the following July, a 58-year-old man was tragically killed. Australia is one of three countries where Takata airbags are known to have misfired, along with the United States and Malaysia.Ìý

But it’s possible the tally of victims is under-reported because first responders and investigators might not trace the injuries and fatalities back to the airbag in a serious crash.

How did this happen?

A US Department of Justice ruling in January 2017 said Takata “repeatedly and systematically falsified critical test data related to the safety of its products”. This fudging of paperwork meant the airbags – which don’t meet the standards set by manufacturers – were fitted in cars that were sold worldwide for more than a decade.

Since July 2018, all manufacturers have been required to have accurate, up-to-date information available on their own websites detailing which cars are affected and their recall status, including VIN lookup information.

Manufacturers have been contacting affected owners mostly by mail. Many of the manufacturers we spoke to say it’s hardest tracking down older cars – which are also the cars that are most vulnerable. This is because they change owners when sold or end up in wrecking yards. If you bought a used car, check the model on theÌýProduct Safety Australia websiteÌýor by directly contacting the manufacturer.

Do I need to pay for a Takata airbag replacement?

The recall is free as the cost is covered by the manufacturer.

Update 4 October 2019:

The ACCC has warned that 20,000 vehicles already under recall for defective Takata airbags are now classified as ‘critical’, and should not be driven.

“Classification as ‘critical’ means manufacturers have assessed these airbags as being particularly unsafe. A Takata airbag misdeployment can result in death or serious injury, even in a minor collision,” says ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard.Ìý

Major carmakers including BMW, GM Holden, Honda, Mitsubishi and Toyota have cars on the critical list. The ACCC says drivers are entitled to have their vehicles towed to the dealership by the manufacturer and have the airbag replaced for free. They may also be entitled to a loan vehicle while the airbag is replaced.

“We encourage all drivers to check if their vehicle is affected, even if they have checked before, and to act immediately to have their airbag replaced,” says Rickard.

Check if your car is affected:

• Visit or text 0487 AIRBAG (247224) and follow the prompts.
• Visit your vehicle manufacturer’s website and enter your VIN number in their Recall Database or contact them directly.
• Check the recall list atÌý.

Rolling recall

The number of cars on the critical list may increase as manufacturers continue to review the safety risks. The ACCC urges drivers to re-check their model against the recall list to see if its airbag is in need of critical replacement.

“This recall is a rolling recall, which means that more vehicles can be added to the critical category at any time, and we’e urging consumers not to ignore recall messages from manufacturers to get their airbag replaced,” says Rickard.

Critical vehicles

• Holden – 1,843 vehicles – 2010 Holden Cruze
• Honda – 6,043 vehicles – Honda City MY2012, CR-V MY 2011, Insight MY2012-2013, Jazz MY2012-2014 & Jazz Hybrid MY2012-2013, Honda Civic MY2006-2011, Jazz Hybrid MY2012 and Legend MY2007-2012, Honda Accord MY2001-2007 and Honda MDX MY2003-2006
• Toyota – 582 vehicles – 2003 – 2005 Toyota Echo and Rav4
• BMW – 7,909 vehicles – BMW 5 Series (E39) MY2002-2003, BMW 3 Series (E46) MY2001-2006 & BMW X5 (E53) MY2003
• Mitsubishi – 3,254 vehicles – 2007 – 2014 ML & MN Triton

Update 5 February 2019:

The number of cars recalled due to defective Takata airbags is around four million. Affected cars include the Mercedes-Benz C Class, Toyota Rav 4 and Yaris and the Holden Barina and Cruze.Ìý

Of greatest concern are the alpha airbags, which are fitted to about 7800 cars still on roads. According to the ACCC the alpha airbags were installed in certain Honda, Nissan, BMW, Toyota, Mazda and Lexus cars with models sold between 2001 and 2004.

Manufacturers of these vehicles must offer to send a technician to you or arrange for these cars to be towed to the place of airbag replacement, or for a similar arrangement so that you do not have to drive these cars.Ìý

ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said, “Make no mistake, these airbags can kill and our advice is for consumers to check the ACCC’s to see if their car is affected by this recall. If your car contains an alpha airbag, it should not be driven.”

For all others, check if your car is under the current recall in the list below (accurate as of 8 Aug 2018). Please check the ACCC’sÌý and for more detail.Ìý

In an update issued by the ACCC on 5 February 2019, it was revealed that 1 million faulty Takata airbags have yet to be replaced in Australia.

As of 31 December 2018, around 2.8 million had been replaced – more than 70 percent of all faulty airbag inflators since the federal government announced the mandatory recall in February last year.

“Despite good progress, both motorists and car manufacturers shouldn’t become complacent. If you receive a letter or call from your car’s manufacturer, don’t delay or ignore it,” Rickard says.

“The airbags degrade over time and can become lethal by misdeploying and firing metal shards at the car’s occupantsâ€�Ìý

Source: .

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries have launched an that allows you to enter your car’s number plate and find out if your airbag needs to be replaced.

You can also keep track of Takata airbag replacement progress in Australia at the ACCC’s

Also in this article:

• Why are Takata airbags being recalled?
• Have these airbags led to injuries or fatalities?
• How did this happen?
• How will I hear if my car is recalled?
• Is the recall free or will it cost me?
• How many cars are affected?
• Can my car have a Takata airbag and not be recalled?
• How often do the airbags rupture?
• What are ‘alpha’ model airbags?
• Should I ask to have my Takata airbag disabled?
• How long will I have to wait for a replacement airbag?
• Could my airbag be replaced with a new version of the recalled airbag?
• Will I get a refund or loan car under the compulsory recall notice that’s been drafted by the government?
• When is the recall likely to be complete?

Why are Takata airbags being recalled?

Takata, a Japanese safety-parts manufacturer, has had its defective airbags installed in more than a hundred million cars worldwide. These airbags use ammonium nitrate to inflate, but the chemical compound degrades when it’s exposed to moisture. In a defective Takata airbag deployment, the ammonium nitrate burns aggressively, shattering its metal canister and shooting shards of metal at the people seated in the car.

Have these airbags led to injuries or fatalities?

There have been 24 reported deaths and 266 reported injuries globally linked to Takata airbags. The serious injuries so far include the loss of eyesight, facial injuries, lacerations to the face, neck and body, severed vocal cords, spinal damage and head injuries that include brain damage.

Australia is one of three countries where Takata airbags are known to have misfired, along with the United States and Malaysia. AÌý21-year-old woman was hospitalised in a serious condition for months in April of 2017, and in the following July, a 58-year-old man was tragically killed.

But the tally of victims is likely to be under-reported because first responders and investigators might not trace the injuries and fatalities back to the airbag in a serious crash.

Get the full story. Read more about our in-depth and ongoing investigation into Takata airbags.

How did this happen?

A US Department of Justice ruling in January 2017 said Takata “repeatedly and systematically falsified critical test data related to the safety of its products”. This fudging of paperwork meant the airbags – which don’t meet the standards set by manufacturers – were fitted in cars that were sold worldwide for more than a decade.

How will I hear if my car is recalled?

As of 1 July 2018 all manufacturers were required to have accurate, up-to-date information available on their own websites detailing which cars are affected and their recall status, including VIN lookup information.

Owners of affected cars, however, should contact the manufacturer as soon as possible as well as enter their number plate into the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries’

Manufacturers have been contacting affected owners mostly by mail. Many of the manufacturers we spoke to say it’s hardest tracking down older cars – which are also the cars that are most vulnerable. This is because they change owners when sold or end up in wrecking yards. If the car you own was purchased second-hand, check if it’s recalled by visiting the or by directly contacting the manufacturer.

It’s best to be proactive, rather than wait for snail mail. Make the call and contact your manufacturer, and if you’re getting a replacement, be sure to ask if it’s another Takata airbag that’ll need to be recalled again in the future.

Is the recall free or will it cost me?

The recall is free as the cost is covered by the manufacturer.

How many cars are affected?

Four million cars are now on the Takata airbags recall lists, making it the largest vehicle-related recall in Australian history. Out of these, 1.9 million cars have had their airbags replaced.

There’s also an estimated 7,800 high-risk alpha airbags on the road that still require urgent replacement. These are early versions of the airbags that sustained defects when they were being manufactured, resulting in them misfiring in up to 50% of cases.

Can my car have a Takata airbag and not be recalled?

The recall has been made compulsory by the federal government, but prioritises the oldest and most vulnerable airbags, so cars younger than six-years-old may not be repaired until December 2020, which is when the recall is scheduled to be completed.

How often do the airbags rupture?

Tests were conducted by US safety body, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in September of 2016. Out of 245,000 airbags tested, 660 deployed defectively. This works out to one airbag failure for every 400 deployments.

The frequency of a defective deployment depends on a number of factors. Investigations concluded that the ammonium nitrate propellant deteriorates as it ages, and that this process happens quicker in climates that are hotter and more humid (characteristics not uncommon in many parts of Australia). Takata claims it can take 12.5 years for the airbags to turn dangerous, while the NHTSA estimates it takes six years in the worst of scenarios.

This differs for alpha model airbags, which can rupture in up to 50% of deployments.

What are alpha model inflators (airbags)? Should I stop driving my car if it has them fitted?

Alpha inflators are first-generation versions of Takata airbags that sustained a range of defects at the time they were manufactured. They are among the oldest, are most susceptible to degradation and have a significantly higher rate of rupturing upon deployment.

These airbags can rupture in up to 50% of deployments, compared to the 0.27% of ruptures that happen to the airbags manufactured to specification.Ìý

There were still approximately 7,800 cars driving with these airbags as of 31 December 2018, in more than two dozen models offered by Honda, Toyota, Lexus, BMW, Mazda and Nissan.Ìý

These airbags were responsible for eight out of ten Takata related deaths in the US as of June 2017.Ìý

Should I ask to have my Takata airbag disabled?

No. Airbags are a vital piece of safety equipment. The NHTSA estimates they saved 2400 lives in 2014 alone. For every 400 Takata airbag deployments, one ruptures. This means the airbag functions as designed in the other 399 cases.

However, these statistics relate to all Takata airbags excluding early model alpha inflators. Alpha inflators rupture in one of two airbag deployments, and if you drive one of the remaining 25,000 vehicles they are still installed in, it is advised you do not drive it at all and contact the manufacturer immediately to arrange a repair.

How long will I have to wait for a replacement airbag?

According to the ACCC, the replacements are delayed by a combination of factors including the availability of bags and having enough qualified repairers to refit them, as well as the enormous number of cars involved. The ones that represent the highest risk are being prioritised.

Nonetheless, car manufacturers have to follow a timetable or face possible fines of $1.1 million.

Alpha airbags remain the top priority. Carmakers have to replace them within five days of receiving a replacement airbag.

Airbags that are older than six years follow. The deadline to fix these airbags is not as clear, though carmakers will have to make sure they complete a percentage of them or face possible fines.Ìý

Cars that are younger than six-years-old rank lower in priority. They will have to be repaired by December 2020, which is when Takata will wind down production for replacement airbags.Ìý

Could my airbag be replaced with a new version of the recalled airbag?

Defective Takata airbags have been replaced with identical defective Takata airbags in some cases. This is being used as a temporary fix, swapping older airbags that have likely degraded with fresh iterations, in a move that lowers the risk of a defective deployment. These airbags too will have to be recalled again.

Car manufacturers – including Toyota, Lexus, Subaru, Mazda, BMW and Honda – have confirmed they made like-for-like replacements in a fraction of cars. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles confirms airbags in Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep cars are being replaced with iterations from a different manufacturer.Ìý

But most other car companies chose not to share this information with the public when we asked.

Will I get a refund or loan car under the compulsory recall?

Loan cars, taxi fares and even tows have been included under the compulsory recall, though it depends on particular circumstances.

You are entitled to a loan car or taxi fare if a dealership takes longer than 24-hours to replace a defective airbag.Ìý

Meanwhile, the people who have a car fitted with an alpha airbag have the right to request their car be towed to the dealer. Alternatively, a dealer can instead send out a technician to replace the airbag on site.

When is the recall likely to be complete?

Takata says the recall will be complete by December 2020, but it is possible the recall could be extended.

More information

Read our full investigation into Takata.

The post Takata airbag recall: what you need to know appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

A new car is one of the biggest buys of your lifetime. But if you get stuck with a lemon, you’ll spend more time in the repair shop than on the road – even if you’ve only owned it a few months.

We’ve called on major car brands Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi and Mazda to adopt the 60-day refund policies already adopted by Toyota, Holden and Volkswagen.

“This promise – to refund someone if their brand new car stops working in 60 days – is a bare minimum acknowledgement of consumer rights,” says ÌÇÐÄVlog consumer rights advocate Amy Pereira. “The bar is low, but so many of our car companies can’t even get a pass mark here.”

Response from industry underwhelming

Only three companies – Nissan, Kia and Mitsubishi – have responded to our call for change, and none have agreed to implement a clear 60-day refund policy.Ìý

“While we give Toyota, Holden and Volkswagen a pass, they had to be dragged kicking and screaming towards a fair and clear policy,” says Pereira. “As for others, right now, you get better treatment with a faulty $40 toaster than a faulty $40k car when it comes to refunds.”

Car companies need to meet community expectations and the law by offering refunds when they’ve sold a lemon. Australians expect much better treatment from car companies when it comes to faulty new cars.

Industry has been on notice about lemon car problems for years – action to lift customer care is long overdue. A 2016 ÌÇÐÄVlog report on lemon cars found that two thirds of Australians (66%) experience problems with their new cars in the first five years, with 14% reporting major problems that either caused the car to stop working or seriously impaired its operation.

We’re asking Australians to demand fair refunds for lemon cars. We’ll be pressuring major car manufacturers to do better.

“Cars are a vital and expensive purchase,” says Pereira. “We rely on them for work and family, and to be given the runaround when things go wrong is unacceptable. We deserve better, especially for such a significant purchase. If the car companies are smart, they’ll recognise that fair refund practices and honest interactions when something goes wrong is the best way to keep us as customers long term.”

The post Car companies reject refund policy: Ford, Hyundai, Nissan and more appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

On this page:

• 8 tips to help avoid a lemon RV or caravan
• Case study: a road to nowhere
• Fighting back
• A growing industry, but at what cost?
• Dodgy vans on the road
• A self-regulated industry
• Manufacturers behaving badly
• Is the industry body doing enough?
• Consumer rights – good in theory, hard in practice
• ÌýWhere to next?

Instead of refunds or replacements, they’ve been given the runaround by an industry that appears to bypass the law with impunity, leaving many caravan owners out of pocket and out of options.

8 tips to help avoid a lemon RV or caravan

1. Don’t buy at the caravan showsÌý– despite how tempting it can be. The salespeople can work on commission and often use high-pressure sales tactics.
2. Be wary of putting down large deposits. Many companies go broke or ‘phoenix’ into another business and you could end up out of pocket.
3. Beware of claims that a manufacturer is accredited. The industry accredits itself so there’s no assurance the quality is any better.
4. Know the difference between a full off-road and a semi off-road van. Many claim to be full off-road but are not and there’s no industry standard, so this can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
5. Check the sales contract thoroughlyÌý– ask to take it away so you can do so. Be prepared to negotiate and ask for things to be deleted if you don’t think they’re fair. Things to look out for are essential clauses such as the maximum permissible ATM (aggregate trailer mass), payload and ball weights.
6. Take an independent expert with you to assess the vanÌý– a builder, engineer, plumber or even a welder should be able to spot any obvious problems.
7. Request a cooling-off periodÌýas many vans don’t experience problems straight away.
8. Do a towing courseÌýif you’ve never owned an RV before. Learning how to tow and load your RV properly is as important as getting the right RV and could save your life.

Case study: a road to nowhere

Colin O’Neill bought a $70k van in 2014 after seeing the model at a caravan and RV show. He’d recently retired and he and his wife wanted a new van for their holiday to WA. They were keen on a model they saw with an ensuite and washing machine, and were promised it could be manufactured and delivered in time.

Colin says the first red flag appeared when they went to pick up the van and were told the washing machine would be fitted at a later date. The couple took the van anyway and headed off on their first journey.

Within days they noticed that the floor was wet and quickly discovered the van was letting in water as it was poorly sealed.

Before they could think about the leaks, Colin says the electrics “packed it in” while they were travelling in South Australia. He phoned what he had been told was a 24/7 support line for roadside assistance but the number was inactive.

Manufacturer gives van owner the runaround

After calling the manufacturer directly, Colin was told he’d have to take the van to Alice Springs for repairs. When neither repairer there was suited to caravan repairs he was told to take the van to Geraldton in WA.Ìý

It was there Colin says the repairer told him that his “new” van was more likely to be over a year old with fittings inside that were older still.

Back in Sydney, Colin contacted NSW Fair Trading for advice after unsuccessfully trying to speak with the manufacturer.Ìý

His case eventually ended up in a NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) hearing, where the manufacturer agreed to repair the van in a few weeks and provide Colin with a loan van.

Colin says the repairs took months not weeks and the loan van never materialised.Ìý

When he finally got his van back he says the electrics and the brakes started to play up again and leaking continued to plague the van. The door to the van was also faulty and Colin says he had to avoid turning left too hard when driving as the brakes would lock up.

The caravan sat in his front garden for years, completely unusable.

The long and stressful road

Colin went to NCAT a second time in April 2017 in a case against the supplier, Country Motor Company (CMC). At the final hearing of the case in September 2018, he won a full refund, but CMC is currently appealing the decision.

If he ever gets his money back, it will be after a long and drawn-out battle that has taken a psychological toll.

“All we wanted was a holiday,” says Colin. “I wanted to retire and enjoy my time – instead I’m left in debt and stressed and with three years of wasted time fighting for my rights, yet the company that did this to me is still trading.”

“This is why so many people like me with dodgy vans just give up – it takes so much time, they get the runaround and they end up selling the van and trying to get back some of their money and then that problem van ends up getting sold to someone else.Ìý

“The fact is my van never worked properly from the beginning – it still looks good on the exterior but the reality is that it’s a deathtrap.”

Fighting back

Tracy Leigh set up her Facebook group after she experienced serious problems within hours of buying a brand new $72k van in 2015. She is still chasing a resolution. Her page now has more than 45,000 members and continues to grow as more unhappy owners seek advice on what to do with their lemon vans (though not all members have had issues with their caravans).

Tracy told us in early 2017 when ÌÇÐÄVlog began looking into the issue that she’d been overwhelmed by the stories she’d heard about severely defective camper trailers, caravans and RVs.Ìý

And price makes no difference when it comes to quality. “You can pay over $100k and still get a lemon,” she says.

She says the industry is in a shambles.

“It is not regulated, it’s self-certifying and self-accredited. There have also been allegations of organised crime involvement, standover tactics and death threats. The industry acts as if they are a law unto themselves, which they are because no government agencies are taking much notice and those that do, take months and sometimes years to investigate.”

And despite the best efforts of many aggrieved owners looking for remedies by way of the Australian Consumer Law, Tracy says she’s seen little success.

When we spoke to Tracy again in late April 2019, aspiring caravan owners were as vulnerable as ever.

“It’s just getting worse and worse for consumers,” she tells us. “I’m getting lemon caravan stories twice a day. Manufacturers and suppliers are not complying with the Australian Consumer Law, and they really don’t have to. All the regulators can do is conciliate. They can’t force the traders to do anything. The manufacturers know no one will touch them. There’s a failure at all levels of regulatory response.”

Along with lack of regulation, the crux of the problem is quality control.

According to Tracy, who says she’s been in regular touch with the ACCC on the issue for the past three years but failed to incite much action, many of the 120-plus caravan manufacturers in Australia are churning out faulty products.Ìý

“There’s a wilful disregard for Australian design rules and Australian standards, and it’s incredibly widespread and systemic,” Tracy says.

A growing industry, but at what cost?

Former caravan repairer Barry Davidson agrees with Tracy that the multibillion-dollar industry is due for an overhaul. Davidson, who describes himself as an industry veteran, has built and sold caravans and he also ran one of Australia’s biggest repair companies in Queensland for over 20 years.

He says the industry has gone from a couple of well-established and well-regarded manufacturers 20 years ago to hundreds of small companies jumping on the caravan manufacturing bandwagon today.Ìý

He says as caravanning continues to grow in popularity, combined with a lack of regulation, “any idiot with a glue gun and a screw gun can set up shop and call themselves a caravan manufacturer”.

And thanks to the deluge of new manufacturers entering the market, competition for sales is tough so there are plenty of corners cut in the manufacturing process in order to compete on price. Davidson was so alarmed by some of the dodgy work he saw at his repair business he created the ‘Rogues Gallery’ on a popular online caravan forum, a horror show of water damage, broken chassis, severely overweight vans, dangerous electrics and more, all on relatively new vans.

Dodgy vans on the road

Colin Young, a retired engineer and manager of the , told us he was haunted by the thought of how many unsafe vans are on the road when we interviewed him in 2017.Ìý

He said he was aware of a number of serious incidents, and that for every major accident involving a caravan there were probably another 100 more that involve jackknifing and near misses due to poorly constructed and overweight vans being driven by inexperienced drivers.

“So many of these vehicles are unsafe and are not fit to be on the roads … If these were cars there would be uproar.”

Like Tracy, Young says the situation has only gotten worse since then.

“It would be nice to say that the serious problems in the caravan industry have all gone away, but sadly the situation has become even worse,” Young says now.

“A lot of manufacturers have gone out of business over the past couple of years. This has caused major hassles for many aggrieved owners, along with a lot of costly litigation in an often futile effort to have defects rectified and costs recovered. There are far too many accidents and scary incidents involving caravans on our roads.”

So just how is it that so many lemon caravans make it onto the road?

A self-regulated industry

While most of us couldn’t just set up shop making and selling cars, it is possible when it comes to caravans. Despite Australian design rules for caravans set by , there’s a lack of independent oversight to ensure that manufacturers are complying.

Under the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989 (MVSA), light trailers (this generally includes caravans and RVs) under 4.5 tonnes are currently “self-certifying”. When we contacted the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities, which oversees vehicle standards, they expanded on this. A spokesperson says that road trailers (which includes caravans) that don’t exceed 4.5 tonnes may be supplied via two different pathways:

• Trailers not exceeding 4.5 tonnes are supplied under the legislative arrangement called Vehicle Standards Bulletin No. 1 (VSB1). If a manufacturer complies with the prescribed requirements of VSB1, the manufacturer is permitted to fit a trailer plate under s.14A(1) of the Act and supply the trailer to the Australian market.
• Where a trailer’s design is unable to meet the requirements of VSB1, the manufacturer must seek approval under the Act to supply to market. In general terms, this means the manufacturer will need to demonstrate full compliance (via an application through the Road Vehicle Certification System) with all applicable Australian Design Rules (ADRs) and if approved will receive written approval to supply that vehicle type to the market.

So why is the process so different to that of motor vehicles?

A spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities says that the certification process for motor vehicles is well suited to mass-produced vehicles. However, light trailers (which includes vans) are generally custom-made so the approval process is not as suitable.

The owners and industry experts we spoke to say the current system just isn’t enough.

“It’s a case of ‘tick a box’,” says Tracy. “There are design rules but I doubt they are being followed, and there’s no enforcement, no spot checks – currently these are not being enforced in any way, and at the same time there are too many small, inexperienced companies that don’t have the knowledge to certify.”

The Department is currently implementing the Road Vehicle Standards Act 2018 (RVSA) which will gradually replace the MVSA from 10 December 2019 and small trailers are regulated.

But Tracy says any changes that would potentially favour consumers won’t make a difference unless regulators are willing to investigate and prosecute violations of the RVSA.

Manufacturers behaving badly

Caravan repairer Barry Davidson says there are few caravan manufacturers he would trust these days when it comes to honouring repairs under warranty.Ìý

“They can say they provide a warranty but when it comes time to make a claim, it’s a different game.”

While Davidson’s company does a large number of repairs technically under warranty, they bill the owner for the cost of the work and it’s then up to the owner to try to recoup the money themselves, usually with little success.

Plumber reveals trade secrets

While we were researching this story we were contacted by Jason (not his real name), a plumber who has worked in the caravan industry for more than 10 years. He says while he was happy to speak about the issues in the industry he didn’t feel safe enough to identify himself in this article.

Jason says poor manufacturing processes are rife. “While there are design rules and compliance regulation it’s not enforced. Manufacturers know that so they will constantly push the boundaries. There are unlicensed people doing the work and it’s signed off without being checked properly.”

Jason says the current auditing process is a joke. “You get prior warning before they visit and when I worked for certain manufacturers I’d be told to not show the auditors certain vans because it was clear that they would not pass the audit. It was completely deliberate.”

While he says certain trade work is regulated more rigorously in some states (such as electrics or plumbing) it’s not in others.

“With plumbing where there weren’t any checks, I know of one van owner who had waste water from the toilet being pumped into the fresh water tank. It wasn’t picked up as a fault and was only discovered when the guy and his family kept getting sick.”

Jason says the biggest issue with the current state of manufacture is that the regulation isn’t done as a whole or by any independent body.

“Caravans are not regulated as caravans – they are classified with trailers via the vehicle safety standards which doesn’t help as most of the design rules relate to the externals, brakes [and] lights. It doesn’t cover what’s inside including electrics, plumbing [and] cabinetry.”

Is the industry body doing enough?

According to Tracy, the industry body representing caravan makers and suppliers, the Caravan Industry Association of Australia (CIAA), is failing to address the issue of dodgy caravan makers and sellers. The CIAA represents more than 3500 businesses across the supply chain.

“The CIAA doesn’t enforce its RVMAP accreditation even though it can, but in doing so it would lose most of its revenue,” Tracy says. “They can terminate contracts for breaches and refuse to do so. Their accredited members continue to advertise 100% compliance when they are nothing of the sort. CIAA claims that the RVMAP program is well regarded by consumers and a large factor in their purchase. They are being misled.”

CIAA CEO Stuart Lamont says the organisation is committed to RVMAP compliance.Ìý

“The Caravan Industry Association of Australia takes its responsibility of educating industry of their compliance obligations seriously, and inspect over 1000 individual RV product annually against the manufacturers’ commitments under RVMAP,” Lamont says.

“These inspections are conducted at manufacturing premises, retail dealerships and caravan consumer shows.Ìý In addition we get the opportunity to inspect a small number of product from non-RVMAP manufacturers at various consumer shows where this product is displayed directly to consumers.”

“We undertake these inspections without favour of individuals or companies and are offended at any accusation that we do so in return for revenue or with bias. Since the program became licensed nearly four years ago, 17 manufacturers have left RVMAP not able to adhere to the license conditions or unwilling to have their product inspected.”

“It is disappointing that manufacturers and importers representing over 12,000 units annually can put product on the road and in the hands of consumers without any inspection,” Lamont added. “We believe this should be something being criticised and examined, rather than attacking a program which is out there improving consumer safety, and manufacturers’ understanding of their compliance obligations.”

Queensland operators caught outÌý

Two recent cases in Queensland suggest the law may be slowly starting to catch up with the caravan industry.Ìý

In 2018, Brisbane-based campervan manufacturer Gidget Retro Teardrop Camper Pty Ltd (Gidget) was ordered to pay more than $1 million in fines, compensation and costs following a Queensland Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation.

The court found Gidget and its director Glenn Stuart Wills had accepted payment from consumers for campervans but had failed to supply them within a reasonable time.Ìý

And in August 2017 the OFT warned consumers against dealing with caravan dealer Anthony Michael Gliddon after the Queensland Police Service charged him with 81 counts of fraud over the sale of written-off caravans.

Gliddon allegedly bought written-off caravans in NSW, transported them to Queensland, and sold them to consumers without disclosing their previous history.

(Vehicles and caravans that are declared statutory write-offs can’t ever be legally re-registered for road use or insured in Australia.)

Between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2018 the OFT received 229 complaints relating to caravans.

And between 1 July 2018 and 24 April 2019 the OFT has received 95 complaints.

(Of the total complaints, 75 were lodged against Gidget and 29 against Gliddon.)

Jayco under investigation

And the ACCC does have one caravan case on its books. In November 2017 it announced federal court proceedings against Australia’s largest caravan maker, Jayco, for alleged breaches of the ACL on behalf of four customers whose caravans had numerous defects.

“The numerous defects in the Jayco caravans sold to these four consumers became apparent at the time of purchase, or very soon after and included issues such as misalignment in the roof, which did not close properly and leaked,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said at the time.

Instead of offering a refund or replacement as the ACL stipulates, Jayco put the customers through an endless round of unsuccessful repairs.

The Jayco case illustrates an industry more than willing to play hard ball, Tracy says.

“They are fighting it all the way. They don’t want to be the first RV manufacturer prosecuted.”Ìý

Consumer rights – good in theory, hard in practice

Under the current consumer laws, the ACCC gives examples of what might be considered a major failure.Ìý

A major failure to comply with the consumer guarantees is when a reasonable consumer wouldn’t have bought the item if they’d known about the full extent of the problem.Ìý

For example, no reasonable consumer would buy a new caravan with so many recurring faults that the caravan has spent more time off the road than on it because several repairers have been unable to solve the problem.

If your situation appears to suit the ACCC’s definition of a major failure, then according to the Australian Consumer Law you should be entitled to a replacement or a refund.

We contacted the ACCC for comment on this issue. A spokesperson told ÌÇÐÄVlog that they do not comment on complaints nor do they break complaints down by product.

NSW Fair Trading says that from 1 January 2018 to date, the agency has received 202 complaints and 635 enquiries about new and used caravans. The complaints mostly relate to defective or unsatisfactory goods, refunds, repairs and maintenance.

And in 2018 Victoria Consumer Affairs received 134 enquiries relating to campervans and 302 enquiries relating to trailers and unpowered caravans.

The spokesperson from NSW Fair Trading says, “Under the motor dealers and repairers legislation, a caravan has no dealer guarantee attached to it when purchased. This means the dealer is not required by this legislation to repair, or make good any defect which may exist or occur with the caravan. Consumers buying a caravan from a licensed dealer, however, are covered under the Australian law.”

However, as lemon caravan owner Colin O’Neill says, “The consumer laws in this country are good, but are no good if they aren’t enforced.”

Colin engaged in protracted discussions with NSW Fair Trading, taking his matter to the NSW Civil and Administrative tribunal. Yet, he says, he still has an unroadworthy van and is out of pocket to the tune of $80,000.

Tracy Leigh says that despite the best efforts of many lemon caravan owners, few are satisfied with their experiences with the current consumer laws.

“Consumers are being ripped off on a daily basis and regulators such as the ACCC and consumer affairs will do nothing to enforce the Australian Consumer Law. This leaves consumers having to go to court, at a severe financial loss.”

Erin Turner, ÌÇÐÄVlog director of campaigns and communications, says there’s plenty of work to be done when it comes to making our consumer laws work better for caravan owners with a problem. “When something goes wrong with a product, consumers should have confidence that they’ll get a fair fix. This clearly isn’t happening for people stuck with a lemon caravan. Governments across Australia need to work together to amend the consumer law so that it’s clear that anyone who has to deal with multiple minor product failures has the option to get a refund or replacement.”

ÌýWhere to next?

While the various people we spoke to about this issue have different ideas about how the industry can be improved, all agree it is a serious issue.Ìý

Some have called for a royal commission into the industry, or a class action. Others such as Tracy Leigh believe there should be specific lemon laws to better facilitate the refund and repair process, while others say that having an independent body to certify and oversee the industry at the point of manufacture would nip many of the problems in the bud before the vans hit the sales floor or the road.

In February 2016, Vehicle Safety Standards published a discussion paper on reforming the certification process where manufacturers will have to provide a sample vehicle for approval before sale.

But all that is cold comfort for many unhappy owners who are still out of pocket and out of options. As Tracy says, “Having a lemon is an emotional, financial and physical burden that no consumer should go through if the laws worked properly.”

Update

February 2021:ÌýIn early November 2019, caravan maker Bruder Expedition won a court case against Leigh on the grounds that a link on the Facebook page she administers (Lemon Caravans and RVs in Aus) that led viewers to a website with comments by a dissatisfied Bruder customer could harm the reputation of the company. Comments by Leigh that were critical of Bruder were included with the link. Leigh appealed the court decision and won the appeal in late 2020, when it was ruled that Bruder’s claims of injurious falsehood did not stand up to scrutiny.Ìý

The post Lemon caravans and the law appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

On this page:

• Dirty deals

But do you just go with the first tow truck to arrive on the scene and trust that they’ll take care of you? We’ll talk you through what to do, what to watch out for, and what the rules are around tow trucks in your region.

I need a tow truck – what do I do?

• Contact your insurerÌýBefore you do – or sign – anything, call your insurance provider. They may be able to organise a tow for you and tell you what to expect.
• Check your coverÌýTowing cover varies from insurer to insurer and you may not be covered for towing. It’s a good idea to review your product disclosure statement to check your policy’s limits.
• Don’t sign on the dotted lineÌýNever sign a blank or incomplete towing authority form. Make sure it includes the full address of where the car is being towed to and the towing fee.
• Read the fine printÌýAlways read the terms and conditions on a towing authority form. If it looks suspicious, don’t sign it – you could be signing up for more than you bargained for.
• It’s your choiceÌýYou get to decide where your car is towed to.
• Take your timeÌýIf you need time to consider your options, get the car towed to your home. That way you won’t be charged storage fees and you can make a decision when your head’s clearer – although you may end up having to pay for two tows.

“While it is safe to use most tow truck providers, if you have a crash and your vehicle is not drivable we recommend you call your insurer as soon as possible and let them organise the tow,” an RACQ spokesperson says. “Insurers may have limits on how much they will pay for towing after a crash and you don’t want to be caught out of pocket.”

Remember too that it’s illegal for anyone to harass or coerce you into buying goods or services, so don’t let anyone pressure you into accepting a tow if you’re not comfortable with it.

Always read the fine print

With accident towing paperwork, any dodgy deviations from standard practice will be buried in the fine print, so make sure you take the time to read it thoroughly. (Hard to do when you’re still shaking from the car crash, we know, but five minutes’ reading time could save you months of pain in the long run.)

Many states have regulated forms issued by the state government, so if it looks more like a brochure or a contract than a standard form, be suspicious.

“Don’t sign any documents at the scene of an accident except the regulated towing authorisation forms. The form should only collect appropriate information about the car and contact details, and you should get a copy,” says Campbell Fuller, the Insurance Council of Australia’s general manager of communications and media relations.

Carnapping and how to avoid it

Some towing companies take advantage of your state of mind after an accident and get you to sign dodgy documentation while you’re frazzled and unlikely to check the fine print. This is known in the industry as ‘carnapping’.

Along with giving towing companies permission to tow your vehicle, some of these contracts also contain particularly unpleasant terms, like locking you into using a particular repairer who’ll charge you (or your insurer) inflated fees for repairs or storage.

“If you get locked into charges over and above what your insurer covers under your policy, you may be left to foot the bill, so always contact your insurer before signing anything,” an RACQ spokesperson says.

Next-level nasty

One particularly nasty scam that takes carnapping to the next level involves unwitting drivers signing documents that give dodgy lawyers permission to act on their behalf.

In 2017, Victorian lawyer Nicholas Logan was found guilty of misconduct for his involvement in a scam in which not-at-fault drivers were talked into signing documents that gave him permission to sue the at-fault driver for inflated repair fees.

Often the victims were unaware of the hustle until they were summoned to court. One case saw Logan attempt to charge a victim’s insurer more than $10,000 for $4300 worth of repair work.

Logan pleaded guilty to seven charges of misconduct and was banned from legal practice for two years.

“Signed my life away”

A bad day got even worse for ÌÇÐÄVlog member Kieren when he had an accident in 2015. “Immediately after a head-on collision, I signed my life away to a dirty towing company that charged exorbitant storage fees,” he says.

Kieren says the tow truck driver put the wrong date on the towing authority document, which effectively meant he only had 48 hours’ free storage, instead of the 72 hours he’s entitled to in Queensland. Kieren was then charged storage fees of $66/day. (Storage fees for accident towing aren’t regulated in Queensland, but storage fees for cars removed from private car parks are just $25/day.)

When he went to have his vehicle towed from the company’s holding yard, he was told he could only use the towing company’s staff to move it – so the wrecker he’d engaged to take the vehicle away wasn’t allowed to access his vehicle. This meant he had to pay even more money to the company to have his vehicle towed to the wrecker.

A Transport and Main Roads spokesperson says that there’s never been a regulatory requirement for the same tow truck operator to be used for a subsequent tow from a holding yard – but there also aren’t any rules against it.

While the company didn’t technically break the law, it still found sneaky ways to extract the maximum amount of money from an unsuspecting person, even within the constraints of a regulated industry. This is why it pays to double (and triple) check everything before you sign it.

What’s the deal in my state?

The accident towing industry is regulated on a state level, so the rules vary across Australia. In some regions fees are capped and rules are enforced, but in others there’s little regulation and dodgy companies continue to rip consumers off.

We’ve taken a look at the rules and regulations (or lack thereof) across Australia.

Dirty deals

The towing industry has a shady history: think standover tactics, links to organised crime and shonky backroom deals.

Most states have tightened things up, but Western Australia really is the wild west of accident towing, with no regulation of fees and allegations of overcharging.

‘Spotter’s fees’ are illegal in most other Australian states, but in WA companies blatantly advertise payouts of up to $200 if you let them know about a crash.

Even where things are more regulated, the towing industry still isn’t exactly squeaky clean. A NSW police officer was sacked in 2017 for giving a towing company accident tip-offs in exchange for cash, and a 2014 review of the NSW smash repair industry found that tow truck drivers do dirty deals with smash repairers to ‘capture’ jobs from not-at-fault drivers.

We spoke with a Sydney business owner who was offered a ‘spotter’s fee’ by a towing company in 2017. His business was near a busy intersection that had its fair share of car accidents.

“One day a tow truck driver showed up and said, ‘If you see a crash, give me a call and I’ll give you fifty bucks,'” Mike (not his real name) says.

Mike says he called the driver around seven times but, despite the towing company picking up business each time, he claims he was only paid a total of $50. The final straw was an accident between two cars that he called in and didn’t receive payment for, despite seeing the towing company load both cars. “I haven’t called them again since,” Mike says.

Inducements like spotter’s fees are illegal in NSW under the Tow Truck Industry Act 1998.

The post What to do if your car needs towing after an accident appeared first on ÌÇÐÄVlog.

On this page:

• ÌýHow do these services work?
• ÌÇÐÄVlog's user trial
• What we found
• Is UberX cheaper than taxis?
• Reliability – wait times and no-shows
• Safety and regulation
• Want to know more?

ÌýHow do these services work?

Taxi

Taxi drivers are essentially self-employed businesspeople, working under the umbrella of one of a number of taxi companies. Drivers will pay a set amount to lease the taxi or give a percentage of the takings. Taxis can be booked in a number of ways – online, over the phone, hailed off the street or through a range of booking apps. Payments can be made via cash, credit card, or Cabcharge.

Uber

UberX operates wholly through the Uber app, linking up passengers with private drivers using their own cars. Riders can also book a taxi through the app, or use the more premium service, UberBlack. The app detects your location via GPS and connects you with the nearest available driver. The vehicle’s approach can be tracked through the app and the driver’s details are sent to the passenger. Payment is cashless – passengers must enter their credit card details when signing up. If you need to cancel, you have up to five minutes after the driver accepts before you’ll be charged a cancellation fee. Uber takes a 20–27.5% cut of the driver’s fare depending on when they signed up.

ÌÇÐÄVlog’s user trial

Amid the controversy back in 2015, we set out to test UberX and taxi services and find out which was cheapest and most reliable.ÌýWe conducted a total of 56 trips across Sydney – 28 UberX rides and 28 taxi rides. All trips were taken in pairs – one test rider in a cab and one in an UberX, both travelling from and to the same place – and distributed across seven different time bands to ensure we captured variations in pricing.Ìý

Midweek

• 6²¹³¾â€“10²¹³¾/5±è³¾â€“10±è³¾
• 10²¹³¾â€“5±è³¾
• 10±è³¾â€“6²¹³¾

Weekend

• 6²¹³¾â€“m¾±»å»å²¹²â
• ²Ñ¾±»å»å²¹²â–5±è³¾
• 5±è³¾â€“m¾±»å²Ô¾±²µ³ó³Ù
• ²Ñ¾±»å²Ô¾±²µ³ó³Ù–6²¹³¾

Trips were conducted in the inner areas of Sydney between 27 August 2015 and 11 September 2015 (after UberX drivers were required to start paying GST). Prices were compared based on the end cost to the user.Ìý

What we found

• UberX was cheaper than a taxi around nine times out of 10. Taxis were 40% more expensive than UberX on average.
• On the three occasions UberX was more expensive, it wasn’t by much – and it was only when surge pricing was in place. Ìý
• Of the 28 UberX rides, we encountered surge pricing four times.
• Taxis showed up quicker on average. This, however, was due to the convenience of hailing one off the street; when taxis were booked they tended to take longer to show up than UberX. There were also two times taxis didn’t show up at all, pointing to an issue with reliability.
• On one occasion out of 28, there was no UberX available (the rider caught the next cheapest available option, UberTaxi – a service that is no longer available).
• Taxis scored an average of 6.7 for the overall experience while Uber scored an average of 8.3.

Is UberX cheaper than taxis?

At face value, Uber’s pricing is cheaper than taxis, so it’s perhaps no surprise that we found taxis to be more expensive than UberX 89% of the time. For example, in Sydney,ÌýUberXÌýcosts $1.45 per kilometre plus $0.40 per minute, while theÌýmaximum taxi rateÌýis $2.19 per kilometre plus $0.94 per minute the vehicle is travelling less than 26 km/h.

However, there are some fundamental differences in the way pricing works between the two services, so an UberX won’t always be cheaper.

Both taxis and UberX charge a rate which is a calculated using time and distance.

• Taxi prices are regulated and have set maximum prices in each state, generally with two to three different price brackets – day rate, overnight rate and peak rates.
• Uber’s pricing is variable and fluctuates with supply and demand, through what it calls ‘surge pricing’. Surge pricing doesn’t happen at a set time; rather, it occurs when demand is high and/or there aren’t enough drivers on the road. At these times the base rate incrementally increases, or ‘surges’.

Surge pricing

Given these differences, what’s surprising was how few times surge pricing was actually in place during our test. We encountered surge pricing four out of 28 times, and only to a maximum of 1.5 times the base rate. When surging at this level the UberX didn’t turn out to be much more expensive (an average of 6%) than a taxi (and sometimes it was still cheaper); however, surge pricing can increase well beyond these levels at times of intense demand. Earlier this year, press reports cited an UberBlack trip which cost $213 on New Year’s Eve as a result of surge pricing, when it would normally cost $69.

While you’re warned of surge pricing before you accept a trip, this feature makes pricing unpredictable for consumers. We encountered surge pricing on the weekend, as well as late at night.

• Two instances after midnight on the weekend
• One instance mid-morning on the weekend
• One instance after 10pm midweek

We also found that the Uber app tends to underestimate the likely price. While its fare estimates were generally not too far off the mark, it was usually less than what the price turned out to be, which has the potential to be misleading.

Reliability – wait times and no-shows

While price is no doubt one of the biggest considerations when choosing a point to point passenger service, it’s not everything. Reliability is important, particularly if you need to get somewhere in a hurry.

We found that 16 out of 28 times (57%), UberX took longer to show up than the taxis. This was largely due to the convenience of being able to hail a cab directly off the street. However, for the 10 out of 16 times (62.5%) taxis were booked instead of hailed, the taxi took longer to turn up.

Taxis also presented the problem of no-shows. Of the 28 trips, there were two instances when the booked taxi didn’t show up (this meant they hadn’t arrived within 15 minutes of booking). On one occasion, one of our riders waited for over an hour for a cab that never came.

At the time, we put this issue to Blair Davies, CEO of the Australian Taxi Industry Association (AITA), who said the industry is aware of the problem. He explained that once a job gets put out to the fleet, if the closest driver doesn’t accept it within seven seconds, it will get sent to the next closest driver, and so on. And if the job has been sitting there for 20 minutes or longer, he said cab drivers know that the chances of the passenger still being there are low.

Part of the problem may be that taxi drivers are told the passenger’s destination, which may make short trips less attractive. Uber drivers, on the other hand, aren’t given your destination until they turn up.

Safety and regulation

As UberX and ride-share services have come under regulation, the respective state and territory governments have set varying requirements on drivers before being eligible to work. Uber drivers are generally required to hold a state-based driver authority (much like a taxi driver) which usually involves criminal history and medical checks, as well as having appropriate insurances in place.

Beyond the regulatory controls in each state and territory, both services have a range of different mechanisms in place to ensure passengers are safe.

Taxi

• Security camera: All taxis are fitted with a tamper-proof security camera.
• GPS tracking: Taxis have hardwired GPS locators.

UberX

• No anonymity:ÌýPassengers are given the driver’s name, photo, vehicle information and contact number, and the trip is kept on record.
• GPS tracking:ÌýOnce your driver accepts your request, your trip is tracked via GPS on your phone and the driver’s. You are also able to share your ETA with friends or family so they can keep track of your ride.
• Rating system:ÌýDrivers are anonymously reviewed by passengers on a scale of 1 to 5. Uber says that drivers may have their accounts deactivated if they receive consistently low ratings and have received multiple warnings.Ìý

Want to know more?

• Interested in the sharing economy? Read our homestays guide.
• Can you ditch your car altogether? Use ourÌýcar sharing guideÌýto find out if it’s a viable option for you.

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