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May 12, 2008
Australia: training ground for consumer abuse
Wouldn't it be nice if our shiny new Rudd Government did something about the pitiful neglect of consumer rights in this country? The latest example of the ease with which the Australian public can have its entitlements shredded by a succession of corporations is the fact that eBay Australia decided to beta test its plan to force its customers to use its subsidiary, PayPal, to make online payments for purchases where else ... but in the land where the concept of the fair go is an ironic cliche, with the legislative force of a frige magnet.
From June 17, eBay Australia says customers must pay for items directly from a PayPal account, or Visa or MasterCard transactions processed by PayPal.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has given eBay until May 23 to respond to concerns over the exclusivity deal, but you'd be kidding yourself if you thought it was acting in the interests of consumers. It's the competition aspect it's worried about. I wonder, in fact, if the ACCC these days isn't focused too much on business competition, rather than consumer rights.
Here's the other thing that had me gasping for breath. The ACCC has been spurred by submissions from the Australian Bankers Association, the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. According to the bankers, "the proposal would limit the choice of eBay buyers and sellers "without justification for doing so". The hypocrisy of Australian banks, who have milked consumers in a way no other country would tolerate, invoking concern for consumers deprived of choice is peerless, isn't it?
But if eBay gets knocked back, it won't be because of the impact on consumers, it will be because the banks and big business want to nip anything in the bud that might cost them revenue.
This is a country where government authorities tend to play the role of rangers in a native reserve dedicated to the welfare of the big game hunters. The wild life might get to vote, but once the park rangers are in office, it's the big game lobby that has all the influence.
A US eBay executive acknowledged that the Australian move, which according to the company is designed to reduce disputes and restore trust in the marketplace - too bad it's going to cost them more than other payment options - is a likely model for similar action overseas.
The truth is eBay almost certainly wouldn't dare to introduce such a model in the US or Europe. American and Continental consumers are likely to savage them. They'll see what they can get away with here first, and then tone it down a little bit for the American market.
It all takes me back to years ago, when Microsoft tested its proposal for charging for technical support on the bunnies Down Under. You might find it hard to believe, but in those days, tech support was free.
Microsoft's then marketing director, Tony Fraser, told me about the plan, and asked me how I thought Australians would react. I assured him that there would be a massive consumer backlash to his plans. Tony thanked me, and went right ahead. He knew a lot more than I did about consumer behaviour in the computer industry. There was no backlash. There wasn’t even a whimper.
I viewed Microsoft’s proposal as the last straw for the consumer. They were paying huge sums for software that was full of bugs, and the only possible justification for the mark-ups, it seemed to me, was the cost of providing support. Now they proposed to charge for that too?
There is no doubt in my mind that had Australian consumers mounted any sort of resistance to its proposal, Microsoft would have revised its plans. But somehow, the Australian computer community still hadn’t had enough of this shabby treatment. They meekly allowed Bill Gates’ representatives to establish an international nursery for institutionalised neglect by the computer industry.
In the years since my conversation with Tony Fraser, I’ve often puzzled over the reasons for this meek acceptance of behaviour which in Europe or the US would have had the consumer lobby foaming at the mouth. I think it's part of the national character. The average Australian won't stand up for his rights. He doesn't really expect to have any. Look at the way Telstra treats its customers. It routinely charges more for less, bundles "gotcha's" like having to pay for Big Pond uploads as well as downloads into the fine print, then when it is forced by compeittors to offer capped plans, not only makes its capped plans less generous, not that they're actually really capped, but in our own experience, and judging from that of people we've talked to, keeps their existence a secret.
Qantas has similar contempt for its customers, who think that because the airline still calls Australia "Home", it's giving them mates' rates, rather than exploiting their affection for a non-existent ideal.
Did anyone at the 2020 celebrity summit suggest that the country might benefit from some education and support programs that gave the Australian consumer a bit more backbone? Rather than continuing the tradition of the Howard government of helping the bullies mug the victim?
Posted by cw at May 12, 2008 02:40 PM
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