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consumer affairs

Read more about the article Enshittification, a word for our times

Enshittification, a word for our times

Enshittification is one of those words the world was waiting for. The thing existed and we all knew it but nobody had given it a name. Until Cory Doctorow. Cory is an amazingly prolific Canadian writer with a very penetrating intellect who runs a website called pluralistic.net and another called craphound.com. As soon as Cory looked enshittification in the eye and called it by its true name, the rest of us woke up with a jolt, saw the monster clearly at last and, looking around, saw the traces of its touch everywhere. Everything turning to shit.…

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Read more about the article Agreeing to disagree with insurance companies
Wrecking yard, 1962. Photo by Ron Morrison

Agreeing to disagree with insurance companies

My recent dealings with insurance companies lead me to like those companies even less than I did before. Before I thought they sucked. Now I think they suck ten times worse. Take example number one. We have a 2007 sedan in very good, well-maintained condition. It’s an auto, with about 170,000km on the clock. On carsales.com.au similar cars will set you back about $7000 to $9000, with a few outliers above or below. Our car has been insured comprehensively with AAMI for quite a few years. Last year’s “agreed value” (the company “agrees” – we just…

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Read more about the article Demand a refund for faulty goods
These ones are probably fine, but you get the idea.

Demand a refund for faulty goods

IT broke the first time I tried to use it. Just a little screwdriver, which looked perfectly good in the giant Bunnings hardware barn. Except that when I went to undo a screw, the shaft of the tool turned uselessly in its handle.Ordinarily when something like this happens with an item that only costs a dollar or two I just throw it away and swear for a while. But this time I pictured the big chain's buyer, who probably picked this garbage up in a huge job lot for a few cents apiece, sticking it on…

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