Choice (Chippendale, Australia) articles from May 2003

Choice (Chippendale, Australia) archives from May 2003

New website for CHOICE subscribers.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Welcome to www.CHOICEextra.com.au--a website that's new this month, with exclusive free access for CHOICE magazine subscribers. A common request from subscribers who go to our public website, CHOICE Online (www.choice.com.au), is for an...

On snacks and chocolate. (choice cuts).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The April issue of CHOICE Health Reader has lots of good news for food lovers who've restricted how much they eat of certain foods for health reasons. * For example, if you cut down on potato crisps, French fries and biscuits because of...

ACCC takes Pest Free to court. (choice cuts).(Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Late last year the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) began proceedings in the Federal Court against Pest Free Australia, alleging that it made false and misleading representations concerning the performance characteristics...

Medicare is for everyone. (choice cuts).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Medicare has always been a program for everyone. At its core is the promise that your health doesn't depend on your wealth--that everyone has an equal right to needed medical care, regardless of ability to pay. Medicare's critics--and...

Appliance distributor can't meet warranty claims. (choice cuts).(Appliance International Australia)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Bad news if you bought a Bendix, Thor or Candy appliance last year: the distributor, Appliance International Australia (AIA), ceased trading at the end of last year, leaving customers without recourse for warranty claims. AIA told us its...

Disappointment for kids. (choice cuts).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Can you imagine little Billy's disappointment when the 'free toy' advertised on the Kraft Cheestik container turned out to be just a little sticker? "It looks like a case of deceptive packaging," said his mum. "There's about an inch and a...

Maintaining the tan. (choice cuts).(sunbed standards)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... With our long hot summers and love of the beach, using a solarium (sunbed) may not be as widespread and popular here as in northern European countries, but the risks associated with inappropriate use have nevertheless prompted the National...

Water filters CHOICE, March 2003. (Update).(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... In the March issue we reported on water filter models that have their filter performance certified according to accepted standards. Unfortunately, we missed the CLEARWATER range of water filters (see the table), which are all certified to...

Financial planning help. .(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Your piece on financial planners was much needed. When I quit work four years ago I went to six different planners, Their advice differed only in detail and each told me at least one thing I later found to be wrong. Their set-up fees ranged...

Thumbs up!(product guarantees honored)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Michael Stomps of O'Connor, ACT, awards a thumbs up to Goretex Garments, which cheerfully replaced his 10-year-old waterproof top because it stands behind its 'keep you dry' guarantee. * Richard Thomas of Rowville, Victoria, awards a...

'Toying' with customers?(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... I went into Target and was enticed by big signs advertising '20% off toys'. After choosing a number of items for my six-month-old, I proceeded to the checkout. There I noticed that a 'Curious Creature' toy came through at the normal price....

Letter of the month. (your letters).
May 1, 2003... We want to hear from you--your experiences help our research and often let other readers know about scams and rip-offs. Positive outcomes you've had to a complaint you took to a manufacturer, retailer, importer or tradesperson interest us too....

Breakfast cereals: around 35% of the cereals we looked at came out looking good and 25% are OK, but the rest leave a lot to be desired. (Nutrition: Cereals).(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... Australians are big cereal eaters. Last year we munched our way through almost nine large (750 g) boxes each, and put ourselves out of pocket for it by almost $700 million. But how many of these cereals are nutritionally worth the money? ...

Make your $$$ grow faster than your kids: putting some money aside for your kids and grandkids can give them a head start in life and help to cover the rising costs of education. (Money: saving for education).
May 1, 2003... All they need is love... and around $450,000 is the title of a recent report about the financial pressures on a family with two children. Specifically, parents may find it hard to grasp the rising costs of education for their children....

Taking the corners: performance in a high-speed cornering test showed up the biggest differences between models for small to medium-size cars. (Passenger car tyres).(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... This latest test looked at a size suitable for small to medium car models such as the Ford Laser, Holden Astra, Mazda 323, Mitsubishi Lancer and Nissan Pulsar. (Last year--CHOICE, May 2002--we reported on tyres for large family sedans.) We...

Choosig duvet: winter's just around the corner. Time to update your old duvet? Here's the lowdown on all the different types. (Buying guide: duvets).
May 1, 2003... When choosing a duvet, deciding on the fill can be difficult. Will you invest in a high-quality--and comparatively expensive--down duvet or a cheaper feather and down one? How easy is a wool duvet to look after? What benefits will a...

Buying a monitor: a good-quality monitor doesn't have to cost a fortune--but it's worthwhile doing your homework. (Computing Choice).(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... There's no shortage of monitors available and if you choose carefully, the one you buy could outlast your computer. Use this guide to help you make the right decisions when buying a new monitor. CRT OR LCD? Two types of monitor are...

Ethanol in petrol--should you care? Depending on where you live, you may be utterly confused by this issue, or not have a clue what it's all about. Here's the lowdown. (Drivelines).
May 1, 2003... Are you worried about damaging your car's engine by filling up with ethanol-blended petrol? Or confused because your local station has suddenly started displaying signs saying no ethanol is used in its petrol--and you have no idea what that's...

Pesticides in your cuppa? There were traces of pesticides in nearly 40% of the brands we tested--should you worry? (Test: tea).
May 1, 2003... Never thought about pesticides in your daily cuppa? Neither had we until our German counterparts ran tests and found pesticide residues in a large number of teas. So we set about testing the teas available in Australia: black, green and herbal...

Portable cots: mostly good news from a costs test for a change. (Test: portable cots).(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... IN A NUTSHELL * A far cry from our test almost three years ago, this time we found no serious safety issues--a refreshing change. * While the introduction of an Australian safety standard for portable cots seems to have had a positive...

Can't or won't? (food bites).
May 1, 2003... We've highlighted numerous examples in these pages of products that we think flout the current laws on health claims (briefly, the law says that, in general, food products can't make health claims). There's a review of the health claims...

Are bacteria lurking in your custard tart? (food bites).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... While a custard tart may look innocent enough, recent testing for Food Safety Victoria has confirmed that custard, cream or mock cream-filled products, such as custard tarts, cream buns and vanilla slices, are good environments for the growth...

Cooked in vegetable oil ... (food bites).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... While it doesn't contain cholesterol, not all vegetable oil is healthy unsaturated fat. Palm oil is widely used in the food industry (both fast and processed) and is 50% saturated fat, while coconut oil is 90% saturated--and saturated fat is...

Handle with care: most oven cleaners are very effective, but the ingredients that make them effective also make them dangerous. (Test: oven cleaners).(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... It's not a pretty sight--an oven covered in baked-on grime and grease. If you haven't been wiping up food spills after using the oven, you'll need a lot of elbow grease or a specially formulated oven cleaner to deal with it. To find out which...

Bigger than Ben Hur! Our update test of large and extra-large fridges finds six new models worth buying. (Update: large fridges).(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... While shopping, you can get a 'feel' for a particular fridge--its convenience, layout, features and so on--but how well will that nice new white tower work? That's where CHOICE's performance tests come in. A good fridge needs to maintain...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2003... In our previous fridge test report (November 2002), some models' running costs were incorrectly calculated. On average, these costs were shown as $40 less than they should have been; they're now correct as shown in this table.

Recalls & bans.
May 1, 2003... Nowadays there are so many product recalls we may not be able to print all of them in CHOICE. For comprehensive recall information go to the Federal Treasury website: www.recalls.gov.au. If you don't have web access, call the Consumer Safety...