I've really, really noticed the difference between the US and Australia in regards to consumer protections. When I was last in Australia, companies were so scared of the ACCC that even the threat of dobbing in a company was usually enough to convince a company to treat you properly.
I think the comparable agency in the US is the FTC and no one is scared of them at all, so companies have stopped convincing you to buy their superior service and instead make it incredibly hard to get out of subscriptions or monthly payment plans. Yesterday I cancelled a service, and there was no option to cancel on the website, there was no option to call them. The only option was to schedule a call a day or two later where they threw everything they could at me to get me to stay. Some companies don't have call centers at all, your only option is a chatbot that can only handle the most basic requests.
Companies will always do what's most profitable, even if it harms their customers or communities and it's getting harder and harder to vote with our wallets because they're all doing it.
I feel that consumer protection is falling down everywhere now. It probably has something to do with the amount of international purchases. Back in the day, most things were coming from a few companies that had local bases in country - now, they are coming from all over the world from almost anonymous sources.
Damn I hate being put into chatbot service loops....
Yeah, that is a big problem, but I think a country can still provide good consumer protections on local products and services... potentially to the point where people prefer to shop local because of those protections.
Did you see that Trump added exemptions to the China tariffs... all the electronics :D
I did see that. I wonder if Tim Apple provided a fun little bribe for that.
I suspect there were a few kicking in on the bill.