The Award No Brand Wants To Win

Consumer NZ has opened nominations for the worst businesses, services and products in Aotearoa New Zealand – the ones that have excelled at letting consumers down.

It’s time for the Yeah, Nah Awards 2026.

“If you’ve been at the pointy end of a bad experience that’s cost you time or money, given you a headache and left a bad taste in your mouth, we want to hear about it,” says Consumer NZ head of research and advocacy Gemma Rasmussen.

“The Yeah, Nah Awards are an opportunity for consumers to make their voices heard and put bad operators on notice.”

Last year’s awards covered a wide range of issues, including sticky plasters that did not stick, misleading claims about consumer rights, online services that were difficult to unsubscribe from, and retailers’ promoting “specials” that were anything but.

“In a cost-of-living crisis, it’s important to keep businesses honest – and that’s what we’re all about at Consumer NZ,” says Rasmussen.

Who won last year?

Last year, Pams plastic plasters won the “You Had One Job” Award after a Consumer member tipped us off that the plasters “do not stick properly” and our in-house trial confirmed it.

Barkers took out the “On Bad Terms” Award for potentially misleading consumers about their rights. We reviewed return policies across 30 online stores and were unimpressed by Barkers’ high number of dubious claims.

The “Unsubscribe Impossible” Award went to HelloFresh. After months of research into deceptive online design practices, the food delivery service stood out for a particularly exasperating cancellation process (also known as a subscription trap).

Finally, the “No, Harvey Norman, No” Award went to Harvey Norman, following our review of pricing at New Zealand big-box retailers. A bewildering number of specials were labelled “super deal”, “great price” or “huge deal” when they really were not.

How to nominate

“We want to hear from the people on the receiving end of dodgy deals, broken promises and baffling business behaviour,” says Rasmussen. “Tell us what’s left you annoyed, out of pocket or shaking your head in disbelief – and help us expose this year’s Yeah, Nah winners.”

To make a nomination, head to the website and fill out the nominations form.

Nominations close 31 July 2026.

Winners will be announced in November 2026.

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