Before we go to bed each night we should get down on our knees and give thanks to the Commerce Commission for protecting vulnerable consumers like us from exploitation.One recent investigation highlighted the important role the commission plays in prevent
Before we go to bed each night we should get down on our knees and give thanks to the Commerce Commission for protecting vulnerable consumers like us from exploitation.
One recent investigation highlighted the important role the commission plays in preventing the robber barons of the Northland sand industry from ripping off sand customers north of Whangarei.
The commission investigated whether an agreement between Whangarei mayor Stan Semenoff’s company Semenoff Sands and Lakeside Business Park would lower competition in the market and result in price increases for sand in the far north.
But never fear, sand consumers, the ComCom said things would be okay.
“Commission staff have evaluated the conditions of entry and conclude that based on the current market structure, on balance, there is a sufficient prospect of new entry to provide a degree of constraint on Semenoff Sands.”
That’s good to hear because if someone were to gain a monopoly on the north-of-Whangarei sand supply market consumers would likely be charged a million dollars a bag, or a billion dollars, because sand is a basic human need and cannot be substituted with other similar products.
These vulnerable customers are, after all, thousands of miles from the nearest source of sand and are unable to purchase sand supplies from anywhere else in the country because, well, they just can’t.
In its next investigation the ComCom will attempt to find out whether having only two Thai takeaway outlets in Pukekohe has increased the price of Pad Thai in the town.
