A long-running subscription rip-off ended with refunds and a $10 million penalty. More importantly, it showed what government can achieve when it sides with consumers against corporate power.

Usually there is enough folly and perfidy in Australian politics to fill many columns every week. This week, though, the story is one of a politician doing what politicians are supposed to do: improve the well-being of their constituents, especially in the face of big corporate interests.

It began when the ice-maker in our fridge stopped making ice. Yes, I know this is very much a first-world problem, even in the tropics. That was in November, 2022.

We turned to self-help and Google, as you do, and came across “Just Answer”. I felt sure there might be a simpler and cheaper solution than replacing the fridge. There was a fee of only few dollars, so why not.

It was nearly a year later that I noticed an entry on the credit-card statement saying: “JUSTANSWER *REPAIRM, 1800727139 AUS. • RETAIL PURCHASE-INTERNATIONAL 20/01 $53”. Hang on, I thought, that was months ago and was supposed to be $5 not $53.

I checked back through previous months’ statements to find 10 payments of $53 recorded on the 23 rd of each month.

“The underhand cads,” I said to myself – or words to that effect.

I wanted some answers from “JustAnswer”. So, I rang them. The usual “we are experience longer than usual waiting times” came through. It is self-evidently a lie because the longer than usual waiting times are so usual that they are now part of the standard recorded message.

By the time you get an answer, you are fuming. This is why corporate la-la lines and public counters are festooned with “zero-tolerance” messages. Sane, mild-mannered........

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