By Max Aldred

Major ticket merchants are accused of twisting the knife in Australians already battling a cost-of-living crisis.

Consumer advocacy group Choice on Wednesday revealed its annual Shonky Award winners for its picks of the nation’s dodgiest products and services.

Ticketek and Ticketmaster featured on the list for what the group labelled as gouging customers with sneaky tactics.

Both merchants allow dynamic pricing schemes, through which ticket costs can rise during sale periods.

Ticketek earned the ire of John Farnham fans, who labelled fluctuating prices for tickets to his September tribute concert as outrageous.

Choice chief executive Monique Perry said many customers who logged onto the platform found themselves facing “inflated” costs.

About seven per cent of tickets were affected by variable pricing for the Farnham tribute.

Ms Perry also took aim at Ticketmaster over frustrations voiced by NRL fans during the year.

“Similarly, NRL supporters who purchased tickets to some matches in 2026 through Ticketmaster reported ‘in demand’ seats selling for $50 more than a regular seat just one row and one bay apart,” she said.

Ticketmaster told AAP ticket prices were set by event organisers.

The platform did not use surge pricing or algorithms that automatically increased prices in response to real-time demand, a spokeswoman said.

“For ‘in demand’ tickets, event organisers set the prices of sought-after seats closer to market value and may review these over the sales period,” she added.

“These prices do not automatically increase because more fans join a queue.”

Virgin Australia earned an award for pocketing millions of dollars in expired covid-era flight credits after the scheme expired in July.

A spokesperson for the airline said guests redeemed more than 93 per cent of the credits after several expiry exemptions were put in place.

A Hisense washer-dryer with an eight-star energy rating for drying also collected an award for “eco” wash and dry cycles lasting a cumulative 25 hours.

Petcover copped a Shonky for selling select “economy” customers a new policy each year that excluded any pre-existing health conditions.

A company peddling protein chips received a gong for the 886 per cent price mark-up compared to competitors offering similar products.

Sony Interactive Entertainment copped an award for murky rights surrounding the “purchase” of a movie or game through its platform.

AAP has contacted all of the named companies for comment.

Choice has run its Shonky Awards for Australian products and services for just over two decades.

News all day, every day at CityNewsQBN.com.au.