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Consumer watchdog Case launches price comparison app for groceries, hawker food Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/case-launches-price-comparison-app-for-groceries-hawker-food Users of the app can search for an item, find the retailer offering the lowest price and be alerted to any price changes.PHOTO: THE CONSUMERS ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE SINGAPORE - Want to know which supermarket is offering a promotion on your favourite brand of milk, or where to head for the cheapest carrot cake in your area? A new mobile app by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) aims to help consumers stretch their dollar by allowing them to compare prices of groceries and hawker food. Price Kaki, to be rolled out later in September, will compile prices provided by partner businesses as well as shoppers. Consumers can earn rewards such as grocery, movie and transport vouchers for contributing in-store retail prices and promotions they come across, which must be verified with photo evidence. Users of the app can search for an item, find the retailer offering the lowest price and be alerted to any price changes. They can also look up nearby supermarkets and hawker centres, or even search by dish to find the nearest stalls where they can get their fix, and how much it costs. The app, which will be available for download on Apple's App Store and Google Play from Sept 28, will be trialled first for businesses in Jurong West, Tampines and Toa Payoh before being extended to the rest of the island in early 2020. A total of 31 supermarket outlets and 11 hawker centres will part of the trial. These include the hawker centres at Our Tampines Hub, Toa Payoh West Market and Food Centre, and Boon Lay Place Market and Food Village. Details were shared by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Trade and Industry Tan Wu Meng during Case's annual fund-raising lunch on Tuesday (Sept 10). Dr Tan, who announced the development of the app during the debate on his ministry's budget in March, said in a speech at One Farrer Hotel that the crowdsourcing app empowers consumers to share and more easily access price information. "It is like a network of 'kakis' (friends) to share tips on shopping, exchanging knowledge on the best deals," he said. For a start, about 3,000 frequently purchased grocery items such as milk, rice, and eggs will be listed on Price Kaki, using price information refreshed daily by FairPrice, Giant, Sheng Siong and Prime Supermarket. Case said it will work with the supermarkets to ensure that information is up to date. Case president Lim Biow Chuan said that the non-profit organisation hopes to empower consumers by "equipping them with information so that they can make informed purchasing decisions," and added that it will be launching more such initiatives with the support of the Trade and Industry Ministry.

Finally, a letter dat makes sense. But unfortunately, though the oil cartel her is guilty on all levels of anti competive behaviour, gahmen don't give a fark for selfish reasons. ST Forum Mar 23, 2011 Watchdog should monitor pump prices THE Government recently formed a price watchdog, the Retail Price Watch Group, to scrutinise excessive price increases of daily necessities and anti-competitive behaviour by businesses. However, motorists are subject to the whims of petrol 'cartels' which raise pump prices. Caltex took the lead on Monday to raise petrol prices by three cents a litre and diesel prices by five cents a litre ('Caltex raises pump prices on costlier crude'; yesterday). If past behaviour is any indication, the other petrol firms are likely to follow suit. I urge the price watchdog to monitor pump prices and help to maintain fair prices for motorists. Elgar Lee

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1021551579

urbanrant.blogspot.com/2007/07/meaningless-conclusion-from-stupid.html Crap and nothing but crap

Can this happen in Singapore? SYDNEY: Australia's consumer watchdog on Tuesday demanded that fuel companies slash the cost of petrol within a week, saying they have failed to lower pump prices as world oil prices fall. A leading motoring organisation welcomed the call, accusing oil companies of "ripping off" motorists as oil prices fluctuated wildly, but the fuel companies denied the charge. As crude oil prices hit an almost two-year low, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chief Graeme Samuel said a survey of 3,000 fuel stations had revealed a price aberration when global benchmarks were applied. "At the present time we're seeing a variation occur, we're seeing the Singapore price falling but the Australian retail price not falling consistently with it," Samuel told Seven Network television. Unless prices fell within a week, some "fairly hard" questions would be asked of the oil companies, he warned. "I think what we can do is ask hard questions of them and expose some of the answers out into the public arena," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. But the watchdog ruled out a call for government regulation of petrol prices, saying such a move would ultimately hurt motorists. "You do some significant disadvantage to motorists if you say to the government, 'Step in to regulate prices'," Samuel said. "The moment we set a price at that level then companies price up to that level and we don't get discounts, there's no reason for it ... we want to see competition push prices down as low as possible," he added. National Road and Motorists' Association president Alan Evans welcomed the watchdog's move, saying consumers have been paying high prices for petrol for too long. "We believe that it's quite a clear message from Graeme Samuel, the head of the ACCC, that oil companies' days of ripping motorists off might be numbered," he told the ABC. "We've been campaigning for two years to get the ACCC to take action - we welcome this intervention. "Motorists have been ripped off by the oil companies quite substantially over the last couple of years and it's about time they were called to account," Evans added. British Petroleum (BP) told the ABC it was willing to discuss the ACCC's concerns, while rival Shell said its wholesale fuel prices were in line with current world oil pricing. - AFP/so