Consumer advocacy group Choice's Shonky Awards shamed Commonwealth Bank for incorrectly charging $270 million in fees to 2.2 million customers, including those on Centrelink incomes.
Those customers were on fee-charging accounts, when they should have been automatically transferred to a low or no-fee account, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) found.
Despite that, the bank dug its heels in and initially refused any refunds, before offering some on a case-by-case basis.
"A few weeks after refusing to pay $270 million in refunds, CommBank celebrated a $10 billion dollar annual profit ... it is thumbing its nose at ASIC, and at its low-income customers," Choice's policy head Morgan Campbell said.
"It's profit first and everything else second."
A statement from the bank noted it had since paused some fees for eligible concession customers.
"CBA is committed to making banking fair and accessible for customers," the statement read.
Other Shonky winners included Australia's energy retailers, for their efforts in confusing customers at a time most are experiencing energy hardship.
It found some were rolling out cheaper plans with the exact same names as existing ones, leading customers to believe they were already on the more cost-effective option.
"One very simple way to do this would have been to give the new plan a different name, or at least a different version number, but such a customer-friendly approach seems out of character for this industry," Choice's Jordan Cornelius said.
Health insurer HCF got a nod for seemingly attempting to sneak around government approvals to increase premiums by creating "new", near-identical policies at inflated prices.
The health fund has defended the "phoenixing" practice as a means of staying financially sustainable.
"These changes apply only to new sales and are in full compliance with industry standards and regulations," an HCF spokeswoman said.
"Since updating our Gold product offering, we've engaged in regular constructive discussions to address concerns and will comply with any future changes in legislation or regulation."
Chinese retailer Temu was another company in Choice's sights for failing safety standards, while a dodgy heater was also on the list.
Choice admitted its investigation into sunscreens probably should have featured on the annual list, but said pinning down one villain from the dodgy process proved tough.
Its study found 16 out of 20 popular sunscreens labelled SPF 50 or 50+ failed to provide the level of protection claimed on packaging.
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