Ticket resale website Viagogo, sugar-coated children's Vita Gummies and a fabric softener that performs worse than water are among eight products to receive a gong at this year's Shonky Choice awards in Sydney.

In its 12th year, Choice said the awards revealed the worst-performing products and services that have served up poor value, false advertising, hidden charges, faulty goods and questionable claims.

Choice chief executive Alan Kirkland said some of the biggest brands were continuing to sell lemons.

"Whether it's for targeting the unborn with a poor value savings account, financially exploiting those in pain or chipping away at kids' teeth with dodgy vitamin products, this year's winners deserve their awards," Mr Kirkland said.

'A waste of time and water'

Samsung's WD16J9845KG AddWash Dryer combo took 6.5 hours to complete a cycle, Choice said. ( Supplied: Samsung )

Top of the list, for the third year in row, is electronics giant Samsung, this time for a $3,000 washer-dryer that took 6.5 hours to complete a cycle and used 149 litres of fresh drinking water for a 3.5kg load of washing.

The consumer lobby group said Samsung's WD16J9845KG is a "waste of time and water".

Last year, Samsung won an award for their Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, which had a habit of heating up and catching on fire.

The device was eventually discontinued.

The South Korean multinational has a worrying record with both washing machines and fire, having won in 2015 for a line of faulty top loaders that caught fire.

'Performs worse than water'

In Choice lab testing, the Cuddly sensitive hypoallergenic fabric softener performed worse than water.

Still in the laundry, Cuddly Sensitive Hypoallergenic fabric softener made the list "for performing worse than water while costing 3,000 times more."

In Choice's in-house lab testing, plain water received a higher score than the Cuddly product, which got the lowest score despite being one of the most expensive on the market at $6 per litre.

'Safety device that can kill'

From poor value to serious safety issues, Choice also tapped major car manufacturers Honda, Toyota, Lexus, BMW and Mazda for their handling of the Takata airbag recall.

The airbags, which have caused more than 180 injuries and at least 18 deaths worldwide, were installed in 2.49 million Australian vehicles across 70 models of cars sold by 14 manufacturers.

In April a 21-year-old Darwin driver suffered serious injuries after an airbag did not properly deploy and a small piece of metal struck her in the head as she was driving.

The recall is the largest in automotive history, but little awareness among drivers has contributed to the lowly 34 per cent replacement rate.

Choice said some manufacturers replaced the faulty airbags with identical defective Takata airbags without disclosing this car owners.

"This earns ultimate Shonky status for Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Mazda and BMW for repeatedly failing to disclose a safety device that could actually kill you," Choice said.

'As reliable as a scalper in a back alley'

Viagogo's website is the top result when searching for Ed Sheeran tickets on Google ( ABC News: Rebecca Armitage )

Ticket reseller Viagogo describes itself as an online ticket marketplace that allows consumers to buy and sell tickets to sporting events, concerts, and plays.

But Choice said the Swiss-based company allows people to attempt to offload fraudulent tickets at inflated prices.

"Viagogo's drip-pricing practice and dodgy 'customer guarantee' is about as reliable as a scalper in a back alley," Choice said.

It said it has received hundreds of reports from angry consumers, who say the company fails to respond to complaints.

'Rotten health claims'

The packaging claims the product is for "strong healthy bones teeth and muscles" but actually contains about 50 per cent sugar. ( Supplied: Nature's Way )

Nature's Way Kids Smart Vita Gummies are "for strong healthy bones, teeth and muscles".

But Choice said the lolly-size pastilles contain about 50 per cent sugar, which can cause tooth decay.

TV personality Catriona Rowntree starred in TV commercials for the adult Vita Gummie products and this celebrity endorsement, and the use of a colourful cartoon character on the bottle "aimed to tempt kids and trick parents".

"Claiming to be good for teeth, these sugary treats are little more than lollies and could cause tooth decay," Choice said.

'Lemons are ripe for picking'

Also awarded a Shonky is major bank Westpac for its Bump Savings account.

Choice said with an interest rate of 2.3 per cent, customers would need to wait 16 years before they can cash in on the $200 they invested on an unborn child's behalf.

In response to the award, a Westpac spokesperson said the account was designed to "help kickstart savings for the next generation and encourage savings habits".

"The Bump account's base rate is the highest among the Big 4 and one of the highest in the market for children's accounts."

Another product on the list is the $159 Pain Erazor pen, which claims to offer drug-free pain relief through the "science of electro-analgesia" by discharging an electrical current onto the skin up to 40 times, is "unlikely to be beneficial for pain".

Rounding out the winners is Coles Complete Cuisine cat food, which, despite its name, does not meet a cat's nutritional needs.

But customers would only discover this by reading small print on the back of the can.

A Coles spokesperson said the company had begun relabelling the product over a year ago to remove the word "complete" and "reinforce that this product is a complementary food".

The ABC has contacted the companies named by Choice for comment.

BMW Group Australia declined to comment.