S37 E1 • Grow-Op Cover Up

Looking for a new home? Most people call up a home inspector to check it out. It may look like a nice home in a nice neighbourhood, but it could it be hiding big secrets. As Erica Johnson reveals, many Canadians are buying patched-up houses that disguise evidence that they were former grow-ops. If not properly cleaned up, it can lead to six-figure repair bills, like mold, structural and electrical problems. In some cities, when police bust a grow-op, they contact the municipality to make sure it's cleaned up before it goes to market. But our research reveals that doesn't happen across the country. And even when it does, it doesn't always protect consumers. Most grow operations go undetected by police. So we team up with contractor Mike Holmes to put home inspectors to the test. Will they spot the glaring signs of a former grow-op?

Première diffusion : 8 janvier 2010

S37 E2 • GPS Distraction & Busted: Shingles

More than one million Global Positioning System (GPS) devices were sold in Canada last year, making them one of the hottest gadgets on the market. But are they a safe way for drivers to find their way? In an exclusive interview, Erica Johnson speaks to an Ontario mother whose daughter was struck and killed by a driver distracted by his GPS. With no statistics available regarding the use of portable navigation systems while driving, Marketplace conducted the first-ever poll in Canada on the use of portable GPS devices on the road, with surprising results: More than one third of respondents (35 per cent) say their GPS actually distracted them, or that they lost concentration. Nearly half of respondents (47 per cent) program their devices while driving. Research professor Paul Green of the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute, who oversaw our road test about the potential distractions of GPS devices, advises that drivers should never take their eyes off the road for more than two seconds at a time. However, in one test, a driver glanced away from the road for seven seconds to program their GPS device. "Every time you look away, that's another time period that you’ve lost a sense of what's happening while driving," says Green. Yet despite the problems of distraction, manufacturers of portable GPS devices still allow drivers the option of programming while the car is in motion, instead of completely locking them out.

Première diffusion : 15 janvier 2010

S37 E3 • Road to Rich Dad

Robert Kiyosaki, best-selling finance author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, has spun-off his book into a self-help empire of TV shows, board games and investment seminars -- a string of which are scheduled across Canada. But rumblings are being heard from the hundreds of hotel ballrooms across North America where Kiyoaski's Rich Dad seminars are staged. The complaints? That initial Rich Dad sessions focus less on education and more on marketing and upselling further sessions that cost up to $45,000. Marketplace investigates these concerns using hidden camera and reveals the aggressive sales tactics used, where participants are urged to increase their credit card limits after being pressured to spend tens of thousands of dollars on advanced courses. Erica Johnson asks Kiyosaki directly: what's really going on? Are Canadians being lured by the Rich Dad name to spend money on weekend workshops that seem really designed to sell them more workshops?

Première diffusion : 29 janvier 2010

S37 E4 • Magic in a Bottle?

With increasing North American obesity rates and many Canadians making New Year's resolutions to lose weight, it's a regular smorgasbord of waistlines for diet companies to tap into. One such company is Canada's Herbal Magic. Erica Johnson puts the company to the test and raises questions about its supplements, how they're sold, and what evidence there is to back up some of its claims. Johnson speaks with the company about the qualifications of its "personal health coaches", its food plan and the products. She also speaks with experts about what evidence exists behind some of Herbal Magic's pricey products.

Première diffusion : 5 février 2010

S37 E5 • Canada's Worst Cellphone Bill

Does shock, anger or confusion best describe your reaction to your cellphone bill? For several months, Marketplace has collected bills and stories from Canadians about the astronomical and sometimes mystifying charges they have received. On Canada's Worst Cellphone Bill, Wendy Mesley investigates the story behind huge bills many Canadians rack up from using their cellphones. After careful review, we whittled the bills down to a handful of finalists, with three being put to a nationwide poll commissioned by Angus Reid Public Opinion. One thousand Canadians (18 years or older) voted online for the story that best demonstrates the frustration consumers face from their cellphone carrier companies. Wendy announces Canada's winner (or maybe loser) who has really been put through the wringer by their phone company -- and speaks to the bill-holder's cellphone company. Also, we reveal how much cell service actually costs and how little it costs their carriers.

Première diffusion : 5 mars 2010

S37 E6 • Who's Minding the Store? & Busted: Cord Blood Banks

A Marketplace investigation reveals the newest way thieves are stealing your credit card and debit card information. They're breaking into stores, gas stations and restaurants and actually ripping out the hard drives attached to the point of sale terminals used to swipe your plastic. While stores and restaurants are keeping quiet, and credit card companies cover your losses, in the end, we all pay a price -- and for the crooks, it's a windfall.

Première diffusion : 12 mars 2010

S37 E7 • Burning Question & The Debt Trap

It's never easy to have to consider putting a loved one into a retirement or nursing home or a long-term care facility. However, once you've made that tough decision, you want to know that your parent, relative or friend is taken care of. Yet, when it comes to fire safety, thousands of nursing and retirement homes are leaving our most vulnerable unprotected. Sprinkler systems are required in all newly built nursing homes across Canada. But in most provinces and territories, many older nursing homes aren't required to retroactively install them. Firefighters agree that the installation of sprinklers in buildings often means the difference between life and death in a fire. Suffocation from smoke is typically what kills first in a fire, and sprinklers help to control smoke and provide more time for people to escape - time which is especially vital in nursing homes, since residents are not always easily mobile. But despite multiple deaths related to fires in nursing homes without sprinklers, Erica Johnson reveals that many provinces have yet to sound the alarm for increased fire safety. Also: If you're in debt and struggling to get your personal finances on track, whom do you turn to? For decades, charitable credit counselling agencies have offered help to indebted Canadians. However, in the U.S., a new style of counselling has emerged in recent years, giving rise to consumer complaints about hefty fees and lack of face to face counselling. These complaints prompted a crackdown by US regulators. Recently, a couple of U.S. credit counseling companies set up shop in Canada. Marketplace tests one new agency to see whether some of the same issues could now be creeping into the credit counselling sector here. How do they suggest people curb their spending? How much counselling do they give about managing money? And most importantly, how do they offer to help make an individual's debt go away?

Première diffusion : 19 mars 2010

S37 E8 • Stretching the Truth? & Busted: Lysol

If you've ever suffered from back pain, you know how debilitating it can be. So it's not surprising that many Canadians are willing to pay thousands of dollars for treatments that promise long-term relief. The latest high-tech, high-priced back pain treatment is called "non-surgical spinal decompression therapy." One of the most popular machines is called the DRX9000, which can pull on your back with over a hundred pounds of force. The Low Back Clinic, one of Canada's largest chains offering this treatment, claims the pull from the DRX9000 separates your vertebrae so discs can be restored. Many Canadians are paying big bucks - up to $5,000 - to get the DRX9000 treatments. But does it really work? Marketplace's Erica Johnson puts the machine to the test and reveals potential hidden dangers you need to know about.

Première diffusion : 26 mars 2010

S37 E9 • Something's Fishy & Busted: Easyhome

When you go to the supermarket and buy fish, you rely on the label to tell you what kind of fish you're getting. Unfortunately, when it comes to seafood, you may not be getting what you pay for. Using cutting-edge technology, we test more than 150 pieces of fish -- everything from halibut to pickerel, sea bass to shark -- bought at supermarkets in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. The results? We discover that one out of every five fish is mislabelled, which means many Canadians are being overcharged, left unable to make wise ecological choices, and are vulnerable to food safety concerns. So what does Canada's food safety and labeling regulator, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, have to say about this? Erica Johnson takes the results of our investigation and gets some surprising answers.

Première diffusion : 2 avril 2010

S37 E10 • Rate Hike Outrage & Busted: Bloomex

Has your home insurance gone up? Wendy Mesley looks into why many insurance companies are checking your credit scores, and discovers that this can be happening without homeowners' knowledge or express consent.

Première diffusion : 9 avril 2010