Marketplace

Marketplace turns technology on the techs, catching computer repair guys red-handed as they misdiagnose, overprice, and violate the privacy of consumers. Host Erica Johnson reveals why the booming industry of computer repair is overrun with incompetence and sly sales tactics.

Wendy Mesley unearths some suspect activity in Canadian big box stores - Canadians buying substances that are illegal to use. No, not pot, but pesticides which are banned for residential use in over a 130 towns and cities across Canada. Using hidden cameras in some of Canada’s best-known stores, Mesley finds salespeople counselling their customers on how not to get caught breaking the law.

Instead of home sweet home, many nursing homes are becoming violent battlegrounds. With disturbing hidden camera footage, Erica Johnson reveals residents attacking other residents. Sometimes with severe consequences. Through coroner reports and new data, Marketplace uncovers that these attacks are on the rise.

Wendy Mesley reveals where food labelled “Product of Canada” really comes from.

When a small town is challenged to round-up all their dead batteries, Erica Johnson discovers that residents are sitting on a staggering number of these hazardous dead cells. What’s the battery industry doing about all this harmful waste? Batteries in hand, Marketplace puts them to the test.

When Wendy Mesley orders up lab tests, she discovers that some of the dishes have double the fat, salt, and calories of the food at big burger chains. Find out which one of your favourite restaurants is serving four burgers worth of calories.

Wendy Mesley takes viewers inside the making of an infomercial for a bracelet that seems to promise instant results and better health. With hidden cameras, Marketplace researchers join in as participants in the infomercial, revealing slick sales tactics that skirt the law.

Marketplace clocks Canada’s largest Internet providers as host Erica Johnson simultaneously tests their high-speed claims. What she finds will resonate with many frustrated service subscribers: some companies sell a speed they can’t even deliver.

Spot and Socks aren’t just getting chew toys anymore. They are on Anipryl, Prozac, and Tapazole. Powerful drugs, that don’t come cheap. As Erica Johnson reveals, vets are exploiting vulnerable pet owners with pumped-up prices for prescriptions.

Oprah did it. So did Whoopi. And now, you can too. For as little as $100.00, genetic testing kits are being sold with the promise of scientific answers to your genetic heritage. But science can't always be trusted. Get the real deal on genetic testing kits when Wendy Mesley sends celebrity DNA to a lab and gets back puzzling results.

It's a billion dollar boom, built on the promise of luxury living. But as Wendy Mesley discovers, buying a new condominium can put you in a crunch with constricting contracts and murky marketing. Marketplace joins in this game of risk and buys a condo. Will we be deceived by misleading sales centres? And what will happen when Wendy draws battles lines over oversized model suites with the condo developer? From a helicopter hovering over construction cranes, to behind-the-scenes access at hyped sales events, watch Wendy take potential buyers on an inside tour of potential condo pitfalls.

Building a fence or planting a tree may seem like harmless home projects, but without taking one crucial step you could lose your home, and maybe, your life. Erica Johnson digs up the dirt on how powerful gas explosions can easily be prevented, but Canadians lag behind when it comes to underground warning signals. Using hidden cameras, Marketplace brings in several contractors to build a fence over an unseen gas line, and the results of the investigation are potentially explosive. Find out what you can do to stay safe.

Once upon a time, shopping for healthy food was obvious. You bought a banana instead of a chocolate bar. A chicken breast instead of a burger. But now, packaging on grocery-store shelves seems to claim that some popular foods may be the best for you. Sugary children's snacks? Salty sauces? Wendy Mesley peels back a leading and trusted label to reveal that message on some foods could be misleading, and may be motivated by more than just making healthy choices.

Marketplace skids and crashes with a gripping winter driving test. Dramatic footage reveals that many of the thousands of rental cars on winter roads may have one unsafe factor in common. Watch as four rental vehicles, driven by professional drivers, swerve, slide, and careen as Wendy Mesley reveals what you need to know before you rent a car in winter.

For many people, owning a home is a dream, losing it a nightmare. While banks sell insurance to protect customers who are unable to pay their mortgages, Erica Johnson reveals that the system devised to protect consumers doesn’t always work that way.

Marketplace sends single women to a high-priced dating service, and they all get hit with more than cupid's arrow. Erica Johnson reveals that some dating services use secret tactics and questionable contracts, leaving many clients with drained wallets, and broken hearts. Marketplace uncovers a Valentine's tale that's not for the faint of heart.

Whether it's thousand dollar stillettos or leather studded boots, footwear often comes with a high cost. But as Wendy Mesley reveals, those tiny inserts in your shoes may be a real foot fraud. Marketplace sends someone with perfect feet shopping for high-priced inserts, and finds a world of aggressive entrepreneurs, and battling businesses that can put the pinch on unsuspecting consumers.

What do The Spice Girls, Celine Dion, and Mats Sundin have in common? Tickets to see them sell out in minutes. And then are sold again at double and triple the price from online ticket brokers. Marketplace digs into the aggressive world of ticket buying with a simultaneous ticket-buying test for a big name artist. Erica Johnson reveals the slippery and often illegal world of online ticket sales.