If you haven’t had a chance to catch up on consumer news this week, here are some stories you may have missed.
Who you gonna call?
According to a recent CRTC, 21 of respondents said they still get hit with unexpected charges on their monthly bill. (Dann Verner)
Got an issue with your cellphone company? Yeah, you’re not the only one.
But if you’re not getting anywhere with customer service, there’s an independent consumer body specifically for you: the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services.
Even better: the group will soon take on complaints about your TV service.
Paper or plastic? How about neither?
The owner of the Green grocery store only buys one brand of each item, and it must be made in Canada. (Wayne Stadler)
“I woke up at 4 a.m. and I thought, what if you could go to a grocery store and there was no plastic?”
Forget, for the moment, all the food we throw away; a B.C. store is taking on food packaging waste.
The store sells the food, but you bring your own bags, jars, baskets, and whatever else you want to use to haul it all home.
Heads up, parents
Young children exposed to the highly concentrated detergent in pods risk serious injury, including chemical burns to the eye. (CBC)
We know that laundry pods aren’t candy or squeeze toys. Little kids? They don’t always know that. The number of wee ones in the U.S. who have ended up with chemical burns linked to the pods has gone way up.
So keep curious children away from laundry pods, or stick to scooping out soap the old-fashioned way. Here’s what you need to know.
Push-button booze
Single-cup coffee, make your own soda: It looks like booze may be the next frontier of DIY beverage machines. A couple of companies are working on at-home alcohol dispensers.
Just don’t mix up the machines when you’re making your morning cup of joe to go.
Unhealthy media diet
Kids are bombarded by ads for junk food online and in video games, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation wants it to stop. Most of the offending ads are for stuff that’s high in sugar, salt or fat.
The group points to Quebec, where a 1980 ban on ads to kids under 13 was associated with fewer people buying fast food. More food for thought.
How not to lose weight
Health Canada says the risk to your liver from green tea extract is rare, but the agency does require a warning on product packaging. (CBC)
Diet pills with natural ingredients are part of a booming multi-million dollar weight-loss industry in Canada. But are they safe? And do they work?
We investigate popular green tea weight loss supplements and uncover dozens of reports of liver failure. Watch online right now.