Marketplace Season 36

Think you’re safe from problems when you buy a new home? Think again Dave Prosser and Sylvia Potter bought their brand new home just three years ago, for a few hundred thousand. It was supposed to be their dream home, but instead they’re living a new home nightmare.

Thinking of buying a used car? You’re not alone. In this slowing economy, people are looking to save cash whenever and wherever they can.

Can cellphone use cause brain tumors? It’s a question that everyone has wondered about, yet there still isn’t a clear answer.

Ailing Canadians are spending up to $200 a session in clinics and even buying the $20,000 "miracle" machine called the EPFX for home use. It's name is as intriguing as its health claims. For those suffering with a serious illness, they are desperate for a miracle cure.

Marketplace investigates a company called BIM (Business in Motion) that claims big returns once you buy in. BIM's main product is the UltraLife Club, a travel package that promises vacation deals. Attend a presentation and you're pitched a membership for $3,200 and are told you can earn thousands in commissions by becoming a distributor and selling to others.

Who doesn't want to win $500,000? That’s why so many Canadians are playing the Reader’s Digest sweepstakes. But now some of those people feel confused by the sweepstakes' marketing.

You might find you're paying for something known as "credit balance insurance." Depending on your credit card, it could be called "BalanceProtector" or "Account Protector," but the idea is the same: for a fee, credit balance insurance promises to cover your monthly minimum credit card payments in case of loss of income to due job loss or extreme illness.

In a split second, do you think you could tell the difference between a real or an imitation gun? Imagine if that gun were pointed in your direction in what could be a life-or-death situation.

Marketplace has seen it all when it comes to bad service, unsafe products and schemes. Over the years, we’ve seen companies come up with all kinds of tricky ways to separate customers from their cash. We call them the seven sins of the marketplace; a list of how companies try to reach into your wallet.

We’ve all heard puppy horror stories about sick dogs from bad breeders. But many pet stores promise problem-free dogs from first-rate breeders.

Need a loan? As the economy continues to shrink, banks are becoming more and more reluctant to approve new loans — especially if your credit rating is less than stellar.

Like any commodity, electricity and natural gas prices go up and down with the markets. In some provinces, you have a choice when it comes to who will supply your power - a public or a private utility. Ontario and Alberta have deregulated both utilities, and in Manitoba and B.C., you can pick your natural gas provider.

Thinking of renovating your home? As resale prices and new home construction drops due to the recession, more and more people are staying in the homes they have and trying to improve upon them.