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ECR Consumerwatch

Wendy Knowler is arguably South Africa’s most experienced consumer journalist. She’s helped more consumers over her 20 year career in consumer journalism than she could count. But while known as a champion of consumer rights, Wendy is also known and respected by corporates for her fair, accurate and balanced reporting. Want to be a more sussed consumer or corporate? Listen to Wendy's episodes here.
Weekly English South Africa Leisure · Business
239 Episodes
192 – 212

Why you should care about the cost of car parts

If you’re in the market for a new set of wheels, you should care - a lot - about how the cost of the parts for the cars your wish list compare, because the parts costs has a major effect on the overall cost of car ownership over time.
28 Sep 2017 8 min

No, it's not Telkom calling...

So in 2015 there was Directories Services 2 which had businesses thinking they were just confirming or updating their white and yellow pages entries - and then demanding R7200 from them for some obscure directory listing. And now there’s the Telecom directory doing the same thing. Same company? Wendy Knowler…
21 Sep 2017 9 min

R300 restaurant corkage legal?

What’s a reasonable amount for a restaurant to charge as a corkage fee on a bottle of champagne? Well, a Durban family wasn’t expecting it to be R300 on a single bottle, which came a surprise on their bill for a special birthday dinner. The issue of disclosure aside, can…
14 Sep 2017 9 min

Consumer crunch time: recession is biting

Tough economic times are seeing a change in consumer buying patterns - shopping online, switching brands and buying in smaller quantities. More with Wendy Knowler on Consumerwatch today.
17 Aug 2017 9 min

Bread and butter issues + Durban's orange recycling bags

Last week’s Consumerwatch was all about the butter shortage and its hellishly high price, and this week Wendy Knowler is focusing on bread. She also has the latest on the eThekwini municipality's orange bag recycling programme, and why there's a shortage of those bags…
3 Aug 2017 8 min

Price of butter leaves bitter taste

The price of butter is skyrocketing, not just in South Africa, but globally. Wendy Knowler picks up the story in today's ECR Consumerwatch…
27 Jul 2017 6 min

Are customer body searches lawful?

When is it okay for a security officer appointed by a retail store to body search a customer? ECR Consumerwatch's Wendy Knowler chats to a Durban customer, Mooceda Mthini of Chatsworth, about her unpleasant experience.
20 Jul 2017 8 min

Time to tell all, timeshare owners

The National Consumer Commission is conducting public hearings around the country, and hard-done-by timeshare consumers are invited to tell their stories, in person, with a view to coming up with a single piece of legislation that will be used to properly regulate this controversial, law-unto-themselves industry. ECR Consumerwatch's Wendy Knowler…
13 Jul 2017 6 min

Want your gift? Pay up

The days of being sent a gift via airmail post from overseas and collecting it from your nearest post office without having to pay a cent are over. More with ECR Consumerwatch's Wendy Knowler on what this means for the receiver.
6 Jul 2017 5 min

Wendy with the latest on Ford Figo, Ikon recall

The timing couldn’t have been worse - the dust has yet to settle on the Kuga catastrophe, and now Ford has recalled a bunch of Figos and Ikons. In today's ECR Consumerwatch, Wendy Knowler chats about the latest.
29 Jun 2017 6 min

Who’s coining it?

Today’s show was a cautionary tale about accepting what a salesperson tells you, and buying what they’re selling on the spot without taking time to do your own checks first. Wendy Knowler picks up the story in today's ECR Consumerwatch…
22 Jun 2017 8 min

'This is a SA upset at a corporation that puts us all in a box'

Consumerwatch's Wendy Knowler speaks to hip hop artist, MarazA about being humiliated at local supermarket, PicknPay. Rapper, MarazA videoed himself and his friends being detained at the exit of the Pick n Pay in Killarney the other night while their purchases were “verified” and then posted it online.
8 Jun 2017 1 min

Rapper MarazA on his supermarket humiliation

So it’s become a Twitter storm - rapper MarazA videoed himself and his friends being detained at the exit of the Pick n Pay in Killarney the other night while their R8300 purchases were “verified” - and then posted it on social media. And it’s become a major race issue…
8 Jun 2017 7 min

Rapper MarazA tells Wendy Knowler his story

SA rapper MarazA was detained at the exit of a Pick n Pay in Joburg on Monday night while his R8300 purchases were “verified”. So what actually happened. Wendy Knowler spoke to the former KZN resident to find out more…
8 Jun 2017 3 min

Selling your car online? Know the risks, warns Wendy

So you want to sell your car privately to get a better price than you would if you went through a dealer, but how safe is it? One of the case studies in the Ombudsman for Short Term Insurance’s annual report for 2016 which was released on Tuesday will let…
1 Jun 2017 6 min
192 – 212