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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
24 – 44

Easier cash deposits and all about car jamming.

Got quite a bit of cash to deposit? You’ll pay less in fees if you do it at the supermarket, says Consumerwatch’s Wendy Knowler. That’s provided you’re depositing larger amounts - R1200 or more. For smaller amounts, your bank’s ATM deposit fee will probably be less than the supermarket’s standard…
20 May 2021 7 min

Bank notification SMS: How to know when it's a scam

Could those SMS bank notifications be false security? The Ombudsman for Banking Services of SA released its 2020 annual report yesterday, revealing that fraud cases dominated the five top complaints categories: current accounts, internet banking, personal loans, credit cards and ATMs. Current account cases increased by a dramatic 7% from…
13 May 2021 7 min

"Minimum card swipe is a lie", Wendy Knowler explains why

Don’t let a retailer charge you extra for card payments, or dictate how much you must spend, says Wendy Knowler in this week’s Consumerwatch. IT’S ILLEGAL! Wendy also shares: What your car colour choice tells your insurer about you Did you know that the colour of your car has an…
6 May 2021 7 min

Buying a bed? Don’t be caught napping, says Wendy Knowler

Do your homework - on the bed and the retailer - before you commit. Never has it been more important to do your research on a company before doing business with it. Check how they handle complaints on HelloPeter, on Twitter, if they have an account, and do a general…
15 Apr 2021 9 min

The new normal is…there is no normal

If you have a bottle of shampoo labelled as being for “normal” hair, it could soon become a relic of a bygone age. Normal is a problematic word. What’s normal, and who decides what is? Because the inference, of course, that if you are not normal, you are somehow deviant…
18 Mar 2021 5 min

The big Salt and Vinegar tease

It’s a very curious story. Lay’s marketing director Agnes Kitololo said recently that the brand had listened to its customers, “so we wanted to give them another chance to indulge in this exceptional flavour experience that only Lay’s Salt and Vinegar seems to give them”. That begs the question: “So…
10 Mar 2021 5 min

Nil by Mouth (except water): Wendy Knowler explains why food on flights is done

South Africa has returned to level one lockdown, and while some restrictions have been lifted and things have been becoming more relaxed, it seems like one industry has now been hit with new constraints. Airlines are prohibiting travelers from eating or drinking on flights. Does that mean you'll be dehydrating…
4 Mar 2021 3 min

Wendy Knowler delves into why the cruise industry is sinking

It’s been a year of pain for cruiseliner operators and their passengers. Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announced a few days ago that it has canceled its 2020/2021 cruise season. Voyages for the remainder of the 2020/21 cruise season will be moved to the next local cruise season between November 2021…
25 Feb 2021 3 min

Identity theft is up by a massive 337% and Wendy Knowler explains why

Identity theft is no joke! Here's a not-so-fun fact: fraudsters had a field day in 2020 with so many people working from home, sending sensitive information across servers that don’t have the same level of security as the servers at their normal place of business.
24 Feb 2021 3 min

Car Payments: Are you keeping track? Wendy Knowler weighs in

Tracking contracts are easy to get into but harder to get out of. It may seem like a good idea to sign a three-year tracking contract for your car and avoid the upfront payment of the tracking device itself, but if you sell the car within three years or you…
18 Feb 2021 8 min

Travel operators have made some big changes to their penalty fees!

The travel industry, from its knees, is busy introducing the kind of flexibility into its fares that we would all have loved and appreciated all these years. Last month British Airways (operated by Comair in SA) announced that it has introduced new booking options, giving customers the flexibility to change…
11 Feb 2021 4 min
24 – 44