This week Wendy Knowler brought us updates on the past two ECR Consumerwatch shows. ECR Consumerwatch

First their boundary wall collapsed in a devastating storm, and then this Umlazi couple’s hopes of getting it rebuilt were dashed when their insurer rejected their claim. It wasn’t that fierce storm which toppled the wall, the insurer said - it was poor construction. The couple asked Wendy Knowler to help… ECR Consumerwatch

On Consumerwatch this week, Wendy Knowler focused on a Durban beauty spa which suddenly shut its doors having sold heaps of gift vouchers. They are now worth nothing. Or are they? ECR Consumerwatch

It can’t be a crime if there was no intent but proving the lack of intent can be problematic, as you can imagine, says Wendy Knowler. ECR Consumerwatch

Demonising all plastic is misguided. Plastic remains an excellent form of packaging - cheap, strong, light - it's single-use plastic that’s not okay. The issue is that plastic - and particularly Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) - denoted by the recycling number 1 - has no business being on a landfill site, a beach or littering any public space. ECR Consumerwatch

What gives an online retailer the right to cancel a confirmed purchase? ECR Consumerwatch

For years, South Africa’s banks have taken it upon themselves - without warning - to grab money from their clients’ current accounts to settle their credit card debt, often leaving them with too little money to honour their debit orders or buy food for the month. ECR Consumerwatch

This week’s Consumerwatch is a cautionary tale for small businesses. I’m very grateful to a Durban businesswoman for sharing her story with us in a bid to warn others. She'd found no warnings online about any of the companies involved, but she did miss some tell-tale signs in her dealings with the fraudsters, and that’s been her very expensive lesson. ECR Consumerwatch

Here are a few reasons as to why you should care, says Wendy Knowler. ECR Consumerwatch

Wendy Knowler thought she’d heard it all in her 20 years of investigating dodgy car deals - but then came the flooded Fiat. ECR Consumerwatch