House sale scam; following the Rogers-Shaw merger case: CBC’s Marketplace cheat sheet


Miss something this week? Don’t panic. CBC’s Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need.

Want this in your inbox? Get the Marketplace newsletter every Friday.

How this couple’s home was sold without their knowledge

A man and woman's hands and arms resting on a table.
Derrick and Stephanie found out that their Toronto house had been sold out from under them after noticing their mortgage was no longer appearing on their online banking home page. (CBC)

When Stephanie logged online to pay her monthly bills last year, she noticed her monthly mortgage had disappeared from the homepage of her Canadian bank account. Without her consent, the mortgage had been closed.

Stephanie and her husband, Derrick, moved overseas for work four years ago and were renting their Toronto home until they returned to Canada. They intended to move back in.

When the property manager went to their home, a stranger opened the door and claimed they owned the house.

When Stephanie and Derrick checked the title, the stranger did, in fact, own the property.

CBC isn’t using Stephanie or Derrick’s real names because they are victims of identity theft. The couple’s case is one of at least four in the Greater Toronto Area where homeowners had their houses sold out from under them by organized crime groups, according to a CBC investigation.

The couple says the fraudsters who impersonated them to sell their house consistently spelled one of their last names wrong throughout the transaction, which was inconsistent with the fake ID they were using.

“I think that’s what scares you most,” Derrick said. 

“You think, well, if the bank fails, the real estate board will catch it. Or if the real estate board fails, the lawyer who signs off on the house sale will catch it. And so many people, so many educated people, it just passes by.” Read more

Why the flood of air traveller complaints has resulted in few fines against airlines

A sign shows a list of flights.
A screen shows cancelled and delayed flights at the Ottawa International Airport on Dec. 23, 2022. (Francis Ferland/CBC)

Earlier this month, the head of the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) told the House of Commons transport committee that the agency hasn’t levied a single fine for failing to compensate airline passengers. 

This is despite a backlog of over 30,000 complaints from passengers who believe they weren’t properly compensated.

The CTA has the ability to fine airlines up to $25,000 if they don’t comply with air passenger protection regulations that came into force in 2019. Those rules require an airline to compensate passengers for lost luggage or flight delays and cancellations that are within the airline’s control.

Ian Jack, a spokesperson for the Canadian Automobile Association, a non-profit travel agency, said the backlog offers an incentive for airlines to challenge passengers’ compensation claims.

“It sends a signal to the airlines when it takes this long to get a decision that they don’t necessarily have to get things right today. They can afford to wait,”  Jack said.

But Tom Oommen, director general of the CTA’s analysis and outreach branch, said that instead of fining airlines, the agency has focused on resolving passenger complaints.

“Resolving passenger complaints puts compensation, puts refunds, puts entitlements in the pockets of passengers,” Oommen told CBC. “Our enforcement regime doesn’t do that. The fines don’t go to the passengers.” Read more

Court has rejected the Competition Bureau’s appeal to block Rogers’ takeover of Shaw

A cellphone with apps for two telecom firms Rogers and Shaw are shown.
Rogers Communications’s proposed takeover of Shaw Communications is being reviewed by the House industry and technology committee. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal has rejected the Competition Bureau’s request to block the takeover of Shaw by Rogers, a decision that removes one of the final hurdles standing in the way of the $20-billion merger from going ahead.

The deal has faced numerous regulatory hurdles since being proposed, but in a lengthy review process, the companies have secured most of the approvals they require to finalize the deal. As part of that process, Rogers has agreed to sell Shaw’s wireless business, Freedom Mobile, to Quebec-based Vidéotron.

Now that the Competition Bureau has been unsuccessful, the final hurdle standing in the way of the deal being consummated is the approval of federal Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne.

On Wednesday, academics, competitors and key players shared their views at a House of Commons committee as Champagne deliberates on the fate of the deal.

Critics, including academics and competitors, used the industry and technology meeting to argue that Champagne should either block the deal entirely or impose stricter conditions on it, while also raising concerns about the enforceability of the criteria he has already set out.

Proponents of the agreement, including Rogers chief executive Tony Staffieri, emphasized the extensive and robust regulatory review that has found the deal meets the standards of Canada’s competition laws, including weeks of hearings at the Competition Tribunal.  Read more

What else is going on?

Advocates are calling on the feds to cap interest rates at payday lenders.
In 2021, Marketplace found some payday lenders were using confusing and misleading practices, and charging nearly 47 per cent interest. 

It’s been 5 years since the bread price-fixing probe started. Why don’t we have any answers?
No charges have been laid, but experts say a lack of results in the investigation is eroding Canadians’ trust at a time of escalating food prices. 

The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate again to 4.5 per cent.
It’s the smallest increase since March, and a sign that the bank may be done with hiking rates for the next little while.

Marketplace needs your help

Text reading "Trying to shop green?" over a hand pushing a shopping cart down a grocery store aisle.
(CBC)

Do you try shopping green or sustainably but don’t know how? What are some of the environmental issues that matter to you when it comes to grocery shopping? We want to hear from you!  Reach us at [email protected].

A logo reading "Buzz kill" with a slash through the word "kill."
(CBC)

Have you seen a buzzworthy product that seems too good to be true? Bought a product online and it didn’t live up to expectations? We want to hear about it. Email us, [email protected].

Catch up on past episodes of Marketplace on CBC Gem.

Leave a comment

x
SMM Panel PDF Kitap indir