The most expensive zip-tie: W5's hidden cameras catch repair company in action
How does a cheap plastic zip tie that’s worth just pennies end up costing a customer hundreds of dollars?
I might not have believed it myself if I hadn’t been watching a fridge repair go wrong in real time -- on a hidden camera.
I was huddled in an upstairs room alongside W5's producers and a reputable repair technician, Adel Gaynutdinov, as we watched what happened via a video feed from cameras set up throughout a Toronto-area home.
Our cameras had been set up to watch what the technician would do when presented with a test: a fridge that sounded like it was on the fritz.
Gaynutdinov had assured us the fridge actually worked just fine, except for a noise made by a zip tie that he set up to interfere with the fridge’s fan.
“Any technician would be able to see that right away,” Adel told us.
The question was: would they just fix it? Or would they have other ideas?
The fridge actually worked just fine, except for a noise made by a zip tie that our technician set up to interfere with the fridge's fan (W5)
The whole operation was set up by our W5 team. We investigated some of the companies that had the most unresolved customer complaints, according to a list shared by the Better Business Bureau.
The list included airlines, online credit companies, gift basket companies and appliance repair services. Many advertise widely, making big promises to potential customers, even though the reality may be quite different.
According to the BBB, the companies that made the list showed little interest in trying to resolve any complaint – often leaving the customer feeling frustrated or cheated.
One of those customers was Laura Snider, whose fridge in New Hamburg, Ont. had been packed with food and gifts from friends to help her get her through her grief after her husband died.
The fridge broke down, putting all of that food at risk. Snider felt she needed to get it fixed quickly. Without her husband to turn to, she called a company she found at the top of a web search.
“He said he could fix it within the next day or two,” she told us. “Perfect.”
The technician took a cash deposit of $1,000 – and then never returned, Laura said. And when she was trying to get a refund, she says she only got a runaround. Eventually someone from the company offered to give her $400 - if she agreed to not file a complaint about it. And, the fridge would remain broken.
“I said, ‘Absolutely not. I am not agreeing to that. There is no way,’” Snider said.
Snider filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. That company was among the list of the companies with the most unresolved complaints.
CTV W5's Jon Woodward (left) and reputable repairman Adel Gaynutdinov look at a video feed from cameras set up throughout a Toronto-area home (W5)
We wanted to see it in action, so we asked them to send a technician our way, to a home in Mississauga, just west of Toronto.
He arrived and greeted associate producer Caitlin Taylor, who was posing as the homeowner.
Caitlin left him alone and our cameras showed him opening panels on the back of the fridge and poking around. As he worked, he moved that zip tie -- but kept going.
The technician (left) arrives to greet W5's associate producer, posing as a homeowner (W5)
According to the technician, the fridge didn't have the proper "voltage" (W5)
After about 20 minutes, he called our fake homeowner with a verdict: it was the fridge’s motor that didn’t have “proper voltage.”
The charge: about $330 with taxes.
The fridge stopped making noise, but our expert Adel said “proper voltage” didn’t have anything to do with it.
He said if it was him, he would have charged just $90 for such a simple fix.
We paid the $330 bill, making that zip tie the most expensive zip tie Adel had ever seen.
Watch W5's documentary 'Customer (dis)Service' Saturday at 7 p.m. on CTV, or in our video player at the top of this article after 8 p.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.
Local Spotlight
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Haida Elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.