The Checkout

Hotel booking sites, your consumer rights when buying online and what you can do with a Dick Smith gift card.

On The Checkout this week, sunglasses, debt relief, consumer cops, scams and free money!

The hazards of travel insurance, what's so special about that new box feeling, and The Checkout story on unsolicited sales you haven't been asking for.

Scott Abbot sheds too much UV light on sunscreen, the mechanics of private health insurance, and petrol prices make Craig Reucassel snap.

The Checkout returns to take a look at the pitfalls of buying a puppy, what to do when internet service providers promise one speed but deliver another & Craig Reucassel looks into the second hand car market.

Kirsten Drysdale looks at wine awards, Julian Morrow asks why pharmacies are selling so many scientifically dubious products & the scam detectors investigate scammers pretending to be government departments.

Zoe takes a high level of interest in "zero balance transfers" on credit cards, Andy negotiates the challenges of getting a better mobile phone plan and The Guilty Mum's guide to preparing school lunches.

It's snot rocket science when it comes to over the counter cold & flu medication, the fine print in car parks that'll drive you mad, and are car makers coming clean with emissions ratings.

Hannah Reilly takes an interest in switching mortgage providers, Ben Jenkins shows you how to avoid an expensive lesson in further education, and the yoga accessories that will really stretch your budget.

Craig reports on the health ratings that leave you seeing stars (at the supermarket), Alex learns why you should think before you ink and Zoe and Kirsten look at the ways packaging tries to influence our purchasing decisions.

Craig gets a check up for his private hospital cover, hunky bachelors abound as Zoe faces an important choice...of comparison websites, and the guilty mum takes an unhealthy interest in kids health products.

Alex goes ga ga over baby food, Kirsten asks what's in a brand name at the supermarket, and Scott plays a round with golf gear.

Over three and a half seasons, The Checkout's revolutionary new wonder diet of clinically proven* consumer infotainment has been hailed by critics as 'marginally better than A Current Affair'.