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    • The most expensive zip-tie: W5's hidden cameras catch repair company in action

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    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 .

    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.â€

    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.â€

    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.

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    The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

    Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

    Canada

    • B.C.'s police watchdog is investigating the death of a woman who was shot by the RCMP after allegedly barricading herself in a room with a toddler early Thursday morning.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    • Friends and strangers have set up a makeshift memorial outside the home of a five-year-old boy who was found dead yesterday in Coteau-du-lac.

    • The lawyer for a B.C. RCMP officer convicted of obstruction for telling a witness to delete cellphone video following the violent 2017 arrest of Dale Culver has requested a stay of proceedings.

    • The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

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    • Viewers of Jeopardy got a chance to test their knowledge of trivia about B.C.'s biggest city Wednesday night.

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    • Only one Toronto restaurant earned a Michelin star this year, but it is not a first for the chef who brought the establishment to stardom.

    • They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

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    • Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he's been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season's playoffs.

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    • Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.

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    • A Winnipeg man is asking for help after a classic car that has been a part of his family since the 1950s was stolen from his garage.

    Local Spotlight

    They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

    The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

    The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

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    David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

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    A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.

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    • Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

    • The 'Namgis First Nation says a fish farm it owns near Port McNeill shows the potential of land-based aquaculture in B.C.

    • Toronto police are asking for the public's help in identifying one of the suspected shooters in Tuesday's fatal double shooting in North York.

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    • Students across York Region will once again see uniformed officers at school, however police and board officials say they will only be stopping by for the occasional safety presentation.

    • We've produced a special webcast edition of CTV News Calgary for Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024.

    • The Parole Board of Canada says a man who assaulted a young pregnant woman and left her for dead remains too dangerous to be released into the community.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • Police say a man who was taken to hospital in critical condition after being shot Thursday night has died.

    • A byelection was called for the Bay of Quinte riding less than a week after Progressive Conservative MPP Todd Smith, Ontario's education minister at the time, resigned his seat in August.

    • CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at things to do in Ottawa and eastern Ontario this weekend.

    • Quebec Premier Francois Legault is calling on the Bloc Quebecois to topple the Trudeau government next Wednesday and trigger a federal election.

    • A harrowing video has been presented to a jury at the trial of three men facing first-degree murder charges.

    • The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

    • Five bison are dead at Elk Island National Park east of Edmonton following an early Thursday morning collision.

    • An Edmonton man who is charged with sexually assaulting a teen boy is a member of the Alberta sheriffs, CTV News Edmonton has confirmed.

    • The mayor of Fort Saskatchewan apologized on Thursday for comments she made earlier this week about killing feral cats.

    • New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has called for a provincial election. Voters will go to the polls on Oct. 21, as prescribed by the province's fixed-date election law.

    • Police are asking people to avoid the Dartmouth Commons area in Dartmouth, N.S., as they assist with a wildlife call for a bear.

    • An 83-year-old man is facing sexual interference charges following a Nova Scotia RCMP investigation.

    • Manitobans are continuing to mop up after a deluge of rain hit southern Manitoba earlier in the week.

    • Shamattawa RCMP are searching for a missing six-year-old boy who hasn’t been seen since Wednesday morning.

    • A Winnipeg pet rescue is putting out a warning to dog owners across the city about a possible parvovirus in the province.

    • A social media post of purple apples “growing†in Saskatchewan has sparked a lot of attention. However, garden experts say there's no such thing.

    • A case involving stolen funds from a Saskatchewan business being used to purchase cryptocurrency will be heading back to the courts, thanks to a new decision by Saskatchewan's Court of Appeal.

    • Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has confirmed a tornado touched down Wednesday evening near Langbank, Sask.

    • Amber and Adam Brueckner have a pool-shaped hole in their backyard – and their wallets.

    • New details have been shared about a missing family that was last seen on Sept. 1 in Kitchener, Ont.

    • Police are trying to identify a man who approached a woman and child in Wellesley.

    • A gym teacher at a private Christian school in Saskatoon has been charged. Terra MacEwan, 44, is charged with assault with a weapon. A Saskatoon mother who spoke with CTV News says her autistic son was MacEwan's victim.

    • Thomas Hamp says he believed secret police were out to kidnap, torture, and kill him when he fatally stabbed his girlfriend Emily Sanche in February of 2022.

    • A social media post of purple apples “growing†in Saskatchewan has sparked a lot of attention. However, garden experts say there's no such thing.

    • They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

    • As northern Ontario gets ready to welcome autumn this weekend, it’s still feeling a lot like summer as provincial forest fire crews continue to battle blazes.

    • James Bay Ontario Provincial Police have charged four commercial vehicle drivers with impaired, including one who was hauling 36,000 kilograms of ammonia hydrate.

    • A Woodstock homeowner says she’s at her wit’s end over a homeless encampment situated alongside her backyard. She’s calling on the city to do more to help those living rough, so she can live in peace.

    • Police were focusing their attention on the northeast corner of Richmond and Horton, with members of the emergency response unit taking up positions at the scene.

    • A union representative says someone driving a pick-up truck with heavily tinted windows rammed a member on Western Road, near Elborn College.

    • Two men from Barrie have been charged after a deadly shooting at a park in Keswick on Wednesday.

    • A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

    • A 32-year-old man is facing charges after police say his vehicle struck a child in an Owen Sound intersection.

    • The Windsor Police Service (WPS) has seized over $56,000 in drugs and have arrested one suspect.

    • SERVEONE Canada, a global procurement solution company, has begun Canadian operations in Tecumseh.

    • Enrolment may be down at St. Clair College, but President Mike Silvaggi isn’t bothered.

    • In a rare move, the Greater Victoria School District Board of Education has been slapped with a ministerial order from the province requiring it to update a student safety plan – drawing concern around political posturing leading up to an election.

    • The Union of B.C. Municipalities is asking the provincial government to make transit free for teenagers.

    • To appreciate why Mimi Vandermolen is so pleased to notice one particular vehicle she’s walking past, you need to know that seeing this many cars in one place would have been unimaginable when she was growing-up in the post-war Netherlands.

    • A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.

    • The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.

    • Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.

    • A Vulcan, Alta., man has been charged with a Lethbridge woman's murder after her body was found in the Oyen area.

    • A Lethbridge couple got a good reminder as to why you should keep your vehicle doors locked at all times.

    • Lethbridge residents who live near the police range can expect to hear plenty of shots fired Wednesday and Thursday.

    • A new community health profile in the Algoma District shows the area is significantly below provincial averages in a number of health metrics.

    • North Bay Police Service says one person has died following an industrial accident at the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Rail Yard on Tuesday.

    • Three northern Ontario residents are charged with drug trafficking after the vehicle they were in got stuck along a bush road off Highway 17 on Monday.

    N.L.

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